Ljubljana, capitol - French. Austrian and Jewish connections

In the city, there are canals and other waterways, markets, and this Square commemorating the French. The French occupied Ljubljana from 1809-1813; then the area came under Austrian control. See www.ljubljana.si/en/ljubljana/history/18th-19th/default. There you will find more on Ljubljana in the 18th-19th Centuries.



Napoleon is well respected here, and the French are seen as less exploitative than other occupiers. See www.ijs.si/slo/ljubljana/ for more on Ljubljana.



The Jewish population was small by 1919, and they joined with the Jewish community in Zagreb, Croatia. Their history in Slovenia dates from Roman days. See www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/slovenia. Do look up Jewish history and culture in Slovenia and the other Balkan countries. The populations were decimated in World War II in many places. Renewals are happening, though, and the European Jewish Press cited a specific annual day of celebration of Jewish culture, held in Ljubljana this year. See www.ejpress.org/article/news/10772.

Ljubljana - Peasant Uprising 1515 - Ordinary people, independence

Slovenian Peasants' Revolt 1515
See look-back at Contemporary Peasants Uprisings: Issues

Peasants' Revolt 1515, Memorial, Ljubljana, Slovenia

A theme of traveling is finding monuments to people casting off shackles of one kind or another.

In Slovenia, Croatia, elsewhere, it takes the form of peasants rebelling. See //www.posavski-muzej.si/puntarijaang.htm. Here is the 1974 statue on the grounds of Ljubljana Castle commemorating the revolt here in 1515.

Peasants' revolt.

Read Slovenian history at ://www.slovenia.si/history/habsburgs/.

The peasants' revolts continued from the 1500's until the mid-19th Century. Invaders took over the ancient Carantania as it was known, and I understand that the people were 'Vends' or Vendic, in Germany known as Wends, a group that also stretched into large areas of what is now northern Germany.

Among the Carantanians, female succession was considered normal. Women enjoyed full rights of action, protection by law, as any man - the Slavica Lex. No wonder the Roman tradition of Christianity could not stand them.

Then came the German Swabians, with a male culture and stamped out the Slavica Lex, then came the Austrian Habsburgs, and on and on.

Ireland: Another peasants' revolt.  See Vinegar Hill., near Wexford, and the farm boys getting out their pikes from the haystacks where they had hidden them, and holding out - not long - against the English Cromwell and his cannons. See Ireland Road Ways, Wexford.

Everyman as Peasant. Ordinary people worldwide. 


Put your own face on ordinary people doing these brave things. Look in your own family albums or second-hand shops for those unnamed faces.

This is not a Slovenian, to my knowledge; it came from a dear elderly friend's trunk, long forgotten after her death many years ago; but he could have been in the ranks anywhere of people trying to get out from under.

Ljubljana and Jason - Golden Fleece

This is Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia. A kind of Venice. Many squares, canals, waterways. Wonderful for walking, with canals coming together with bridges all over.

We are told that Ljubljana was founded by the Greek hero, Jason, who arrived with his Argonauts seeking the Golden Fleece. More at www.ljubljana.si/en/ljubljana/history/default. Find the Ljubljana -Jason connection.

There is more on Ljubljana's past also at that site. Slovenia is a Western Balkan country, but its connections flow strongly to France and Austria.



More blogs about Slovenia Road Ways.