Dragutin

Dino

How did the hedgehog get into the coat of arms of the Municipality of Beretinec?

Beretinec municipality is a municipality in Varaždin County. Dragutin Antolek Orešek lived and ended his life in the county where he lived.
Namely, the hedgehog symbolizes hard work and love for one's own home, so the people of Berentin show their attachment to their region. However, the hedgehog here is not only a symbol of attachment to the end, but also to one man - Dragutin Antolek Oresek.

Although Dragutin was born in Prelog, he spent a large part of his life in Varaždin, and the people of Varaždin loved him immensely. Why? Because he was an ardent Illyrian, at that time he persistently and courageously fought against Hungarian and German domination, and in 1862 in Varaždin, in Platzer's printing house, he also printed the satirical paper "Podravski jež".

On the cover of the first, and unfortunately, the only issue, he published a drawing of a hedgehog telling the readers: "Godfather, trust yourself and your beaks!" goes to Vienna for a short time.

When he returned to Varaždin, Orešek did not have such a successful political life, and spent more and more time at his stepmother's estate in Beretinac. And finally, right in Beretinac, on that estate in 1883, he ended his fruitful and stormy life.

In memory of this meritorious man from Varadžin, the people of Beretin put his hedgehog on the coat of arms of their municipality, to permanently bear witness to Dragutin's, but also to their patriotism and loyalty to their own region.

Hedgehog in the coat

Dragec did a great honor to his beloved stepmother.

Dragutin Antolek, as he was born, decided not to remain only Antolek. Namely, his stepmother, his father's second wife, whose last name was Oryšek, came into Antolek's life. She adopted him. She treated him like her own son, and he decided to show her immense honor.

As Antolek immensely loved Varaždin and the people of Varaždin, and his stepmother owned an estate in Beretinac, which is located in Varaždin County, he also loved the surname Orešek.

Dragutin spent a large part of his political and literary life in Varaždin. After being exiled to Vienna, due to political disagreements with the then government, Dragutin nevertheless returns to Varaždin. More precisely, in Beretinec, because that's where he spends most of his time upon his return.

Dragutin's stepmother, Oryšek, owned a manor house in Beretinac, so Dragutin liked to stop by there, in that country manor he wrote and edited texts published in "Podravski jež", and in honor of his stepmother, he added hers to his surname. That's how Dragutin Antolek became Orešek!

How did Dragutin Antolek become Orešek?

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!

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Hedgehog in the coat

How did Dragutin Antolek become Orešek?

Varaždin's biggest prankster