Lovro Toman (10 August 1827 – 15 August 1870) was a Slovene

Romantic nationalist Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

revolutionary activist during the

Revolution of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, known as the person who in Ljubljana, at the

Wolf Street The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though grey ...

8, raised the Slovene tricolor for the first time in history in response to a German flag raised on top of the

Ljubljana Castle Ljubljana Castle (, ) is a castle complex standing on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a key landmark of the town. Originally a medieval fortress, it was probably constructed in the 11th century and rebuilt in t ...

.Celebration of the Slovene Tricolor
(In Slovene: "Praznik slovenske trobojnice"), MMC

RTV Slovenia Radiotelevizija Slovenija () – usually abbreviated to RTV Slovenija, RTV SLO (or simply RTV within Slovenia) – is Slovenia's national public broadcasting organization. Based in Ljubljana, it has regional broadcasting centres in Koper and Ma ...

, 11. april 2013 Later he helped founding one of the first Slovene publishing houses, the ''

Slovenska matica The Slovene Society (, also ) is the second-oldest publishing house in Slovenia, founded on 4 February 1864 as an institution for the scholarly and cultural progress of Slovenes. History The Slovene Society was founded upon the proposal of sev ...

''. He was a Slovene

national conservative National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist conservatism and social conserva ...

politician and member of the

Austrian Parliament The Austrian Parliament () is the bicameral federal legislature of Austria. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene as the Federal Assembly. The legislature meets i ...

. Together with

Janez Bleiweis Janez Bleiweis (19 November 1808 – 29 November 1881) was a Slovene conservative politician, journalist, physician, veterinarian, and public figure. He was the leader of the so-called Old Slovene political movement. Already during his lifetime ...

and

Etbin Henrik Costa Etbin Henrik Costa (18 October 1832 – 28 January 1875) was a Slovenes, Slovene national conservative politician and author. Together with Janez Bleiweis and Lovro Toman, he was one of the leaders of the Old Slovene political party. He was bor ...

, he was part of the leadership of the

Old Slovene Old Slovenes () is a term used for a national conservative political group in the Slovene Lands from the 1850s to the 1870s, which opposed the radical national liberal Young Slovenes. The main Old Slovene leaders were Janez Bleiweis, Lovro Toman, ...

party.

Life

He was born in a wealthy entrepreneurial family in the

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...

n village of Kamna Gorica, in what was then the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, present-day

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. After graduating from the classical lyceum 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 ...

in 1845, he enrolled at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, where he studied law. During his student years, he became influenced by

ideas. He rose to prominence as a political activist during the

. In April 1848, he was among the students who first raised the Slovenian flag in the center of Ljubljana. After the revolution, he continued his studies and graduated from the

University of Graz The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...

. In 1853, he married the poet Josipina Urbančič Turnograjska, who came from one of the wealthiest families in

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

. The two lived 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 ...

until her early death in 1854. He died in Rondaun near

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. ...

, and was buried in his native village of Kamna Gorica.

Political career

After his wife's death he moved to

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 ...

, where he worked as a lawyer. In 1861, he was elected to the

. In the 1860s, he became one of the most powerful leaders of the conservative Old Slovene party, together with

, Luka Svetec, and

. He was also considered among the most popular Slovene politicians in the 19th century. He was known for his vigorous temperament and for his many public functions. Among other things, he was the founder of the ''

'' publishing house and served as its first chairman. His overwhelming influence in the political decision-making in the Slovene National Movement was frequently criticized by his opponents, who sometimes mockingly referred to

as "Tomania".

Controversies

In 1867, he was involved in a scandal around the construction of the railway line between Ljubljana and

Tarvisio Tarvisio ( German and ; ) is a (municipality) in the Regional Decentralization Entity of Udine, in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Geography The town is in the Canal Valley (''Val Canale'') between the Carnic Alps and Ka ...

. He was accused by his opponents of having sold out his vote in favour of the

Austro-Hungarian compromise The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

, which he had previously opposed, in order to achieve the license for the construction of the railway line. These charges were probably unsubstantiated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toman, Lovro 1827 births 1870 deaths People from the Municipality of Radovljica Slovenian Roman Catholics Old Slovenes politicians Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1861–1867) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1867–1870) Members of the Diet of the Duchy of Carniola Lawyers from the Austrian Empire Carniolan lawyers University of Vienna alumni University of Graz alumni