TIME AND PLACE
Dravograd–Velenje Railway Line
At the end of the 19th century, the construction of the railway, which was ceremonially opened on 20 December 1899, was the most important investment in Slovenj Gradec and the Mislinja Valley. By 1895, location studies in the field had been carried out and intensive construction of the line took place between 1897 and 1899. The town was the seat of the construction management. Approximately 2,200 local and foreign workers built the railway over two years. The railway revitalised the town and its surroundings and by offering the possibility to trade with faraway places, created numerous opportunities for new profit.
The Slovenj Gradec Fire
On 10 May 1903, Slovenj Gradec was hit by a fire, which the newspapers of the time described as tremendous disaster. Due to the strong southerly wind, the fire spread rapidly and completely engulfed the houses on today’s Meškova ulica and in the north-eastern part of the town. The belfry of the parish church also went up in flames. Luckily, there were no human casualties, but around two hundred inhabitants were left without a roof over their heads and any belongings. With an organised collection, money for rebuilding started to flow in the very same year. The town acquired a new, more modern image. In 1903, the municipal electrical power plant started operating in Pameče.
Everyday Life
The town provided a safe and stimulating environment, which is why many craftsmen and merchants settled there. Part of the German-speaking middle class left after the First World War, and Slovenians moved in, which affected a change in the ethnic composition of the population. Life in a small town depended on self-sufficiency. Until the middle of the 20th century, individual farms operated in the town, where horses, cattle, pigs, poultry, and rabbits were raised in stalls. Vegetable gardens were next to their houses, and farmers also owned fields in the immediate vicinity.
Handicrafts and Art Crafts
People’s daily life is revealed by the interweaving of objects and tools typical of the peasant way of life with handicraft items from crafts such as pottery and weaving, as well as arts and crafts: painting on glass, painting beehives, carving, embroidery, and others. Despite their manual skills, knowledge, and sense of design, many of the item makers have remained anonymous. Their objects have retained their artistic and message value to this day.
FIGURES
Martin Emeršič (1861, Sv. Barbara v Halozah – 1941, Krčevina pri Ptuju)
Martin Emeršič, referred to as Šukov Tinč, a master carpenter and carver who met Soklič during his work in Sv. Vid pri Ptuju, made a set of carved furniture on his commission between 1931 and 1937. Documents testify to his works for the local parish church of St Barbara in Haloze. Numerous pieces of furniture have been preserved in private collections, while the Collection here keeps nine richly carved chairs, a table, a cupboard, a chandelier, a serving tray, a bowl, and a decorative plate.
Jerica Kežar
A cook and an embroiderer who moved to Slovenj Gradec together with Soklič, Jerica Kežar managed the household in the rectory. She is credited for the fact that the artwork in the Soklič Museum, with the exception of books that were partly destroyed, endured the turmoil of the Second World War. Linen napkins, commissioned by Soklič and according to the designs of Mila Šentjurc, were made by Kežar, who also embroidered the curtains and tablecloths with which the living quarters were decorated.
Jakob Soklič and His Contemporaries
Priests Jakob Soklič (1893–1972) and Franc Ksaver Meško (1874–1964) maintained the tradition of cultural life and, as important personalities of half-past history, significantly influenced the cultural literacy of younger generations who shaped the progress of this town between the mountains. Their contribution is particularly visible in the post-war years, when a handful of intellectuals were active in town and established the central cultural establishments and Soklič’s friendly relations with the family of the physician Dr Lojze Simoniti (1901–1957) and the renowned lawyer Dr Ljuba Prenner (1906–1977) and the long-time director of the Umetnostni paviljon, painter Karel Pečko (1920–2016), who together with the senior doctor Dr Stane Strnad (1902–1979) discovered the self-taught painter Jože Tisnikar (1928–1998) and guided numerous other artists, enabled contemporary generations of Slovenj Gradec and its surroundings to enthusiastically partake in the rich cultural history of their town.
POINTS OF INTEREST
A Hotel with Central Heating and a Bowling Alley
The 1903 fire partly damaged the building of the Sandwirth Inn, which was built on the town walls. The disaster prompted its owners Marija and Johan Schuller to renovate the inn and expand it into the Sandwirth – Schuller Hotel. The luxuriously designed renovation included a café, a restaurant, a hall for gatherings, a billiards room, entrance porch, and 23 sunny rooms. The hotel boasted a large fenced garden and a bowling alley, and the new wing of the building was equipped with hot and cold running water, flush toilets, central heating in the rooms, and a novelty in the shape of electric lighting.
A Restaurant at the Terminus
The seat of the railway section was in the building of the main railway station because Slovenj Gradec had the most passenger and freight traffic. Slovenj Gradec station was also the terminus for local trains and far enough from the town centre that it was sensible to build a restaurant here to serve passengers and later tourists. It was built by Ernest Goll (1854–1913), the owner of the Post Hotel in the town centre.
Pohorje Glass
Since the mid-17th century, Pohorje has prided itself on a rich glassmaking heritage. Forest glassworks used wood from Pohorje forests to make naturally coloured or forest glass. In the 19th century, however, glassworks (glažuta, Glashütte) grew into medium-sized or larger industrialised glassmaking factories that, in addition to glass for everyday use, also made glass items decorated by polishing, engraving, and painting. Today, the place name Glažuta in Mislinjski jarek harks back to the existence of Pohorje glassworks.
Cream-Coloured Earthenware and Porcelain
Clay is a natural material for making pottery vessels that master potters in our region have shaped on a potters’ wheel and fired in kilns since the 10th century. The number of pottery workshops greatly increased and expanded in the 15th century when pottery became available to all social classes. In the 18th century, the upper class started replacing pottery with vessels made of cream-coloured pottery and porcelain. In the countryside, pottery remained strongly represented all through the 19th century, but became a real rarity in the second half of the 20th century.
RADOVEDNI POPEK
Life in the Countryside
Not so long ago, the town of Slovenj Gradec was surrounded by countryside and large areas of farmland. The majority of inhabitants were involved in agriculture and animal husbandry. Even within the town walls, people kept gardens and livestock stalls. Along with peasant life and work, rich domestic crafts developed: pottery, carving, carpentry, weaving, and baking. Search for three different materials for making farming tools and equipment in this room!
Farming Tools
Try the memory game and find out about farming tools!
Beehive Panels
In Carniola and Carinthia, farmers developed the folk art of decorating beehive panels. They painted religious, fantasy, historical, and everyday scenes on them. They used them to distinguish hives from each other and spiritually protect the bees. What motifs can be found on the beehive panels in this room?
As Industrious as a Bee
