Johann Matthias Korabinsky

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Johann Mathias Korabinsky (born February 23, 1740 in Eperies , † June 23, 1811 in Preßburg ) was a teacher , topographer and writer .

Johann Matthias Korabinsky (around 1800) Engraving by Putz, after an etching by Ferdinand Ruscheweyh .

Live and act

Johann Mathias Korabinsky ( Hungarian : János Mátyás Korabinszky, Slovak : Ján Matej Korabinský, German modern spelling: Johann Matthias) was born in the city of Eperies (now Prešov in Slovakia ), in the Sharosher County of the Kingdom of Hungary . First he completed the grammar school in his place of birth and, after being orphaned at an early age , continued his education at the Protestant Lyceum in Preßburg (today Bratislava ) from 1756 .

After completing his studies in 1759, he also got a job as a teacher at this traditional educational establishment. In addition to his teaching activities at the Lyceum, he soon founded a girls' institute in which daughters of the higher classes received a variety of lessons and in which the curriculum of the pupils also played a very important role in the acquisition of Hungarian and French .

After seven years, Korabinsky had to give up the educational institution due to the poor number of participants and his poor financial situation. He then went on a study trip through Germany from 1769 . On this trip he first visited a few social institutions and a number of progressive educational institutions. Then he stayed with his uncle , who lived in the county of Oldenburg , and finally accepted the invitation of his compatriot, Gottfried Schwarz, who taught at the Alma Ernestina in Rinteln .

Korabinsky settled down here for a longer study visit and took on a position as an educator and private tutor for the local Baron von Hammerstein . In addition to his work, he attended university and studied theology , history and philosophy with the gentlemen, Schrader, Müller and Winpacher, and he also enjoyed the conversations with his mentor, Doctor Schwarz. After studying for two years, however, he was drawn back home.

Korabinsky, title page: “Description of the royal. Hungarian capital, Frey and Coronation City Pressburg ”from 1784.

When he returned to Pressburg, he initially accepted a position as an educator in the house of Herr von Vörös. He then took part in the bookstore and printing works of the publisher Johann Michael Landerer, the editor of the Pressburger Zeitung , which has been published since 1764. From 1774 Korabinsky took over the editing of the renowned paper and, as the responsible editor , shaped the style of this newspaper until 1784 . He also succeeded in publishing a number of his literary works in that era.

In 1780 Korabinsky bought a library for 1000 guilders , which the city of Pressburg confiscated and offered for sale in favor of the pupil office . For this considerable sum, for which his brother-in-law also vouched, he finally had to cede his entire property to the city of Pressburg as security. Also in 1780 he made an application for permission to trade books for the city of Pressburg. However, his application was unsuccessful. At the beginning of the year 1785 Korabinsky went again on a longer educational trip which again led him through the German states. He attended the Freemason School in Dresden , the Philanthropinum in Dessau , the country school of Mr. von Rochow in Reckahn as well as the trading school in Magdeburg . He also showed great interest in Samuel Heinicke's institute for the deaf and dumb in Leipzig , the orphanage in Halle and the large Potsdam military orphanage . After a stay in Berlin , during which he also examined the school teacher seminar in addition to the singing school , he turned back to his hometown of Pressburg.

When he got home, he became a partner in the up-and-coming business of the book printer Simon Peter Weber, who had been running a small book printer in Michaelergasse in Pressburg since 1783 and who intended to open a bookstore. Korabinsky's main work, the “Producten-Lexikon Ungarns” and other of his works then appeared in the “Weber and Korabinskyschen Verlag ”. After controversies arose in the collaboration, Korabinsky and Weber ended their business relationship at the end of 1787.

In the course of 1788 Korabinsky ran into enormous economic difficulties. After he fell behind with the repayments from the library purchase towards the city of Pressburg and his brother-in-law also pressed for repayment of the guarantee , he had to submit to enforcement in August 1789. It "is not his vault and all his Habschaft, and prepares a sad end to his real existence in Bratislava."

Korabinsky: Title page, Atlas of the Kingdom of Hungary 1804.

After Korabinsky had lost all of his fortune and also lost his citizenship rights in Bratislava , he emigrated to Vienna in October 1789 and found accommodation with a good friend. Here in Vienna his greatest endeavor was to find donors in order to be able to publish his manuscripts. At first, the prefect of the Imperial Court Library , Gottfried van Swieten, supported him with advice and action. For the book, Lexicon of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia , he finally found a businessman in the Viennese bookseller Oehler who wanted to take over the printing. However, when the printing costs were no longer covered, Oehler stopped work after the 18th print sheet.

Korabinsky now accepted the position of tutor in the house of the Hornbostel family of manufacturers in Vienna . This position allowed him to continue his literary activities in addition to teaching the children. During these years the Handatlas of Hungary and the Water and Product Map of Hungary were created, the printing of which was financially supported by the two Hungarian magnates Nicolaus Forgacz and Ferenc Széchényi . When Christian Gottlieb Hornbostel died in June 1809 and Korabinsky lost his teaching position as a result, he moved to his daughter's house in Pressburg and lived in their household in modest circumstances. From 1810 he received an annual pension of 400 guilders from Archduke Josef Anton , the Hungarian palatine . Korabinsky was not able to enjoy this pension for much longer, however, because he died in Pressburg in June 1811 at the age of 71.

Works (selection)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bredetzky: Korabinsky, Annalen der Literatur, p. 227
personal data
SURNAME Korabinsky, Johann Matthias
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Korabinszky, János Mátyás; Korabinský, Ján Matej
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Teacher, topographer and writer
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1740
PLACE OF BIRTH Eperies Kingdom of Hungary
DATE OF DEATH June 23, 1811
Place of death Pressburg