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Julius Kugy (19 July 1858 – 5 February 1944) was a mountaineer, writer, botanist, humanism, lawyer and officer of Slovenian descent. He wrote mostly in German. He is renowned for his travelogues from opening up the Julian Alps, in which he reflected on the relationship between man, nature, and culture. He opposed competing nationalist ideologies in the Alpe-Adria region, insisting on the need of peaceful co-existence among Slovenes, Italian and Ethnic Germans peoples.
Julius attended the German-language secondary school in Trieste and continued his studies at the University of Vienna, graduating in law in 1882. Upon returning to Trieste, he took over the management of the import-export company Pfeifer & Kugy, co-founded by his father.
He explored large portions of the Eastern Alps, dedicating most of his mountaineering career to climbing in the Julian Alps, where he discovered and marked more than 50 new routes. Local guides helped him climb many a previously unconquered peak in the Julian Alps: he became famous for climbing Škrlatica and Jôf di Montasio.
In addition to mountaineering, Kugy was interested in many other subjects such as literature, botany and music. One of the riddles he tried to solve was a mysterious plant species Scabiosa trenta, described by Belsazar Hacquet and later proven by Anton Kerner von Marilaun to be a specimen of the already known Cephalaria leucantha. Together with his friend Albert Bois de Chesne he created an Alpine botanical garden near Bovec. He was among the founders of two amateur music societies in Trieste: the Philharmonic Society and the Palestrinian Chorus. He also donated an organ to the Mechitarists church in Trieste.
After Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary in 1915, Kugy volunteered to the Austro-Hungarian Army. In the Battles of the Isonzo his mountaineering knowledge and experience proved to be extremely valuable and he was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant. He was demobilized after the Battle of Caporetto.
After the war he closed down his company and dedicated his time to writing and lecturing throughout the Slovene Lands and German speaking lands.
During World War II, Kugy rescued several Slovene alpine climbers from the Dachau concentration camp, and he collaborated with the Slovene Partisan underground resistance in Trieste. He died in Trieste in 1944. He was interred in the central city cemetery.
There is a monument to Julius Kugy in the Trenta Valley near the road to Vršič Pass Monument to Dr.Julius Kugy – Cultural and Historical Heritage – Slovenia – Official Travel Guide with a sculpture of Kugy by Jakob Savinšek. A number of mountain routes are also named after him, including the famous one in Aurisina near Duino.
In 2008, a Slovenian postal stamp was dedicated to him.
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