The Mažuranić Family in the Croatian Cultural Circle of Rijeka in the 19th Century

Devetnaesto je stoljeće u Hrvatskoj obilježeno razdijeljenošću zemalja, gospodarskom i kulturnom stagnacijom te mnogim pokušajima odnarođivanja, koji su se uspješno provodili i putem školstva. Tadašnja Rijeka predstavljala je bitno središte mađarskoga gospodarskog interesa, koji je uzrokovao sve izraženije političko posezanje za tim gradom. Njezina suverenost posebno se nastojala narušiti tijekom ere neoapsolutizma, kada se provodila germanizacija svih negermanskih naroda pod vlašću Monarhije. Usto, dio riječkoga građanstva bio je pod utjecajem ideologija nesklonima hrvatskim interesima smatrajući ih opasnima i stranima. Unatoč tome tamošnja gimnazija podarila je mnoge istaknute intelektualce i čuvare narodne stvari. Prvi od njezinih učenika koji je uvidio potrebu borbe za nacionalni duh i prije svega jezik bio je kasniji pjesnik i prvi ban pučanin Ivan Mažuranić (1814. – 1890.). Njegov brat Antun (1805. – 1888.), također riječki gimnazijalac, postaje zagrebačkim profesorom, prvim predavačem hrvatskoga (ilirskoga) jezika i književnosti na hrvatskome (ilirskome) jeziku. Kasnije se vraća kao ravnatelj ustanove gdje se nekoć školovao provodeći pritom svoje preporoditeljske ideje uz početnu podršku ne samo učenika nego i kolega. Najraniji zapisi Ivane Brlić-Mažuranić bilježe njezin posjet Rijeci, uz mnoštvo vrijednih historiografskih podataka. Zahvaljujući kasnije sklopljenim obiteljskim vezama između Brlića i Ružića, u tome se gradu čuvaju knjižnica te spomenička zbirka obitelji Mažuranić, koja u svojemu fundusu pohranjuje knjige i predmete kolosalnoga značenja za nacionalnu kulturu.The nineteenth century in Croatia was marked by the division of the lands, economic and cultural stagnation, and many attempts at denationalization, which were successfully carried out through the system of education. Rijeka was in those times an important centre of the Hungarian economic interest; this caused increasingly pronounced political attempts to usurp the city. Its sovereignty was particularly sought to be undermined during the era of neo-absolutism, when the Germanization of all non-Germanic peoples under the rule of the Monarchy was carried out. Additionally, a part of the citizens of Rijeka were under the influence of ideologies unfavourable to the Croatian interests, which they considered dangerous and foreign. Nevertheless, the grammar school there produced many distinguished intellectuals and guardians of folk values. The first of its students who understood how important it was to fight for the national spirit and, above all, the national language was Ivan Mažuranić (1814–1890), who later became poet and the first viceroy commoner. His brother Antun (1805–1888), another student of the Rijeka grammar school, became professor in Zagreb – the first one to teach the Croatian (Illyrian) language and literature in the same Croatian (Illyrian) language. He later returned to his old school in the capacity of principal, implementing his revivalist ideas with the initial support of both students and colleagues. The earliest writings by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić record her visit to Rijeka, and offer plenty of valuable historiographical data. Thanks to the subsequently concluded family ties between the Brlić and the Ružić families, this city today houses the library and the monumental collection of the Mažuranić family, which include books and objects of exceptional importance for the national culture