The author presents the current state of knowledge on the development of the Carniolan Estates and Diets before the first decades of the 16th century, i.e. during the time when the estates ...corporation began to take shape and gain actual political power. In the intro-duction, the author goes back to the early beginnings of the Estates and briefly discusses the conditions and circumstances that gave rise to their formation, as well as tackles some of the terminology issues involved. The core of the article provides an analysis of the structure of the four estates (prelates, lords, knights and squires, towns), their num-ber and their power. The author singles out the diets as the fundamental and the most important form of the Estates’ operation and briefly describes the provincial diet proce-dures and the subjects discussed at such sessions. The land of Carniola was characterised by its division to the sphere of the territorial prince and the sphere of the Estates, which had a profound effect on the period of transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era. The author also discusses the issue of the legal position of the Estates and their relation to the territorial prince, and, as conclusion, draws the reader’s attention to the remarkable work of Sergij Vilfan and the significance of his research in the topics discussed.
The article examines the institutionalization of modern bourgeois musical culture in Carniola and Lower Styria during the nineteenth century. This era was characterized by the decline of the old ...aristocracy and the rise of new social classes, including the wealthy bourgeoisie and the lower nobility (ennobled bourgeoisie), collectively referred to as the »Second Society« (Zweite Gesellschaft). Using various examples, this article traces the development of modern bourgeois musical culture from the private sphere to the »semi-public« and finally to the public sphere. It examines the founding of musical societies and their funding, the increased access to musical education and concert life, the transition from amateurism to professionalism in musical practice, and the increasing participation of women in cultural and musical life throughout the nineteenth century in Carniola and Lower Styria.
The strongest earthquake in the history of the city hit Ljubljana, which was the center of the Austrian province of Carniola (Kranjska), in 1895. It destroyed many buildings and caused severe damage ...to the residents. This catastrophe is considered an important milestone in the history of Ljubljana. Having passed it, Ljubljana turned from a rather backward provincial town into a rapidly developing modern city, which establishing itself as the national and cultural center of the Slovenes. It was possible to cope with the consequences of the earthquake only with the help of the combined efforts of the government of Austria-Hungary, provincial and city authorities, various public organizations and individuals as well as wide international support rendered to the residents of Ljubljana. Of importance is the question what mechanisms of assistance to the city were involved in order to achieve not only the restoration of Ljubljana but also its radical transformation and subsequent prosperity in the future. The article discusses a number of aspects of this problem, which make it possible to characterize the significance of that event in the life of the city: the perception of the catastrophe by its residents, the priority measures taken to eliminate its consequences, the fundraiser in support of Ljubljana as well as the subsequent activities of the Municipal Council of the city, which largely determined the ways of its further development. Based on interdisciplinary research by Slovenian scientists, materials from the Slovenian press published in Ljubljana, the Historical Archive of Ljubljana, and eyewitness accounts, the author seeks to recreate a fairly complete picture of the life of the city during the disaster and in the first months after it.
Josip Mantuani was the first Slovenian student at the Vienna School of Art History. Yet after his passing he was forgotten by his own profession for a long time. Important aspect which influenced how ...his work was assessed in the past is connected with the circumstances surrounding his professional and scientific work. Another reason for Mantuani’s oblivion lies in his personal relationships with the younger generation of art historians, France Stele, Izidor Cankar and Vojeslav Mole. A thorough reading of Stele’s obituaries for Mantuani provides a clear enough picture of how he was perceived as an art historian by his younger colleagues but is also interesting in the light of the subsequent development of the historiographical treatment of Mantuani’s work.
In Slovenia in the 19th century, poor harvests and consequently the shortage of food and seeds for sowing were a localised and completely normal periodic phenomenon. The weather had a profound impact ...on the emergence of regional life-threatening crises. Since forever, farmers had been especially worried and afraid of hail. The menacing icy precipitation had the potential of devastating the fields. The Swiss historian Christian Pfister rightfully described it as an exogenous shock that can trigger sequences of events that would otherwise have not happened. The present study focuses on the regionally restricted example of a severe hailstorm that caused enormous damage in the district of Postojna in the summer of 1864, as it almost completely destroyed the crops. During the agrarian crisis, the majority of the peasant population had already barely lingered on in profound poverty. Apart from the unusually cold and rainy weather in 1864, the damages caused by the hail even exacerbated the severe distress, and ten villages in the district faced severe food scarcity. The head of the district turned to the Provincial Presidency in Ljubljana for help, and it provided aid in the usual manner: by collecting donations for the purchase of food and seeds.