Biography
Julius Kugy was born in Gorizia, then part of the Austrian Empire (now in Italy) to Slovene parents. His father was a Carinthian Slovene whose original surname was Kogej. His mother was the daughter of the Slovene poet Jovan Vesel Koseski. Kugy was educated in a multi-lingual environment: from an early age he was fluent in the three major languages of his native Gorizia and Gradisca region: Italian, German and Friulian. During his childhood he would spend the summers in his father's native village of Lind (Lipa) near Arnoldstein in the Carinthian Gail Valley, where he developed his interest in nature and mountains.
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 Mekhitarist 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 and German speaking lands.
During World War II, Kugy rescued several Slovene alpine climbers from the Dachau concentration camp, and collaborated with the Slovene partisan underground resistance in Trieste. He died in Trieste in 1944. He is buried in the central city cemetery.
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