Fany Hausmann

Poet. She is hailed as the first female poet to write in Slovene, although some critics deny this as a fact. Born Franziska Maria Elisabeth Hausmann, she was the daughter of a Styrian nobleman Joseph Ludwig Hausmann, a family with German ancestry. Since her poems preceded the existence of a national literary magazine, they were subsequently published in weekly newspapers. Her first published poem, "Vojaka izhod" or "A Soldier's Exit," was published in "Celje News" in 1848. Her poems had romantic and patriotic themes. Scholars speculate that she wrote poems in her native German and later her works were translated to Slovenian to be published. Her work paved the way for more women writers to be accepted into the Slovenian literary scene. With Slovenia splitting in June of 1991 from Yugoslavia to become an independent government, it has become important to preserve their culture. During the 20th and 21st century, her poems have been collected and republished in an attempt to preserve the Slovenian heritage. In 2018, her biography, "The German Who Wanted to be Slovenian: Fanny Hausmann" by Vesna Terzan, was published. In an annual event, the Fanny Haussmann Poetry Award is presented to a promising female poet by the Association for Culture, Sports and Tourism at the Novo Celje Mansion, which was the early 19th century home of Fanny Haussmann.