Alma Karlin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alma Karlin
Alma Maximiliana Karlin
Born	October 12, 1889 Celje, Slovenia
Died	January 15, 1950 Pečovnik, Slovenia
Resting place	Svetina, Svetina, Obcina Store, Savinjska, Slovenia

Alma Ida Willibalde Maximiliana Karlin (born October 12, 1889 – died January 15, 1950) was an amazing Slovene traveler, writer, and poet. She was also a collector, knew many languages (a polyglot), and was interested in spiritual ideas (called theosophy). She was one of the first European women to travel all the way around the world by herself!

Alma Karlin's Life Story

Alma was born in Celje, a town in what is now Slovenia. At that time, it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Her father, Jakob Karlin, was a major in the army, and her mother, Vilibalda Miheljak, was a teacher. Alma's father passed away when she was only eight years old. She grew up speaking mostly German and thought of herself as Austrian.

Early Education and Language Skills

After finishing school in Graz, Alma went to London to study languages. She learned many, including English, French, Latin, Italian, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Russian, and Spanish. Later, she also learned Persian, Chinese, and Japanese. She even spent six months in Paris, taking more language classes at the Sorbonne. During this time, she started working on a dictionary of ten languages, which was never published.

World War I and Meeting Selma Lagerlöf

When World War I started in 1914, Alma had to move to Sweden and Norway. This was because she was from Austria-Hungary, and the United Kingdom saw her as an unwanted person (a persona non grata). While in Scandinavia, she met the famous Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf. Selma was so impressed by Alma and her writing that she suggested Alma should be considered for a Nobel Prize.

Traveling the World

In 1919, Alma returned home to Celje, which was then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. She immediately began saving money for another big trip. She opened a language school in Celje, teaching for many hours each day. In her free time, she painted and wrote. On November 24, 1919, she set off again on a nine-year journey around the world!

She visited places like South America, North America, the Pacific Islands, Australia, and many countries in Asia. The last part of her journey was in India. While many people think she was the first European woman to travel solo around the world, she was actually the second, after Ida Laura Pfeiffer.

Return Home and Later Life

In January 1928, Alma returned home because her mother was very ill. Alma herself was tired and feeling very sad. She never traveled again. She spent most of her time writing. Around 1934, she became very interested in theosophy, which is a spiritual philosophy. Later in her life, especially during World War II, she became closer to the Roman Catholic faith.

Alma wrote about her travels in hundreds of articles for various magazines and newspapers. After returning home, she wrote many books, both fiction and non-fiction. She used to write in German, but she stopped when the Nazi regime came to power as a way to protest. Her books were even burned by the Nazis in Germany. She also wrote in English for English-speaking readers. In 1937–38, a journalist named Hans Joachim Bonsack, who was against the Nazis, found safety in her home.

Alma Karlin in the 1920s

World War II and Final Years

After the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, and the Germans took over her region, Alma was arrested. She was sent to Maribor and was going to be sent to Serbia with many other Slovenes. Luckily, her good friend Thea Gamelin helped her get released. She was allowed to go back to Celje but had to stay in her house.

In the spring of 1944, Alma decided to escape to White Carniola, a region controlled by the Slovene partisan resistance. Even though she was very sick, the Partisans did not let her fly to Bari in Southern Italy, which was controlled by the Allies. Instead, she was taken to Dalmatia, where she stayed until the war ended. After the war, she moved back to Celje. Alma Karlin passed away on January 14, 1950, from breast cancer and tuberculosis. She is buried next to her friend Thea Schreiber Gammelin in the Svetina churchyard.

Alma Karlin as a Collector

Alma Karlin also became a passionate collector and ethnologist (someone who studies cultures). She sent most of the items she collected during her travels back home. There, she set up a small private museum. Today, some of these items are displayed in the Celje Regional Museum. Many of her writings have not been published yet. Most of them are kept in the National and University Library of Slovenia and the Berlin State Library.

Alma Karlin's Books

Alma Karlin wrote many books, mostly in German, which were later translated into Slovenian and other languages. Here are some of the types of books she wrote:

Novels

• Malik (1932)
• Solitary Travel (1969)
• A Novel on the Flood of the Continent (1936)
• My Little Chinese: a novel from China (1921)
• Mysticism of the South Sea (1931)
• Nabob's Stranger Wife (1937)

Novellas

• Little Siam (1937)
• The Youngest Grandson of the Venerable I Cha: a novel from China (1948)
• Joni San - Japanese Novels (2006)

Short Stories

• Cup of Forgetting: Two Stories (1938)
• Dragons and Spirits (1996)
• Little Spring: Three Stories (1937)
• Moon Tears: The Story of Peru (1935)
• Four Girls in the Wind of Destiny: The Story of the South Sea (1936, 1939, 1943)
• Twinkling at Dusk (1999)

Travelogues

• To Experience the World (2006)

Drama Works

• Kringhausen: Drama in Three Acts (1918)

Other Works

• As a Captive in the Headhunters of New Guinea (1960)
• Blue Moon (1997)
• Death Thorn (2006)
• Angel on Earth (1998)
• Experiencing the World (2006)
• The Spell of the South Sea: The Tragedy of a Woman (1930, 1996)
• Into-Yo-Intec (1934)
• Travel Sketches (1997)
• Under the Bony Eye (1938)
• My Lost Poplars (2007)

See also

In Spanish: Alma Maximiliana Karlin para niños