Slavonian village stories
Slavonian village stories is a collection of short stories by Victor von Reisner that appeared in 1902.
With this book, the German-speaking writer Victor von Reisner, who comes from Slavonia , created an interesting example of regional literature. Reisner came from a distinguished German-speaking family that had lived in Slavonia for 100 years. He took his material from this country, but wrote in German, which meant he was unsuccessful in a time of increasing nationalism - neither in the German-speaking area nor in the countries of what would later become Yugoslavia . From today's perspective, however, his authentic descriptions of South Slavic folk life contribute to a better understanding of those countries for German-speaking readers.
The preface says: In this book, Victor von Reisner offers delightful stories from his closer home. Country and people, seriousness and jokes pass the reader's mind and arouse curiosity about those areas that have not yet been touched by a modern culture .
The Slavonian village stories, which Reisner dedicated to his mother, represent the backward and archaic world of Slavonian farmers from an enlightened point of view. Although often written with humor and with a wink, the sympathy and affection for the common population is palpable. The main topics are the backwardness of the village structures and the farmers' deep-rooted distrust of the state and administration.
The collection contains 6 stories. Die Pious humorously describes the dignitaries of a Slavonian village who steal from the treasury without hesitation, but still consider themselves pious and honest. The last Doria is the story of a cowherd who gets into the wonderful world of the city of Osijek , where he sees multi-storey houses for the first time. The Guslar describes one of those folk singers who keep great treasures in their memories of Old Slavic chants and Cardinal Josip Juraj Strossmayer , who is very revered by Reisner , who tries to record these chants and preserve them for posterity. The Blood Brotherhood describes the archaic conditions on the Serbian-Turkish border, where robbery, murder and the sale of one's own daughters across the border are commonplace. The Jew is the story of a Jew in the Slavonian village who mocks and despises, nevertheless makes his way and is not bitter against all prejudices, but earns respect and success. Nazarener describes the fate of a peasant boy who, coming out of prison, finds a new home in the religious community of the Nazarenes, which is free from many of the traditional bad habits of the Slavonian peasants.
output
- Victor von Reisner: Slavonian village stories . Publishing house for modern literature, Berlin 1902
literature
- Vlado Obad: Slavonska Književnost na njemačkom jeziku , 1989 (Baron Victor von Reisner- Esseker Windbag and Berlin Bohemian)