Jakob Aljaž

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jakob Aljaž (June 6, 1845 - May 4, 1927), was a Slovene Roman Catholic priest, composer and mountaineer.

Aljaž was born in a small Upper Carniolan village north-east from Ljubljana, in what was then the Austrian Empire. He was a priest and also a successful composer, singer and choir master. His works are still very popular among Slovenes. He became famous by having mountain huts built throughout the Julian Alps, which enabled the development of alpinism in the Slovene Lands. His by far the most famous construction is the Aljaž Tower (Slovene: ++Aljažev stolp), built on the summit of Mount Triglav, the highest mountain in the Julian Alps and in Slovenia and a Slovenian national symbol. He also arranged several hiking paths to be laid out, enabling more visitors to come to the mountains.

Monument to Jakob Aljaž in Dovje near Mojstrana. The statue looks at Triglav.

Together with Henrik Tuma, Jakob Aljaž is regarded the founding father of Slovenian mountaineering. His endeavours also had a very important role in the emergence of Mount Triglav as one of the central national symbols of the Slovene people. The first verse from Jakob Aljaž's famous patriotic song Oj, Triglav, moj dom ("Oh, Triglav, My Home") is engraved in the Slovenian 50 cent euro coin.

He died in the village of Dovje.