Triglav in Slovenian National 
Consciousness: Literary 
Representations of the Alpine 
Region from the Enlightenment to 
the Interwar Period
Marlena Gruda
Jagiellonian University, Institute of Slavonic Studies, Romana Ingardena 3, 30-060 Krakow, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4333-4361
marlena.gruda@uj.edu.pl
This article analyses various ways in which Slovenian writers (especially Valentin 
Vodnik, France Prešeren, and France Bevk) depicted Triglav and the mountain 
areas of Slovenia in literature from the Enlightenment to the interwar period. 
This is done through the prism of their aesthetic value and nation-building role, 
as well as their influence on the development of Slovenian sensibility, identity, 
and national consciousness. Inspiring the research was the conviction that the 
mountains occupy a special place in the collective memory of Slovenians, and 
that Triglav is a symbol of Slovenianness. An important point in the discussion 
is the comparative study of the origin and significance of Triglav (lit. “the 
three-headed one”) according to Slovenian (Janez Vajkard Valvasor, Anton 
Tomaž Linhart, Janez Trdina, Davorin Trstenjak) and Polish scholars (Henryk 
Łowmiański, Jerzy Strzelczyk, Aleksander Gieysztor, Andrzej Szyjewski), and how 
they correspond to the representations of Triglav in the works of selected Slovenian 
writers (Vodnik’s “Veršac,” Prešeren’s The Baptism on the Savica, Bevk’s The Dying 
God Triglav).
Keywords: Slovenian literature / national identity / national mythology / mount Triglav / 
Vodnik, Valentin / Prešeren, France / Bevk, France
1
Primerjalna književnost (Ljubljana) 47.3 (2024)
Introduction
The highest peak in the country (2,864 m) has become ingrained in 
Slovenian collective consciousness as a symbol of the quintessence 
of national identity. This was the result of the enduring relationship 
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2
with the Eastern Julian Alps, from the beginnings of Celtic, Roman, 
and Longobard settlement (Bohinjska Bela, Stara Fužina, Srednja vas, 
Češnjica, Ajdovski gradec, Trenta) through the first attempts to reach 
the summit in the eighteenth century and the founding of associations 
for mountaineering enthusiasts in the nineteenth century. It contin-
ued with the competition with the German-speaking Carniolans in 
marking out the trails and determining the locations of mountain shel-
ters and huts, the purchase of Triglav by Jakob Aljaž and the construc-
tion of the Aljaž Tower (Aljažev stolp) on the summit. Later, it was 
reflected in the historical events in the Triglav area and at the summit 
as the border between Yugoslavia and Italy ran across Triglav from 
1922 and was the site of a number of military operations. The presence 
of Triglav in events important to the nation significantly impacted its 
image in the Slovenian collective consciousness. It is first mentioned in 
seventeenth century sources (Janez Vajkard Valvasor), with the name 
Triglav emerging in the eighteenth century (Anton Tomaž Linhart).1 
Almost a hundred years later, the first more comprehensive publication 
on Triglav was written by Davorin Trstenjak (Triglav, mythologično 
raziskavanje, 1870), followed by a study by Adolf Gstirner (“Der 
Name Triglav und seine Geschichte,” 1938) who referred to Gregor 
Krek and took issue with some of the findings of Trstenjak. In all 
of the attempts to explore the origins and meaning of Triglav (using 
Slovenian sources), three main ideas crystallized: (a) the connection 
between Triglav and the city of Szczecin, (b) the recognition of Triglav 
as a deity of fire and/or in connection with Trajan, and (c) the rejec-
tion of any association of Triglav with the beliefs of the Slavs, includ-
ing Slovenians. It was important to find an answer to the question 
posed by Valter Bohinec in his article from 1925: “Does the name 
Triglav really originate from the name of the old three-headed Slavic 
god?” (Bohinec 79). If so, was this the supreme Slavic deity or a re-
gional one (worshipped by Polabian Slavs and Pomeranians or Alpine 
Slavs)? As it transpired, it was particularly difficult to verify and assess 
the hypotheses formulated by the numerous historians and scholars 
who had researched the topic due to a lack of reliable sources, hence 
the divided opinions on the subject. This was most likely the reason 
why a representation was shaped in the Slovenian consciousness (and 
also later in literature and art), in which there was a characteristic ten-
dency to reject any associations of Triglav with other deities. Different 
1 This refers to the name Triglav since Adolf Gstirner mentions that the name 
Terglau was used to refer to this mountain in 1452 (Gstirner 14).
Marlena Gruda:     Triglav in Slovenian National Consciousness
3
interpretations primarily focused on presenting the image of the 
mountain itself as a sacred place and the related experiences and ideas, 
the sources of which are attributed to the representations of Triglav 
in the pre-Christian era, giving the mountain a special power without 
specifying its character.
Among the many representations of Triglav in science, literature, 
visual culture, social habits, and rituals, including many discourses and 
practices constituting Triglav as a Slovenian national symbol, I will 
focus on the presentation of the controversial mythical and religious 
dimensions of Mount Triglav in scientific and literary discourse, tak-
ing into account the state of knowledge on this subject in the Polish 
scholarly community. Three literary works written at different times 
were selected for analysis: the Enlightenment (“Veršac” by Valentin 
Vodnik), Romanticism (The Baptism on the Savica by France Prešeren) 
and the fascist occupation (The Dying God Triglav by France Bevk). 
The aim of this selection is to examine different, often ambivalent 
forms of presenting Triglav in literature by representatives of a broader 
socio-historical situation (Enlightenment, Romantic and anti-fascist 
nationalism), through the prism of their aesthetic and national value 
and the importance of Slavic religion in the formation of Slovenian 
national autonomy.
The mountain—the embodiment of the highest ideals
In many cultures, mountains are associated with sacred places and 
spiritual experiences, e.g., Mount Sinai in the Middle East, Mount 
Olympus in Greece, Mount Kailash in Tibet, Tai Shan in China, 
Mount Fuji in Japan, Uluru in Australia, Meru Peak in India, 
Hara Berezaiti in Iran, the mythical “Mountain of the Land” in 
Mesopotamia or Mount Gerizim in Palestine, also called “the earth’s 
navel” (Eliade 68–69). In many cases, the topos of the mountains was 
described as something completely different from the surrounding 
world, something mysterious that attracts and repels at the same time, 
mysterium tremendum et fascinans, something that commands respect 
and evokes fear, is far and near, sacred, and so associated with religion 
(Otto 39–55). Edwin Bernbaum analyzed the significance of moun-
tains in a religious context. He lists the following roles or images of 
mountains: (a) the mountain as the center of the universe, a central 
axis linking together the three levels of the cosmos (heaven, earth, and 
hell), ensuring stability and order; (b) the mountain as the center of 
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4
the world; (c) the mountain as the center from the perspective of the 
areas surrounding it; (d) the mountain as a place of a higher reality, 
the world of clouds and sky; (e) the mountain as an earthly paradise; 
(f) the mountain as an abode of gods, water nymphs, beings of super-
human power; (g) the mountains as a distant world where the bod-
ies of the dead are buried; (h) the mountains as popular pilgrimage 
centers, etc. (Bernbaum 208–209). In all cases, the mountain world 
is secluded, embodying the highest ideals of humanity (Šaver 94). 
Mircea Eliade saw mountain areas in a similar way, drawing attention 
to their symbolic and religious significance and to the most universal 
archetypes of the mountain as a cosmic axis linking different levels of 
existence (Eliade 62–63). According to Eliade, the cosmic mountain, 
similar to a pillar, ladder, tree or liana, is an example of a cosmic axis 
around which the world is stretched. It is “the center of the world,” 
i.e., a sacred place constituting a break in the continuum enabling 
passage from one cosmic region to another (from heaven to earth and 
vice versa; 62–63). However, the symbolic meaning of the mountain 
may not only be related to the center but also to the height (elevation 
above sea level). The researchers claimed that because of its height, 
the mountain symbolizes transcendence and a place where heaven 
and earth meet, whereas its central location determines its symbolic 
manifestation. This is why climbing a mountain is a spiritual experi-
ence which leads us to know both ourselves and god (Chevalier and 
Gheerbrant 155–156).
The diversity of opinions on the symbolic meaning of mountains 
and the different cultural and social functions largely depends on the 
culture they concern (Bernbaum 208). In Slovenia, the mountains are 
understood as a social and cultural phenomenon which became a com-
ponent of the notions of the nation and Slovenian collective memory.
The mythology of Triglav
According to Polish sources, Triglav (pol. Trzygłów) was a god of the 
Pomeranian and Polabian Slavs, worshipped in Szczecin (Borstaburg) 
and Brandenburg (Strzelczyk 215). We can find references in the works 
of a number of writers: St. Otto of Bamberg, a missionary in West 
Pomerania, Ebbo Bambergensis, Herbord, and an anonymous monk 
from Prüfening. St. Otto mentions a beautiful horse belonging to the 
god Triglav, which was kept for divinatory purposes, and the course 
of the procedure of divination similar to the practices around the 
Marlena Gruda:     Triglav in Slovenian National Consciousness
5
sacred horse of Svarozhits in Retra-Radogoszcz, described by Thietmar 
of Merseburg (216). He claimed that temples and statues dedicated to 
Triglav were torn down on Otto’s orders:
He broke the torso of the statue of Triglav himself, but he took his three silver-
plated heads—the reason he was called Triglav [“the three-headed one”]—with 
himself after that, and then handed them over to Pope Callixtus of blessed 
memory … as the evidence of his work, and the conversion and beliefs of 
those tribes. (qtd. in Strzelczyk 216)
The other biographer, Ebbo Bambergensis, mentions three hills (in 
Szczecin) in his work The Life of Otto, Bishop of Bamberg (Vita Ottonis 
episcopi Bambergensis):
Out of the three hills, the taller middle one, dedicated to the highest pagan 
god, Triglav, had a three-headed likeness, which was covered by a golden veil 
over the eyes and lips, and the priests assured that he was the highest god and 
had three heads because he ruled three kingdoms: heaven, earth, and hell, and 
said that he covered his face to remain indifferent to people’s sins, by not see-
ing and staying silent. (qtd. in Strzelczyk 216)
Ebbo wrote that Triglav was worshipped in Szczecin, Wolin, and 
Brenna (Brandenburg), Jerzy Strzelczyk claims it was Szczecin and 
Brandenburg (Strzelczyk 215), whereas Henryk Łowmiański lists 
Szczecin and Wolin (Łowmiański 175). No other places are known 
for the worship of this god (at least in the Polish sources) nor does 
the explanation of the nature and origin of Triglav extend beyond 
the beliefs of the Pomeranian and Polabian Slavs. In Polish academic 
circles, scholars have speculated as to whether the Brandenburg and 
Szczecin versions of Triglav were one or two gods; whether Triglav, 
just like Svetovit and Svarozhits, was not just another local name of 
the same highest god of the Polabians, the equivalent of the Russian 
Perun (Brückner 83); whether the polycephaly of Polabian and 
Pomeranian gods was a result of Celtic influences on the Polabian 
religion or the influence of Christian notions of the Holy Trinity 
(Łowmiański 195). According to Christian Knauthe, Triglav was 
worshipped in Serbia, he had three golden heads under one hat and 
held the moon in his hand, whereas Aleksander Gieysztor thought 
he was the hypostasis of Veles, a Slavic god of the underworld and 
livestock (Strzelczyk 217; Ławecki et al. 63). However, Alexander 
Hilferding believed that
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Triglav, whose name was just a nickname given to him because of the number 
of his heads, was Svetovit (Arkonian), “Svarozhits,” worshipped equally with 
Triglav as the main god; and their identicalness is reflected not only in their 
polycephaly, but also in having a cult horse and a similar divination procedure. 
(qtd. in Łowmiański 176–177)
Aleksander Brückner agreed with Hilferding, writing: “Svarozhits, 
Svetovit, Triglav, Yarovit of the Hevelli and Pomeranian Slavs (in 
Wolgast) are four different names of the same deity” (Brückner 
83). He added: “It is not possible for a god to originally be named 
Triglav; it is certainly the same Dazhbog, who can see everything on 
earth, in heaven, and in the underworld” (83). Just like Brückner, 
Mikołaj Rudnicki, and Gerard Labuda (Łowmiański 195), Stanisław 
Urbańczyk draws attention to a very significant—though unaccept-
able for some—issue of interpretatio christiana. The scholar thought 
that power over three kingdoms was a late product of priestly specula-
tions, possibly under the influence of Christian terms (Urbańczyk 46). 
This train of thought was also followed by Łowmiański, who claimed 
that Triglav was modelled on the Christian Holy Trinity (Łowmiański 
400). Andrzej Szyjewski also saw an echo of the Holy Trinity in Triglav 
and considered the three worlds ruled over by Triglav as originating in 
Christian cosmology (Szyjewski 70). The influences of the Christian 
religion on the interpretation of the meaning of Triglav may bear tes-
tament to the relatively late emergence of the cult of Triglav among 
the Pomeranian Slavs, yet there is not enough evidence to prove that, 
which is why Gieysztor rejects the above thesis, claiming that: “Those 
three kingdoms, encompassing heaven, earth, and the underworld, do 
not have to be adopted from Christianity. A three-zone division can 
also be found on the so-called Zbruch Idol, Sviatovid … [I]t is char-
acteristic of the traditional culture of the Slavs, at least the Western 
ones” (Gieysztor 125). Gieysztor’s opinion would therefore not coin-
cide with Brückner’s claim that Triglav was a young deity. His pres-
ence in the writings of Ebbo, Herbord, the monk from Prüfening, and 
Saxo Grammaticus as a three-headed god shows his archaic quality, 
which is also reflected in the presence of his name in đurđevdan poems 
(Mihajlov 90).
Understanding Triglav separately from the beliefs of the Polabian 
and Pomeranian Slavs was rare. As one of the few Polish scholars to do 
so, Szyjewski mentioned Triglav as the mountain and its relationship 
with Slovenia. He pointed out that Mount Triglav is often mentioned 
in studies, sometimes enveloped in an entire myth, where it takes on 
the form of the Cosmic Mountain. In Balkan legends, heaven is to be 
Marlena Gruda:     Triglav in Slovenian National Consciousness
7
found at the summit of Mount Triglav, the first point to emerge from 
the primeval ocean:
By God’s will, it came out of the abyss of the ocean, where it had been sub-
merged together with the sun, moon, and the stars, lightnings and winds, 
since the beginning of the world; the high mountain of Triglav emerged first. 
According to the Slovaks, it was the Tatra Mountains (Szyjewski 70). 
Tadeusz Linker also writes about Triglav’s connection with the cre-
ation of the world: “With the word Halu, Jessa created the world and 
all that existed in it. Therefore Triglav, having heard it, tore off his 
three heads, and from the blood that flowed from them arose hosts of 
three successive deities” (Linker 24).
Based on the above-mentioned sources, Triglav was understood as 
both a deity and as a mountain in Slovenia. In Slovenia itself, how-
ever, little mention is made of the cosmogonic myth involving Triglav. 
According to many Slovenian sources, the name Triglav originated 
in Szczecin, among the earliest being the polymath Janez Vajkard 
Valvasor’s The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola (Die Ehre dess Hertzogthums 
Crain, 1689) and Anton Tomaž Linhart’s work An Essay on the History 
of Carniola and Other Lands of the Austrian South Slavs (Versuch einer 
Geschichte von Krain und den übrigen Ländern der südlichen Slaven 
Oesterreichs, 1791), the first history that treated the Slovenian nation 
as a whole. Linhart quotes Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg’s description 
of Szczecin as urs tricoronis, “three-headed,” as it was located on three 
hills. Here, St. Otto of Bamberg destroyed a statue of the god Triglav 
and gave its three heads to Pope Callixtus in Rome as a symbol of 
his domination over the local population. In the ninth chapter of his 
book, Linhart argues that this god is connected with Mount Triglav in 
Carniola (the name Carniola was used for the largest part of present-
day Slovenia until the nineteenth century). However, he does not men-
tion the varieties of the god Triglav. As assumed by other historians, 
due to a lack of sufficient evidence for the existence of the god Triglav 
in the Eastern Alps, it was difficult to support Linhart’s thesis. Thus the 
above mentioned connection of Triglav with Szczecin, where northern 
Slavs worshipped their gods, did not persist in the Slovenian collective 
consciousness, even though Urbańczyk attempted to prove it by means 
of local place names where the name and cult of Triglav were known 
beyond Pomerania, e.g. in the Slovenian Alps (Urbańczyk 195).
In The History of Slovenian Nation (Zgodovina slovenskega naroda, 
1866), Janez Trdina provided the most representative and compre-
hensive description of Triglav in Slovenian lands: “Triglav was to 
PKn, letnik 47, št. 3, Ljubljana, november 2024
8
them the ruler of land, sea, and air, and because of this threefold 
reign, he was attributed three heads, and also named after these three 
heads” (Trdina 17). Trdina already considered both the divine power 
of Triglav and its association with the god’s appearance, just like 
Nikolai Mikhailov:
Triglav was a three-headed god, which can certainly be inferred from the name 
itself. … He also owned a black horse, which undoubtedly had a sacred role 
and which was used in prophesying. … Although Triglav is sometimes similar 
to Svetovid, Léger thinks that he can without a doubt be defined as an inde-
pendent god. (Mihajlov 53)
Mikhailov, based on the opinion of Vladimir Petrukhin, also claims 
that in the East Slavic and South Slavic mythology, Triglav could be 
an equivalent of the god Trajan/Trojan (Mihajlov 172); this conjecture 
was mentioned earlier by Trstenjak in his work Triglav, mythologično 
raziskavanje and by Frans Vyncke (Mihajlov 106–107). According to 
Urbańczyk, Trojan is considered a deity of the East Slavs, originat-
ing from the “divine” emperor Trajan; known also in the Balkans as a 
demon, a night specter with wax wings that is afraid of the sun or one 
with goat ears (Urbańczyk 194). It is agreed, however, that the ety-
mological and mythological evidence of Trstenjak’s hypothesis is not 
convincing, which is why it was not supported by Slovenian scholars. 
For many Slovenians, as Božidar Jezernik points out, the question of 
how and when Triglav came to be/was born was no longer as interest-
ing as the discovery of the meaning of the name itself and the moment 
it began to be used (Jezernik 52).
The etymology of the name Triglav
Evgen Lovšin lists seven names used for Mount Triglav: Triglav, 
Trgwou, Krma, Babji zob, Kum, Klek, and Beli vrh (Lovšin et al. 27). 
The name Krma can be found in the earliest mentions of Triglav in 
Valvasor’s The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola. The word krma means 
“a rear part of a boat” or “fodder” (this is perhaps an analogy since 
Triglav’s face is covered with lush grass in its lower part). Franc Bezlaj 
supplements this definition by adding that it is a name of pre-Ro-
man origin, and just like garma or karma, it denotes “a rock crevice” 
(its cognate words are krmol and krmulja, “a rocky summit”; Bezlaj 
178). Other names used in reference to Triglav (in the central part 
of Slovenia) include Babji zob and Kum used interchangeably with 
Marlena Gruda:     Triglav in Slovenian National Consciousness
9
Triglav by Janez Mencinger in his book My Walk on Triglav (Moja 
hoja na Triglav, 1897). The name Beli vrh can be found in the writ-
ings of Belsazar Hacquet, the first explorer of Slovenian mountains and 
the author of Carniolan Mineralogy (Oryctographia Carniolica, 1778), 
which is the first publication to feature an illustration of Mount Triglav 
by Franz X. Baraga (Lovšin et al. 27). Two names were inscribed there: 
Velki Terglou, and below the illustration in the text—Terglovus.
Figure 1: Triglav in Hacquet’s book Oryctographia Carniolica (1778).
The spelling of the above listed names probably resulted from the local 
language use, particularly by the inhabitants of Bohinj and Mojstrana, 
who would say Terglou and T(e)rgwou with the stress falling on the 
last syllable (Bizjak 328). Alfons Gstirner studied how the original 
name Terglou transformed into Triglav and came to the conclusion 
that “our highest mountain was called Terglau or Terglou from the first 
surviving mention in 1452 until the nineteenth century” (Gstirner 18). 
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He found the first record of the name in the German work titled 
Illyrian Provinces and Their Inhabitants (Die Illyrische Provinzen und 
ihre Eiwohner, 1812), where Triglav figured as the highest mountain of 
the Illyrian Provinces (Bizjak 329). Gstirner was criticized by a number 
of writers and scholars to the extent that his publication was rejected on 
the suspicion that it supported the German authorities (Kugy 379). It 
is interesting that Wikipedia misinforms the readers saying that Triglav 
is Terglou in German. In fact, since the second half of the nineteenth 
century, the Germans have used the name Triglav and have not trans-
lated it as Dreikopf, as opposed to the Italians, who introduced the 
name Monte Tricorno right after the end of World War I and have 
retained this use until today (Bizjak 329).
In German-speaking countries, the name Triglav became estab-
lished thanks to two literary works in German: Karel Dežman’s 1868 
tale about a mountain goat with golden horns in the Trenta Valley 
and a well-known Alpine epic poem Goldhorn (Zlatorog, 1877) writ-
ten by Rudolf Baumbach (based on the motifs included in Dežman’s 
tale). It is worth noting that Baumbach’s iconic Zlatorog has never been 
translated into German as Goldhorn, just like the name Triglav which 
naturally supplanted Terglou (Bizjak 329).
The word triglav itself, denoting “three heads,” was usually explained 
in association with a view of the mountain, specifically the presence of 
its three peaks (as in the case of Mount Troglav—elevation 1,913 m— 
in the Dinara Mountain Range, on the border between Croatia and 
Bosnia and Herzegovina). However, some researchers doubted the 
accuracy of this thesis, as they could not discern the three peaks. For 
example, Janez Bizjak claims that the mountain does not have three 
peaks at all, except for the view from Bohinj and Soriška planina. In 
fact, Bizjak says that Triglav looks like a pyramid, akin to a triangu-
lar grain of buckwheat (Bizjak 330; see also Gstirner 22). This is why 
Fran Orožen rejected the belief that the name Triglav has something to 
do with the mountain’s three peaks: “This highest mountain is named 
after the old Slavic god Triglav, not after its three heads, which do not 
exist, in fact” (qtd. in Lovšin et al. 14). A similar opinion is shared by 
many other scholars who have preferred the mythological explanation. 
Opinions about the name Triglav, its meaning and origin are therefore 
divided and this is perhaps why Triglav has continually aroused the 
interest of scholars, artists, and Slovenians themselves, who still regard 
the mountain as a vital symbol forming their identity.
Marlena Gruda:     Triglav in Slovenian National Consciousness
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Triglav in literature and journalism
Before their conversion to Christianity, the inhabitants of what is now 
Slovenia believed in Triglav’s divine powers. This was related to the 
inaccessibility of the mountain areas and the atmospheric phenomena 
in the Alpine region. After the ninth century, however, Triglav lost its 
sacred status, but the Enlightenment patron of culture Žiga Zois and 
the first Slovenian lay poet Valentin Vodnik recognized its high artistic 
value and attributed divine powers to it, yet not of the same nature as 
in Anton Tomaž Linhart’s phrasing:
Triglav, the three-headed god, as the name suggests, because he was attrib-
uted dominion over air, earth, and water. He was worshiped especially by the 
Slavs living in northern Germany, where they built beautiful temples for him. 
Mount Triglav in Bohinj, which is the highest mountain in Carniola, full of 
beautiful pictures of wild nature, is probably named after this deity. (qtd. in 
Lovšin et al. 12)
Linhart’s symptomatic use of the word “probably” due to a lack of 
evidence connecting the Pomeranian god Triglav with the Slovenian 
Mount Triglav has profoundly influenced opinions about the mean-
ing of Triglav and its representations in Slovenian literature from the 
Enlightenment until the present day. In his letters to Zois—who com-
pared Mount Vršac with Mount Parnassus and Mount Triglav with 
Mount Olympus (Lovšin et al. 12)—Vodnik does not even mention 
Linhart’s hypothesis. Meanwhile, in his popular poem titled “Veršac” 
(1806),2 the oldest Slovenian descriptive poem about mountains, he 
introduces the figure of the Christian God instead of mentioning the 
god Triglav: “Before this mighty God / I wish to go beyond my body” 
(Vodnik 62, transl. by Simon Zupan).3 This would seem to undermine 
Linhart’s hypothesis. This was a rather important move, because of its 
tendency to interpret Triglav in the Christian context (one personal 
God) and a tendency to strengthen the collective identity of Slovenians 
assuming that Triglav is a local deity typical of Slovenia. In the light 
of Eliade’s theory, Triglav represented the “center of the world” for 
Slovenians and which could also mean the embodiment of “our world” 
as the most important world, “the navel of the world” (Eliade 67–68).
2 Veršac, today Vršac (elevation 2,346 m), is a mountain from which a view of 
Triglav can be admired. However, this was not known in the nineteenth century. As 
Fran Orožen notes in Planinski vestnik, Vršac is only marked on a special map as Mišel 
Vrh (Orožen 24–27).
3 In original: »Pod velikim tuki Bógam / Breztelesni bit želím« (Vodnik 62).
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The lines “Before this mighty God / I wish to go beyond my body” 
puzzled many literary scholars because it is not clear which god is 
meant, the Christian God or Triglav (see Kos, “Vodnikov Vršac” and 
Valentin Vodnik). The title also raised a number of questions since the 
toponym Veršac was not recorded on maps at the time, leading scholars 
to speculate as to which mountain the poem referred. The description 
of the view from the summit was scrutinized:
Sit down on Veršac,
And behold a world unknown;
Look, amidst grey barren rock
A clump of elegant flowers blooms.
…
The clear Sava here begins,
The mother of poetic gift,
Twelve lakes together it connects,
A school of common sense.
…
Before this mighty God
I wish to go beyond my body,
Breathing freely in my circle
I feel I dwell in heaven. (Vodnik 61–62)4
According to Jakob Aljaž, Veršac referred to Kanjavec (elevation 2,570 
m), while the canon Ivan Sušnik claimed that it represented Mali 
Triglav (2,740 m). Fran Orožen also concluded that Veršac refers to 
Mali Triglav (Orožen 27).
In his “Veršac,” Vodnik, the poet and at the same time the “first 
Slovenian tourist,” expresses his admiration for the surrounding view 
of the mountains and the nearby lands, plants, animals, and people: He 
was an active mountaineer who saw great aesthetic and nation-building 
value in the mountains and paved the way to mountain poetry. It is 
thanks to his poetry that the Julian Alps with Triglav, Savica Falls, 
and Bohinj became symbols of Slovenian identity. Vodnik also men-
tions Triglav in his other works, including a poem “Bohinjska Bistrica” 
written in manuscript form and a poem “Moj spomenik” (Dović 
249–250). The fourth stanza reads: “By the Sava I was raised, / By the 
4 In original: “Na Veršacu doli sédi, / Neznan svét se teb odprè; / Glej med 
sivih pléš v’ srédi / Zarod žlahtnih rôž cvetè. … // Tukaj bistra Sava zvira / Mati 
pevske umnosti, / Jezér dvanajst kup nabira / Šola zdrave treznosti. … // Pod veli-
kim tuki Bógam / Breztelesni bit želím, / Čiste sape sréd mej krógam / Menim de 
na neb’ živím” (Vodnik 61–62).
Marlena Gruda:     Triglav in Slovenian National Consciousness
13
lowlands of Ljubljana, / By the Triglav I was inspired, / By its snowy 
peaks” (Vodnik 128).5
As early as the Enlightenment period, the name Triglav appeared 
a number of times in the correspondence between Zois and Vodnik. 
Zois stressed in his letters that a “poet under Triglav” should write in 
Carniolan language (Zois 31). He mentioned the “Triglav muse” (46) 
and recommended that Vodnik should “kiss old Triglav’s beard” (42). 
He also wrote about “an arduous hike to the Great God and Little 
Triglav” (49), which indicates Zois’ interest in topics related to the 
mythology of Triglav (Dović 249).
According to Marijan Dović, the most recent scholar to tackle the 
role of mountain imagery in early Slovenian poetry, the motif of moun-
tains not only appeared in Vodnik’s works, but also in the poetry of 
Urban Jarnik (“Moj sedanji kraj,” 1809), Ignac Holzapfel (“Slavinja,” 
1824), Blaž Potočnik (“Vodniku per Savici 1829,” 1830), Jakob Zupan 
(“Kranjski Plutarčik,” 1830), Jožef Žemlja (“28. jutro velciga travna 
1828,” 1833), etc. The majority of them drew on Vodnik’s image of 
Triglav and its aesthetic qualities (Dović 251).
France Prešeren introduced a new perspective on the mountains, 
perhaps because he was not a nature enthusiast like Valentin Vodnik. 
Wanting to convey content important to the Slovenian nation 
because he considered it historically significant (Christianization of 
Alpine Slavs), he chose a symbolic location in the Julian Alps. The 
Savica Falls and its surroundings are the setting of the most impor-
tant Slovenian epic poem, The Baptism on the Savica (Krst pri Savici). 
This poem, written by Prešeren in 1835 during the most prolific 
period of his career, is considered to be crucial for any understand-
ing of Slovenian identity (also in the context of the Slavic world),6 a 
canonical, timeless text which is often referred to by writers and liter-
ary scholars alike. Janko Kos notes that Prešeren based his poem on 
historical data taken from Janez Vajkard Valvasor’s The Glory of the 
Duchy of Carniola and Linhart’s An Attempt at the History of Carniola 
and Other Lands of the Austrian South Slavs. However, the idea of 
Slavdom presented in the Introduction was probably inspired by The 
Daughter of Sláva (Slávy dcera, 1824), a series of sonnets written by 
Slovak national rebirth ideologist Ján Kollár. According to Kos, in 
The Baptism on the Savica, the influences of the works of Dante (the 
5 In original: “Redila me Sava, / Ljubljansko poljé, / navdale Trigláva / me snéžne 
kopé” (Vodnik 128).
6 For more information on this topic, see Juvan, Imaginarij, “Nation,” and “Prze-
zwyciężanie.”
PKn, letnik 47, št. 3, Ljubljana, november 2024
14
character of Beatrice from The Divine Comedy) and Byron are also 
noticeable (Kos, Pregled 103–104).
Prešeren’s poem7 provides a description of the heroic Slovenian 
struggle against German domination and Christianization, a retro-
spective of the love between Črtomir and Bogomila, and an account 
of Bogomila’s spiritual transformation and views on Christianity and 
death. We also find references to mountain spaces since the action takes 
place around Lake Bled and Bohinj as well as at the Savica Falls.
The mountain area, particularly in the vicinity of Lake Bohinj 
(Savica Falls), is closely integrated with the events and characters that 
appear in the poem. To Prešeren, mountains are not only a source of 
strong visual impressions, but also abundant historical and mythologi-
cal content with a considerable emotional charge. He mentions Triglav 
in the first stanza of Baptism, after the epic description of the last battle 
of Ajdovski gradec in Introduction:
The matching violence of both men and clouds
Dark night has ended, now bright down
With ruddy sparks does gild the threefold peaks
Of the grey master of Carniola’s mountains.
Bohinj Lake rests in calm and quiet now,
No trace remaining of the recent tempest.
But ’neath the waves the sheatfish battle on
With other robbers of the watery depths. (Prešeren, Baptism 68)8
He describes Lake Bohinj, above which Triglav rises. The lake is calm 
because the battle is over, but it seems that it is only apparently calm—
the battle of fish under the water continues, just like Črtomir’s despair. 
The depictions of nature therefore correspond to the external situation 
and Črtomir’s mental state.
7 The Baptism on the Savica consists of two parts: Introduction and Baptism. The 
poem was written together with its preceding sonnet dedicated to Prešeren’s late close 
friend and associate Matija Čop, a Slovenian literary critic, writer, linguist, and literary 
historian. In the sonnet dedicated to Matija Čop, Prešeren presents the characters of 
the poem, as well as their views and attitude to life. According to one of the two main 
characters, Bogomila, only Christianity can guarantee happiness in this world, while 
Črtomir, disillusioned with reality, believes that death is the only way to liberation 
from suffering (Kos, Pregled 104).
8 In original: “Mož in oblakov vojsko je obojno / končala temna noč, kar svetla 
zarja / zlatí z rumenmi žarki glavo trojno / snežnikov kranjskih sivga poglavarja, / 
Bohinjsko jezero stoji pokojno, / sledu ni več vunanjega viharja; / al somov vojska pod 
vodó ne mine, / in drugih roparjov v dnu globočine” (Prešeren, Krst 15).
Marlena Gruda:     Triglav in Slovenian National Consciousness
15
Apart from Bohinj, Prešeren foregrounds the aesthetic qualities of 
Lake Bled, the castle located in an island in the middle of the lake, and 
the surrounding snow-capped mountains. This image, which he calls 
paradise, is a reflection of Črtomir’s pleasant memories of his youth 
and happy moments spent with Bogomila in Bled:
Here is an island circled round by waves,
In our days it’s a pilgrim shrine to Mary;
Against the background stand the snowcapped giants
And fields that spread before them; Castle Bled
Reveals still greater beauties to the left.
The hillocks on the right conceal each other.
Carniola does not have a prettier scene
Than this one: it is truly heaven’s twin. (68)9
Further on in Baptism, the description of nature is related to Črtomir’s 
mental state. The picture of the austere mountain terrain at the water-
fall reflects his agitation and impatience while he waits for a message 
about Bogomila:
The falls next morning thunder in his ears.
Our hero ponders as the lazy waters
Below him roar and shake the river banks.
Above him towering cliffs and mountain heights,
These with their trees the river undermines,
As in its wrath its foam flies to the skies!
So hastens youth and then it spends itself,
Thus Črtomir reflects upon this scene. (72)10
This stems from the fact that Črtomir’s inner world is treated equally 
with the external world of the mountain area described: “Does not 
this lake on whose shore, at the edge, / You stand, O Črtomir, resem-
ble you?” (68).11 This is closely related to the events presented in the 
9 In original: “Tje na otok z valovami obdani, / v današnjih dnevih božjo pot 
Marije; / v dnu zad stojé snežnikov velikani, / poljá, ki spred se sprósti, lepotije / ti kaže 
Bléški grad na levi strani, / na desni griček se za gričam skrije. / Dežela kranjska nima 
lepšga kraja, / ko je z okolšno ta, podoba raja” (Prešeren, Krst 16–17).
10 In original: “Slap drugo jutro mu grmi v ušesa; / junak premišlja, kak bolj spodej 
lena / voda razgraja, kak bregove stresa, / in kak pred njo se gôre ziblje stena, / kak skale 
podkopuje in drevesa, / kak do nebes leti nje jeze pena! – / Tak se zažene, se pozneje 
ustavi / mladenič, Črtomír pri sebi pravi” (Prešeren, Krst 22).
11 In original: “Al jezero, ki na njega pokrajni / stojiš, ni, Črtomír! podoba tvoja?” 
(Prešeren, Krst 15).
PKn, letnik 47, št. 3, Ljubljana, november 2024
16
poem, i.e. the story of the war in which the ancestors of the Slovenian 
people experienced a political and religious transformation, and to the 
individual story about the troubled love of Črtomir and Bogomila. 
Prešeren made Lake Bohinj and Savica Falls the center of the most im-
portant events: the acceptance of Christianity by the pagan leader and 
Bogomila’s internal transformation, and Bled Island located within 
the Alpine paradise—home to Živa, a goddess of the Polabian Slavs 
(Dović 253).
Among the many writers who have dealt with the Christianization 
of Carinthians and Carniolans as a crucial historical moment and made 
reference to Triglav (as a mountain and a deity), France Bevk, with 
his work The Dying God Triglav (Umirajoči bog Triglav, 1930), is to 
the forefront. In parallel to Prešeren’s poem, Bevk’s novel was writ-
ten at a critical historical moment. In the case of Prešeren, this was 
the period of German domination in the nineteenth century, while 
in the case of Bevk—Italian fascism in the twentieth century.12 Zoran 
Božič believes that Bevk’s work refers directly to Prešeren’s Baptism 
on the Savica, constituting its continuation and explanation (Božič 
63). The fundamental element connecting these two works is the 
theme of Christianization: in Prešeren, the acceptance of Christianity 
by all Slovenians at the end of the first millennium (the so-called 
first Christianization), and in Bevk—by the rebellious inhabitants of 
Kobarid in the first half of the feudal fourteenth century (the so-called 
second/late Christianization). Based on historical facts, both writers 
also comment on their contemporary reality and have a similar attitude 
to the authorities and censorship, national unity and consciousness, 
as well as nature. It is no accident, perhaps, that the motif of Triglav 
appears in both texts. In Prešeren, Triglav is mentioned as a mountain: 
“[B]right dawn / With ruddy sparks does gild the threefold peaks / Of 
the grey master of Carniola’s mountains” (Prešeren, Baptism 68).13 In 
Bevk, however, Triglav is described as an old Slovenian deity whose 
existence and presence is confirmed in the form of a sign on a sacred 
linden tree by a sacred spring: “Upon his arrival, Gorazd found a linden 
12 In 1836, on the territory of present-day Slovenia, the official language was Ger-
man in political life, administrative offices, public institutions, courts, and education. 
Slovenian could not even be taught as part of extra-curricular classes. In 1930, in turn, 
the use of Slovenian language was only allowed in private contexts in the Littoral 
region. In 1926, all the Slovenian schools were closed down and the following inscrip-
tion appeared in public places: “Qui si parla soltanto italiano” (Božič 66).
13 In original: “[S]vetla zarja / zlatí z rumenmi žarki glavo trojno / snežnikov kran-
jskih sivga poglavarja” (Prešeren, Krst 15).
Marlena Gruda:     Triglav in Slovenian National Consciousness
17
tree and a spring and a sign of the god Triglav tied into the bark” (Bevk 
25).14 In both works, Christianity triumphs over the old faith: Črtomir 
is baptized, while among the rebellious inhabitants of Kobarid, faith in 
Jesus Christ appeases people and brings peace.
Apart from the fundamental thematic and ideological element 
connecting both works, two primary differences should also be noted 
which might have affected Slovenian consciousness. The first can be 
found in the storyline and lies in the endings: in Prešeren, the ending 
is pessimistic because Črtomir suffers defeat, whereas in Bevk it is opti-
mistic—Gorazd wins. The second difference is formal in nature and 
concerns the style and language of the works. The content comprised 
in poetic form in The Baptism on the Savica was only comprehensible 
to a small group of readers, as opposed to Bevk’s novel which was writ-
ten in prose and using more accessible language. It can therefore be 
concluded that despite its lower artistic value, The Dying God Triglav 
reached a broader audience and had a greater influence on Slovenian 
national consciousness (including the motivation to fight for their 
rights) than Prešeren’s poem.15
France Bevk wrote his novel in 1930 during the Italian annexa-
tion of the Littoral region. However, he did not write about his own 
time, but set the novel in the medieval town of Kobarid in 1331. Cirila 
Toplak believes that the novel can be interpreted in a number of ways: 
(a) as a novel about the rebellion of the inhabitants of Kobarid against 
an imposed religion and a fanatical (Italian) inquisition, (b) as an alle-
gory of the relations between Italians and Slovenians in the 1930s, 
or (c) as a general expression of the Slovenian national consciousness 
(Toplak 54–55).
Bevk sets out his understanding of Triglav in the very title of his 
work: Triglav is a deity, not a mountain. In the novel, Triglav is pre-
sented as the only god worshipped by the inhabitants of Kobarid before 
they were Christianized. Yet it is a local deity, not a supreme Slovenian 
or Slavic one. It is interesting that, as Toplak states, Bevk put forward 
14 In original: “Gorazd je uzrl lipo in studenec in v lubje lipe vrezano znamenje 
boga Triglava” (Bevk 25).
15 It should be noted, however, that there is a gap of nearly a hundred years between 
the two works and the position of the writer and literature was different in the two 
periods. Prešeren’s approach was largely individualistic and idealistic (he advocated a 
higher status of the Slovenian literary language), while Bevk’s was a practical one (what 
mattered most was for Slovenians not to give in to Italianization and for them to use 
the Slovenian language, which was supposed to be understood as concern for preserv-
ing Slovenian identity).
PKn, letnik 47, št. 3, Ljubljana, november 2024
18
such an understanding despite being familiar with the comprehensive 
and reliable ethnographic sources about the beliefs of the inhabitants of 
the Soča Valley. They were collected by Pavel Medvešček, whose book 
only mentions Triglav as a sacred mountain once but says nothing 
about Triglav as the deity (see Medvešček). Other regional researchers 
mention Triglav only as a recognizable point in space, which Andrej 
Pleterski explains was a taboo subject for the inhabitants of Kobarid 
(Toplak 55). Perhaps it did not play as significant a role in the con-
sciousness of Kobarid’s inhabitants as some believe, including Bevk. In 
the novel, we can read the following:
On good days they worshiped Triglav, the three-faced god, who was personified 
in a tree with three peaks and a well with three springs. Although, from gen-
eration to generation, because of the loneliness in which the last pagans lived, 
the richness of their religion dwindled, the god Triglav remained unshaken in 
their souls until the end. (Bevk 22)16
Marko Snoj maintains that it is unlikely that the mountain name 
Triglav was equated with the Slavic god Triglav (Snoj 439), whereas Ivo 
Juvančič suggests that worshipping trees and streams around Kobarid 
testifies to the religious syncretism of Christianity with old Slovenian 
myths and Illyrian-Celtic influences in particular (Juvančič 54).
However, if we take a look at The Dying God Triglav from a 
broader perspective and without going into ethnological sources, we 
may see an allegory of the political situation in the south-western 
part of Slovenia in the 1930s. At the time, Mount Triglav was recog-
nized as the highest peak of the Julian Alps, with the border between 
Yugoslavia and Italy running across it after the Treaty of Rapallo was 
signed in 1922. The image of Triglav was then included in the coat 
of arms of Ljubljana,17 which might have been the decisive factor in 
recognizing Triglav as a symbol of Slovenian identity (Toplak 57). 
Another piece of evidence to back up this thesis was the choice of the 
linden tree as a sacred tree which had allegedly fallen victim to the 
activities of the Italian inquisition. This is not, however, consistent 
with what ethnologists wrote about sacred trees, e.g., Zmago Šmitek 
16 In original: “V lepih dneh so častili Triglava, triobličnega boga, ki je bil poose-
bljen v drevesu s tremi vrhovi in v studencu s tremi izvirki. Dasi se je od roda do roda 
radi osamelosti, v kateri so živeli zadnji pagani, bogastvo njihove vere manjšalo, je ostal 
bog Triglav v njihovih dušah do konca neomajen” (Bevk 22).
17 This is not an isolated case, however, as Mount Triglav could already be found 
on some coats of arms of noble families with Slovenian roots in the seventeenth cen-
tury (see Svetina).
Marlena Gruda:     Triglav in Slovenian National Consciousness
19
listed other tree species considered as sacred by the Slovenians (oak, 
cherry tree, spruce, poplar). Such a move by Bevk, interpreted as a 
certain expression of creativity by some, could be explained as a refer-
ence to historic events on the one hand, and on the other as grant-
ing nature, mountain areas in particular, a value that the Slovenians 
attributed to deities that should be worshipped. Hence, the novel’s 
accumulation of descriptions of elements of nature and people’s atti-
tude towards it seems to be crucial to understanding Triglav and 
the mountain sphere as a metaphor of Slovenia, and the Slovenian 
attitude towards it: “Happy marriage of nature. The latter animal, 
every tree and plant manifested a soul that fed and shrieked. … Every 
morning the sun rose again as the living spirit of the earth and envel-
oped them in its light” (Bevk 171).18
Conclusion
Triglav as a symbol of Slovenianness was one of the most common top-
ics in Slovenian literature, including travel journals (Janez Mencinger), 
poetry (Fran Saleški Finžgar, Simon Gregorčič, Alojz Gradnik, Oton 
Župančič, Juš Kozak, Matija Zemljič), works of various twentieth-
century authors (Edvard Kocbek, Anton Ingolič, Mojca Kumerdej, 
Tadej Golob), and literature written by mountaineers (Henrik Tuma, 
Julius Kugy, Nejc Zaplotnik, Dušan Jelinčič, Tomaž Humar, Viki 
Grošelj).19 The presence of Triglav in Slovenian cinematography is also 
worth noting. The first Slovenian feature-length film was In the Realm 
of Goldenhorn (V kraljestvu Zlatoroga, 1931) set in the Julian Alps, fol-
lowed by The Slopes of Triglav (Triglavske strmine, 1932).
After 1945, Triglav also became a source of inspiration for the mem-
bers of the Slovenian artistic group OHO (Triglav, 1968), and then for 
the group IRWIN which, referring to the Triglav project from 1968, 
opened a series of often related interpretations: Like to Like / Mount 
Triglav (Svoji k svojim / Triglav, 2004), Mount Triglav on Mount Triglav 
(Triglav na Triglavu, 2007), Golden Triglav (Zlati Triglav, 2008), etc. 
1986 saw one of the most important performances referring to Triglav 
and The Baptism on the Savica, the spectacle Baptism under Triglav (Krst 
18 In original: “Veselo svatovanje narave. Slednja žival, vsako drevo in rastlina je 
očitovala dušo, ki se je napajala in vriskala. … Vsako jutro je solnce znova vstalo kot 
živi duh zemlje in ju je ovilo v svojo svetlobo” (Bevk 171).
19 For more information on the so-called mountaineering literature, see Bjelčevič, 
“O lastnostih.”
PKn, letnik 47, št. 3, Ljubljana, november 2024
20
pod Triglavom) by the Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre and other groups 
of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (Irwin, Laibach).
The manner in which Triglav is depicted in the works discussed 
above provides us with considerable insight in the perception of 
mountain areas by Slovenian authors, discerning the aesthetic quali-
ties perceived differently by each individual, and about the influence 
of the mountain sphere on the development of the Slovenian col-
lective identity and self-awareness. The conceptualization of Triglav 
was closely related to memory, the notions of the authors themselves, 
the desire for self-discovery, self-assertion, and the consolidation of 
identity. This process comprises the mythologization of the past, 
the interpretation of historic events, the socio-political situation, 
and the widespread Slovenian habit of climbing the highest peaks 
of the Julian Alps. The extensive literary works of poets, writers, and 
mountaineers presenting the aesthetic qualities, topography, and 
mythology of the Alps from different perspectives and in varying cir-
cumstances (in terms of the socio-political situation) were also not 
without significance, influencing the state of national consciousness, 
the sensitivity, attitudes, and experiences (including those related 
to mountain hiking and climbing) of the Slovenians, and the scien-
tific activity of researchers dealing with this topic in Slovenia (Jernej 
Habjan, Marijan Dović, Peter Mikša). It was perhaps the ambiguity 
of Triglav and the lack of unanimity among scholars regarding its 
origins and significance that has contributed to its sustained popular-
ity and topicality in Slovenian culture.
Translated from Polish by Anna Mirek.
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Triglav v slovenski narodni zavesti: literarne 
reprezentacije alpskega območja od razsvetljenstva 
do medvojnega obdobja
Ključne besede: slovenska književnost / nacionalna identiteta / nacionalna mitologija 
/ Triglav / Vodnik, Valentin / Prešeren, France / Bevk, France
Članek analizira različne načine prikazovanja Triglava in gorskih območij v 
slovenskih literarnih delih od razsvetljenstva do medvojnega obdobja (še zlasti 
v delih Valentina Vodnika, Franceta Prešerna in Franceta Bevka), in sicer skozi 
prizmo njihove estetske vrednosti, narodotvorne vloge ter vpliva na oblikova-
nje slovenske identitete in narodne zavesti. Raziskava izhaja iz prepričanja, da 
imajo gore posebno mesto v kolektivnem spominu Slovencev, Triglav pa velja 
za simbol slovenstva. Ob tem se članek osredotoča na primerjavo med razpra-
vami o pomenu Triglava, ki so jih prispevali tako slovenski (Janez Vajkard Val-
Marlena Gruda:     Triglav in Slovenian National Consciousness
23
vasor, Anton Tomaž Linhart, Janez Trdina in Davorin Trstenjak) kot poljski 
raziskovalci (Henryk Łowmiański, Jerzy Strzelczyk, Aleksander Gieysztor in 
Andrzej Szyjewski), ter prikazi Triglava v izbranih literarnih delih slovenskih 
avtorjev (v Vodnikovem »Veršacu«, Prešernovem Krstu pri Savici in Bevkovem 
Umirajočem bogu Triglavu).
1.01 Izvirni znanstveni članek / Original scientific article
UDK 821.163.6.09
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/pkn.v47.i3.01