»Stavba znamenja – perviga spominka slovenskiga djanja«

Prešeren's cemetery monument – the first slovenian public monument

Abstract

The cemetery monument to the poet France Prešeren in Kranj was the first Slovenian public memorial to be erected as a result of a massive public awareness initiative that arose at the time of his death in February 1849. A special Committee of the Slovenian Association was founded at the funeral reception, and entrusted with the construction of the memorial and maintenance of the poet's grave. The papers Novice and Laibacher Zeitung both published news of the Committee's fundraising drive and the names of all benefactors. The fundraising drive took place in all the Slovenian provinces. The greatest amount of contributions was made in Carniola, and some of the funds raised even came from Croatia. The cemetery monument in the form of a simple relief image carved into a column was carved by the Ljubljana stonemason Ignacij Toman Jr., following the plans of an unknown Viennese architect. As the memorial needed to be located in an open space, the Committee applied for permission to exhume the poet's mortal remains, and Prešeren's coffin was subsequently moved from its original unremarkable resting place by the wall of the cemetery to a much more prestigious location. The memorial was unveiled on July 3, 1852. The opinion voiced by the authorities regarding the ceremony was that it had no political overtones.