Count Anton Alexander von Auersperg, also known under the name Anastasius Grün (11 April 180612 September 1876), was an Austrian poet and liberal politician from

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 st ...

, a former Habsburg crown land in today's Slovenia.

Biography

He was born in

Laibach Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue S ...

(Ljubljana), and was head of the Thurn am Hart/Krain branch of the

n line of the house of Auersperg. Anton Alexander was the only child of his parents, Count Alexander von Auersperg and Baroness Maria Rosalia Cecilia von Billichgrätz. He received his education first at 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 ...

and then at

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

, where he studied

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...

. In

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

, he met with fellow Carniolan countryman

France Prešeren France Prešeren () (2 or 3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages.

, who would later become the

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, ...

of the

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, History ...

. The two established a close friendship which lasted till Prešeren's death in 1849. Prešeren also dedicated an ironic short poem to Auersperg, called ''Tri želje Anastazija Zelenca'' ("Three Wishes of the Green Anastasius"), in which he made fun of the friend's

bohemian lifestyle Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people and with few permanent ties. It involves musical, artistic, literary, or spiritual pursuits. In this context, bohemians may be wanderers, a ...

. In 1830, Auersperg succeeded to his ancestral property, and in 1832 appeared as a member at the

Estates Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representa ...

of Carniola in the Lords' Bench of the

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

in Laibach. Here he distinguished himself by his outspoken criticism of the Austrian government, leading the opposition of the duchy to the exactions of the central power. In 1832 the title of Imperial Chamberlain was conferred upon him, and in 1839 he married Countess Maria Rosalia, daughter of Count Ignaz Maria von Attems, Governor of Styria and Countess Aloysia Inzaghi von Kindberg . They had one son, Count Theodor Ignaz von Auersperg (1859–1881). After 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 Europ ...

in Vienna he represented the district of Laibach in the German

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...

, to which he tried in vain to persuade his Slovene compatriots to send representatives. After a few months, however, disgusted with the violent development of the revolution, he resigned his seat, and again retired into private life. In 1860 he was summoned to the remodelled Reichsrat by the emperor, and next year nominated him a life member of the Austrian upper house (''Herrenhaus''), where, while remaining a keen upholder of the German centralized empire, as against the federalism the

Slav Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic language, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout ...

s and

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...

, he greatly distinguished himself as one of the most intrepid and influential supporters of the cause of Realism, in both political and religious matters. He also served in the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

of Carniola, where he was among the leaders of the Austrian Constitutionalists in Carniola, together with Karl Deschmann.

Literary work

In Count Auersperg's first publication, a collection of lyrics, ''Blätter der Liebe'' (1830), showed little originality; but his second production, ''Der letzte Ritter'' (1830), brought his genius to light. It celebrates the deeds and adventures of Emperor Maximillian I (1499–1519) in a cycle of poems written in the strophic rhyme of the

Nibelungenlied The ( gmh, Der Nibelunge liet or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of German ...

. But Auersperg's fame rests almost exclusively on his political poetry; two collections entitled ''Spaziergänge eines Wiener Poeten'' (1831), an attack upon the

Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

regime, and ''Schutt'' (1835) created a sensation in Germany by their originality and bold Realism. These two books, which are remarkable not merely for their outspoken opinions, but also for their easy versification and powerful imagery, were the forerunners of the German political poetry of 1840–1848. His ''Gedichte'' (1837), if anything, increased his reputation; his epics, ''Nibelungen im Frack'' (1843) and ''

Pfaff vom Kahlenberg Philipp Frankfurter (c. 1450 – 1511) was a writer from Vienna. He collected the humorous tales surrounding the "Priest from Kahlenberg" (''Pfaff vom '' r ''von Kalenberg''), published with a frame story in verse form as ''Des pfaffen geschicht ...

'' (1850), are characterized by a fine ironic humour. He also produced masterly translations of the popular Slovene songs from Carniola (''Volkslieder aus Krain'', 1850), and of the English poems relating to ''Robin Hood'' (1864). He also translated several poems by

France Prešeren France Prešeren () (2 or 3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages.

into German. Anastasius Grün's ''Sämtliche Werke'' (Collected works) were published by L. A. Frankl in 5 vols. (Berlin, 1877); the ''Briefwechsel zwischen A. G. und Ludwig Frankl'' (Correspondence between A. G. and Ludwig Frankl) was published in Berlin in 1897. A selection of his ''Politische Reden und Schriften'' was published by S. Hock (Vienna, 1906).

Honours

Vienna, Alexander von Auersperg Silver Medal 1876, obverse

Vienna, Alexander von Auersperg Silver Medal 1876, reverse

Notes

References

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External links