VILLAGE OF TALENTS

Begunje na Gorenjskem is a special place - the birthplace of two global phenomena. In addition to ski innovator Elan, Begunje is also the home of the Avsenik Brothers Ensemble, the founders of Slovenian folk pop music.

At first glance Begunje na Gorenjskem is a typical, picturesque village like many others around Slovenia. Begne, as the locals call it, charms visitors with its beautiful surroundings in the foothills of the Karavanks, with the 2060-meter Mount Begunjščica towering above the village. Across the valley, the Julian Alps rise over the land with the mighty crown of Mount Triglav. Begunje may only have just over a thousand people, but there is clearly something special hidden deep in this tiny corner of the world. It is hard to fathom that such a small village could be the birthplace of two phenomena that have taken its name everywhere and achieved worldwide fame, respect, and prestige. They are Elan, the innovative brand in skiing, and the folk pop music ensemble Avsenik. Skiing and music may have little in common, but the two stories are curiously intertwined and linked. They share many common denominators and points of contact, but they are both driven by passion, courage, love, and sheer determination.  

These are the defining characteristics of their stories’ main protagonists, Rudi Finžgar and Slavko Avsenik. The breathtaking nature of Begunje served as their common inspiration. They were also both keen skiers, or ski jumpers to be precise. Although one was nine years younger than the other, they were comrades on the ski jumping hills, a kind of mentor and pupil. In those carefree teenage years, they had no idea of the glorious future ahead of them. 

Let's start with Elan, or rather with its father, Rudi Finžgar. He came from the nearby town of Kropa, which gave him a distinctive dialect. Rudi fell in love with skiing and all things related to it as a young boy. He was an excellent ski jumper, setting the Slovenian national record for the first time before the Second World War and later extending it several times. He was the first Slovene to break the 100-meter mark. Rudi competed in a distinctive red jumpsuit which earned him the nickname "Der Rote Teufel aus Titoland" (The Red Devil of Titoland) in German-speaking countries after the war. Jumping was his source of inspiration and courage. When he was forcibly mobilized into the German army during the war, he had no qualms about running away and joining the partisans. Making skis was his specialty, so he put his knowledge to work and made skis for the Slovenian partisans during the war. The people of Begunje took him as their own when he set up the Elan sports equipment manufacturing cooperative on Sept. 24th, 1945. That is when he uttered his legendary sentence: "Who can think of sleep, of money? The world is waiting for me, and for Elan."He was only 25 years old but despite his youth, Rudi had a clear vision based on a unique combination of knowledge, hard work, daring, and charisma. He possessed a special energy. Even though he was the founder and director of Elan, he still devoted a lot of time to his love of ski jumping. He competed actively in the years after the war, setting the Slovenian record in Oberstdorf with 117 meters. Rudi actually jumped as far as 127 meters but could not stay on his feet. The record stood for nine years until the arrival of Jože Šlibar. Alongside his work and his ski jumping career, he also found time to mentor the youth of Begunje. He coached young ski jumpers, among whom was also Slavko Avsenik. As a kid, Slavko must have heard Rudi shout countless times in his distinctive dialect: "Pull up, pull up, doesn’t matter if you crash, nobody ever breaks a stomach!"

Unlike Rudi, Slavko was born and raised in Begunje. Even as a child, he loved the surrounding hills, and in winter, like most boys, he was in love with skiing and ski jumping. The family only had one single pair of skis at home, and they had to be shared among all the brothers and sisters. But somehow the skis made their way to Slavko much more often than the others. Slavko was also always keen to take part in various activities and actions around the village. It is difficult to say when he and Rudi first met, but they were certainly both involved in the reconstruction of Roblek hut on Mount Begunjščica just above the village. Slavko and his brother Vilko performed at the opening on Sept. 15th, 1946. Back then, Rudi could simply call up famous Slovenian engineer and sports facility designer and father of Planica ski jumping hill Stanko Bloudek to Begunje and together they decided where the new local ski jumping hill would be built. Engineer Bloudek drew its profile and the local boys picked up their picks and shovels and got to digging. Among them was Slavko, who also did his part by persuading the landowner to give up a few pear trees in the future run-off area of the ski jump. While Slavko was not as accomplished as Rudi as a ski jumper, they were both selected for the Yugoslavian national team on several occasions. 

In those years, they were both still somewhat anonymous. Neither of them had any idea of the bright future ahead. Once, while walking around the modest workshops, Rudi said, "There will be a mighty factory here in the year 2000." It turned out that his prediction was off by thirty years. The factory opened in 1970 and became the place that wrote the history of skiing. Elan became the globally recognized innovator in skiing and profoundly influenced skiing history several times over, most notably in the mid-1990s with the advent of the so-called carving revolution and the SCX ski.

Slavko, on the other hand, was a jolly lad, a keen skier and a self-taught musician who couldn't read music notes. But he had a remarkable talent, an ear for music and a unique musical imagination that helped him create timeless masterpieces. Slavko became the founder of folk pop music in Slovenia. At his father's request, he and his brothers formed a family ensemble in 1936 in which he played the accordion. 
The ensemble later evolved into the Avsenik Brothers Quintet under the joint leadership of brothers Slavko Avsenik and Vilko Ovsenik. And then they truly took off, achieving incredible popularity, especially in the German speaking countries. They released over 120 records and sold more than 30 million copies. They once performed in Frankfurt on the same day as the Rolling Stones, but the Avsenik brothers drew a much bigger crowd. Their song “Na Golici” or “Trompetenecho,” as it is known in the German speaking world, is one of the most recognizable polkas and the most played instrumental song in the world. The song’s chorus is played when goals are scored in the NHL games. 

Although they played in all corners of the world and performed under the Oberkrainer name, the Avsenik Brothers always respected their traditions and never forgot where they came from. The Avseniks carried the good name of their home village of Begunje around the world and Slavko wrote a song for just about every hill in the area. Of course he could not forget about Planica, the original home of ski flying. The famous chorus of "Planica, Planica, queen of the snow ..." is now as much part of the annual competition as ski flying itself. Even Japanese ski jumping legend Noriaki Kasai learned it by heart. The song is Slavko's homage to his life-long love and passion for ski jumping. Many years later, when both had achieved their fame, Slavko and Rudi often watched the ski jumping at Planica together.

Thanks to Rudi Finžgar and the brothers Slavko Avsenik and Vilko Ovsenik, Begunje na Gorenjskem holds a special place on the world map. It may be a small village, but it is the birthplace of remarkable stories that make Begunje well worth a visit. Begunje also houses two museums dedicated to its two biggest stories. The Elan factory houses the Alpine Ski Museum that contains all the interesting details about Elan and it's founder Rudi Finžgar. A few hundred meters further down the road is the Avsenik Restaurant, where excellent Slovenian dishes are cooked. It is also home to the Avsenik Festival every two years, as well as a museum dedicated to the Avsenik Brothers Ensemble, and their music is always playing in the background.