Hermagoras Association
The Hermagoras club in Klagenfurt ( Slovenian : Mohorjeva družba v Celovcu also short, only Hermagoras the bishop was called) in 1851 at the suggestion of Anton Martin Slomšek of Carinthian Slovene intellectuals in Klagenfurt (Slovenian Celovec ) as Hermagorasbruderschaft founded. Anton Janežič and Andrej Einspiel were in charge . It is named after St. Hermagoras .
The purpose of the association was to publish good Slovenian, Christian and patriotic books for the Slovenian-speaking population in the Habsburg monarchy and to sell them at cost price. The founders also mentioned the intellectual and cultural education of the Slovene population on the basis of Christian values, the promotion of the Slovene language and literature and the endeavor to offer Slovene writers a forum for the publication of their works as further goals of the association.
Since the association could not develop its activities satisfactorily in the first decade of its existence, it was dissolved in 1860 and reorganized into an ecclesiastical brotherhood (Hermagorasbruderschaft). From then on, priests and pastors acted as shop stewards for the publishing house in the entire Slovene-speaking area. With a new program, especially the annual handing out of books (calendars, evening stories and other useful books), the publisher succeeded in addressing a wide audience. In 1871 the company opened its own printing plant in Klagenfurt, and in 1894 the parent company on Viktringer Ring 26 was completed. The number of members of the publishing house rose to over 90,000 by 1918.
After the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy, the Hermagoras Association also had to reorganize. During the turmoil of the conflict over southern Carinthia between 1918 and 1920 (“ defensive battle ” and referendum ), the printing company and its employees withdrew to Prevalje / Prävali in what is now Slovenia, formerly part of the Crown Land of Carinthia. The print shop later moved to Celje (Cilli). From this the "Cillier Hermagoras Association" ( celjska Mohorjeva družba ) emerged, which is still active in Slovenia.
In 1924 in Gorizia the "Gorizia Hermagoras Club" ( Goriška Mohorjeva družba ), as a large part of the Slovene-speaking population (Slovenian coastal region and part of the Notranjska ) after the First World War in Italy had fallen and were to be delivered no Slovenian books to Italy . This association is still successfully publishing Slovene and partly Italian books, mainly for the Slovene-speaking population in Italy.
The Klagenfurt Hermagoras Association continued to exist in Klagenfurt, but did not develop any activity worth mentioning, as apparently no printing company in Carinthia was ready to print Slovenian books. Even the Slovenian weekly “Koroški Slovenec” ( Carinthian Slovene ) had to be printed in a Czech print shop in Vienna. The annual book delivery was obtained from Celje.
As early as 1940, the National Socialist rulers dissolved the Hermagoras Association and confiscated its assets. After the war, the association's activities could be revived. Its first chairman, Valentin Podgorc, managed to get back part of the confiscated property; the first book edition appeared in 1947 (for 1948). The Hermagoras Association in Klagenfurt did not limit itself to the publishing industry and tried to offer the Carinthian Slovenes as extensive a range of educational and cultural activities as possible. In 1951 a new printing company was able to start operations, and the association devoted itself increasingly to the education of young people in school dormitories. The Korotan dormitory is operated in Vienna and a bilingual bookshop in Klagenfurt. The association has successfully run a private, bilingual primary school in Klagenfurt since 1989.
The publisher publishes around 50 to 60 books annually and has also established itself in the field of textbooks, especially for the bilingual school system in Carinthia.