Matija Ahacel, also known in German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 as Matthias Achazel (24 February 1779 – 23 September 1845), born Matija Kobentar, was a Carinthian Slovene philologist, publicist

Publicist

A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...

, and collector of folk songs.

Ahacel was born in a peasant family in the village of Gorentschach  near the market town of Sankt Jakob im Rosental

Sankt Jakob im Rosental

Sankt Jakob im Rosental is a town in the district of Villach-Land in Carinthia in Austria.According to the 2001 census 16.4% of the population are Carinthian Slovenes....

  in the Duchy of Carinthia

Duchy of Carinthia

The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....

. He worked as professor of mathematics in the lyceum

Lyceum

The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...

 in Klagenfurt

Klagenfurt

-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...

. He collaborated with Urban Jarnik

Urban Jarnik

Urban Jarnik was a Carinthian Slovene priest, historian, poet, author and ethnographer.He was born in the lower Gailtal in the Duchy of Carinthia. He served as a parish priest in several villages and towns throughout southern Carinthia, including Klagenfurt and Moosburg, which at the time still...

, Anton Janežič

Anton Janežic

Anton Janežič, also known in German as Anton Janeschitz was a Carinthian Slovene linguist, philologist, author, editor, literary historian and critic.- Life :...

 and Anton Martin Slomšek

Anton Martin Slomšek

Anton Martin Slomšek was a Slovene bishop, author, poet, and advocate of Slovene culture.Slomšek was born to a peasant family in the hamlet of Slom near the village of Ponikva in the Municipality of Šentjur, Lower Styria. He studied theology and philosophy before being ordained in 1824 at the...

 in preserving the folk traditions of Slovenes in Carinthia and in Lower Styria

Lower Styria

Lower Styria or Slovenian Styria is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of Lower Styria in its historical boundaries amounts to around 705,000 inhabitants, or 34.5% of the population of Slovenia...

. In 1833 and 1838, he published a collection of folk songs under the title Pesme po Koroškim ino Štajarskem znane (Songs Known in Carinthia and in Styria

Duchy of Styria

The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian state of Styria and the Slovene region of Styria from its settlement by Germans and Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present...

"). The third volume was published in 1858 by Slomšek.

Ahacel died in Klagenfurt.