Franc Avsec (20 August 1863, Gotna Vas – 9 March 1943,

Lesce Lesce () is a town in the Municipality of Radovljica in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. It is an industrial and tourist centre. It is one of the earliest-mentioned settlements in the region, first noted in a document from 1004 together w ...

) was a Slovenian

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 A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, restoration expert,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

, and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Life

Avsec attended secondary school in

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; ; also known by #Name, alternative names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, seventh-largest city of Slovenia. It is the economic and cultural centre of the traditional region of Lower Carniola (southeastern Slovenia) and ...

. 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 ...

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 was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1888. After his ordination he served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

in various locations, and then starting in 1899 as a

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

in Velike Brusnice, from 1900 to 1919 in

Podkum Podkum ( or ; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 88.) is a settlement in the Municipality of Zagorje ob Savi in central Slovenia. The ar ...

, and then until his death in

. He developed an interest in church art as a student. In the locations where he served, he drew plans of the churches, and studied the history of the buildings and conservation issues. In 1904 he was named an honorary conservation expert for the Vienna Central Commission for the Preservation of Monuments (''K. K. Zentralkommission für Denkmalpflege''); in 1913 he became a trustee of the Provincial Conservation Office for Carniola and later for the Historical Monuments Office for Slovenia. The valuable material he collected is kept at the Archepiscopal Archives of Ljubljana and the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia.

Work

Avsec published the articles “Pogled na cerkvene umetnine in nasvet” (A View on Church Art and a Recommendation, 1898) and “Stara kartuzijanska cerkev v Pleterjah” (The Old Carthusian Church in Pleterje, 1907) in the periodical ''Izvestju društva za krščansko umetnost'' (Newsletter of the Christian Arts Society). In addition he inventoried and sketched historical buildings; he measured and sketched several hundred churches, including all the churches in Ljubljana, the

Zagreb Cathedral The Zagreb Cathedral (officially the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saints Stephen and Ladislav), is a Catholic cathedral in Kaptol, Zagreb. It is the second tallest building in Croatia and the most monumental sacra ...

, the major churches in

Kranj Kranj (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fourth-largest city in Slovenia and the largest urban center of the traditional region of Upper Carniola (northwestern Slovenia) and the Slovene Alps. It is located approximately northwest o ...

and the vicinity, all of the churches in the

Radovljica Radovljica (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Slovenia, town in the Upper Carniola region of northern Slovenia. It is the administrative seat of the Municipality of Radovljica. Geography The town is located on the southern slope of the Karawan ...

area, the cathedral in

Gornji Grad Gornji Grad (literally, 'upper castle' or 'upper town') may refer to: * Gornji Grad, Slovenia, a town northwest of Ljubljana and west of Celje * Gornji Grad, Zagreb, a historic city district of the Croatian capital * Gornji Grad, Osijek, a histori ...

, and elsewhere. He edited the temperance newsletter ''Piščalka'' (The Whistle, 1905–1906, vol. 5 onwards) and wrote articles for it. He also published the brochure ''Proti alkoholu – brez dvoma!'' (Against Alcohol: Without Doubt!; 1906). In addition, he applied his efforts to building cisterns, waterworks, and roads.''Slovenski biografski leksikon 1925–1991.'' (2009). Electronic edition. Ljubljana: SAZU.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avsec, Franc 1863 births 1943 deaths 19th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests Slovenian editors Slovenian writers Slovenian art historians Conservator-restorers People from the Municipality of Zagorje ob Savi 20th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests