Franja Partisan Hospital

The Franja Partisan Hospital ( _sl. Partizanska bolnica Franja) was a secret World War II hospital at Dolenji Novaki near Cerkno in western Slovenia. It was run by Yugoslav Partisans from December 1943 to the end of the war as part of a broadly organized resistance movement against the Fascist and Nazi occupying forces. Although Wehrmacht occupying forces launched several searches for the hospital, it was never discovered. Nowadays it is a museum. On 18 September 2007 it was badly damaged in a flood after torrential rain. [ [http://www.burger.si/QTVR/Dogodki/2007_BolnicaFranja/seznam.html Slovenia Landmarks - Events] . Virtual Reality Panoramas of the consequences of destruction on September 18th 2007. By Boštjan Burger. Acquired 30 March 2008.] It is to be entirely rebuilt to replicate the original till 2010. [cite web |url=http://www.zurnal24.si/Franja-ponovno-odprla-vrata/novice/slovenija/55564 |title=Franja ponovno odprla vrata |date=2008-06-25 |accessdate=2008-09-20 |publisher=Žurnal24.si]

History and overview

thumb|right|200px|Numerical plan of hospital buildings before the near destruction: 1. Hut for the wounded; bunker">
2. Isolation unit
3. Operating hut
4. Doctors' barracks
5. X-Ray unit
6. Stretcher store
7. Kitchen
8. Hut for the wounded; dining room
9. Hut for the wounded, stores and carpenters' workshop
10. Staff rooms
11. Bathroom; laundry room
12. Infirmary
13. Water tank
14. Electric plant
15. Building for burying limbs
16. Bunker over the Pasica gorge

Located in the remote Pasica Gorge, the hospital, which could only be reached by bridges, was constructed between December of 1943 and May of 1945. In order to preserve the secrecy necessary for a clandestine hospital to operate, patients were blindfolded during transportation to the facility. The hospital was also protected by minefields and nests of machine guns.

The founder and first builder of the hospital was Dr. Viktor Volčjak, but the hospital was named after its manager and physician, Franja Bojc Bidovec [Portrait photo of dr. Franja Bojc Bidovec: http://www.250kb.de/u/060419/j/6232277c.jpg] , who began working there in February 1944. Extremely well equipped among such clandestine partisan operations, the hospital remained intact until a flood struck the area in September of 2007. It was intended to provide treatment to as many as 120 patients at a time, seeing almost ten times that many during its operation. Among its patients were many nationalities, including one German enemy soldier who remained after recovery as a member of the hospital staff.

The hospital operated until 5 May 1945. It became part of Cerkno Museum in 1963. A 2003 stamp issued by the Post of Slovenia to mark the 60th anniversary of Franja Hospital became Stamp of the Year [ [http://www.posta.si/Namizje.aspx?tabid=223&artikelid=7782 Posta Slovenije d.o.o. : Dežela znamk : Filatelija : Poštne znamke : Znamke leta 2003 : ] ] . Franja is on a list of candidates to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site [ [http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1433/ Franja Partisan Hospital - UNESCO World Heritage Centre ] ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.muzej-idrija-cerkno.si/english/objekti/franja_07.htm Franja Partisan Hospital Museum]
* [http://www.burger.si/Cerkno/Franja/seznam.html WW2 Landmark: Franja Partisan Hospital] - 3D visualisation by Boštjan Burger.
* [http://www.geopedia.si/#L1173_F15155_b4_x425363.832_y112629.403_s15 Location of the Franja Partisan Hospital on a map] . Geopedia.si.
* [http://www.pef.uni-lj.si/~markor/Javor/bfranja/index.html Franja Partisan Hospital pictoral website]