Ognjeslav Utješenović Ostrožinski (spelled Utješinović in some sources; sr-Cyrl, Огњеслав Утјешеновић Острожински; 21 August 1817 – 8 June 1890) was a

Croatian Serb The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Хрватски Срби, Hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in ...

politician and writer. He is mainly remembered for his role in the

Illyrian movement The Illyrian movement (; ) was a pan-South-Slavic cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of the 19th century, around the years of 1835 t ...

led by

Ljudevit Gaj Ljudevit Gaj (; born Ludwig Gay; ; 8 August 1809 – 20 April 1872) was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the pan-Slavist Illyrian movement. Biography Origin He was born in Krapina ( ...

which promoted unity among

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

and called for Croatia's independence at the time when the country was part of

Austria-Hungary 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#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

Biography

Born in Ostrožin (part of Gvozd) in the

Kordun The Kordun () region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora (Peter's mountain) mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within ...

region (which was at the time part of the

Croatian Military Frontier The Croatian Military Frontier ( or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary. History Founded in the late 16th century out of ...

), Utješenović graduated in law from the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

. He worked as an advisor to

Josip Jelačić Count Josip Jelačić von Bužim (16 October 180120 May 1859; also spelled ''Jellachich'', ''Jellačić'' or ''Jellasics''; ; ) was a Croatian lieutenant field marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army and politician. He was the Ban of Croatia betw ...

at the Zagreb military command and was a member of the Croatian parliament's legislation committee which created the bills on the establishment of the Croatian army and the abolishment of the Military Frontier and its merger with Croatia. Upon the defeat of the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

Jelačić appointed him ''podžupan'' (vice-governor) of

Varaždin County Varaždin County () is a county in Hrvatsko Zagorje. It is named after its county seat, the city of Varaždin. Geography The county contains the city of Varaždin, the towns of: Ivanec, Ludbreg, Lepoglava, Novi Marof and Varaždinske Top ...

. During the later years of Alexander von Bach's absolutism (1849–1859) he held the post of ministerial secretary in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(appointed in 1856) and from 1862 to 1867 he worked as an advisor with the Croatian Court Chancellery (). From 1875 to 1885 he held the post of ''župan'' (governor) of Varaždin County. He is credited with the project to build the railway connecting

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

and

Zaprešić Zaprešić () is a town in Zagreb County, in Croatia. It has a population of 19,644 inhabitants in the city proper, town proper, with 25,223 in the administrative area. The town's metropolitan area, which encompasses the seven neighbouring munic ...

, the development of road infrastructure in the Zagorje region in northern Croatia, as well as the building of the

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

church of

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

in Varaždin. Utješenović was also an author. In 1871 he published a collection of poems titled ''Vila Ostrožinska'', which was followed by ''Sitne pjesme''. He also wrote several patriotic poems, the best known of which is ''Uskrsnuće Jelačića bana'' (''The Resurrection of Ban Jelačić''), published in December 1866, which was later adapted into a well-known Croatian

Reveille "Reveille" ( , ), called in French "Le Réveil" is a bugle call, trumpet call, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes call most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. The name comes from (or ), the ...

song called " Ustani, bane". One of Utješenović's poems written in 1842 begins,''"The whole world sees morning, but in the Balkans daylight never comes."'' It was a lament about the condition of the ignored, backward, and divided South Slavic peoples, who in the first half of the 19th century still lived under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg dynasty and the Turkish empire. Utješenović died in 1890 and was buried at the

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, ), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery (), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members of all religious groups: Catholic, Orthodox, M ...

in Zagreb.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Utjesenovic, Ognjeslav 1817 births 1890 deaths People from Gvozd Serbian Austro-Hungarians Poets from the Austrian Empire Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb alumni Poets from Austria-Hungary

Biography

See also

References