Page 160 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2026 Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes.../Composers’ Societies Past and Present...

Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes | Composers’ Societies Past and Present
Political situation in Croatia throughout the 19 century
th
3
th
The first half of the 19 century was, in Croatian lands, and especially
in Croatia proper, marked by the national revival movement. The usual
th
periodisation of the 19 century views the period between 1790 and 1830
as a period of preparation, and the period between 1830 – and especially
1835 – and 1848 as a fully mature period of the Croatian national move-
ment. The period of preparation consisted of the aristocracy’s resistance
to the introduction of Hungarian as the official language in Croatia, of
attempts to achieve linguistic standardisation and to form a unique and
singular Croatian language, of endeavours in the field of culture (espe-
cially in literature and music, but in the visual arts, as well) and of the
4
establishment of (national) institutions. Some of the most important
programmatic texts, poems and plays written in this period were Reč
domovini o hasnovitosti pisanja vu domorodnom jeziku [A word to the
homeland on the usefulness of writing in the national language] (1815)
by Antun Mihanović, Genius patriae super dormientibus suis filiis (1832)
by Ivan Derkos, Kip domovine vu početku leta 1831 [Homeland’s State
at the Beginning of the Year 1831] (1835) by Pavao Štoos, Horvatov slo-
ga i zjedinjenje [Harmony and Unity of the Croatians] (1832) by Ljudevit
Gaj, Pjesma Hrvata [Song of the Croatians] (1842) by Dimitrija Demeter,
Horvatska domovina [Croatian Homeland] (1835) by Antun Mihanović,
the poem Smrt Smail-age Čengića [Death of Smail-aga Čengić] (1847) by
Ivan Mažuranić and first Croatian play Juran i Sofija ili Turci kod Sis-
ka [Juran and Sofija or the Turks under Sisak] (1839) by Ivan Kukulje-
vić Sakcinski.

3 Modern Croatia historically consisted of the Kingdoms of Croatia, Slavonia and
Dalmatia (together often called the Triune Kingdom): the Kingdom of Croatia/Cro-
atia proper was bearer of historical and political continuity and of municipal state
rights; the Kingdom of Slavonia, parts of which were conquered by the Ottomans
and returned to Croatia after the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699; and the Kingdom
of Dalmatia, governed by the Venetian Republic until 1797. After its fall, Dalma-
tia was briefly governed by Austria (1797–1806) and Napoleon’s France (1806–1815),
and then again by Austria (1815–1918). Even though it was formally part of the Tri-
une Kingdom, Dalmatia was separated from Croatia and Slavonia, had its own par-
liament and was not governed by the Croatian Ban, but was instead directly subject-
ed to the Emperor in Vienna. Furthermore, large parts of Croatian territory formed
the Military Frontier, a defence area constituted during the time of wars against the
Ottoman Empire and governed directly by the Court War Council/Ministry of War,
and only returned to civil Croatia in 1881.
4 Cf. Nikša Stančić, Hrvatska nacija i nacionalizam u 19. i 20. stoljeću (Zagreb: Barbat,
2002), 164.

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