Following Ivan Franko’s roads in Vienna

I have had 12 hours to go through, feel, and peep into the past, into the period of Ivan Franko’s life connected with new scholarly achievements, defense of thesis, and even running for Austria’s State Council. Unfortunately, I did not manage to visit some of the remarkable sites on his route, not because I lacked time, but because they don’t exist anymore.

“A STRANGER IN A BLACK ELEGANT COAT”

On October 1892 people saw a stranger at the Northern Railway Station, “a man of medium height in a black elegant coat, a hat, and a tie, who carried big suitcases in both hands.” He got off the train Lviv-Vienna, refused politely from the porters’ services and bravely headed to the station of coachmen. He did not look like a newcomer. He named the address and the coach set out – at first, to Donaukanal (the Danube Canal), via the Swedish Bridge, and then, taking its time, to the old town. Ivan Franko arrived in Vienna.

Several days later the Ukrainian writer and opinion-journalist Mykhailo Pavlyk received a letter from his friend Ivan with whom he founded the Ukrainian Radical Party: “Dear friend, I am sending my best regards to you from Vienna. My address: Wien, 1, Wipplingerstrasse, No. 26, 1 Steige, 4  Stok.” Namely at this address Ivan Franko was renting an apartment with his friend from Lviv Vasyl Shchurat, who would become a literary critic and academician of the AN of Ukraine. “He would stop at these premises many times later, on his visits to Vienna,” Vasyl Savchak writes. This house, currently marked with a memorial plaque with an inscription: “This is a house where great poet and scholar Ivan Franko resided in 1894,” is located not far from the main building of the university.

ENTRY TO THE VIENNA UNIVERSITY

The university was the main purpose of his move to Vienna, one of the most powerful scientific centers. The student Ivan, who now took the surname Franko, was expelled from the Lviv University, and all roads for scholarly career there were now closed for him. In his letter to his wife dated August 10, 1891 Ivan Franko wrote about Prof. Smal-Stocki’s advice about doctorate: “I would not recommend you to enter in Lviv, because you will face hindrances here.” Ivan Franko, too, described the then situation as far from joyful: “The Lviv University is hardly a light in the Kingdom of Spirit; at the most it could be compared to an institution for fruitless culture. I passionately sought knowledge, but got only dead things, which I was supposed to swallow, if I wanted a position in the royal system.” Because of the “socialist progress” of the Austrian bureaucracy in 1977-78 Ivan Franko was prevented from graduating from the university.”

“They did not want to have such a graduate at the Lviv University,” philologist and Ivan Franko researcher Sviatoslav Pylypchuk explains. So, to defend his doctor’s thesis he went to his acquaintance, a linguist, Prof. Stepan Smal-Stocki to Chernivtsi, where he would study for one semester at the Chernivtsi University. After graduation he started to think over the topic of doctor’s thesis. But who had he to agree it with? Only Omelian Ohonovsky could be his academic advisor, and Ivan Franko went to him with the topic “Taras Shevchenko’s poetic poetry,” which, of course, was rejected. For the thing was about the taboo, the idea of national revival and statehood. Ohonovsky was afraid and rejected the topic. “Later he came to him with the idea of religious poetry,” Sviatoslav Pylypchuk continued his narration, “Above all, the religious songs, but here Ohonovsky was of little help, too, for he was incompetent in the field. Therefore Ivan Franko decided to consult with Drahomanov, who was living in Geneva at that time. By way of correspondence they even outlined the plan of the thesis. But this topic was rejected, too.”

The third topic was dedicated to Ivan Vyshensky. Ivan Franko became fond of this polemist writer and wrote a thorough monograph where he analyzed his oeuvre and life. And again a defeat: for the third time the topic was rejected. Ivan Franko had to look for another decision. Following the advice of his colleagues he went to Vienna where he had contacts with expert in Slavic studies Vartoslav Jagic. At last the topic was agreed: “Barlaam and Joasaph – the Old Christian spiritual novel and its literary story.” Ivan Franko passed the candidacy exams: Latin and Philosophy. Incidentally, he described a funny incident in a letter to Drahomanov. Having read a variety of books, at an exam Ivan Franko mentioned the so-called Golden and Silver Latin. This turned out to be the topic of his examiner’s doctoral thesis. Of course, he started to ask Ivan Franko on the subject. Ivan Franko wrote, “I was embarrassed, but I found a way out.” He was enrolled in the university.

After taking counsel with his wife, he took a leave in the Polish periodical Kurjer Lwowski, where he was working as a journalist, and finally moved to Vienna. Full of doubts and anxiety, he hardly suspected at that time that soon he would take an honorable place among the doctors of philosophy of the Vienna University.

AN AUSTRIAN POLITICIAN?

But there were other prospects Ivan Franko saw in the doctorate: “Doctorate was important for me at least because it gives the political rights (the right to vote and a bridge to parliament).” Vienna of 1892-93 caused Ivan Franko to choose his place in the political process of that time: he got close to representatives of the political and social-public movements of European countries. In particular, he became a “sharp and extremely stubborn friend” of the leaders of the then Austrian Social Democrats, Viktor Adler and Engelbert Pernerstorfer. Namely in Vienna Ivan Franko got acquainted with the future president of Czechoslovakia Tomas Masaryk.

As is known, Ivan Franko ran three times to Austria’s State Council. “But the perfect legislation and administrative resource helped him to fail in the elections,” Pylypchuk explained. “Ivan Franko thought that his diligence and knowledge of laws would help him change something in the Galician society.” But no such occasion occurred. He sought to raise the Ukrainian cause and went to Vienna Sich. But he was left with a bitter impression, because “everyone was thinking about drinking beer after the meeting, rather than about solving concrete matters.”

DOCTORATE

In May 1893 Ivan Franko finished his work on the doctor’s thesis. In this work he frequently refers to the available European literature, uses numerous German sources, and even Oriental literature. In this research Ivan Franko put forth the thesis that in spite of the huge popularity of Old-Christian novel about Barlaam and Joasaph, it has an Eastern origin, thus primarily it was a plot from Old-Indian literature.

At that time he wrote to his wife: “I did not want to write to you until I finish the thesis, but thank God, I have just finished it. On Sunday I will be at Jagic’s house. The weather here is beautiful, last night it drizzled. On Sunday I went with one Pole to Laxenburg, a town located several miles from Vienna, with a huge royal park and the castle of King Franz I on the island surrounded by a lake. But I must tell you about this orally, because I have no time to write. However, I don’t go anywhere, mostly stay home and work.” Ivan Franko’s material state somewhat improved. His play Stolen Happiness, which the author submitted for staging to the Lviv theater, won the prize of the competition held by the Lviv-based magazine Zoria.

Ivan Franko graduated with honors: “So, my task has been fulfilled. Now I have to wait for promotion, i.e., a ceremony where the bestowal of doctoral degree will be publicly announced, after which the diploma will be handed.” The promotion took place on July 1. At noon the official ceremony took place, where Ivan Franko was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and later Prof. Vartoslav Jagic arranged a Party of Slavic Students (Komers Slavistiv), traditional in such occasions. Ivan Franko told about it in a letter to his wife Olha: “Jagic was very joyful and delivered speeches a couple of times. Besides him, there were Prof. Jirecek, Prof. Kral from the Prague University, many Croatians. At the end Count Krumbacher from Munich came – the author of The History of Byzantine Literature who discussed with me Barlaam and Joasaph and promised to send me the work of his friend E. Kuhn on this topic. There were many conversations. Incidentally, they made me speak Ukrainian.”

He invited his company to the celebration to Vienna’s Prater Park. From there, again under the pressure of his friends, he sent a telegram to Kurjer Lwowski and already on the next day, July 2, in the evening issue the newspaper carried a report in the column “Chronicle”: Ivan Franko, our honorable friend and employee, a true Ukrainian and famous expert in Slavic studies, has obtained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy on July 1 this year at the Vienna University.”

It has happened. He defended the thesis.

“That was a contradiction,” says Professor of Slavonic Studies of Vienna University Stefan Simonek, who studies the oeuvre of the Ukrainian litterateur. “Why was it impossible to defend the thesis in Galicia, whereas at the very heart of the Austrian monarchy he managed not only to finish his studies, but also obtain Doctor’s degree?”

THE PRESS

After his stay in Vienna, Ivan Franko becomes a regular contributor to many Austrian periodicals: Die Presse, Die Zeit, Oesterreichische Rundschau, Zeitschrift fuer oesterreichische Volkskunde, Die Waage, Arbeiter Zeitung, Neue Revue, Aus fremden Zungen. He made especially tight contacts with the weekly newspaper Die Zeit, with which he cooperated for two decades, till the end of his life. The leading Viennese newspaper had a wise and analytical opinion-journalist in the person of Ivan Franko. And for Ivan Franko the newspaper Die Zeit was a periodical where he, an Austrian citizen and leading Ukrainian figure, could express his opinion, a thing which the then provincial Galician press would have never allowed him to do.

After obtaining the Doctor’s degree Ivan Franko came to Vienna on numerous occasions: in 1985, 1896, 1898, 1900, 1902… In particular, those included the trips connected with habilitation to the position of associate professor of the Lviv University (the then Ministry of Education under the ardent pressure of Galician governor Kazimierz Badeni did not allow Doctor of Philosophy Ivan Franko to head the Department of Ukrainian Literature), the participation in the meetings of Austrian Social Democrats, the meetings of the Society of Ukrainian Students “Sich,” the work in the Viennese archives and libraries.

“Last time Ivan Franko came to Vienna was in his tragic spring of 1909,” Vasyl Savchak writes, “on his way to the resort town Lovran on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The diseased writer sought treatment for hand paralysis, incurable at that time. Exhausted by the disease, he returned home through Vienna and Krakow in the company of his son Andrii called importunately from Lviv.”

On August 14, 1915, during the World War I, Ivan Franko wrote his last letter to Vienna, Prof. Jagic: “Honorable advisor, Above all I am sending to you my warm greetings after the terrible events [Ivan Franko means the Russian occupation of Lviv. – V.S.]. This year’s winter has exhausted and weakened me very much. But thank God, the strength of my spirit did not suffer. Remain deeply respectful to you, Dr. Ivan Franko.”

MEMORY

The last place of destination of Den’s route was the Ivan Franko Monument in Vienna. The bust is located at Postgrasse, near St. Barbara Church, close to the Danube. The bust was created by Ukrainian sculptor, Merited Artist of Ukraine, Liubomyr Yaremchuk. “I was burning with the desire to create it since my student years. I tried to penetrate into the essence of his creative work and I even chose the topic for my diploma paper ‘Ivan Franko in Drohobych.’ I frequently visited those places, he was spiritually close to me,” the sculptor said.

Although the idea had ripened in Austrian-Ukrainian society for quite a while, Borys Yasminsky and Vasyl Pylypchuk were the first to offer real steps. “We walked across Vienna, trying to figure out what the best place for the monument would be. We decided it would be the best to place it near St. Barbara Church. I even wanted to call the entire square after Ivan Franko. But we were allotted only one concrete place: 4 sq. meters, we had no more space to move around. General Vicar of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Austria Alexander Ostheim-Dzerovych took up the functions of an organizing committee. The embassy joined in: Pylypchuk, Makarevych. We discussed the versions, got approval in the democratic circles. At that time I thought that Austrian bureaucracy was even worse than the Ukrainian one,” Yaremchuk recalls. “I made everything that depended on me. This is the space within which the artist works. The rest is destiny.”

The square where the bust is located has become the place of meeting of Ukrainian community in Vienna, which still remembers its heroes, in spite of the stormy Austrian life.