Political activity

In 1867 Austria gained a new constitution and a series of liberal laws, among which laws governing freedom of assembly and freedom of association were the most important for Slovenes in the Empire. Out of this came the idea of organising assemblies or rallies called tabors, after the Czech model. These were mass gatherings at which political, social and national demands were voiced. The first tabor in Slovenia took place in 1868, while tabors were held in southern Primorska (then part of the Austrian Küstenland) in Kalc near Knežak (1869), Kubed (1870), San Dorligo della Valle/Dolina (1878) and Brezovica near Materija (1883). All the tabors were imbued with the spirit of the national programme formulated in 1848. The idea of a United Slovenia and the equality of nations reached its peak in this period and brought together people of all classes.

Important work in the field of the national awakening was also carried out by political associations, which called for national rights, the establishment of Slovene schools, economic independence and linguistic equality. The roots of the movement dated back to 1848, when freedom of association and assembly were first permitted, while after 1870 new national or political associations began to emerge. Their predecessors were the reading societies: nominally cultural associations whose initial activities, however, were clearly political.