Dans son très bel ouvrage, Bridge over the Drina, Ivo Andric nous parle de l’arrivée des Autrichiens en Bosnie, vers 1878:
“Besides permanent lightning, the new authorities also introduced cleanliness on the kapia [le sommet du pont, sur lequel on peut se reposer], or more exactly that special sort of cleanliness that accorded with their ideas. The fruit peelings, melon seeds and nutshells no longer remained fod days on the flagstones until the rain or the wind carried them away. Now a municipal sweeper brushed them up every morning. But that irritated no one, for men quickly become accustomed to cleanliness even when it forms no part of their needs or habits; naturally on condition that they personally do not have to observe it.”
119 ans plus tard, l’influence autrichienne est toujours perceptible en Slovénie. Pas un poil ne dépasse.