Johann Weikhard von Valvasor

Last updated

Johann Weikhard von Valvasor
Janez Vajkard Valvasor
Janez Vajkard Valvasor.jpg
Valvasor in 1689
Born1641
Laibach, Carniola, Austria
(now Ljubljana, Slovenia)
DiedSeptember or October 1693 (aged 52)
Gurkfeld, Carniola, Austria
(now Krško, Slovenia)
Known for nobleman, scholar, polymath
TitleMember of the Royal Society
SpouseAnna Rosina Valvasor née Grafenweger
Parent(s)Bartholomäus von Valvasor
Anna Maria von Valvasor née Rauber
Valvasor's The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola, published 1689 Izvirnik Slave vojvodine Kranjske iz leta 1689.jpg
Valvasor's The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola , published 1689
Title page of his Topographia Archiducatus Carinthiae antiquae et modernae completa, 1688 Topographia Archiducatus Carinthiae antiquae et modernae completa (title page).jpg
Title page of his Topographia Archiducatus Carinthiae antiquae et modernae completa, 1688
Valvasor's map of Carniola in Die Ehre dess Hertzogthums Crain Herzogtum Krain - JWV Buch 2 141-142.jpeg
Valvasor's map of Carniola in Die Ehre deß Hertzogthums Crain

Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor [Note 1] or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor [Note 2] (Slovene : Janez Vajkard Valvasor, pronounced [ˈʋáːlʋazɔɾ] ) [2] or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, present-day Slovenia, and a fellow of the Royal Society in London.

Contents

He is known as a pioneer in the study of karst topography. Together with his other writings, until the late 19th century his best-known work—the 1689 Glory of the Duchy of Carniola , published in 15 books in four volumes—was the main source for older Slovenian history, making him one of the precursors of modern Slovenian historiography. [3]

Biography

Valvasor was born in the town of Ljubljana (Laibach), at the time the principal city of Duchy of Carniola, today the capital of Slovenia, to an aristocratic family originally from Bergamo, Italy. [4] In the 16th century, it was Johann Baptist Valvasor who moved the Valvasor family to the Duchy of Carniola in central Europe, to a part of the Habsburg monarchy that is now part of Slovenia. In medieval Latin Valvasor or Valvasore held the meaning 'carrier of a feud'. [5]

Neither the exact day nor the actual place of Valvasor's birth are known, but his baptism was registered at Ljubljana Cathedral, where he was baptized Joannes Waichard Valvasor. [6] He was the twelfth child born to Bartholomäus and Anna Maria Freiin von Rauber, who only lived at Medija Castle in Izlake but also had a town residence in Ljubljana at Old Square. His godparents were Freiherr (Baron) Konrad Ruess von Ruessenstein from Strmol Castle and Regina Dorothea Rasp from Krumperk Castle.

Valvasor's father died when the boy was ten years old. His mother died when he was 16. At the time he was attending the Jesuit school in Ljubljana. [7] Graduating in 1659 at the age of seventeen, he did not choose to continue his studies at a university but decided to broaden his horizons by meeting learned men on a journey across Europe. This journey lasted fourteen years and it even took him to northern Africa. During this period, he joined the army in the Austro-Turkish War, where he became closely acquainted with the conditions on the Croatian Military Frontier.

Shortly after marrying 13-year-old Anna Rosina Grafenweger in 1672, Valvasor acquired Bogenšperk Castle near Litija, where he arranged a writing, drawing and printing workshop. Valvasor spent a fortune on the publishing of his books; towards the end of his life, his debts forced him to sell Bogenšperk Castle, his vast library and his collection of prints. In 1690, Aleksandar Ignacije Mikulić, the Bishop of Zagreb, bought his library, along with some 7,300 graphics, and moved it to Slavonia, where the collection became part of the library of the Zagreb Archbishopric, now part of the Croatian State Archives. [8] In 1692, he lost most of his wealth after he invested in travel, graphics and printbooks which proved unprofitable. He had nine children, among them daughters Maria Sidonia, Maximilla Kordula, Johanna Rosina, and Anna Theresia, and sons Wolfang Waikhard, Johann Gottlieb, Johann Ludwig, Johann Wolfgang Engelbert, and Franz Joseph. Five children died very early, and then, when delivering their last child in 1687, Anna Maria Rosina died as well. Just three months after her death, Valvasor married Baroness Anna Maximilla Zetschker of Vrhovo. They had four children. In 1693, the same year that their last child, Franz Engelbert, was baptized, Valvasor died at age 52 in Krško.

He is believed to have been buried in the family crypt at Medija Castle, [9] but this is uncertain. [1] The Yugoslav Partisans dynamited the castle in 1944 [10] and no trace of his putative grave remains today. [9]

Legacy

The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola

Valvasor's most important work remains The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola (original title: Die Ehre deß Herzogthums Crain, [11] [12] Slovene: Slava vojvodine Kranjske), published in 1689 [13] in 15 books (four volumes), totalling 3532 pages and including 528 illustrations and 24 appendices, which provides a vivid description of Carniola at the time. He also recorded the first written document on vampires when he wrote on the legend of a vampire in Istria named Jure Grando. [14] [15]

From 2009 until 2012, it was translated into Slovene by Doris, Primož and Božidar Debenjak. The initiator, project manager, editor and technical editor of this monumental publishing project was Tomaž Čeč. [16]

Karst research

Valvasor was a pioneer of study of karst phenomena. Upon the proposal of Edmond Halley, who was not only an astronomer but also a geophysicist, and in 1687 his extensive treatise on the hydrology of intermittent Lake Cerknica won him a fellowship of the Royal Society. [17]

Works

Notes

  1. ↑ The word "Freiherr" denotes a baron. Valvasor never officially held the title, but was referred to as such by the people who admired him and gradually adopted it also himself in his writings. [1]
  2. ↑ Although the spelling Weichard is used in Die Ehre... and Topographia..., the spelling Weikhard is more common in printed sources today.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola</i>

The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola is an encyclopedia published in Nuremberg in 1689 by the polymath Johann Weikhard von Valvasor. It is the most important work on his homeland, the Duchy of Carniola, the present-day central part of Slovenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Cerknica</span> Intermittent lake in Slovenia

Lake Cerknica is an intermittent lake in the southern part of the Cerknica Polje, a karst polje in Inner Carniola, a region in southwestern Slovenia. The lake, oriented in the Dinaric direction from northwest to southeast, is present for the most part of the year. When full, it is the largest lake in the country. The plain is surrounded by the Javornik Hills to the south and Slivnica to the north, both belonging to Dinaric Alps. The area of the lake mainly reaches 28 square kilometres (11 sq mi), but can reach up to 38 km2 (15 sq mi) and the surface level varies from 546 m (1,791 ft) to 551 m (1,808 ft) above sea level. The lake is an important wildlife resort, especially as a nesting place for many bird species. Botanically, it is distinguished by amphibious plants. It is therefore a part of two Natura 2000 areas of protection and the focus of the Inner Carniola Regional Park, which covers additional Natura 2000 areas in the broader region. The climate in the area is continental, with a mean temperature of 9.2 °C (48.6 °F) and the annual precipitation about 1,700 millimetres (67 in). The largest settlement at the border of the lake is Cerknica, located north of the lake. Various watersports, including rowing, are popular on the lake.

Postojna Cave is a 24.34 km (15.12 mi) long karst cave system near Postojna, southwestern Slovenia. It is the second-longest cave system in the country as well as one of its top tourism sites. The caves were created by the Pivka River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Museum of Slovenia</span> Slovenian museum

The National Museum of Slovenia is located in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is located in the Center district of the city near Tivoli City Park. Along with the Slovenian Museum of Natural History, located in the same building, the National Museum of Slovenia is the country's oldest scientific and cultural institution. The museum has an extensive collection of archaeological artefacts, old coins and banknotes and displays related to the applied arts. In 2021 it's been given the golden Order for Exceptional Merits by the president of Slovenia, Borut Pahor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. James's Parish Church (Ljubljana)</span>

St. James's Parish Church is a church in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is dedicated to St. James the Greater. Its name is often incorrectly translated as St. Jacob's because Slovene, like many other languages, uses the same word for both James and Jacob.

Hans Weilhammer was a sixteenth-century politician in Slovenia when the country was under the Holy Roman Empire. Weilhammer may have come to Ljubljana from Salzburg. He became mayor of Ljubljana in 1536 and was the first mayor to serve a term of eight years, double the previous longest term. He was succeeded by Volk Gebhardt in 1544.

Nanos is a karst limestone plateau at the eastern border of the Inner Carniola in southwestern Slovenia.

Gracar Turn is a 14th-century castle on the northern outskirts of Hrastje in the Municipality of Šentjernej in the traditional region of Lower Carniola in southeastern Slovenia.

Izlake is a settlement in the Municipality of Zagorje ob Savi in the Central Sava Valley, central Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Upper Carniola. It is now included with the rest of the municipality in the Central Sava Statistical Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krško Castle</span>

Krško Castle is a 12th-century castle ruin to the right of the Sava above the old center of the town of Krško, southeastern Slovenia. It stands in the territory of the settlement of Cesta. The castle and town are both named after the nearby Krka River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kozjak Castle</span>

Kozjak Castle is a 13th-century castle ruin on a rocky hill above the village of Dolenje Selce near the town of Dobrnič, part of the Municipality of Trebnje in Lower Carniola, Slovenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bogenšperk Castle</span> Castle in central Slovenia

Bogenšperk Castle is a 16th-century castle located in the Municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji in central Slovenia. It is best known for its association with the 17th-century scientist and natural historian Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, a fellow of the Royal Society in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lihtenberk Castle</span>

Lihtenberk Castle is a 13th-century castle ruin located in the Municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji in central Slovenia, directly adjacent to the later Bogenšperk Castle. It is best known for a minor association with the 17th-century historian Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, who owned the ruin and styled himself "von Lichtenberg."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgil von Graben</span> Austrian noble, politician and diplomat

Virgil von Graben, also Virgil vom Graben, was an Austrian noble, politician and diplomat. He was one of the most important noblemen and officials in the County of Gorizia and in the Habsburg Empire of Frederick III. and Maximilian I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medija Castle</span> Settlement in Slovenia

Medija Castle is a castle ruin located in the southern part of the settlement of Podlipovica, west of Izlake, in the Municipality of Zagorje ob Savi, central-eastern Slovenia. The castle and its stables were destroyed by the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II. The castle chapel was later restored and now serves as a venue for plays, concerts, and other cultural events, as well as weddings.

Ulrich II von Graben was a Styrian noble, a member of the edelfrei Von Graben family. He held the titles as Lord of Kornberg and Graben, as well as burgrave of Gleichenberg, Rothenfels and Hohenwang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Šmarčna</span> Place in Lower Carniola, Slovenia

Šmarčna is a settlement on the right bank of the Sava River in the Municipality of Sevnica in east-central Slovenia. The area is part of the historical region of Lower Carniola. The municipality is now included in the Lower Sava Statistical Region. The settlement includes the hamlet of Gomila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann Ludwig Schönleben</span>

Johann Ludwig Schönleben was a Carniolan priest, rhetorician, and historian.

Konrad Adam Glušič, was a clergyman and bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana. He was born in Komen or near Gornji Grad. He was appointed bishop in 1571. He died in 1578.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulrich I von Graben</span>

Ulrich I von (vom) Graben was a burgrave and knight from the Austrian Herren von Graben family

References

  1. 1 2 Golec, Boris (2007). "Neznano in presenetljivo o življenju, družini, smrti, grobu in zapuščini Janeza Vajkarda Valvasorja" [Hitherto Unknown and Surprising Findings about the Life, Family, Death, Gravesite, and Legacy of Janez Vajkard Valvasor](PDF). Zgodovinski časopis [Historical review]: Glasilo Zveze zgodovinskih društev Slovenije (in Slovenian, English, and German). 61 (3–4): 303–364. ISSN   0350-5774. COBISS   27721261. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Slovenski pravopis 2001" . Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Reisp, Branko et al. (1987): Korespondenca Janeza Vajkarda Valvasorja z Royal Society. Ljubljana: SAZU, p. 15.
  4. ↑ "Johann Weikhard von Valvasor: Slovenian by homeland, European by spirit". bogensperk.si. Retrieved 15 February 2003. The noble family of Valvasor originates from Bergamo in northern Italy.
  5. ↑ Dizionario universale delle arti e delle scienze, vol. 9. Venice: Giambatista Pasquali. 1749. pp. 16–17.
  6. ↑ Taufbuch. Ljubljana – Sv. Nikolaj. 1638–1643. p. 163. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  7. ↑ Dolgan, Marjan; Fridl, Jerneja; Volk, Manca (2014). "Janez Vajkard / Johann Weikhard Valvasor". Slovenski književniki v Ljubljani[Slovene Literates in Ljubljana] (in Slovenian). ZRC. p. 215. ISBN   9789612547110.
  8. ↑ Croatian State Archives, Division of the Zagreb Archbishopy. Retrieved 3 April 2009 (in Croatian) Archived 19 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  9. 1 2 "Valvasor, Janez Vajkard, baron". Slovenski biografski leksikon. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  10. ↑ Information sign posted at Medija Castle.
  11. ↑ Johann Weichard von Valvasor: Die Ehre Deß Hertzogthums Crain, Das ist, Wahre, gründliche, und recht eigendliche Gelegen- und Beschaffenheit dieses, in manchen alten und neuen Geschicht-Büchern zwar rühmlich berührten, doch bishero nie annoch recht beschriebenen Römisch-Keyserlichen herrlichen Erblandes : Anjetzo, Vermittelst einer vollkommenen und ausführlichen Erzehlung aller seiner Landschafften, Felder ... alter und neuer Denckwürdigkeiten ... Jn Funffzehen, wiewol in vier Haupt-Theile unterschiedenen, Büchern, wie auch häuffigen Abrissen und zierlichen Kupffer-Figuren, ausgebreitet / von Johann Weichard Valvasor, Freyherrn. Aber Jn reines Teutsch gebracht von Erasmum Francisci. Laybach, Anno MDCLXXXIX.
  12. ↑ Ley, Willy (February 1968). "Epitaph for a Lonely Olm". For Your Information. Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 95–104.
  13. ↑ Die Ehre dess Hertzogthums Crain. Leipzig. 1689. pp. 549 [i.e. 529].{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  14. ↑ Boris Perić, Vampir , Biblioteka 21, Zagreb ( Naklada Ljevak) 2006. (Croat) ISBN   953-178-741-7
  15. ↑ Boris Perić, Vampir, translated into Slovene by Iztok Osojnik, Zbirka Beri globalno, Ljubljana (Tuma) 2007. ISBN   978-961-6682-05-3
  16. ↑ "Veliki podvig prevajanja Valvasorja je zaključen". MMC RTV Slovenija. RTV Slovenija. 6 June 2012.
  17. ↑ Reisp, Branko et al. 1987. Korespondenca Janeza Vajkarda Valvasorja z Royal Society. Ljubljana: SAZU, p. 15.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.