Peter Kozler

Peter Kozler or Kosler (16 February 1824 – 16 April 1879) was a Carniolan lawyer, geographer, cartographer, activist, and manufacturer. He was of an ethnic German origin, but identified himself with Slovene culture and advocated the peaceful coexistence of the Slovene and German cultures in Carniola.

Kozler was born in Koče, a village south of Kočevje in Gottschee County, in what was then the Austrian Kingdom of Illyria, and is now Slovenia. He is probably best known for creating the first map of Slovene Lands, called Zemljovid Slovenske dežele in pokrajin (A Map of the Slovene Land and Regions) at a scale of 1:576000. The map was made during the Spring of Nations in 1848, but published only in 1854 in an almanac called Kratki slovenski zemljopis (Short Slovenian Geography), which is regarded as the first geography atlas using exclusively Slovenian toponyms. In the map, which became known as "Kozler's Map," a red line was drawn, showing the ethnic border of the Slovenes. It was soon confiscated by the Austrian military authorities and made available to the public only in 1861. Kozler was also briefly imprisoned by the Austrian authorities for this reason.

Born in a relatively well-to-do family, Kozler made a fortune with beer manufacturing and was the founder of the Union Brewery. He gave large amounts of money to support Slovenian cultural associations and institutions. He was close to the conservative Old Slovene political movement.

Kozler died in Ljubljana.