The founder of the noble Bleiweises, Ritters Trsteniški, was the famous Janez Bleiweis (1808–1881), a physician and veterinarian, professor and politician, writer, journalist as well as the longstanding editor of the Slovenian-language newspaper Kmetijske and rokodelske novice (Agricultural and Artisan News). His only son, Karel Bleiweis (1834–1909), followed his footsteps and became a physician himself. Karel, among other things, served in Kranj and Tolmin until 1867, when he settled in Ljubljana as senior physician. The psychiatric hospital at Studenec near Ljubljana was founded at his initiative. He also engaged in politics and even served as vice mayor of Ljubljana. Whereas his parents were buried in Ljubljana’s oldest Saint Christopher’s Cemetery (modern Navje Memorial Park), Karel was already buried in the new Holy Cross Churchyard (modern Žale), where his grave plaque with a beautiful cast-iron coat of arms is still built into the northwestern cemetery wall. The crosshatches on what is otherwise a black coat of arms reveal its red-blue-white (silver) color variant. The Slovenian combination of colors, which Karel’s father Janez selected on his ennoblement in 1881, reflects his devotion to the Slovenian people and testifies to the fact that he was a renowned patriot and national awakener.

The family grave in Žale Cemetery is the final resting place of Karel Bleiweis as well as his sons Janko and Demeter and their descendants, whereas the branch of Karel’s youngest son, Milan Bleiweis, has its grave at the wall separating the old and the new sections of the cemetery. Their grave plaque is also graced by the family coat of arms, which, unlike Karel’s, is made of stone and is not as well-preserved, but it nevertheless still allows a keen viewer to discern the crosshatches marking the red-blue-white combination.

Sources:
Rugále, Mariano in Preinfalk, Miha: Blagoslovljeni in prekleti. 1. del: Plemiške rodbine 19. in 20. stoletja na Slovenskem. Ljubljana: Viharnik, 2010, pp. 21–28.