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First half of the 19th century
The Francina house
The poet’s grandfather Franc (known locally as Francina) bought a modest wooden house with a thatched roof (No. 5) from his relative Jože Malič. He rebuilt the house in brick and added an extension (No. 6). On the ground floor of both houses he ran an inn and a shop.
He started a family with Barbara Mihelič (known locally as Mentanova), a native of Vinica. They had eight children; the first was Ana Malič, born in 1853 – the poet’s mother.
1874
The first fire
The family lived in the house for twenty years, until the first fire, which destroyed 17 houses in Vinica on 8 August 1874. The house, the granary, the stable and the woodshed all burned down. The grandfather rebuilt the house and its extension and once again opened an inn and a shop there.
1876–1878
The poet’s birth
In 1876 Ana, the poet’s mother, married Franc Zupančič, who came from the area around Dolenjske Toplice. Before finally moving to Dragatuš, they lived in Vinica for another three years. It was here that their son Oton Župančič was born.
1888
The second fire
Under the overwhelming burden of living costs, the grandfather had to sell house No. 5 at auction. It was bought by the Vinica merchant Šimunovič, while the grandfather stayed on in the extension, house No. 6.
In 1888 Vinica was struck by a second major fire, in which more than 50 houses burned down, among them houses No. 5 and No. 6. The grandfather moved into temporary lodgings with the Berkopec family next door and then bought the castle stable (the “konjača”). He lived there for 22 years, until his death. His wife Barbara had died 15 years before him.
1951
A literary museum
On the site of the fire, the homestead of Franjo Lovšin (1863–1931), a schoolteacher from Vinica, was later built. In 1951 one of the first Slovenian literary museums was set up in the house – today’s Oton Župančič Memorial House.
