The exhibition will include skis from the late 19th century.
As soon as the first cold winds announced the coming of winter days, members of the Lušin family in the Trešnjevka neighbourhood in Zagreb knew they would soon have a lot of work. They were the owners of the best-known workshop in the city which repaired skis, reports Večernji List on September 26, 2018.
Customers also bought skis there from 1945 until 1996. The workshop was opened by Janko Lušin in Ogrizovićeva Street, and before that skis were made in Frankopanska Street, where the workshop was launched in the mid-1930s by merchant Harry Drucker.
His decision was an answer to the ever more popular trend of skiing in Zagreb in the 1920s. Just how popular skiing was is best demonstrated by the fact that the first and the oldest ski club in Croatia – Ski Club Zagreb – was founded as early as in 1918.
On 20 November this year, the club will celebrate its 100th anniversary. In order to mark it, the club will organise an exhibition in cooperation with the Zagreb City Museum. It will open on 4 October and is designed by Tomislav Kušan, an architect and a member of the club’s executive board.
“We will also present a book on the history of the club. On 20 November, we are preparing a major event where the club members and friends will gather at Lauba. The oldest member, 81-year-old skier Vladimir Jakopček, will also be there,” said Ivan Drinković, president of the Ski Club Zagreb.
Over the years, so many residents of Zagreb learned how to ski that they do not even know the exact number. The stars of the club are Janica and Ivica Kostelić. Their photographs will also be featured at the Zagreb City Museum, along with memorabilia and various items related to the history of skiing in Zagreb.
“We will also present a document on the founding of the club which is kept by the Croatian State Archives, a bust of Petar Knoll, an art historian who was one of the first club presidents, skis made at the Lušin workshop, magazine covers and articles, badges of the ski club, trophies,” said Boris Mašić, one of the authors of the exhibition from the Zagreb City Museum, adding that various private owners have also participated in providing the exhibits.
One club member found the oldest exhibit, skis from the late 19th or early 20th century. “It is possible that Franjo Bučar brought them when he returned from his studies in Sweden,” said Mašić.
Translated from Večernji List (reported by Petra Balija).
