Janko Orožen (; 10 December 1891 – 30 September 1989)
[Šlebinger, Janko. 1935. "Orožen Janko." ''Slovenski biografski leksikon'', vol. 6: Mrkun–Peterlin. Ljubljana: Zadružna gospodarska banka.] was a
Slovene historian and schoolteacher.
Life
Orožen was born in Sveti Štefan (now
Turje), where he also attended a one-room school.
[Kmecl, Matjaž. 1972. "Profesor Janko Orožen - osemdesetletnik." ''Jezik in slovstvo'' 17(4): 113.] He attended a teacher training school in
Maribor
Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...
and then graduated from high school in
Celje
)
, pushpin_map = Slovenia
, pushpin_label_position = left
, pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Cou ...
.
He enrolled in law school in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
in 1913,
[Šumrada, Janez. 1981. "Janko Orožen - devetdesetletnik." ''Kronika'' 29(3): 282–283.] but withdrew due to a lack of funds. During the First World War he was called up to serve in the Austro-Hungarian army in 1915
and was captured on the Russian front.
He then joined the volunteers in the
Czechoslovak Legion
The Czechoslovak Legion (Czech language, Czech: ''Československé legie''; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Československé légie'') were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting on the side of the Allies of World ...
in 1918 and fought with them on the
Macedonian front
The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...
.
In 1922 he graduated from the Faculty of Arts at the
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students.
History Beginnings
Although certain ...
, after which he taught as a historian, Slavic specialist, and geographer in
Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota (, Slovenian abbreviation: ''MS'' ; german: Olsnitz;''Radkersburg und Luttenberg'' (map, 1:75,000). 1894. Vienna: K.u.k. Militärgeographisches Institut. hu, Muraszombat) is a town in northeastern Slovenia. It is the centre of the ...
, and then in Celje at the
Celje First Grammar School
The Celje First Grammar School ( sl, I. gimnazija v Celju) is a coeducational nondenominational state secondary general education school for students aged between 15 and 19 in Celje, Slovenia. It was the first high school built in the region, est ...
from 1924
until 1941, when he was exiled to
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
with his family. He taught in
Užice
Užice ( sr-cyr, Ужице, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Zlatibor District in western Serbia. It is located on the banks of the river Đetinja. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 59,747. The Cit ...
and then temporarily went into retirement in 1942.
During the interwar period, Orožen wrote textbooks for history, geography,
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
, and
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
. Altogether he wrote 30 scholarly volumes, 170 articles and reports, and 12 textbooks.
Orožen also studied the history of Celje and the
Savinja
The Savinja () is a river in northeast Slovenia which flows mostly in the Upper and Lower Savinja Valley ( sl, Zgornja in Spodnja Savinjska dolina) and through the cities of Celje and Laško. The Savinja is the main river of the Savinja Alps (Sl ...
and
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
valleys. After the Second World War, he returned to Celje in 1946 and taught at a high school there until his retirement in 1954.
Following the major flood in the town that year, he dedicated himself to work at the Celje Historical Archives and served as director of the archives until his retirement in 1965.
Family
Orožen's daughter
Božena Orožen is a Slavic specialist, Russian specialist, literary historian, and journalist.
Works
*''Zgodovina Celja I. Prazgodovinska in rimska Celeja'' (History of Celje I. Prehistoric and Roman Celje), 1927.
*''Zgodovina Celja II. Srednjeveško Celje'' (History of Celje II. Medieval Celje), 1927.
*''Zgodovina Celja III. Novoveško Celje (1456–1848)'' (History of Celje III. Celje in the Modern Era, 1456–1848), 1930.
*''Gradovi in graščine v narodnem izročilu'' (Castles and Manors in Folk Heritage), 1936. A collection of folk heritage gathered with the help of his students in various localities between the Savinja,
Sotla, and Sava rivers.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orozen, Janko
1891 births
1989 deaths
20th-century Slovenian historians
University of Ljubljana alumni
People from the Municipality of Hrastnik