Johann Weichard of Valvasor

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Johann Weichard Valvasor

Johann Weichard Valvasor , Freiherr zu Galleneck and Neudorff, Herr zu Wagensperg and Liechtenberg, Slovenian Janez Vajkard Valvasor (* May 1641 in Laibach ; † September 19, 1693 in Gurkfeld ), was a nobleman in the Habsburg Duchy of Carniola and an important polymath , topographer and Historian .

Life

childhood

The date of birth and the place of birth of Johann Weichard have not been passed down, but the surviving baptismal records show that he was baptized as a Catholic on May 28, 1641 in the Ljubljana Cathedral . Baron Konrad Ruess von Ruessenstein from Stermol (Strmol) and Regina Dorothea Rasp from Kreutberg (Krumperk) acted as godparents.

His father, Baron Bartholomew Valvasor was-general of the Krainer estates , state committee member and owner of Oberkrainer gentlemen Gallenegg (Medija) and Gallen Berg ( Gamberk ). The mother, Freiin Anna Maria, came from the old Krainer noble family Rauber . The parents had been married since 1632, Johann Weichard was their twelfth child.

It is not known where Johann Weichard spent his childhood. Certainly on his parents' property, in the Ljubljana city domicile on the Alter Markt (Stari trg 4), on Gallenegg Castle and on the district court of Gallenberg Castle, which his father acquired in Johann Weichard's year of birth.

Cultural geography and history

A couple of volumes from “Die Ehre des Hertzogthums Crain”, from 1689

Johann Weichard acquired his amazingly universal education at various universities and as an officer during the Turkish wars , but also on trips through many European countries and to Africa.

His descriptions of landscape, culture and architecture of its Krainer home, but also the neighboring duchies of Carinthia and Styria were praised. His descriptions of cities, castles and palaces as well as natural monuments in Carinthia and Carniola are important to this day. Valvasor's works are also important for historiography, as he collected a great deal of information, the sources of which are now partially lost.

Drawings and sketches

Valvasor made a large number of drawings and sketches of the cities, markets, monasteries, castles and palaces in these countries. Among others, these sketches were used by the illustrator Andreas Trost for copperplate engravings , which were found in the Topographia Ducatus Carniolae modernae (1679), the Topographia Archiducatus Carinthiae antiquae & modernae completa (1688; Carinthia was, however, not an Archduchy) and in The Honor of the Hertduchy of Crain (1689) were reprinted. Valvasor had set up his own engraving workshop for consolation at his Wagensberg Castle (Slovenian Bogenšperk ) near Littai ( Litija ).

Hydrological statistics

Valvasor's development of statistical methods for hydrology was groundbreaking and, in particular, his description of Lake Zirknitz (Cerkniško jezero) attracted so much attention that he was accepted into the London Royal Society at Edmond Halley's suggestion .

Commemoration

Valvasor was shown on the Slovenian 20 tolar note. The Valvasor Prize, the most prestigious museological award in Slovenia, has been awarded annually since 1998.

Iconotheca Valvasoriana

The graphic collection that Valvasor had built up was documented in the Inconotheca Valvasoriana : in 17 volumes with a total of 7752 sheets, prints and drawings, among others by Albrecht Dürer , Rembrandt and Lucas Cranach - one of the most important early baroque graphic collections of the Habsburg Empire . The original is in Agram ; In 2011, the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts gave the Austrian National Library a facsimile of the entire collection.

Valvasors Map of Croatia (1689)

Works

  • Dominicae passionis icones , 1679, reprint 1970 Catalog entry at Cobiss
  • Topographia Ducatus Carnioliae modernae , 1679, reprint 1970 Catalog entry at Cobiss
  • Topographia arcium Lambergianarum, id est arces, castella et dominia in Carniolia habita possident comites a Lamberg; Bagenspergi .. (Bogenšperg), 1679 catalog entry at Cobiss, reprint 1995 catalog entry at Cobiss
  • Topographia Archiducatus Carinthiae modernae: that is controfee of all the towns, Märckht, monasteries and castles, as they are anietzo in the Ertzhertzogthumb Khärnten ... Wagensperg in Crain (Bogenšperg), 1681 catalog entry with Cobiss; Nuremberg, 1688 Catalog entry at Cobiss
  • Carniolia, Karstia, Histria et Windorum Marchia . Labaci (Ljubljana) 1681 Catalog entry at Cobiss
  • Theatrum mortis humanae tripartitum: figuris aeneis illustratum: that is: show stage of human death in three parts: drawn with beautiful Kupffer engravings and given to day. Laybach, Saltzburg (Ljubljana, Salzburg) 1682 Catalog entry at Cobiss Digitized edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf
  • Topographia Archiducatus Carinthiae antiquae & modernae completa: This is the perfect and thorough country description of the famous Arch-Duchy of Carinthia. Nuremberg 1688, catalog entry at Cobiss
  • Opus insignium armorumque ... (1687–1688) Catalog entry by Cobiss
  • The honor of the Hertduchy of Crain: that is, true, thorough, and very specific evidence and quality of this splendid hereditary land of the Roman keys . Laybach (Ljubljana) 1689 Catalog entry at Cobiss ( Google Books Download )

See also

literature

  • Peter von Radics : Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor (born 1641, died 1693) , Laibach 1910
  • Mirko Rupel: Valvasorjevo Berilo (Valvasor's reading book), Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana 1951
  • Tita Kovač: Spomini barona Valvasorja , ( Memories of Baron Valvasor ), Hist. Roman, Ljubljana 1973
  • Branko Reisp: Kranjski polihistor Janez Vajkard Valvasor (The Ukrainian Polyhistor JV Valvasor), Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana 1983
  • Branko Reisp (Ed.): Korespondenca Janeza Vajkarda Valvasorja z Royal Society (= The correspondence of Janez Vajkard Valvasor with the Royal Society) , Laibach 1987.
  • Sandi Sitar: Janez Vajkard Valvasor, polihistor in književnik (1641-1639) in: Sto slovenskih znanstvenikov, zdravnikov in tehnikov, ( JW Valvasor, polyhistor and writer (1641-1693) , in: One hundred Slovenian scientists, doctors and technicians), Ljubljana 1987, article 21
  • Andrej Vovko (ed.): Valvasorjev zbornik. Ob 300 letnici izida slave Vojvodine Kranjske. Referati s simpozija v Ljubljani 1989 , Laibach 1990
  • Ivan Godec: Valvasor in Slovenci danes ( Valvasor and the Slovenes today ), Ljubljana 1996
  • Irmgard Palladino: Johann Weichard von Valvasor (1641-1693). Protagonist of the early modern science revolution , Vienna Cologne Weimar 2008, ISBN 978-3-205-77719-9

Web links

Commons : Johann Weikhard von Valvasor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ehre des Hertzogthums Crain, Laybach 1689 catalog entry at Cobiss, reprint Ljubljana 1984 catalog entry at Cobiss
  2. ↑ Branko Reisp: Kranjski polihistor Janez Vajkard Valvasor ( The Carniolian polymath JV Valvasor ), Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana 1983
  3. ↑ Donated facsimiles , in: Falter weekly newspaper , Vienna, No. 44, November 2, 2011, p. 40
personal data
SURNAME Valvasor, Johann Weichard from
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Valvasor, Johann Weikhard; Valvasor, Janez Vajkard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Slovenian topographer and historian
DATE OF BIRTH baptized May 28, 1641
PLACE OF BIRTH Laibach
DATE OF DEATH September 19, 1693
Place of death Gurkfeld