Page 37 - Knjižnica Brežice - Brošura 2016

GREAT LINGUIST, OUR COMPATRIOT FROM MOSTEC
Academician Jože Toporišič, PhD

I love returning to Brežice and to books

I have been recently connected with Brežice mainly because of and by the help of the library. I had the pleasure of becoming an honoured
citizen of Brežice, a city so dear to my heart. The city known for one of the greatest Slovenian grammarians, Maks Pleteršnik. I’m especially
delighted to see that a portion of the library’s space is occupied by my life’s work – my books and publications. I would like to thank the
library for inviting me to celebrate my 85th birthday there and watch the Slavko Hren’s documentary about my life.

The library has become my refuge I love to return to and think about when visiting my birthplace Mostec, my relatives and friends from the
villages scattered around the city of Brežice.

I’m happy to note that the city’s growing reputation is largely due to the library offering her space to the book-lovers who deserve such a
remarkable building.

Jože Toporišič, PhD

We feel very honoured by what the academician Jože Toporišič said about our library and cooperation. With his creative versatility in
language work he succeeded in placing Slovenian in the framework of modern European linguistics. In the second half of the 20th century,
he had a major direct and indirect impact on the importance, development and place of Slovenian as a modern language and aided in the
development of Slovenian cultural identity. Among numerous awards, he received the Silver Honorary Badge of the Republic of Slovenia
and the Zois Award for his life’s work – the highest national prize for lifetime achievements in arts and science.

We paid tribute to our famous compatriot in the Brežice library when he was still alive. He was allotted a special place in the library when
celebrating his 80th birthday. Five years later, the TV director Slavko Hren together with the Slovenian Television presented an excellent
screening of the documentary about his life: Toporišič – A Lonely Hiker through Unpleasant Times. On 11 October 2011, the library marked
his 90’s birthday with a special ceremony – it was the official closing of Toporišič Year together with the 70th anniversary of the Brežice
library operating after the Second World War. We were honoured to address our guests from the newly named square after Jože Toporišič
– Trg Jožeta Toporišiča 1 (»The Jože Toporišič Square 1«).