Josip Stritar

Who was Josip Stritar?

Josip Stritar was a Slovene writer, poet, playwright, publisher and translator.

Stritar spent his early childhood in his home village in rural Lower Carniola and was sent to school in Ljubljana. In 1855 he went to study in Vienna and completed his studies in 1874 after which he became an assistant teacher at Hernals Gymnasium and after 1878 professor in Josefstadt where he remained until his retirement in 1901. He returned to Slovenia after he was given a house in Rogaška Slatina by the regional government in Ljubljana in recognition of his work. He lived there until his death in 1923 and is buried in Ljubljana. One of his important contributions was the introduction to the 1866 edition of France Prešeren's collected poems where he pointed out the importance of his poems to nascent Slovene national identity. Despite living most of his life in Vienna he was much admired and appreciated at home even during his lifetime and was made an honorary member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1919.

The main road leading from the Triple Bridge towards Town Square is named after Stritar.