Varaždin's biggest prankster
What is written on the grave of this jovial and joker?
On March 17, 1862, Dragutin published the first humorous newspaper in the Croatian language! The paper called it "Podravski urchin".
Dragutin was the biggest prankster from Varaždin. He, in fact, did not stop with his jokes even after his death! He also became recognizable by the inscription he planned and placed on his grave. The inscription on his grave reads: "He is not standing in the corner in anyone's way!"
Dragutin was also serious when he needed to be. He was a participant in the revolutionary 1848/49. when he crossed the Drava River with the army of Ban Josip Jelačić (1801 – 1859). He was arrested in Međimurje and sentenced to death, but he escaped. Politically, he supported the idea of Great Illyria - from Carinthia to the Adriatic and Black seas.
He was an actor in Varaždin's Mekovčeva house in the former Starokazališna street (Theatergasse) and long-term president of the Society of Theater Volunteers.
On his initiative, the Croatian singing society Vila was founded in Varaždin in 1875, and as an actor and city representative, he was one of the proponents of the construction of the theater building. He was also a representative of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia.
Serious when needed, humorous when not, Dragutin remained in the memory of the people of Varaždin!
