The Slovenian Section (S)

The basis of the Slovenian section is formed by the library of Janko Šlebinger (1876–1951), which contains Slovenian literature from the 18th century until the 20th century. The Enlightenment period is represented by Marko Pohlin’s Slovenian grammar, Kraynska grammatika from 1768, where the author included the historically first defence of the Slovenian language. Valentin Vodnik’s collection of poems Pésme sa pokúshino from 1806, which made the author the very first Slovenian poet. In the 1830s and 1840s, the first volumes of the almanac Krajnska čbelica (1834–1849, 1833–1848), were published. Also the greatest Slovenian poet, France Prešeren, contributed to it. From his works, the Slavonic Library even has one volume published during his life (Poezije Francéta Prešérna from 1847). The library likewise owns the first editions of other classics of Slovenian poetry and prose of the 19th century.

The cultural life awakened by the revolutionary year of 1848 was centred around Janez Bleiweis and his magazine Kmetijske in rokodelske novice (the library contains the title from the beginning of its existence in 1843 until 1883). Patriotic Romantics were grouped around it, including in the first place Anton Slomšek, whose school reading books from the 1830s–1850s can also be found in the collection. The section further comprises the first Slovenian literary review Slovenski Glasnik, which was founded by the poet Anton Janežič in Klagenfurt in 1858, as well as the later review Zvon of Josip Stritar from the 1870s, around which the literary youth grouped.

The section contains important works of Slovenian scientific literature. These include abundant works by the literary scholars Ivan Prijatelj, France Kidrič and Ivan Grafenauer, and the linguists Anton Breznik and Fran Ramovš. The Slavonic Library also owns works by the most important representatives of Slovenian linguistics – the Slavic philologists Jernej Bartol Kopitar, Franc Miklošič and Matija Murko, but they are mostly placed in the general Slavic section. Among the authors of Slovenian literature, the leading figures of Slovenian Modernism Ivan Cankar and the prose writer France Bevk are represented by the highest number of book editions.