Zavrh

Notary Franjo Štupica invited Maister to holiday in Zavrh after his forced retirement in 1923. The locals and inhabitants of the surrounding area remember Maister using his time at the villa to write poetry – Poet. What he enjoyed even more was spending time with his host, visiting his vineyards and meeting the locals. The general first came to take time off at Zavrh in 1924, then again in 1925 and 1929.

Shortly after WWII, a spontaneous movement developed for the public commemoration of Maister, his fighters for the northern border and his associates in the National Council for Styria. In 1961, the Zavrh Tourism Association was founded and named after the General. In 1963, a lookout tower was built in Maister’s honor and a memorial plaque unveiled – memorial plaques. These were the beginnings of public remembrance of Maister in Slovenia. The first Maister Memorial Room was opened in the former Štupica villa in 1986.

During 2018, Maister’s year, Štupica villa and its surroundings were completely renovated. A new permanent exhibition Maister after Maister opened inside.  Štupica villa – the House of Remembrance, as the authors of the exhibition named it – invites everyone who would like to get to know Maister from a completely human point of view, but at the same time as a determined soldier, commander, gentle poet and patron. Štupica villa has become a space for research, individual thinking, discussion, meetings and new insights. Within, memory is preserved, while at the same time the future is drafted.