Anatole Vakhnianyn ( uk, Анатоль Вахнянин ; September 19, 1841 – February 11, 1908), was a Ukrainian political and cultural figure, composer, teacher, and journalist.
Biography
Family Background
Vakhnianyn was born in
Sieniawa
Sieniawa (; uk, Сеня́ва, Seniáva), is a town in southeastern Poland. It had a population of 2,127 inhabitants (02.06.2009). Since 1999, Sieniawa has been part of Subcarpathian Voivodeship.
History
Sieniawa's history dates back to the 17 ...
,
Przeworsk County
__NOTOC__
Przeworsk County ( pl, powiat przeworski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local go ...
, today a part of Poland but at that time a part of 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, ...
. He came from a clerical family of noble origins; his father, Klym Vakhnianyn, and grandfather, Iakiv Vakhnyanin, were
Greek-Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually.
The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...
priests. His mother, Karolina Veith, was the daughter of a Czech-German officer stationed at the Przemysl garrison. Karolina's brother Wilhelm married a Polish woman and was the maternal grandfather of
Kazimierz Świtalski
Kazimierz Stanisław Świtalski (; 4 March 1886, Sanok – 28 December 1962, Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish politician, diplomat, soldier, military officer in the Polish Legions and 18th Prime Minister of Poland between April and December 1929.
Ea ...
, Prime Minister of Poland (1929).Volodymyra Kachmar. (2009). ''Narysy Istorii Nashoho Rodu. '' Lviv pg. 39 The languages spoken in his home were
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
. Anatole Vakhnianyn's sister, Antonina, was the maternal grandmother of Ukrainian-American community leader
Omelian Pleshkewycz
Emil Omelan Pleszkewycz ( uk, Омелян Плешкевич) (also spelled Pleshkewych and Pleshkevich) (January 20, 1908, Boratyn, Lviv Oblast, Boratyn, a village near Sokal, Austro-Hungarian Empire – May 30, 2007, Chicago, Illinois) was a Ukr ...
.
Life
After completing studies at Przemysl's gymnasium, in 1859 Vakhnianyn began studying theology in
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
's seminary. During this time, he came to recognize the deeper "beauty of Ukrainian poetry and prose" and became heavily involved in Ukrainian literature and music. In 1863, he married Jozefa de Wankowicz, a distant cousin and member of a
noble family
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
. In 1865, Vakhnianyn organized the first
Shevchenko
Shevchenko (alternative spellings Schevchenko, Ševčenko, Shevcenko, Szewczenko, Chevchenko; ua , Шевченко), a family name of Ukrainian origin. It is derived from the Ukrainian word ''shvets'' ( uk, швець), " cobbler/shoemaker", and ...
concert in western Ukrainian lands, in
Przemyśl
Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was pr ...
. Moving to Vienna in 1865 where he studied philosophy 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 histor ...
, he organized the first Ukrainian student organization there (Sich) and became its first head.
Vakhnianyn returned to Lviv in 1868 and helped to organize the Prosvita Society, an organization dedicated to educational and cultural work among the Ukrainian people that helped lead to a national awakening among them, becoming its first head. He was also heavily involved in the creation of Ukrainian-language textbooks in the Austrian school system.
Between 1867 and 1870 Vakhnianyn edited the journal ''Pravda'', in 1870 he was a coeditor of the journal ''Dilo'', the main journal of the Ukrainophile movement in western Ukraine, and from 1870 to 1878 he edited Prosvita's journal.
In 1890 he helped initiate the "New Era" movement, dedicated to forging a rapprochement between Poles and Ukrainians in east Galicia. After most of the other Ukrainophiles broke with the Poles in 1894, Vakhnianyn continued to seek compromise with them, and along with
Oleksander Barvinsky
Oleksander Barvinsky ( uk, Олександр Барвiнський ) (June 8, 1847 – December 25, 1926) was an important western Ukrainian cultural figure and politician, a founder of the Christian Social Movement in Ukraine, Christian Socia ...
Christian social movement
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...
.
Between 1894 and 1900 Vakhnianyn was a member of the Galician Diet and the Austrian parliament.Vakhnianyn, Anatol Entry, Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993). Published by Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Toronto. In 1903 he founded the Higher Musical Institute in Lviv, currently the Lviv Conservatory, and became its first director. Under the pen-name Natal Vakhnianyn, he composed the opera ''Kupala'' (written between 1870 and 1892, premiered at the
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.
Anatole Vakhnianyn died February 11, 1908, and was buried in
Lychakivskiy Cemetery
Lychakiv Cemetery ( uk, Личаківський цвинтар, translit=Lychakivs’kyi tsvyntar; pl, Cmentarz Łyczakowski we Lwowie), officially State History and Culture Museum-Preserve "Lychakiv Cemetery" ( uk, Державний істор ...
. Those eulogizing him after his death included
Ivan Franko
Ivan Yakovych Franko (Ukrainian: Іван Якович Франко, pronounced ˈwɑn ˈjɑkowɪtʃ frɐnˈkɔ 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, ...
and
Mykola Lysenko
Mykola Vitaliyovych Lysenko ( uk, Мико́ла Віта́лійович Ли́сенко; 22 March 1842 – 6 November 1912) was a List of Ukrainian composers, Ukrainian composer, pianist, conductor and ethnomusicologist of the late Romantic mus ...