A recent arrival at the Croatian History Museum in Zagreb, a unique travelogue from a century ago records the adventures of Josip Franjo Mikulec from Zagorje. Nicknamed Joža Putnik, this agricultural worker decided to travel the world and meet as many interesting people as possible.
His impecunious odyssey took him nearly 30 years, during which time he met personalities such as Mussolini, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, whose signatures feature inside.
His scrapbook never left his side. By the end, it weighed 25kg and filled 1,244 pages. After Joža’s death in Genoa in 1933, the book passed into the hands of the Mikulec family, from the village of Krušljev Selo near Oroslavje. They later sought for it to be bought for posterity by the Croatian State.
Recently, the Croatian History Museum managed to raise the funds to purchase it. Staff now hope to digitise it so that the public may peruse its fascinating pages.
The story is further complicated by the fact that Joža travelled the world twice, selling his first journal and diary in America. These are now in the hands of a private collector, and there are moves afoot to negotiate a price and bring both back home to Croatia to complete Joža’s legacy.
In Oroslavje, meanwhile, local mayor Viktor Šimunić is launching an initiative to open a promenade in Joža’s name and memory. Paula Bosančić/PIXSELL