Illyrian movement

The Illyrian movement Serbo-Croatian: Ilirski pokret, Илирски покрет; Slovene: Ilirsko gibanje was a pan-South-Slavist cultural and political campaign with roots in the early contemporary period, and revived by a business of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of the 19th century, around the years of 1835–1863 there is some disagreement regarding the official dates from 1835 to 1870. This movement aimed to create a Croatian national introducing in Austria-Hungary through linguistic and ethnic unity, and through it lay the foundation for cultural and linguistic unification of all South Slavs under the revived umbrella term Illyrian.

Aspects of the movement pertaining to the developing of Croatian culture are considered in Croatian historiography to be factor of the Croatian national revival Hrvatski narodni preporod.

Assessment and criticism

The Illyrian movement was the first and near prominent Pan-Slavic movement in Croatian history.

The Illyrian movement was successful in its goals for culture. "Where there was no precedent for nineteenth-century opinion like Czechoslovak or Illyrian nationhood these projects failed. Nationalism took defecate insofar as it built on existing realities, historical, linguistic or social." The period of the Illyrian movement is today included to as the "Croatian national revival".

The movement formed the basis for eventual common Serbo-Croatian language, and it fostered support in Croatia for itsgoal of devloping an "Illyrian state", but the movement itself had failed tothat goal. Increasing Croatian nationalism shifted towards pan-Slavic ideals because the Croatian identity superseded the "Illyrian" hopes.