Krowotendörfel , ie Croatian Village, was the name of a small village near Vienna which dissappeared in 1683 during the second Turkish seige of the city. In 1529 Croatian troups defended Vienna under their own national flag, see on the photo, during the first Turkish siege. An important exhibition 400 Years of Croatians in Vienna (400 Jahre Kroaten in Wien) is held until the end of January 2010 in Amthaus Wieden, Favoritenstrasse 18, Vienna.
Author: Darko Zubrinic
Miro Gavran's premieres in the Czech Republic, Japan and Romania
Croatian writer Miro Gavran will have three foreign premieres in just five days in three different countries. My Wife’s Husband on December 13 at the Slezska Divadlo Opava in Czech Republic, How To Kill the President on December 16 at the IWATO Theatre in Japan, and All About Women at the CLASIC IOAN SLAVICI Theatre in Arad in Romania on December 18.
Professors Z. Drmac and K. Veselic received prestigeous SIAM math prize
Two distinguished Croatian mathematicians, professors Zlatko Drmač, University of Zagreb, Croatia, and Krešimir Veselić on the photo, professor emeritus of the University of Hagen, Germany, received a prestigeous 2009 Linear Algebra Prize from the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics – SIAM, for the best scientific work published in the preceding three years in the field of Linear Algebra.
Ivan Mestrovic's Pieta sold at Sotheby's in London
Ivan Meštrović’s Pieta was sold at Sotheby’s in London for 8,750 GBP. It was the only drawing among 100 works of art offered within the section of “19th & 20th Century European Sculpture”. Unusually, the drawing represents the head of Christ to be above the Virgin, appearing to shelter her.
Branko Katalinic Croatian scientist directing DAAAM in Vienna for 20 years
Branko Katalinić, professor of robotics at the Technical University in Vienna, Austria, has founded a prestigeous international association DAAAM in 1990. In 2009 the 20th annual conference of DAAAM has been organized in Vienna. Among the past conferences, four of them have been organized in Croatia: in Dubrovnik, twice in Opatija and in Zadar. The DAAAM comprises more than fifty member states and hundreds of international organizations.
Croatians in the Banja Luka bishopric in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dr. Franjo Komarica, bishop of Banja Luka on the left, warmly accepted a group of visitors from Zagreb. He described the life of Croatians from that part of BiH, now scattered throughout the world, as very difficult. Those rare who returned have problems from existential to unsecured basic human rights, as witnessed by the bishop.
Matko Marusic as a student of medicine in Zagreb 40 years ago
The home town of professor Matko Marušić is Split, on the Adriatic coast, some 200 miles south of Zagreb; that is where his parents lived, and what he calls “home”. Interestingly, more than 40 years later, in 2008, he returned to live and work in Split, where he today serves as the Dean of the University of Split School of Medicine. We provide an excerpt from his 630-page anthology of 31 humorous stories about medicine.
Damir Halilic Hal Croatian fingerpicking guitar virtuoso
At the moment you think everything that can be said with an acoustic guitar has already been said, there will be a voice from somewhere in the world, and may it be Croatia, that suddenly tells you new stories… Hal (on the photo) plays in the best American fingerstyle tradition, but there always is this little something, this little extra, that makes his playing unique. Hey people, listen to him, this guy is great! Thomas Kleemaier.
UNESCO included seven cultural elements of Croatia a world cultural treasure
In 2009 UNESCO included seven elements of Croatia a world cultural treasure: Annual carnival bell ringers’ pageant from the Kastav area, The festivity of Saint Blaise (the patron of Dubrovnik), Lacemaking in Croatia (aloe lace on the left), Procession Za Križen, Spring procession of Ljelje/Kraljice (queens) from Gorjani, Traditional manufacturing of children’s wooden toys in Hrvatsko Zagorje, Two-part singing and playing in the Istrian scale.
Votive chapel of gifts at Mary's Trsat sanctuary near Rijeka
The votive chapel at Trstat sanctuary near the city of Rijeka has been constructed by Peter Kružić, a legendary Croatian defender from the16th century. It is dedicated to the protector of seamen, Saint Nicholas. The sanctuary has been visited by late Pope John II during his Apostolic visit to Rijeka in 2003, on the photo with Ivan Devčić, the Rijeka archbishop.
Nenad Hancic-Matejic from Germany created a new Croatian Glagolitic font
Nenad Hančić-Matejić from Düsseldorf, Germany, created a new Croatian Glagolitic quickscript font called “Croatica” available via his web site, and described in Croatian, German and English languages. It is a result of four year’s hard work. It will be useful both for amateurs and professionals.
Vukovar was the target of more than 1,500,000 grenades in 1991
In 1991 the city of Vukovar in Croatia, on the Danube river, was the target of more than 1,500,000 grenades of all kinds of sizes in just a few months, and more than 13,500 houses were devastated . A favorite target during the Serbian aggression was 50m high water tower, on the left. The city is the birthplace of professor Lavoslav Leopold Ružička, distinguished expert in chemistry, one among three Croatian Nobel Prize winners.
Miro Gavran's book published in Chinese language
Miro Gavran’s novel How We Broke Our Legs is published in Beijing, PR of China by World Affairs Press. The translation into Chinese has been done by Kewein Yan. The prefaces to the novel have been written by Chen Haosu and Ante Simonić. To date, this novel has come out in five editions in Croatian.
Croatia – Aspects of Art, Architecture and Cultural Heritage
The book “Croatia: Aspects of Art, Architecture and Cultural Heritage” includes contributions by leading British, American and Croatian writers and scholars. John Julius Norwich says in the book’s introduction: “To the traveller arriving in Croatia from across the Adriatic, the land seems indeed to have been blessed by providence. Nowhere in the whole Mediterranean will you find an interplay of land and sea more breathtakingly lovely than along the Dalmatian Coast.”
Stjepan Veckovic founder of Croatian Bagpipe Orchestra
Stjepan Večković on the photo is a founder of the Croatian Bagpipe Orchestra . Bagpipes are usually associated to Ireland and Scotland, but Croatian bagpipe tradition is much older. Recently an I nternational Bagpipe Festival has been organized in the village of Mihovljan near Zagreb. According to Mr. Večković, there is no country in the world that could compete Croatia in the variety of traditional national musical instruments.
Marie Spaemann a student of maestro Valter Despalj wins the first prize
Marie Spaemann on the left is a young German violoncellist studing at the Zagreb Academy of Music in the class of maestro Valter Dešpalj, distinguished Croatian musician and educator. She has recently won the first prize at the prestigeous 16th “Johannes Brahms” international competition for young musicians organized in Poertschach in Austria.
Zvonimir Janko and Yakov Berkovich authors of important math monograph
Israeli mathematician Yakov Berkovitch and Croatian mathematician Zvonimir Janko have published a voluminous joint monograph “Groups of Prime Power Order”, part II, comprising 520 pp. Professor Janko is known for the discovery of his famous sporadic groups J1, J2, J3, and J4. The discovery of J1 in 1964 has launched the quest for other sporadic groups. He is one of originators of the theory of p -groups.
White Croats in Ukraine and their archaeological site Stiljsko near the city of Lviv
Dr. Orest Koreinski, Ukrainian archaeologist on the left, investigates the site of Stiljsko on Carpathian mountains near Lviv in Ukraine, an important site of the White Croats from 8th to 10th centuries. We provide an article by Rev. Oleh Hirnyk, dealing with a little known early history of the Croats. The whole site, with surrounding settlements, had around 40,000 inhabitants in 9th century, more than Kiev at that time!
Zeljko Brkanovic distinguished Croatian composer
Renwned German composer Erhard Karkoschka commented on the music written by Željko Brkanović on the left: “I have already encountered and learnd to appreciate his music at the concerts of the Zagreb Biennale… What I noticed in particular is a differentiated use of instruments, which makes his orchestral works very interesting due to sudden shifts. In the same manner the formal structure and logically controlled lines always make a convincing impression.”
Ivanka Bubalo from Bosnian Posavina and her white shirt
Ivanka Bubalo, Croatian newspaper-woman, shared the martyrdom of exiled Croats from Bosanska Posavina, reporting about their difficulties in her numerous articles and radio reports. She is a strong representative of what we believe could be called the Croatian spirituality. A monograph “Bijela košuljica Ivanke Bubalo” has been issued by the Plehan Society and Glas koncila in Zagreb.