Prešeren's house

Prešeren's birth house is a house in the village of Vrba in the Žirovnica municipality in Slovenia. It is the house where the Slovene poet France Prešeren was born in 1800. The Slovene theologian Archbishop Anton Vovk was also born in the same house in 1900. The house is a good example of an Upper Carniolian farm house. Since 1939 it has housed a small museum collection with furnishings from the poet’s time [ [http://www.slovenia.info/en/arhitekturne-znamenitosti/Pre%C5%A1ernova-rojstna-hi%C5%A1a.htm?arhitekturne_znamenitosti=5873&lng=2 Prešeren's birth house at the Slovene Tourist Organisation site] ] . It was originally a 16th century wooden building with a stone built cellar. It was heavily damaged and rebuilt after a fire in 1856. It is mainly due to the efforts of Fran Saleški Finžgar that the house was turned into a museum [ [http://www.burger.si/MuzejiInGalerije/GornjesavskiMuzejJesenice/FrancePreseren/FrancePreserenRH_Uvod.html Information and a virtual tour of the house on Boštjan Burger's site] ] . It is fitted with 19th century furnishings. Of the original furniture from Prešeren's time the benches in the hallway and the main room, a wooden chest from 1837 and the actual cradle in which the baby France is alleged to have been rocked to sleep, are preserved and displayed in the museum. In 1985 a section with a collection of books was added to the museum and includes translations of Prešeren's poems into various languages, various editions of his poems and books about his life and work.

The house and the nearby church of St Mark are on the "Cultural Heritage Route" [ [http://www.zirovnica.si/zirovnica/UserFiles/668/File/Spoznajte%20nas/Pot_dediscine(1).doc 'The Cultural Heritage Route' information on the Žirovnica municipality site (in Slovene)] ] , a trail through the villages of the Žirovnica municipality.

The museum is open to the public on weekdays from 9.00 to 16.00 (closed Mondays) and at weekends from 10.00 to 17.00.

See also

* Vrba, Slovenia
* France Prešeren

External links

* [http://www.zirovnica.eu/a_kultura/k_potkultdediscine.html Žirovnica Tourist Association site (in Slovene)]

References