Vinko Žganec, the man who saved međimurska popevka from oblivion, was born in Vratišinec, a small village between the Mura and Drava rivers. With his will, persistence and knowledge he had reached out to people who opened their souls and who recalled the melodies which reverberated both in and outside of Međimurje, and all the while his hand had been writing out the history of this region until the last day of his life. The aim of this dissertation is to present the life and work of the academic Dr Vinko Žganec and thus awaken in every reader a grain of pride and gratitude for the man who proved that history and tradition could be found and preserved even on “a small piece of land such as Međimurje”. After having studied the literature, a conversation with Mrs Dragica Karolina Šimunković confirmed every detail from the life of Vinko Žganec. Works which were the fruit of painstaking labour and tremendous will to preserve a melody which has been transmitted through history were distinguished throughout four periods of ethnomusicological work of the academic Vinko Žganec. Besides the extensive history of life and work of Vinko Žganec, the dissertation brings forward a proof that his records would never be forgotten, as nothing can erase what is valuable, not even time.