Martin Krpan is a folk hero who is a smuggler and a tax evader

Not many countries have folk heroes who are smugglers and tax evaders, but Slovenia does. The legend of Martin Krpan is the popular story of a powerful man who carries salt from the Adriatic into Austria. He later defeats the incredible hulk Brdavs, thereby gaining the admiration of the Emperor and, with his blessing, goes legal. Although the story appeared in 1858, it would be nearly a hundred years later that Krpan would get the image most commonly associated with him today. If they have to describe him, many Slovenes will see Tone Kralj’s painting of Krpan carrying his horse: a painting done in 1954.