With “Slavic Faith,” Past the Black-and-Yellow Border Posts into the Land of the Hyperborean Kingdom

The “Travelogue sketches” by Gvidon Sernec in Slovenski narod 1901-1902

Abstract

The article deals with the forgotten “travelogue sketches” that were published sporadically by the liberal daily newspaper Slovenski narod during the period of the Slovenian struggle for emancipation, which was heavily influenced by the idea of pan-Slavism. The author of the texts was Dr Gvidon Sernec from a Slovenian-speaking, middle-class family in Celje, an active cultural worker and member of the gymnastics organization Sokol, and later a lawyer in Celje. At the turn of the century, visits to Russia were considered the ultimate sobering experience regarding the attitude towards the (self-)declared Slavic patron. The process started with Fran Celestin, was continued by Matija Murko, Ljudevit Stiasny and Anton Aškerc, and was consolidated by Bogumil Vošnjak. Because they were published in non-literary media and over a long period of time, Sernec’s accounts were not included in any anthologies of Slovenian travel writing; however, they provide an insight in the then mind set of a young traveler, thirsty for life experience and adventures, who used both planned and sporadic meetings and acquaintances to compare the mental states and profiles of two divergent Slavic ethnic groups.