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Blasius Kozenn (; 24 January 1821 in Hotunje,
Lower Styria Styria (, ), also known as Slovenian Styria (; ) or Lower Styria (; ) to differentiate it from Austrian Styria, is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of St ...
– 29 May 1871 in
Hernals Hernals (; ) is the 17th district of Vienna, Austria (). Hernals is in northwest Vienna.Statistik Austria, 2007, webpagestatistik.at-23450. Wien.gv.at webpage (see below: References). It was annexed in 1892 out of the townships of Hernals, Dorn ...
) was a
Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...
geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
and
cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...
. He has occasionally been misidentified as Slovak. The name ''Kozenn'' was familiar to generations of former pupils in
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 ...
because Kozenn's school atlas was published in millions of copies in more than 100 editions and in many languages. It was one of the most commonly used atlases in the Austrian half of Austria-Hungary.


Life

Blasius Kozenn was born into a poor farming family in the village of Hotunje, not far from Ponikva, and baptized ''Blash Kozen''. After attending elementary school in Ponikva, he attended the upper secondary school in
Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...
, where he was accepted through the efforts of his elementary school teacher. He continued his studies in
Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
and Klagenfurt, where he studied
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
. He was ordained a priest in 1845. Kozenn served as a curate in
Rogatec Rogatec (; Suppan, Arnold. 1996. ''Jugoslawien und Österreich 1918–1938: Bilaterale Außenpolitik im Europäischen Umfeld.'' Vienna: Verlag für Geschichte und Politik, p. 663.) is a small town in eastern Slovenia, on the border with Croatia. I ...
from 1849 to 1850. From 1850 to 1852 he held the position of assistant instructor () at the Celje upper secondary school. After this he traveled to
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. ...
, where he studied
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
,
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
, and
natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
at the University of Vienna, passing his teaching exams in these subjects with distinction. In 1854 he was accepted into the civil service and became an upper secondary school instructor, first in
Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...
, and then from 1855 to 1858 in
Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...
. This was where he wrote his ''Grundzüge der Geographie für die 1. Classe der Mittel- und Bürgerschulen'' (Essentials of Geography for the First Class of High School; first published in 1858 in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
and Vienna) and his study ''Das Klima von Görz'' (The Climate of
Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...
). In 1858 he started teaching at the German-language Imperial Upper Secondary School in
Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...
, where he remained until his early retirement in 1870. He was active in the introduction of the new ''
Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
'' secondary school, and in 1863 he was named a member of the school inspectorate. As a result of poor health, he moved from Olomouc to the Vienna suburb of Hernals, where he died at his home on ''Stiftsgasse'' (since 1894 ''Geblergasse'') from
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...
on 29 May 1871 at the age of 50.


School atlas

In Olomouc Kozenn became acquainted with the bookseller and publisher Eduard Hölzel, who convinced him to create the first Austrian school atlas. This was finally published in 1861, after Hölzel moved to Vienna. As sources for his maps, he used
Adolf Stieler Adolf Stieler (26 February 177513 March 1836) was a German cartographer and lawyer who worked most of his life in the Justus Perthes Geographical Institute in Gotha. Although he studied law and would serve in government for his entire career, he ...
's and
Heinrich Kiepert Heinrich Kiepert (July 31, 1818 – April 21, 1899) was a German geographer. Early life and education Kiepert was born in Berlin. He traveled frequently as a youth with his family and documented his travels by drawing. His family was friends wit ...
's German atlases. He did not shy away from directly copying and only slightly modifying German school atlases of the time. In 1900 Kozenn's atlas was fully revised by Vinzenz von Haardt, Friedrich Umlauft, Wilhelm Schmidt, and Franz Heiderich with regard to content, maps, and technical aspects; as such, it was comparable to the best atlases produced abroad. The success of Hölzel's publishing company encouraged the imperial government to issue other modern school atlases. Competition on the market resulted on the production of increasingly better atlases, including increasingly more thematic maps. The atlas was later revised further by Heinrich Güttenberger, Hermann Leiter, Hans Slanar, and Walter Strzygowski (after 1956). As a self-taught cartographer, Kozenn also produced numerous wall maps for schools.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozenn, Blasius Scholars from the Austrian Empire 1821 births 1871 deaths People from the Municipality of Šentjur Slovenian cartographers Slovenian geographers