Mit - Index

Mit - SINFO March 2008 No.5 - Index

NATUrAL TrAILS
maritime trade. The North Adriatic ports of Trieste, Koper and
Piran were involved in shipping wood, citrus fruits, salt and ore.
At the Museum in Piran, there are several documents concerning
these trading activities, and the many models of warships and
civilian ship from previous centuries bear witness to maritime
affairs. In addition to the models, there are many nautical items,
uniforms, souvenirs and personal objects pertaining to individual
sailors. The collection tells the story of Slovenian sailors and their
lives. Visitors can thus get acquainted with the captain of the
battleship ‘Anton Dolenc’, a naval officer, Ivan KoršiË, a ship’s
clerk, Ivan Rupnik, and others through their personal belongings.
It should be noted that up to 1918, approximately 45,000
Slovenian sailors, 9,000 non-commissioned officers, 100 senior
officers, 66 admirals and 25 people holding senior positions
(11 doctors, 7 superintendents, 6 priests and one shipbuilding
engineer) and others served in the Austro-Hungarian navy. After
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the dissolution of the imperial navy, many sailors transferred into
the newly founded navy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
After the Second World War, when after a short transitional
period of partisan naval operations, a strong Yugoslav navy
was founded, in which Slovenian sailors and officers played an
important role an independent Slovenian merchant marine was
also founded. An independent military navy began developing as
late as 1991, following independence.
LIfE WITH THE SEA
The Maritime Museum in Piran not only presents their maritime
tradition, but also Slovenes’ with the sea today. Apart from the
model ship collection, there is also a painting collection with
maritime themes, and nautical instruments, among which there
are old nautical maps and precious atlases found in Slovenia. An
underwater archaeology collection is also presented in a unique
way. The museum boasts a special exhibit, the yacht of the
renowned Slovenian ballet dancers Pia and Pino Mlakar.
The Museum has some interesting annexes in the hinterland
of Slovenian Istria: an ethnological collection, with an ancient
torklja − an oil mill, with an olive press. The Salt Museum, in
the centre of the working salt- pans in Piran, has been part of
the Sergej Mašera Museum since 1991. The Museum has many
plans for the future. It is attempting to acquire the old Montfort
salt warehouses in Portorož and to extend its activities while
preserving Montfort's original functions. Some 30,000 visitors
per year come to see the collections.
WHy IS THE MUSEUM NAMEd AfTER
SERGEJ MAšERA?
The Maritime Museum in Piran was named after the Slovenian naval
hero from the beginning of the First World War Sergej Mašera.
And who was Sergej Mašera? He was a Slovenian naval officer
who was born in 1912, in Gorizia, and educated in Ljubljana and
later on at the naval academies in Dubrovnik and Boka Kotorska.
When Italy attacked the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Mašera was a
lieutenant on board the naval vessel ‘Zagreb’. After the Yugoslav
army surrendered, the crew received orders to abandon ship.
Lieutenant Mašera and a lieutenant Milan SpasiÊ were the only
men on board. On 17 April 1941, they blew up the ‘Zagreb’ to
prevent her from falling into enemy hands, going down with the
ship. They were declared National Heroes in 1973.