Janez GREGORI
Janez POKLUKAR
Janez MIHELIČ
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Carniolan bee (Apis mellifera Carnica) in Slovenia |
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Janez GREGORI |
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Janez POKLUKAR |
|
Janez MIHELIČ |
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Life of Slovenian people is closely connected to bees and beekeeping. Our
ancestors were very successful in beekeeping with the Carniolan bee. Beekeeping
was as much part of clergy and schoolmasters as it was of peasants and country
people. To each farm building and garden always belonged a small bee-house. The
fact that this trade has been deeply rooted in our people is obvious in works of
past time authors like J. V. Valvasor (1641-1693) who was the first to write
about bees and beekeeping in his famous Slava
vojvodine Kranjske (Die Ehre dess Hertzogthums Crain/In Praise of the Duchy of
Carniola), 1689. Later
on the naturalist from Idrija,
J. A. Scopoli (1723-1788) wrote the Treatise
on bees (Dissertatio de apibus), in the 4th volume of
Annus historico - naturalis, Leipzig, 1769-1772.
Among beekeepers there were individuals, who put great efforts for the progress
in this trade. A true supporter of the trade and a great beekeeper in the 18th
century was Peter Pavel Glavar (1721-1784), who sacrificed a lot of time and
money for the progress of beekeeping. In 1768 the government of Vienna sent the Proposal
for the improvement of beekeeping in carniolan hereditary provinces. Peter
P. Glavar gave a detailed
reply to the proposal as a pioneer among Slovenian beekeepers, describing
the methods and beekeeping circumstances in our country. He suggested the
establishment of beekeeping schools, adoption of appropriate regulations
instrumentall in farther development and growth of this trade. He made an appeal
for publication of much needed manuals in native language. Eventually he was the
only one in years 1776/78 to who wrote such a manual in slovene language.
In the time of P. P. Glavar there was a beekeeper, whose influence extended far
beyond the frontier of Carniola. This was Anton Janša (1734-1773), native of
Breznica at the Upper Carniola. He became by order of the Empress the first
teacher of beekeepeing at Austrian royal court. Xxx .
Although he was only 39 year old when he died, he left a great legacy of
knowledge for the future. He wrote a treatise on bee swarming (Abhandlung
vom Schwärmen der Bienen, 1771)
and also left a hand written reference Vollständige
Lehre von der Bienenzucht
(Complete Guide to Beekeeping), which was published as late as 1775, after his
death.