Anton Füster

Who was Anton Füster?

Anton Füster, also spelled as Fister was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, theologian, pedagogue, radical political activist and author of Slovene origin. He was one of the leaders of the Viennese March Revolution of 1848.

He was born in Radovljica, Carniola. He studied in Ljubljana, where he was consecrated priest in 1832. He was part of the intellectual circle of Matija Čop, where he became a friend of the poet France Prešeren. In 1835, he went to Trieste, where he served as a German language preacher. In 1839, he moved to Gorizia, where he worked as a professor of religion and pedagogy at the State Gymnasium. During this period, he became a close friend of the Slovene priest and activist Valentin Stanič, and became an active member of his Association against the Torture of Animals, one of the first animal rights movements in Central Europe. He also instrumental in the introduction of the chair for Slovene language in the priest seminary of the Archdiocese of Gorizia.

In 1847, he was appointed professor of philosophy at the University of Vienna, where he promoted democratic ideas among the students.