Teaching children history by visiting the local cemetery

Visiting a local cemetery is a perfect way to interest children in history. Questions and discussions about wars, disease, immigration and beliefs about death are triggered in even elementary school children.

Students as ASCE guides

At the AGM 2012 in Maribor, Slovenia, 6 children from Maribor elementary schools guided the ASCE members through Pobrežje cemetery.

Students becoming guides

With the students becoming guides, this represented a very special and different experience for visitors, scholars and the schools.

It all started at Pobrežje Cemetery in April, when Pogrebno podjetje Maribor (the cemetery management company) hosted scholars from 2 schools for the cultural day. Scholars were presented with the history of the cemetery and important people burried there.

With an excellent prepared guidance, scholars immediately became aware that cemetery is not just a place of death and sadness. It was a place of many interesting findings and as they have learned about the important people in the cemetery, scholars were actually learning about themselves and their own history.

For many of them, the experience was so impressive, that they have volunteered for becoming guides  themselves. Preparations started and soon, they were guiding their first visitors, during the Week of Discovering European Cemeteries (WDEC).

Guided tour at the AGM on September 14, 2012

After the first experience, the youngest guides worked with their english teachers and improved the guidance techniques and knowledge for their big challenge: guiding the ASCE members and partners through the cemetery at AGM 2012.

As it turned out, they were surprisingly relaxed, practical and interesting. Present members enjoyed the easy guidance where scholars presented the most important people of Maribor with just enough facts and interesting stories.

Importance of the project

The project has many important implications and presents one of the best possible ways to get every European citizen in touch with the heritage, preserved in the cemeteries. Because scholars are not the only ones impressed. Their families, friends and many others are now learning from them about the importance of our cemeteries.

Rudolf Maister, Slovene Division General

Photo from http://www.muzejno-mb.si/

Rudolf Maister nicknamed Vojanov. The Slovene Division General, commander of Maribor in the Slovene army, also a poet and self-taught painter.

Born on March 29th 1874 in Kamnik, Slovenia (Austro-Hungary back then), active in the period from 1890 to 1923. He died on July 26th julija 1934, in Rakek, Slovenia (Yugoslavia at that time). The recipient of numerous military decorations, such as Signum laudis, the order of the white eagle, the order of the star of Karađorđević and the order of Saint Sava.

(from Slovenian governmental portal for children and youth)

More about Rudolf Maister. Burried at cemetery Pobrežje.

Pobrezje Cemetery: The peace monument unveling ceremony

The Peace Monument unveiling ceremony that took place at the cemetery Pobrežje (Maribor, Slovenia) two weeks ago. With the unveiling of the Peace Monument Pogrebno podjetje Maribor concludes activities of the international project »The war graveyards at cemetery in Pobrežje«. More info about the ceremony can be found at Pogrebno podjetje Maribor website..