The kindergarten in Koroška Bela began operating in 1945 in the parish house, and in 1947 it moved to the premises of the Karavanški Kurirji NOB Primary School. In 1958, the school building was renovated and expanded, and a dairy kitchen and cloakrooms were added. The kindergarten received its own dedicated facilities with six playrooms in 1978. It was named after the partisan activist Cilka Zupančič (November 4, 1919 – December 30, 1944), who spent her youth in Koroška Bela.
The Cilka Zupančič educational and childcare unit operates within the public institution Vrtec Jesenice, which was established by the Municipality of Jesenice in 2011 by decree.
Cilka Zupančič was one of the young women who collaborated with the resistance movement in Slovenia during the Second World War. She joined the partisans on April 12, 1944, at which time she also received her partisan name, Sonja. She served as an intelligence agent for the Javorniški Rovt area. One of her tasks was to gather various information about the state of the enemy army, the number of gendarmerie, police, and Gestapo officers in Jesenice, as well as the anti-aircraft defense in Koroška Bela.
The kindergarten in Plavž, Jesenice, began operating in 1959 in modest premises as the Angelca Ocepek Home of Play and Work. It was later renamed the Angelca Ocepek Educational and Care Institution. Due to increasing interest from parents and a growing population in Plavž, the need for a new building soon became apparent. Preparations for new construction began in 1970. The new premises were designated for playrooms, while the old building was renovated to house the kitchen, storage, and administrative offices. The new educational and care facility building was opened on July 27, 1972. The Angelca Ocepek educational and childcare unit at Tavčarjeva 3a operates within the public institution Vrtec Jesenice, which was established by the Municipality of Jesenice in 2011 by decree.
Angela Ocepek (September 3, 1912 – June 1, 1959), née Dovč, was born in Vevče near Ljubljana into a poor working-class family. From 1928, she was employed at the Saturnus factory in Ljubljana, where she was an active trade unionist. She advocated for workers’ rights and gender equality and participated in student demonstrations. In July 1943, she joined the partisan movement and became the first president of the Slovenian Anti-Fascist Women’s Union. After the war, she also served as president of the Women’s Societies Union of Slovenia and the Anti-Fascist Women’s Front (AFŽ). She is especially remembered for her efforts in establishing kindergartens and school and factory kitchens.
Despite the construction of a new building in 1972, the Angelca Ocepek kindergarten unit in Plavž, Jesenice, soon proved too small for the large number of children. Therefore, in 1976, an additional kindergarten began operating in a residential tower block in Plavž (Cesta Cirila Tavčarja 3b). That same year, the citizens of the Municipality of Jesenice overwhelmingly voted in a referendum to co-finance the construction of a new school center in Plavž, which would also include a new unit of the Jesenice Kindergarten. The official opening of the kindergarten at Tavčarjeva 21 took place on August 2, 1980. The kindergarten's administrative offices were also relocated to this building, where they remain to this day. The Angelca Ocepek educational and childcare unit at Tavčarjeva 21 operates within the public institution Vrtec Jesenice, which was established by the Municipality of Jesenice in 2011 by decree.
Angela Ocepek (September 3, 1912 – June 1, 1959), née Dovč, was born in Vevče near Ljubljana into a poor working-class family. From 1928, she was employed at the Saturnus factory in Ljubljana, where she was an active trade unionist. She advocated for workers’ rights and gender equality and participated in student demonstrations. In July 1943, she joined the partisan movement and became the first president of the Slovenian Anti-Fascist Women’s Union. After the war, she also served as president of the Women’s Societies Union of Slovenia and the Anti-Fascist Women’s Front (AFŽ). She is especially remembered for her efforts in establishing kindergartens and school and factory kitchens.
In 1947, the Jesenice Ironworks established the Home of Play and Work at Cesta železarjev 12 in the Sava local community to serve the needs of its workers. Children of employed mothers were cared for there throughout the week, including overnight. In 1948, the Home of Play and Work was relocated to the former villa of the ironworks’ technical director, Dr. Herman Klinar, at Tomšičeva 3, and renamed as the Julka Pibernik Kindergarten in 1949. In October 1962, an additional kindergarten branch unit named Mara Šivic was opened in the premises of the Podmežakla local community. In 1973, a new kindergarten building was constructed next to the existing Julka Pibernik building.
The Julka Pibernik educational and childcare unit operates within the public institution Vrtec Jesenice, which was established by the Municipality of Jesenice in 2011 by decree. In 2024, the Municipality of Jesenice demolished the old kindergarten and began construction of a new facility.
Julka Pibernik (July 9, 1905 – February 14, 1942) was born in Slovenski Javornik and completed her primary education in Koroška Bela. She was an active member of the drama section of the workers’ cultural association Enakost ("Equality"). In 1934, she joined the Communist Party and was given the underground name Frida. She supported striking workers, gathered women in front of the factory to prevent strikebreakers and to resist interventions by the gendarmerie and police. In 1941, her family was deported to Serbia, where she and her husband Albin joined the partisan movement. In 1942, she and her family participated in the Igman March, which sadly proved fatal for her.
A kindergarten was already operating in Hrušica around 1937 under the auspices of the Catholic association Orel, with care for the children provided by sisters from the Ursuline order. With the help of the Jesenice Kindergarten, the residential community of Hrušica opened a new Home of Play and Work unit on October 15, 1962. This unit operated as part of the Angelca Ocepek kindergarten unit in Plavž.
Today, a second, newer kindergarten operates in the Cultural Centre in Hrušica. It is a branch of the Angelca Ocepek unit and is named after Frančiška Ambrožič. Due to the increasing number of children, the kindergarten was renovated in 2024. The Frančiška Ambrožič branch operates within the public institution Vrtec Jesenice, established by the Municipality of Jesenice in 2011 by decree.
Frančiška Ambrožič (January 21, 1881 – February 6, 1956) moved from Bohinjska Bistrica to Jesenice during her life. She and her husband had eleven children and represented a typical working-class family. At the start of World War II, they lived in Hrušica. On July 17, 1942, all members of the Ambrožič family were arrested by the occupying forces for their involvement in the national liberation struggle. Frančiška, along with her daughter-in-law and daughter, was deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. After the war, she actively participated in rebuilding the homeland.
The kindergarten in Blejska Dobrava was established in 1963 at the initiative of the local community council. Along with the kindergarten, a children’s playground was also built, which was intended for all children, including those not enrolled in the kindergarten. In 1970, the kindergarten became affiliated with the primary school in Koroška Bela, and in 1981, it became part of the Jesenice Educational and Care Institution, which has been known as Kindergarten Jesenice since 2011. The remote branch of Vrtec Jesenice in Blejska Dobrava belongs to the Cilka Zupančič unit and is named after Ivanka Krničar (14 July 1924 – 6 November 1944).
Ivanka was the eldest of nine children born to Ivana and Janez Krničar, who worked at the Jesenice ironworks. After completing primary and secondary school, she also took a job at the ironworks. From the beginning of the war, she was involved in underground resistance work as a youth activist, collaborating with activists, couriers, and partisans. She was part of an underground trio that informed partisans about German troop movements, collected medical supplies, food, and cigarettes, gathered important information, distributed partisan leaflets, and helped organize secret meetings. In the spring of 1944, she officially joined the partisan movement herself.