Savinja Will Be Our Holy Scapular. Maister in Celje 1913–1914.

The new temporary exhibition Savinja Will Be Our Holy Scapular. Maister in Celje 1913–1914 was created in collaboration between the Intermunicipal Museum Kamnik (Birthplace of Rudolf Maister), the Celje Museum of Recent History, and the First Grammar School in Celje (with rich visual material from the Central Library of Celje).

The collaboration with this Celje grammar school was particularly significant, as it is the successor of the former Imperial-Royal State Upper Gymnasium in Celje (k. k. Staatsobergymnasium Cilli), whose students in 1914 joined the Austro-Hungarian captain Rudolf Maister in a literary circle. Until the outbreak of the First World War, they published the literary-scientific journal Savinja. Maister was the editor of this student publication and served as a mentor and friend to the curious young minds, leaving a lifelong impression on them.

The story of Maister’s otherwise brief episode in Celje may at first seem insignificant, yet it notably shapes his biographical narrative. It speaks of his time in the city on the Savinja River, to which he was transferred in the autumn of 1913, but where he was least of all a soldier. Rather, he was a poet, an intellectual, and a teacher. The exhibition particularly aims to highlight Maister’s strong dedication to his nation at every step and in every possible way. For this reason, the forty-year-old Austro-Hungarian officer did not consider it a waste of time to devote himself to enthusiastic Slovene students and further inspire them for their language, culture, and nation.