Miroslav and Bela Krleza's fateful love: When she died, a swarm of birds woke him

Photo: Facebook/Miroslav Krleza

Croatian writer Miroslav Krleža, who died on this day in 1981, saw his for the first time White in 1909 on the window of a house in Otočac, when he visited the city at the persuasion of his friend from the cadet school and Bela's uncle, Dane Vuksan.

- The uncle's words left an impression on young Bela, who listened to his stories about young Krleža with increasing interest. Krleža visited his friend Dane on two occasions, in 1910 and 1911, and then for the first time, after he "appeared" at the window in Otočac, he saw Bela. The fateful meeting took place in Zrinjevac in August 1917. Bella was walking with a friend. Miroslav approached her and arranged a meeting the next day on the promenade. From that day, their mutual affection developed, which grew into love. Their parents were against the relationship of the young couple, but despite everything, they started seeing each other. Only Vuksan gave them support, so the couple decided to have a secret wedding. They were married in the church of St. Blaž in Zagreb on November 14, 1919. The wedding ceremony was modest and without relatives. The godfathers of the couple were the painter Ljubo Babić and the writer Milan Begović, points out Vesna Vukelic Horvatić.

According to her, the married couple Krleza left Zagreb in August 1920 and went to Duga Rijeka near Koprivnica, where Bella got a job as a teacher. Bella was by no means satisfied with her work, and Krleza had a hard time coping with life in the province. They were also plagued by poverty, so Krleza considered moving to another city in the area of ​​the then state of SHS. The solution appeared in the form of the inheritance of Krleza's aunt, who left him an apartment on Kukoviceva Street (today Hebrangova) and a valuable property consisting of expensive furniture, art objects, money, securities and a jar full of gold.

- This improved their living conditions, which resulted in their return to Zagreb in the summer of 1921, but also the normalization of relations between their families. Before moving to Gvozd 23, between 1922 and 1952, Bela and Krleza changed four addresses in Zagreb. They stayed in the apartment on Kukoviceva Street no. 28, where they lived as protected occupants because the building was owned by the Singer family until 1935. They spent the days of real happiness, professional success, but also the first marital problems related to the frequent absences of Krleza from Zagreb. Bela and Miroslav Krleжаa lived briefly in an apartment on Mihanoviваeva Street. There, Krleza finished writing his masterpiece "The Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh", and Bella distinguished herself by playing smaller roles in the comedy repertoire - emphasizes Vesna Vukelic Horvatic.

White Tick, Photo: Instagram print screen

She explains that the Krleza couple from the apartment of the "military depression" often fled on Malinova Street with the family of Dr. Berislav Borcic. It was not easy for them to survive the war because Krleza was put on the list of banned writers. He was caught several times and rescued from certain death by Dr. Gjuro Vranesic, a neurologist and psychiatrist who ran the Sanatorium for Nervous Diseases in Zelengaj.

Under the veil of "treatment", Vranesic hid Krleza in his attic apartment in the sanatorium. By the end of the war, Krleza spent a year in isolation, but did not rest - he wrote diaries and essays, studied the material for future works by Arete and Juraj Krizanic. Unlike her husband, Bella continued to work at the Croatian National Theater, playing the roles one after the other, as evidenced by the print media of the time. After the war, the Krleжаa couple changed their address. After moving into an apartment in the city center, they were satisfied, but over time, the traffic on the street became heavy, there was noise day and night, and there was a slaughterhouse in the yard, so Bella and Krleza moved to Villa Rein - writes the author of the exhibition.

Despite Krleжаa's silence during World War II, remaining firmly on Tito's side after the Inform Bureau resolution, Miroslav Krleжаa began to rise to the social ladder.

From October 1949 until the summer of 1950, Bela and Miroslav Krleжаa resided in Paris, where Krleжаa was the chief project manager, a kind of "ductus generalis", at a large exhibition - "Exhibitions of Medieval Art of the Yugoslav People", which was exceptional. important for the image of the then state. After returning from Paris, Krleza convinced Yugoslav politicians of the need to publish an encyclopedia containing comprehensive knowledge of the peoples of Yugoslavia. Krleza's initiative was accepted and on October 5, 1950, the Lexicographic Institute of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia was established, and Krleza became its director.

- Bela and Krleza settled on Gvozd in 1952. Bella was delighted with the space, Krleza was initially skeptical of the idea, but gave in to Bella's arguments. Bela and Krleza spent the last 30 years of their lives on Gvozd. Their home was a meeting place for people from the cultural and political life of that time. He visited Josip Broz Tito and his wife Jovanka several times. It is interesting that the Krleza family hosted only one couple with the explanation that they could fully dedicate themselves to them.

 

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Since the early 50's, Bela and Krleza often spent their summers on Brioni in the company of Josip Broz Tito and Jovanka Broz, as well as other politicians of that time. Bella last appeared on the stage of the Croatian National Theater in October 1964. After that, she stopped performing and retired at the end of August 1966. After retiring, Bella's social life was not interrupted. She met regularly with her friends and former colleagues.

Unlike his wife, Krleza could not move without a cane for the last two years of his life, and due to ill health he stopped his social and cultural activities and retired to the solitude of his home in Gvozd. He no longer went down to the city; visited by friends, colleagues, acquaintances, writers, journalists. He was still the head of the Lexicography Institute, but never went to the office again.

In early 1981, Bella's health worsened and she was taken to hospital. A swarm of birds woke up Krleza on April 23, 1981, the day Bella died.

After Bela's death, Krleza was in a depressed mood, rapidly declining and thinking about his death.

He closed his eyes forever on December 29, 1981.

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