In the 16th century, Switzerland was the very centre of European humanism. Paracelsus and Heinrich Loriti-Glarean were based here, as was Erasmus of Rotterdam, the greatest European humanist, whose work was published by the Basel printing house of Johann Frobenius. At this time there is evidence of strong contacts with Slovene intellectuals. Lenart Budina, the founder of the Estates School in Ljubljana, was for a time a proof-reader in Frobenius's printing works. His teacher was Glarean, a translator of Greek classics. The central figure of the Slovene Reformation and writer of the first books in Slovene, Primož Trubar, corresponded with the Swiss religious reformer Henrik Bullinger. Numerous students from Carinthia, Carniola, Styria and Gorizia attended Basel University, later becoming recognised doctors, important provincial adminstrators or priests. There was particular interest in Basel University among Carinthian students and in this province the Protestant tradition survived the Counter-Reformation and Catholic renewal.
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