Ljudevit Gaj

Ljudevit Gaj ( born July 8, 1809 in Krapina, † April 20, 1872 in Zagreb) was a Croatian Slavic, philologist, poet, journalist, writer, founder of the new Croatian literature, and as a politician of the main representatives of the Illyrism.

Creation of a Croatian spelling

Gaj received his education at various Hungarian, Austrian and German universities. In Pest, he summed up, stimulated by Ján Kollár, to awaken the idea of a common written language, the Latin -writing South Slavs into a new spiritual life. To this end, he published the font Kratka osnova hrvatsko - slavenskoga pravopisanja ( Short justification of a Croatian- Slavic spelling, furnace 1830). In Zagreb, where he continued his studies, he quickly gathered a circle of like-minded around.

His 1833 song penned Jos Hrvatska ni propala ( Croatia is still not lost ) did much to stimulate national sentiment among Croats in. The activity Gaj and his followers was directed against the Magyarism.

Founding a magazine

Gaj was a doctor of law in Leipzig. He returned, than the national upswing after 1830 also broke with the Southern Slavs days, back to his homeland. There he founded in 1835 a magazine in Slavonic.

As the Hungarian government refused him their surrender, he received permission to do so by Emperor Francis II The language of the newspaper was the most educated Croatian- Dalmatian dialect. The provincial spelling gave way to the Community, which has been simplified by analogy the Bohemian- Polish means of diacritics, and the place of the old lumbering were the Latin characters, which the general understanding generally easier elected.

The magazine was initially Nowine horvazke (Croatian newspaper ), and the entertaining supplement horvazka Danica ( Croatian Morning Star ). As early as next year changed the title in Ilirske Národne novine ( Illyrian People's Daily ) and Danica ilirska ( Illyrian Morgenstern ). Since 1838, the paper was published twice a week in great episode. Through this leaves Gaj reached the acceptance of his new spelling of pages of almost all Roman Catholic South Slavs (mostly Croats and Slovenes ) and a literary unit of the same.

The new written language

To be able to proceed in accordance with the introduction of newly applied written language, Gaj procured in 1839 from the government grant to a print shop, from which since that time emerged a series of writings, some of the scientific justification of the new written language strove, partly intellectual recovery of the South Slavs opportunity offered to publish the results thereof in the home itself.

Of course, the influence was a powerful. Already in 1842 was the Illyrian agricultural society that česká in that year according to the pattern of Matice an institution founded in Illyrian Language: Matica ilirska ( 1874 Matica hrvatska ) which made ​​itself the task of the writer of Dubrovnik ( Ragusa ) School of 15 surrendered to the 18th century, and began with the edition of the works of Ivan Gundulić from the 16th century.

Later, a National Women's Club, which took over the publication and dissemination of didactic and moral writings on people was formed. At the same tip was located Ljudevits wife Pauline Gaj. This literary rebirth designed gradually so that already in 1844 the Illyrian National newspaper had " Croatian - Slavonian " return to order of the government to its former name. Which began intellectual and literary movements could not be undone, and the hatred against the Magyars on the part of the South Slavs multiplied.

Gaj influence

Elected several times into the Hungarian Reichstag, Ljudevit Gaj searched in vain understanding with the Magyars; Nor, he managed to reach an agreement with the Greek Orthodox Slavs.

In 1848, Gaj was a Croatian delegation in Vienna and received the appointment as " Imperial Council ". He procured there the right to elect a Ban of Croatia and called upon his return to Zagreb, a People's Assembly, which brought Joseph Jelacic of Bužim to Ban. After the reactionary events of March he was suspected to have done the same services.

The present estate of Mirogoj cemetery in Zagreb was formerly part owned by Ljudevit Gaj. Due to high cost of maintenance of the huge area the Mirogoj property was sold at a public auction at the City of Zagreb. Subsequently, plans for an assembly of many smaller cemeteries of the county were specified to a central cemetery.

In his last years he lived from all public relations away in Zagreb and dealt with the collection of Illyrian works, in which he has already brought it to a very sizeable and valuable for the Slavic language and history researchers results. As a writer himself Gaj activity is limited only to a few newspaper articles. Gaj died on 20 April 1872 in Zagreb. He was buried at the Mirogoj Cemetery in Zagreb.

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