Peter Kosler

Who was Peter Kosler?

Peter Kosler or Kozler was a Carniolan lawyer, geographer, cartographer, activist, and manufacturer. He was of ethnic German origin, but also identified with Slovene culture and advocated the peaceful coexistence of the Slovene and German cultures in Carniola.

Kosler was born in Koče, a village south of Kočevje in Gottschee County, in what was then the Austrian Kingdom of Illyria, and is now Slovenia. He is best known for creating the first map of the Slovene Lands, called Zemljovid Slovenske dežele in pokrajin. Although it was made in 1848 and published only in 1861, it had a significant impact in the time of the Slovene national awakening.

Born in a relatively well-to-do family, Kosler made a fortune with beer manufacturing and was the founder of the Union Brewery. He gave large amounts of money to support Slovenian cultural associations and institutions. He was close to the conservative Old Slovene political movement.

Kosler bought the Cekin Mansion just outside the center of Ljubljana and renovated it in a neoclassical style. Today, the mansion houses the National Museum of Contemporary History. The Koslers also owned a mansion in the center of Ljubljana, close to Congress Square and Čop Street, which was regarded as one of the finest baroque buildings in the city. The building was slated for demolition in 1956 and torn down by the Communist authorities in 1961 in order to widen the nearby street, which caused a public outcry and marked a milestone in the development of postwar urban development in Ljubljana. According an RTV interview with art historian Damjan Prelovšek, trees now grow at the site of the former building, demonstrating that its demolition was a political decision and unnecessary in order to widen the street.