Vrba

HIŠA ROJSTNA, DVAKRAT SVETA MENI

»Rodil sem se pri Ribiču v Vrbi v letu, ko je slovenski narod slavil stoletnico Prešernovega rojstva. In danes sem zadnji izmed živečih moških, ki ima številko 1 v Vrbi za svoj rojstni dom.« Tako je govoril Anton Vovk, ki se je res rodil sto let po Francetu Prešernu, 19. maja 1900, v družini Jožefa in Marije Vovk. Bil je deveti otrok, Prešernov pranečak, ki so mu dali ime Anton. V številni družini je prejel prve zglede. Od matere, kakor pišejo biografi, dobroto srca, od očeta pa močno voljo. Slednjega je izgubil že zelo zgodaj, mati pa mu je umrla, ko je bil star 17 let. Skrb zanj je prevzel birmanski boter prof. Anton Zupan. Vovka je pot kaj kmalu vodila v širni svet, a domača hiša mu je vedno ostala svetinja. Sam pravi, da je pozorno opazoval tudi vse obiskovalce, ki so prihajali gledat Prešernov dom: »/…/ Kot dijak sem že z večjim spoštovanjem znal sprejeti razne slovenske velikane. Neizbrisno mi ostane v spominu obisk Ivana Cankarja, ki je hitro prišel, sedel za mizo, pogledal okoli sebe, napisal poleg svojega podpisa v spominsko knjigo besedi ''Pozdravljen, France!'' in odšel.«

Tudi še kot študent se je Anton rad vračal domov, pa čeprav ni poznal počitnic: »Moja mladost ni poznala in uživala sedanjega načina življenja. Nisem smel niti misliti na kolo, ne na izlete, moje opravilo je bilo v počitnicah trdo kmečko delo.« A, kakor so se še leta 1984 spominjali sosedi, je Anton rad delal: »Bil je fant, da takšnega ni bilo. Bil je dober pevec in je rad prepeval vsako jutro, ko je šel na delo na polju, posebno zgodaj zjutraj, ko je šel kosit. Delal je rad.« Res pa je, da ga je k temu spodbujal tudi brat in gospodar hiše. Anton mu tega ni zameril in se je vselej rad vračal pod rodni krov, tudi še kot bogoslovec, kaplan in župnik. Svoj ponos do rodne hiše in svojo ljubezen do domačije je izrazil v pesmi z naslovom Rojstni hiši, kjer v prvih vrsticah zapoje: »Hiša rojstna, dvakrat sveta meni, raj preljubi, vedno zaželjeni!«

Rojstni hiši

Hiša rojstna, dvakrat sveta meni,
raj preljubi, vedno zaželjeni!
Tu tekla zibelka je možu Slave,
ki dvigal male je in nepoznane;
tu pela pesmi mati meni je ljubko,
bitje, ki ljubilo me je presladko.

Hiša rojstna, dvakrat sveta meni!
Odšel od tebe je prvak – poet,
odšel prezgodaj jaz
v goljufivi daljni svet.
Njemu v slovo si dala pesmi snov,
mene naj spremlja duh njegov –
in tvoj blagoslov.

SLIKA: Člani Glasbene matice na izletu pred Prešernovo rojstno hišo leta 1905. Desno ob mlaju je petletni Anton Vovk, levo pa njegova mati Marija. To je njena edina znana fotografija. (Vir: NŠAL 107, P, Vovk)

dr. Miha Šimac, Jure Sovinc

-------------------------------------------------

HOUSE OF MY BIRTH, TWICE SACRED, INSPIRED!

‘I was born at the Ribič homestead in Vrba in the year when the Slovene nation celebrated the centenary of France Prešeren’s birth. And today I am the last among living men who can claim Vrba no. 1 as their birthplace,’ are Anton Vovk’s words. He was indeed born in the same house Slovenia’s greatest poet France Prešeren had been born in 100 years earlier. Anton was born on 19 May 1900 as the ninth child of Jožef and Marija Vovk, and great-nephew of France Prešeren. He was baptised Anton on the day he was born. He found his first role models in his large family. According to his biographers, he got the kindness of heart from his mother, and a strong will from his father. He lost his father at an early age, and his mother died when he was seventeen. His confirmation sponsor, Professor Anton Zupan, took on his care. Anton Vovk ventured into the wider world at an early age, but his home always remained sacred to him. As he noted himself, he also carefully observed all the visitors who came to visit Prešeren’s home: ‘/.../ As a student, I was already able to appreciate various Slovene giants with greater respect. I will never forget the visit by Ivan Cankar (Slovene writer), who arrived, hastily sat down at the table, cast a glance around him, wrote “Greetings, France!” next to his signature in the memorial book, and left.’

Even as a student, Anton enjoyed coming back home, although these visits were no holidays: ‘In my youth, the current way of life was completely out of my reach. I could not even think about a bicycle or leisure trips, during the holidays my job was hard farm work.’ But, as even in 1984 neighbours recalled, Anton loved to work, ‘He was a boy like no other. He was a good singer and he loved to sing every morning when he went to work in the fields, especially early in the morning when he went to cut grass with his scythe. He really enjoyed working.’ It is also true that his brother, as master of the house, encouraged him to do so. Anton did not hold it against him and always liked coming back to his birth house, even as a seminarian, a chaplain and a parish priest. He expressed the pride in his birth house and the love for the homestead in a poem entitled To My Birth House:

House of my birth, twice sacred, inspired,
sweetest paradise, forever desired!
Here our Famed Bard out of his cradle grew,
who brought the meek, the unknown into view,
here my mother sang to me the sweetest song,
gentle creature with a love so strong.

House of my birth, twice sacred, inspired!
Just like the champion poet left,
so I also departed too soon
into a deceitful, distant world.
To bid him farewell you gave him his verse,
to me may his spirit now follow me –
and your blessing.

FIGURE: Members of the musical cultural society Glasbena Matica in front of Prešeren’s birth house in 1905. The boy standing to the right of the maypole is five-year-old Anton Vovk; his mother Marija is the woman left of the maypole. This is the only known photograph of her. (Source: Ljubljana Archdiocesan Archives 107, P, Vovk)

Prevod/translation: Katarina Ropret, Gregor Timothy Čeh