200 Years of the Celje–Samobor Wiesner Livadić Family

Abstract

The Wiesner family, originally from Celje, made a significant contribution to Croatian cultural history over a period of 200 years. Ferdinand Wiesner from Celje, lawyer and composer, was 10 when he inherited an estate and a mansion from his aunt, who was his father’s sister and the widow of the court advisor Franjo von Tisztapataky; the 10-year old moved to Samobor with his parents. He was the central figure of the Illyrian movement in Croatia, “the first and finest musician of Illyria as was epitomized by Napoleon from a political and Janko Drašković and Ljudevit Gaj from a literary and political sense”. In Illyrian fashion, he translated his family name into Livadić. His mansion, “the Illyrian Nest” in Samobor, became a meeting place for famous protagonists of the Illyrian movement, among them Ferdo’s good friend, the Slovenian–Croatian poet Stanko Vraz. Ferdinand’s son, Kamilo Wiesner–Livadić, was a lawyer, notary and (amateur) opera singer, who performed in the first Croatian opera Love and Hate by Vatroslav Lisinski. His grandson Branimir was a writer, a member of Croatian Modern, a literary theoretician and president of the Croatian Pen Club between the world wars. Ferdinand’s great grandson and Kamilo’s grandson, Kamilo Tompa, was a painter, scenographer and university professor.