Štupica’s Villa

In Zavrh, opposite Maister’s lookout tower, there is a rural villa built in 1923, named after its former owner Fran Štupica. In 1947/48, a cultural hall was added to the house. The villa is important because it was visited by Rudolf Maister – Vojanov (1874–1934)—a general, defender of the northern Slovenian border, poet, bibliophile, and patriot. Maister often came to Zavrh to visit his friend, the Lenart notary Fran Štupica. In Štupica’s villa, he wrote his second poetry collection Kitica mojih (1929). He also dedicated poems to Zavrh and the Slovenske Gorice Hills, including Završki fantje, Oj, Slovenske gorice, and Završki škorci.

The house has not fully preserved its original appearance, but Rudolf Maister’s significance and the poems he wrote while resting in Štupica’s villa give the building a strong commemorative character. For more than 30 years, Maister’s events have been held in Zavrh every year at the end of November, forming a prominent cultural occasion.

Štupica’s Villa is an important site not only for the local area but also for Slovenia more broadly. The villa houses a memorial collection covering the historical period in the Slovenske Gorice region from 1848 to 1991, with an emphasis on General Rudolf Maister Vojanov and the struggles for the northern border. The collection is richly documented with photographs, Maister’s handwritten poems and other documents, and items belonging to Maister’s fighters.