József Klekl () (October 13, 1874 – May 30, 1948) was a Slovene

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest from Prekmurje and politician in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, writer, governor of the Slovene People's Party ''(Slovenska lüdska stranka),'' later a delegate in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. Klekl was an active proponent of the independence of the Slovene March in Hungary ''(Slovenska krajina),'' and for some time fusion with the

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( / ; ) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Prečani (Serbs), Prečani) residing in what were the southernmost parts of th ...

Early life

Klekl born in

Prekmurje Prekmurje (; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; ) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally, and ethnically defined region of Slovenia, settled by Slovenes and a Hungarians in Slovenia, Hungarian minority, lying betwee ...

, in

Krajna Krajna is a forested historical region in the north of Greater Poland in Poland, situated in the border area between the Greater Poland, Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Pomeranian Voivodeships. The region consists of parts of Złotów, Piła, Sęp� ...

, in the

Vas County Vas (, ; ; or ; ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') of Hungary. It was also one of the counties of the former Kingdom of Hungary. It is part of the Centrope Project. Geography Vas County lies in weste ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. The writer József Klekl (1879–1936), his cousin, was also born here. Because he was older, he is known as ''Jožef Klekl Stari'' ('József Klekl Sr.') in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

n. His parents, István Klekl and Teréz Sálmán, were farmers. The Klekl family was of German descent. His grandfather Anton Klekl was born in Kellerdorf, near

Radkersburg Bad Radkersburg (; ; archaic Divald, Kornél. 1931. ''Old Hungarian Art''. London: Oxford University Press, p. 117.) is a spa town in the southeast of the Austrian state of Styria, in the district of Südoststeiermark. Geography In the south t ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. On July 11, 1897, Klekl became a priest and chaplain to

Ferenc Ivanóczy Ferenc () is a given name of Hungarian origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, Francesco, François, Frank and Franz. People with the name include: * Ferenc Batthyány (1497–1566), Hungarian magnate and general * Ferenc Bene (1944–20 ...

Tišina Tišina may refer to: * Tišina, Slovenia, a town near Murska Sobota * Tišina, Zenica, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Tišina, Šamac, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Tišina Kaptolska, a village near Martinska Ves, Croatia * Ti ...

. At the time, Ivanóczy was the governor of the

Hungarian Slovenes Hungarian Slovenes ( Slovene: ''Madžarski Slovenci'', ) are an autochthonous ethnic and linguistic Slovene minority living in Hungary. The largest groups are the Rába Slovenes (, dialectically: ''vogrski Slovenci, bákerski Slovenci, porábsk ...

. From 1902 to 1903 he was a chaplain in Dürnbach im Burgenland, and from 1903 to 1905 in

Črenšovci Črenšovci (; , Prekmurje Slovene: ''Črensovci'' or ''Čerensovci'') is a settlement in the Prekmurje region in northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Črenšovci. Črnec Creek, a tributary of the Ledava, flows past the se ...

. In 1905 he became the priest in

Pečarovci Pečarovci (; in older sources also ''Sveti Sebeštjan'', , Prekmurje Slovene: ''Pečörovci'') is a village in the Municipality of Puconci in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia. There are two churches in the settlement. The Roman Catholic parish c ...

. In 1910 he retired on a pension and lived in Črenšovci.

Political activity

In 1904 Klekl founded the Hungarian Slovene Catholic newspaper ''

Marijin liszt Muijin (, also Romanized as Mū’ījīn and Moo’ijin; also known as Hū’ī Jīn, Marījīn, Mū’īn, and Mū’jīn) is a village in Alvandkuh-e Gharbi Rural District, in the Central District of Hamadan County, Hamadan Province, Iran ...

.'' In 1914 he founded the semi-radical newspaper ''

Novine ''Novine'' (), is a Croatian drama television series created by Ivica Đikić, a journalist who had served as editor-in-chief of Rijeka's ''Novi list'' several years earlier. The story takes place in Rijeka, as it describes the life and work of a ...

.'' In this paper he took a stance against the Hungarisation of Prekmurje. In 1918 the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

was breaking up. Klekl was in connection with the Slovene politician

Anton Korošec Anton Korošec (, ; 12 May 1872 – 14 December 1940) was a Yugoslav politician, a prominent member of the conservative People's Party, a Roman Catholic priest and a noted orator. Early life Korošec was born in Biserjane (then Duchy of Styr ...

. Korošec and a few Slovene politicians backed the idea of an independent Slovene March, which would later be part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Klekl,

József Szakovics József Szakovics, Slovene Jožef Sakovič, German orthography Joseph Sakowitsch (February 2, 1874, Vadarci (then known as Tivadarc, in what is now Slovenia) – September 22, 1930, Alsószölnök, Hungary), was a Slovene Roman Catholic pri ...

Iván Bassa Iván Bassa Slovene ''Ivan Baša'' (11 April 1875 – 13 February 1931) Slovenian Roman Catholic priest, writer and politic. Born in Beltinci (in Prekmurje, then part of Hungary), his parents József Bassa and Anna Vucsko. Was consecrate on 16 ...

István Kühár István Kühár () (August 28, 1887 – January 1, 1922) was a Slovene Roman Catholic priest, politician, and writer in Hungary, and later in Yugoslavia. He was born in Gradišče, near Tišina, to József Kühár and Katalin Gombócz. His m ...

, and

József Csárics József () is a Hungarian masculine given name. It is the Hungarian name equivalent to Joseph. Notable people bearing this name include: * József Bihari (1901–1981), Hungarian actor * József Bihari (1908–1997), Hungarian linguist * J ...

worked out the ''Slovene March programme,'' but in Hungary the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

administration came to power and Serbian forces quickly annexed Prekmurje. For a long time the people of Prekmurje were angry with Klekl because he did not create an independent Slovene territory. The county of

Szentgotthárd Szentgotthárd () is the westernmost town of Hungary. It is situated on the Rába River near the Austrian border. History The town took its name from, and grew up round, the Cistercian Szentgotthárd Abbey, founded here in 1183. In 1664, it was ...

thus remained in Hungary and in Prekmurje the official language became Slovene, not

Prekmurje Slovene Prekmurje Slovene, also known as the Prekmurje dialect, Eastern Slovene, or Wendish (, , Prekmurje Slovene: ''prekmürski jezik, prekmürščina, prekmörščina, prekmörski jezik, panonska slovenščina''), is the language of Prekmurje in Easte ...

After the First World War

After 1920, Klekl became a delegate in the Yugoslav capital. In 1941 he enlisted in the Hungarian Army. Klekl and Szakovics actively wrote and championed the standard

in the 20th century, which was banned after 1945. Klekl died in

Murska Sobota Murska Sobota (, Slovenian abbreviation: ''MS'' ; ;''Radkersburg und Luttenberg'' (map, 1:75,000). 1894. Vienna: K.u.k. Militärgeographisches Institut. ) is a town in northeastern Slovenia. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Murska Sob ...

in 1948.

External links

* Enciklopedija Slovenije; knjiga 5, Mladinska knjiga,

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, 1991.
Vasi digitális könyvtár – Vasi egyházmegye
* Göncz László: Muravidék, 1919
Bence Lajos: A szlovéniai magyarság
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klekl, Jozsef 1874 births 1948 deaths People from the Municipality of Tišina Hungarian Slovenes 20th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests Slovenian politicians Slovenian writers and poets in Hungary Slovenian anti-communists

Early life

Political activity

After the First World War

See also

External links