Anton AÅ¡kerc

Anton Aškerc ( born January 9, 1856 in Rimske Toplice, † June 10 1912 in Ljubljana ) was a Slovene poet and Catholic priest.

Life and work

Aškerc was born near the village Rimske Toplice in Slovenia Styria, which was then part of the Austrian Empire, with its accurate place of birth is not known [note 1], as the family at that time was changing. After leaving school in Celje, he attended the Catholic seminary in Maribor in 1880 and was a priest. In the same year he published his first poem entitled Trije popotniki ( " The three travelers ") in the literary magazine Ljubljanski zvon. Since 1881 he published under the pseudonym Gorazd, his first collection of poems Balade in romance ( " Ballads and Romances " ) but again in 1890 under his real name. It was well received by readers and critics of political activists such as the Bishop Anton Mahnič, the Aškerc 's national, free-thinking and progressive social ideals disliked, criticized. Early on, he resigned from the priesthood and worked until his death in the city archives of Ljubljana.

On June 7, 1912 suffered city archivist Anton Aškerc a stroke and was admitted to the National Hospital Ljubljana, where he died in the early morning hours of June 10, 1912. As an honorary member of the Association of Slovene writers support the deceased on 12 June 1912 in the tomb of the association was buried (cemetery to St. Christoph, Ljubljana ) to rest.

One of the main streets of Ljubljana in Slovenia and many places are named after Anton Aškerc.

Works (selection)

• -, Richard Batka: The Last Patrol. Dramatic scene. After the ballad of the same name by Anton Aškerc, by Richard Batka. Dürerbund for Austria, Prague 1905 -. Fulltext online.
• Kapitulacija Ljubljanske trdnjave pred Francozi L. 1809. ( French, German, Slovenian). P n, Ljubljana 1911 -. Fulltext online.