Gore kot prostor pripadnosti

The article discusses the life and mountaineering career of Branko Zemljič (1887–1961), a teacher, cultural worker, and long-time secretary of the Savinja branch of the Slovenian Mountaineering Society. His work is placed in the broader context of the development of mountaineering in Slovenia at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and in the first decades of the twentieth century, when the mountains were not only a place for spending free time but also a site of national and cultural struggle. Special attention is paid to Zemljič’s efforts to strengthen the Slovenian presence in the Savinja part of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps. The article also highlights the “story” from his youth about the area of the Korošica mountain pasture below Mount Ojstrica or, rather, his personal account of the national struggle linked to the symbolic significance of mountain huts. Zemljič’s work shows how everyday efforts of individuals were intertwined with questions of identity, and his legacy offers valuable insight into the formation of the Slovenian mountaineering space.