Peter Kozler
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Peter Kozler or Kosler (16 February 1824 – 16 April 1879) was a Slovene lawyer, geographer, cartographer, activist, and manufacturer. He was of an ethnic German origin, but identified himself with Slovenian culture and advocated the peaceful coexistence of the Slovene and German cultures in Carniola.
Kozler was born in Koče, a village south of Kočevje in Gottschee County, in what was then the Austrian Kingdom of Illyria, and is now Slovenia. He is probably best known for creating the first map of Slovene Lands, called Zemljovid Slovenske dežele in pokrajin (A Map of the Slovene Land and Regions) at a scale of 1:576000. The map was made during the Spring of Nations in 1848, but published only in 1854 in an almanac called Kratki slovenski zemljopis (Short Slovenian Geography), which is regarded as the first geography atlas using exclusively Slovenian toponyms. In the map, which became known as "Kozler's Map," a red line was drawn, showing the ethnic border of the Slovenes. It was soon confiscated by the Austrian military authorities and made available to the public only in 1861. Kozler was also shortly imprisoned by the Austrian authorities for this reason.
Born in a relatively well-to-do family, Kozler made a fortune with beer manufacturing and was the founder of the UNION Brewery. He gave large amounts of money to support Slovenian cultural associations and institutions. He was close to the conservative Old Slovene political movement.
Kozler died in Ljubljana.
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Kozler bought a mansion just outside the center of Ljubljana (at the beginning of Šiška district), known as the Cekinov grad, and renovated in it in a neoclassical style. Today, the mansion is the National Museum of Contemporary History.
The Kozlers also owned a mansion (Slovene: Kozlerjeva palača) in the center of Ljubljana, close to Congress Square and Čop Street, which was regarded as one of the finest baroque buildings in the city. The building was slated for demolition in 1956 and torn down by the Communist authorities in 19611 in order to widen the nearby street, which caused a public outcry and marked a milestone in the development of postwar urban development in Ljubljana. According an RTV interview with art historian Damjan Prelovšek (16 October 2006), trees now grow at the site of the former building, demonstrating that its demolition was a political decision and unnecessary in order to widen the street.
Kozler also owned a plot of land in the Ljubljana Marshes known as Kozler's Thicket (Slovene: Kozlerjeva gošča). During World War II, the plot was used as a mass grave for victims of the Slovenian Home Guard torturer and killer Franc Frakelj.
In 1999, a Slovenian postal stamp was dedicated to Kozler.2
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Peter Kozler's map of the Slovene Lands
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Kozler's mansion in Tivoli, Ljubljana, now National Museum of Contemporary History
See also
References
- ^ Drnovšek, Marjan, France Rozman, & Peter Vodopivec. 1997. Slovenska kronika XX. stoletja: 1900–1941. Ljubljana: Nova revija, p. 264.
- ^ PS | Poštne znamke