Slovenska matica

The Slovene Society (Slovene: Slovenska matica, also Matica slovenska) is the second-oldest publishing house in Slovenia, founded on February 4, 1864 as an institution for the scholarly and cultural progress of Slovenes.

The Slovene Society was founded upon the proposal of several Slovene patriotic associations and individuals from Maribor, who urged the establishment of an institution that would publish advanced scholarly literature in Slovene, foster the expansion of culture among Slovenes, and development of scientific terminology in Slovene. In 1864, the consortium Slovenska matica was founded in Ljubljana. Its work was based on the examples of similar institutions in other Slavic countries, such as the Matica hrvatska in Croatia, Matica srpska in Vojvodina, Matice česká in the Czech Lands, and Matica slovenská in Slovakia. The consortium was established with private capital, as well as with capital of the Duchy of Carniola and several cultural associations. The Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I also gave a substantial financial contribution for its founding.

The institution reached its peak at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, it functioned as a regular publishing house on a free market, publishing books for a general public, many of which became bestsellers; at the same time, it also performed the role of an Academy of Sciences, fostering high culture and maintaining close contacts with the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade, as well as similar institutions in Prague, Krakow, London and Sankt Peterburg.

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