Fran Levstik (28 September 1831 – 16 November 1887) was a Slovene writer, political activist, playwright and critic. He was one of the most prominent exponents of the Young Slovene political movement.

Life and work

Levstik was born in 1831 in Dolnje Retje (now part of the municipality of Velike Lašče) in

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( sl, Dolenjska; german: Unterkrain) is a traditional region in Slovenia, the southeastern part of the historical Carniola region. Geography Lower Carniola is delineated by the Ljubljana Basin with the city of Ljubljana to the n ...

(then 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, ...

, today in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

) in a peasant Slovene family. Levstik was the first notable writer of Slovene epic prose. Among his most known works are the short tale '' Martin Krpan From Vrh'' ( sl, Martin Krpan z Vrha), which became a classic work of Slovene literature, and the

itinerary Itinerary or Itineraries or Itinerarium may refer to: Travel * Itinerarium, an Ancient Roman road map in the form of a listing of cities, villages, and other stops, with the intervening distances * ''Itinerarium Burdigalense'', also known as the ...

'' A Journey from Litija to Čatež'' (), the main objective of which is a literary manifesto. In the critical essay ''Napake slovenskega pisanja'', he exposed his views on the development of the Slovene literary language. Levstik was one of the main exponents of the Young Slovenes, a progressive and

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...

political group akin to the

Young Czechs The Young Czech Party ( cz, Mladočeši, officially National Liberal Party, ''Národní strana svobodomyslná'') was formed in the Bohemian crown land of Austria-Hungary in 1874. It initiated the democratization of Czech political parties and le ...

in the

Czech Lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands ( cs, České země ) are the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. Together the three have formed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia since 1918, the Czech Socialist Republic sin ...

that challenged the then prevailing influence of conservatives, led by Janez Bleiweis, within the Slovenian National Movement. In his late years, he grew closer to

Pan-Slavist Pan-Slavism, a movement which crystallized in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had rul ...

ideals. Levstik and his literary program had a great influence on future generations of Slovene authors of

national liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A seri ...

views, especially Josip Jurčič,

Josip Stritar Josip Stritar (6 March 1836 – 25 November 1923) was a Slovene writer, poet, essayist, the first aesthetic critic, playwright, publisher and translator. Life Stritar spent his early childhood in his home village of Podsmreka in rural Lower ...

Janko Kersnik Janko Kersnik (4 September 1852 – 28 July 1897) was a Slovene writer and politician. Together with Josip Jurčič, he is considered the most important representative of literary realism in Slovene. Biography Kersnik was born in Brdo Ma ...

Anton Aškerc Anton Aškerc (; 9 January 1856 – 10 June 1912) was an Slovenian poet and Roman Catholic priest who worked in Austria, best known for his epic poems. Aškerc was born into a peasant family near the town of Rimske Toplice in the Duchy of Styr ...

Janez Trdina Janez Trdina (29 May 1830 – 14 July 1905) was a Slovene writer and historian. The renowned author Ivan Cankar described him as the best Slovene stylist of his period. He was an ardent describer of the Gorjanci Ridge and of the Lower Carniolan ...

and Ivan Tavčar. He died in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

after a period of serious mental illness, which included delusions of a religious nature. He was buried in the former St. Christopher's Cemetery in the Bežigrad district of Ljubljana. The

Levstik Award The Levstik Award ( sl, Levstikova nagrada) is a literary award in Slovenia awarded for achievements in children's literature. It has been bestowed since 1949 by the Mladinska Knjiga Publishing House, making it the first literary award established ...

for achievements in children's literature is named after him.Levstik Award on Culture.si Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia site
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levstik, Fran 1831 births 1887 deaths People from the Municipality of Velike Lašče Carniolan dramatists and playwrights Carniolan philologists Carniolan essayists Slovenian literary critics Young Slovenes politicians Carniolan poets 19th-century Carniolan writers