The Hermagoras Society ( or ) is Slovenia's oldest publishing house and has branches in Klagenfurt (Austria), Celje (Slovenia), and Gorizia (Italy). Named after Catholic Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia it originated on July 27, 1851 at the behest of Bishop Anton Martin Slomšek for the purpose of instructing Slovenes in reading and writing. Authorities formally recognized the organization in 1853 and in 1871 association opened its new building and publishing house. By 1918 the society had over 90,000 members and had published more than 16.3 million books. Following the results of the 1920 Carinthian plebiscite the seat was transferred from Klagenfurt to Celje. In 1940 during World War II both the Klagenfurt and Celje locations were closed down by the Nazis, who confiscated the printing presses and destroyed books.