Lovro Toman (10 August 1827 – 15 August 1870) was a Slovene Romantic nationalist revolutionary activist during the

Revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

, known as the person who in Ljubljana, at the

Wolf Street The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

8, raised the Slovene tricolor for the first time in history in response to a German flag raised on top of the

Ljubljana Castle Ljubljana Castle ( sl, Ljubljanski grad, german: Laibacher Schloss) is a castle complex standing on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a key landmark of the town. Originally a medieval fortress, it was probably ...

.Celebration of the Slovene Tricolor
(In Slovene: "Praznik slovenske trobojnice"), MMC

RTV Slovenia Radiotelevizija Slovenija ( en, Radio-Television of Slovenia) – usually abbreviated to RTV Slovenija (or simply RTV within Slovenia) – is Slovenia's national public broadcasting organization. Based in Ljubljana, it has regional broadcastin ...

, 11. april 2013 Later he helped founding one of the first Slovene publishing houses, the '' Slovenska matica''. He was a Slovene national conservative

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

and member of the

Austrian Parliament The Austrian Parliament (german: Österreichisches Parlament) is the bicameral federal legislature of the Austrian Republic. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene ...

. Together with Janez Bleiweis and Etbin Henrik Costa, he was part of the leadership of the Old Slovene party.

Life

He was born in a wealthy entrepreneurial family in the

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jeseni ...

n village of Kamna Gorica, in what was then the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, present-day

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

. After graduating from the classical lyceum in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

in 1845, he enrolled at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...

, where he studied law. During his student years, he became influenced by Romantic nationalist ideas. He rose to prominence as a political activist during the

. In April 1848, he was among the students who first raised the Slovenian flag in the center of Ljubljana. After the revolution, he continued his studies and graduated from the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univers ...

. In 1853, he married to the poet Josipina Urbančič Turnograjska, who came from one of the wealthiest families in

Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region s ...

. The two lived in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

until her early death in 1854. He died in Rondaun near

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and was buried in his native village of Kamna Gorica.

Political career

After his wife's death he moved to

Radovljica Radovljica (; german: Radmannsdorf) is a town in the Upper Carniola region of northern Slovenia. It is the administrative seat of the Municipality of Radovljica. Geography The town is located on the southern slope of the Karawanks mountain ra ...

, where he worked as a lawyer. In 1861, he was elected to the

. In the 1860s, he became one of the most powerful leaders of the conservative Old Slovene party, together with Janez Bleiweis,

Luka Svetec Luka Svetec (8 October 1826 – 28 January 1921) was a Slovene politician, lawyer, author and philologist. In the 1870s and 1880s, Svetec was one of the most influential leaders of the so-called Old Slovenes, a national conservative political g ...

, and Etbin Henrik Costa. He was also considered among the most popular Slovene politicians in the 19th century. He was known for his vigorous temperament and for his many public functions. Among other things, he was the founder of the '' Slovenska matica'' publishing house and served as its first chairman. His overwhelming influence in the political decision-making in the Slovene National Movement was frequently criticized by his opponents, who sometimes mockingly referred to

as "Tomania".

Controversies

In 1867, he was involved in a scandal around the construction of the railway line between Ljubljana and

Tarvisio Tarvisio (German and fur, Tarvis, sl, Trbiž) is a comune in the northeastern part of the autonomous Friuli Venezia Giulia region in Italy. Geography The town is in the Canal Valley (''Val Canale'') between the Carnic Alps and Karawanks rang ...

. He was accused by his opponents of having sold out his vote in favour of the Austro-Hungarian compromise, which he had previously opposed, in order to achieve the license for the construction of the railway line. These charges were probably unsubstantiated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toman, Lovro 1827 births 1870 deaths People from the Municipality of Radovljica Slovenian Roman Catholics Old Slovenes politicians Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1861–1867) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1867–1870) Members of the Diet of the Duchy of Carniola Carniolan lawyers University of Vienna alumni University of Graz alumni