Rojstna hiša bratov Navratil
V hiši sta se rodila brata Navratil. Ivan Navratil (1825-1896), znan kot urednik prvega slovenskega mladinskega časopisa Vedež, kot slovničar in etnograf. Ukvarjal se je s slovarskim delom, napisal lepo število jezikoslovnih razprav in že leta 1850 izdal slovnico za sodne uradnike. Kot narodopisec je globoko zaoral ledino. Opisal je vrsto belokranjskih ljudskih običajev, zbiral ljudske pesmi, vraže in pregovore ter jih tolmačil s podobnimi slovanskimi in neslovanskimi primeri. Danes se po njem imenuje Metliška folklorna supina.
Delo Ivana Navratila je potegnilo za sabo tudi njegovega brata Antona Navratila (1832-1897), ki je prav tako kot Ivan dokončal gimnazijo in nekaj časa študiral zgodovino na zagrebški univerzi. Tam se je navzel ilirizma in panslavizma in je v Metliki, kjer je potem živel kot zasebnik, skoraj dvajset let predsedoval tamkajšnji Narodni čitalnici ter bil kot šolski nadzornik, zlasti pa kot deželni poslanec, med prvaki narodnega življenja v Beli krajini.
The Birth House of Brothers Navratil
The house saw the births of brothers Navratil. Ivan Navratil (1825-1896), known as the editor of the first Slovenian youth newspaper “Vedež”, grammarian, and ethnographer. He also worked on dictionaries, wrote a great many linguistic treatises, and published a grammar book for judicial officials as early as 1850. He broke new ground Aas an ethnologist; he described a series of Bela krajina’s folk traditions, collected folk songs, superstitions, and sayings and interpreted them using analogous Slavic and non-Slavic examples. Today, the folklore group in Metlika carries his name.
Ivan Navratil’s work also inspired his brother Anton Navratil (1832-1897), who, like Ivan, also graduated from grammar school and spent a time studying history at the University of Zagreb. While there, he adopted the principles of the Illyrian movement and Pan-Slavism. He lived as a private citizen of Metlika and presided over its National Reading Society for nearly twenty years. That and his positions as school superintendent, and above all as member of the Landtag earned him a place among Bela krajina’s luminaries.