Doing In-Between, Economic Nationalism, and the Carniolan Savings Bank in Ljubljana, 1870s–1880s

The article analyses the Carniolan Savings Bank in Ljubljana during the 1870s and 1880s as an institution that practised “doing in-between” and as an object of economic nationalism. It shows how the Savings Bank, initially presented as a public-benefit and formally neutral institution, gradually came to be seen as a German financial pillar in Carniola. An analysis of the roles of key figures, charitable contributions, linguistic practices, and political and media debates reveals that this “German” image resulted from specific strategic decisions and practices (such as staffing, communication, and donations) that linked the Savings Bank to German political and economic interests during the development of economic nationalism agendas.