On the fiftieth anniversary of the struggle for the northern border in 1968, the first time after the Second World War, Maribor veterans’ association, Union of Volunteers and Fighters for the Northern Border 1918-1919, ordered a manufacture of the first commemorative medal with the portrait of General Rudolf Maister (1874 -1934) and the inscription General Maister, the liberator of the northern Slovenian border. On the reverse there is a relief of SFRJ (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) and an inscription in Latin and Cyrillic: Yugoslavia 1918 – 1968. The portrait was designed by the academic sculptor France Gorše (1897 -1986). There were 3,000 copies issued in order to award all the surviving soldiers. The awarding of medals faced some difficulties since the authorities from Belgrade and Ljubljana refused the participation.
Seven years later, in 1975, the metal pendant of the ribbon was removed from the medal and presented as a commemorative plaque.
On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the battles for northern border, specifically in 1979, another commemorative medal for the veterans and their relatives was produced. There is a motive of a chain breaker with a sword trying to break free from chains, with the years 1918/ 19 and a minor portrait of Rudolf Maister. On the reverse there is an inscription: If we had not been there at that time, an even larger piece of Slovenian land would have been cut off by a foreign avalanche.
It was designed by the academic sculptor Tone Lagonder (1932-1987). The medal was presented together with a certificate for the award recipient.
The object of the month has been chosen in memory of a legendary poet and general Rudolf Maister to honour Maister Year 2024. Both objects are a part of the inheritance of the late collector and museum friend Miloš Mikolič.
