English in Bregana

Milan Lang Primary School, Bregana; Croatia

http://os-mlanga-bregana.skole.hr/ 

Where are we?

sites.google.com/site/breganaenglish/     our last year's site 

Very close to the capital of Croatia, Zagreb, and close to the border with Slovenia.

This is Milan Lang.

MILAN LANG (Volavje, Jastrebarsko, 10 September 1863 – Samobor, 6 July 1953), teacher, writer, translator, cultural and social worker.

How did our school get its name?

MILAN LANG (Volavje, Jastrebarsko, 10 September 1863 – Samobor, 6 July 1953), teacher, writer, translator, cultural and social worker.

He spent his whole working and retiring life in Samobor in whose prosperity and cultural and educational formation he invested a good part of his ninety-year-old life. He especially made a mark on Samobor with his book „Samobor – life and customs“ which was first printed in the „Collection for people’s life and customs of the southern Slavs“ of the Yugoslavian academy of Art and Science (editor dr. Dragutin Boranić), and then in 1915 as an individual book, today popularly called „ Samobor’s Bible“. It is a capital book about Samobor without which it would not be possible to perceive life and work in the old „free and charter awarded trading town“ which was saved from extinction for the future generations by Milan Lang.

He was given a position in Samobor, in 1883, when he started to perform his teaching duty exceptionally. One of the best indicators of his, and the work of other teachers, is the following: Kotar Samobor had, in 1921, 40% of illiterate population, while a decade earlier, in 1910, 62% of the population did not know how to write. And this improvement was very much due to Milan Lang.

Milan Lang’s life path, as the brother of the Zagreb bishop – Josip Lang, is exclusively linked to Samobor. He was appointed teacher and organist on 27 April 1884, and  by order on 15 December 1895 he was appointed director teacher. During the school year 1890/1891, he founded a students’ library. He also founded the school's science collection. Around 1900, he  arranged the area in front of the school building in the former Monastery, today's Lang street. At the beginning of the 20th century he organized a fundraising for collecting money for the purchase of a harmonium, instrument for easier singing training.  The magistry also contributed, so the harmonium was bought in 1902.

He cooperated  in a number of newspapers and magazines for young people and schooling. His articles were published in: „Smilje“, „The Little Croatian Man“, „Progress“, „The school newspaper“, „The school garden“, „The Samobor newspaper“ and others. He also translated from German.

Along with his excellent pedagogical work and outstanding journalistic activity, Lang’s contribution to Samobor was also in municipal activities-he was a councilman, secretary, choirmaster of the Croatian singing choir „Echo“(Jeka), and secretary and a trainer of the Voluntary  fire department, and he was hardworking and devoted in a number of other organizations almost until his death.

For his great contribution to Samobor, the local government declared  Milan Lang honorary citizen.

Translated by Ana J., a former student of our school