CULTURAL HERITAGE UNDER STOL
My grandfather's family comes from Žirovnica, a beautiful alpine village under the mountain Stol, which is the highest peak in the Karavanken Alps. Žirovnica is situated between the towns of Jesenice and Radovljica.
Several other villages belong to the municipality of Žirovnica and they all have a very rich history. Many famous people were born there, among them a number of writers and poets who played an important role in the literal and cultural life of our country. They had a decisive influence over their contemporaries as well as over future generations. Their work stimulated the progress of the Slovene literature and language and the development of the Slovene culture in general.
The first in the row is our greatest poet France Prešeren, born in the year 1800 at Vrba, one of the oldest villages at the foot of Stol. In 1939, his house, the first Slovene protected cultural monument, was arranged into a memorial museum. There, we can see many different publications of his collection of poems Poezije from 1848 and many books on poet's life and work.
Prešeren's best friend Matija Cop was one of the greatest European scholars of that time. He was interested in all European languages and literatures. He could speak 19 languages and he was also the first Slovene librarian. His biggest merit is that he passed all his knowledge to Prešeren. His birthplace is Žirovnica and his house is situated not far from the house in which Prešeren's mother Marija Svetina was born. Cop's life and work is presented in his house arranged in a museum. It is used for many activities connected with the Path of Cultural Heritage of the municipality of Žirovnica. A collection of archaeological material of a site from the late Roman period on Ajdna, a hill over the village Potoki next to Žirovnica, is also on view here.
Another famous person, a writer and a priest F. S. Finžgar (1871–1962), came from the neighbouring village of Doslovice . He was also a distinguished playwright. His best known book is the historical novel Pod svobodnim soncem.
The biggest village with the parish church is Breznica where the famous beekeeper Anton Janša was born in the 18th century. He was the first teacher of beekeeping at the court of the Empress Maria Teresia in Vienna . He wrote two books in German which brought him a lot of glory.
The village of Rodine next to Doslovice is the birthplace od another famous Slovene writer Janez Jalen (1891–1966). Most of his literary work is exhibited in his house arranged in a museum. His best known book is Bobri.
All these people marked significantly the Slovene nation and history, speaking about the beauty of our language and country. They did not care only for themselves and for their personal well-being, but desired much more, they longed for more, they tended upwards, towards higher human values.
I often visit Žirovnica and I spend a big part of my summer holidays with my grandparents there. So I know all these places very well and I like them very much. On our walks on the Path of Cultural Heritage to the nearest surroundings of our house I always enjoy myself a lot. I also like the books of these writers and poets from Žirovnica very much.
Andrej Čop Prek