Kekec
title: "Kekec" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["fictional-slovenian-people", "book-series", "literary-characters-introduced-in-1918", "fictional-shepherds"] topic_path: "general/fictional-slovenian-people" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kekec" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox character"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Kekec |
| image | Josip Vandot.jpg |
| caption | Josip Vandot (creator of Kekec) |
| first | Zvonček (y.19#1/2) |
| 1 January 1918 | |
| *Kekec na hudi poti | |
| (Kekec on the Hard Path)* | |
| alias | Mežnarčev Gregec |
| gender | male |
| nationality | Slovenian |
| occupation | fearless boy and |
| a mountain shepherd | |
| fighting Bedanec and Pehta | |
| family | Mežnar |
| portrayer | Matija Barl (1951) |
| Velimir Gjurin (1963) | |
| Zlatko Krasnič (1968) | |
| creator | Josip Vandot |
| :: |
| name = Kekec | image = Josip Vandot.jpg | caption = Josip Vandot (creator of Kekec) | first = Zvonček (y.19#1/2) 1 January 1918 Kekec na hudi poti (Kekec on the Hard Path) | alias = Mežnarčev Gregec | gender = male | nationality= Slovenian | occupation = fearless boy and a mountain shepherd fighting Bedanec and Pehta | family = Mežnar | portrayer = Matija Barl (1951) Velimir Gjurin (1963) Zlatko Krasnič (1968) | creator = Josip Vandot
Kekec is a fictional children's literature character created by Slovenian author Josip Vandot in 1918. He was first introduced in the serial "Kekec on the Hard Path" () in Zvonček magazine (volume 19, issue 1/2). He is a young shepherd boy living in the Julian Alps, revered in Slovenia, and the subject of several films.
List of characters featured in the Kekec novels
- Kekec (Mežnarčev Gregec) is widely recognized as a Slovenian superhero and cultural icon. Kekec is a brave boy, a fearless shepherd from the highlands of his home region, Kranjska Gora and Julian Alps. He is good guy who is fighting an evil wild hunter from the mountains (Bedanec) and evil herbalist woman from mountains who is stealing children (Pehta).
- Bedanec (or. Bedanc) - evil poacher with long beard from the mountains.
- Mojca - sister of Rožle, captured by Bedanec and Pehta.
- Pehta - wild woman from the mountains.
- Rožle - scared boy, a friend of Kekec.
- Kosobrin - tiny old herbalist.
- Tinkara
- Brincelj
- Vitranc
- Tinka
Vandot's original novels
The original trilogy of short novels with Kekec as the main character were published as annexes in the monthly Zvonček youth magazine. Each novel was serialised across 12 editions of Zvonček :
::data[format=table]
| # | Title | Issue date in twelve parts | Author | Publisher | Pages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kekec on the Hard Path" | |||||
| (Kekec na hudi poti) | 1 January – 1 December 1918 | Josip Vandot | Zvonček (youth publication) | 86 | in January and July two parts were published, none in February and June | |
| 2 | "Kekec on the Wolf Trail" | |||||
| (Kekec na volčji sledi) | 1 January – 1 December 1922 | Josip Vandot | Zvonček (youth publication) | 117 | in July two parts were published; none in August | |
| 3 | "Kekec Above the Lonely Abyss" | |||||
| (Kekec nad samotnim breznom) | 1 January – 1 December 1924 | Josip Vandot | Zvonček (youth publication) | 123 | novel was published on every first in the month | |
| :: |
''Kekec on the Hard Path''
::data[format=table]
| Part | Issue date | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| I | ||
| II | 1 January 1918 | 7 |
| 8 | ||
| III | 1 March 1918 | 8 |
| IV | 1 April 1918 | 8 |
| V | 1 May 1918 | 6 |
| VI | ||
| VII | 1 July 1918 | 7 |
| 7 | ||
| VIII | 1 August 1918 | 6 |
| IX | 1 September 1918 | 6 |
| X | 1 October 1918 | 9 |
| XI | 1 November 1918 | 7 |
| XII | 1 December 1918 | 7 |
| :: |
''Kekec on the Wolf Trail''
::data[format=table]
| Part | Issue date | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| I | 1 January 1922 | 10 |
| II | 1 February 1922 | 10 |
| III | 1 March 1922 | 10 |
| IV | 1 April 1922 | 10 |
| V | 1 May 1922 | 10 |
| VI | 1 June 1922 | 10 |
| VII | ||
| VIII | 1 July 1922 | 10 |
| 11 | ||
| IX | 1 September 1922 | 10 |
| X | 1 October 1922 | 6 |
| XI | 1 November 1922 | 10 |
| XII | 1 December 1922 | 10 |
| :: |
''Kekec Above the Lonely Abyss''
::data[format=table]
| Part | Issue date | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| I | 1 January 1924 | 12 |
| II | 1 February 1924 | 11 |
| III | 1 March 1924 | 9 |
| IV | 1 April 1924 | 10 |
| V | 1 May 1924 | 10 |
| VI | 1 June 1924 | 10 |
| VII | 1 July 1924 | 9 |
| VIII | 1 August 1924 | 10 |
| IX | 1 September 1924 | 10 |
| X | 1 October 1924 | 9 |
| XI | 1 November 1924 | 10 |
| XII | 1 December 1924 | 13 |
| :: |
| align = right | image1 = Matija Barl.jpg | width1 = 102 | height1 = 100 | image2 = Velimir Gjurin 2011.jpg | width2 = 88 | height2 = 102 | image3 = Kekec.jpg | width3 = 170 | height3 = 60 | footer = Matija Barl (Kekec I) — Gjurin (Kekec II) — Zlatko Krasnič (Kekec III) | align = right | image1 = France Presetnik.jpg | width1 = 85 | height1 = 100 | image2 = Ruša Bojc 1963.jpg | width2 = 132 | height2 = 100 | image3 = BibičPolde.png | width3 = 112 | height3 = 80 | footer = Presetnik (Bedanec I) — Ruša Bojc (Pehta) — Bibič (Bedanec II)
Gale's film trilogy
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Jože_Gale_1930s.jpg" caption="Jože Gale (trilogy director)"] ::
Jože Gale directed Slovene/Yugoslav film trilogy about Kekec, based on novels by Josip Vandot, but only the first and second film were a direct adaptation of the second and third book: ::data[format=table]
| # | Title | Premiere | Director | Producer | Composer | Prod. company | Distribution | Based on | Character (actor) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kekec" | 18 December 1951 | Jože Gale | Dušan Povh | Marjan Kozina | Triglav Film | Vesna film (prvotno) | |||
| Viba film (trenutno) | "*Kekec nad | |||||||||
| samotnim breznom*" | ||||||||||
| (1924) | Kekec (Matija Barl) | |||||||||
| Kosobrin (Frane Milčinski) | ||||||||||
| Bedanec (France Presetnik) | ||||||||||
| Mojca (Zdenka Logar) | ||||||||||
| Tinka (Alenka Lobnikar) | ||||||||||
| Rožle (Jože Mlakar) | ||||||||||
| Mišnjek (Modest Sancin) | first ever Slovenian feature film with international award | |||||||||
| 2 | "Good Luck, Kekec" | |||||||||
| (Srečno, Kekec!) | 15 December 1963 | Jože Gale | Dušan Povh | Marjan Vodopivec | Viba film | Viba film | "Kekec na volčji sledi" | |||
| (1922) | Kekec (Velimir Gjurin) | |||||||||
| Mojca (Blanka Florjanc) | ||||||||||
| Rožle (Martin Mele) | ||||||||||
| Pehta (Ruša Bojc) | ||||||||||
| oče (Bert Sotlar) | ||||||||||
| mati (Marija Goršič) | ||||||||||
| berač (Stane Sever) | first ever Slovenian feature film in colors | |||||||||
| 3 | "Kekec's Tricks" | |||||||||
| (Kekčeve ukane) | 23 December 1968 | Jože Gale | Ljubo Struna | Bojan Adamič | Viba film | Vesna film (prvotno) | ||||
| Viba film (trenutno) | "po motivih Vandotovih pripovedk o Kekcu" | Kekec (Zlatko Krasnič) | ||||||||
| Bedanec (Polde Bibič) | ||||||||||
| Rožle (Boris Ivanovski) | ||||||||||
| Mojca (Jasna Krofak) | ||||||||||
| Tinkara (Fanika Podobnikar) | ||||||||||
| Brincelj (Milorad Radovič) | ||||||||||
| Vitranc (Jože Zupan) | the last and the worst film about Kekec |
bad critics and low cinema visit | ::
References
References
- "''Kekec na hudi poti''; published 1 January 1918 in Zvončkek N.19/1,2 publication". [[Digital Library of Slovenia.
- Beattie, Andrew. (2006). "The Alps: a Cultural History". [[Oxford University Press]].
- Helga Glušič, ''Sto Slovenskih Pripovednikov'' (Ljubljana: Prešernova družba, 1996) {{ISBN. 961-6186-21-3
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