Mirogoj is one of the most beautiful city cemeteries in Europe. It has been designed by Austrian architect Herman Bollé, starting from 1879 to 1929 when it was completed. Many famous Croatians are burried there. Furthermore, with its pleasant atmosphere and numerous high quality works of art, it is a nice place for rest and meditation. All the photos have been taken by Mr. Nikola Piasevoli from Zagreb. With this presentation we wish all the readers of the CROWN and their families a happy Easter.
Category: History
Croatian American Radio Club of Chicago Celebrates 80th Anniversary
Like many great things Croatian, it all starts from a social gathering. Think legendary soccer team Hajduk Split. The soccer team was started after a group of students in Prague went to a pub after a soccer game. It was during this ‘social gathering’ the great club was created in 1911. 24 years later in 1935, another ‘social gathering’ took place, this time in Chicago in the home of Ivan Majdak. It was agreed a radio station was needed for the Croatian-Americans in Chicago, as a means to hear news of the homeland, news of the community, and preserve the language and traditions, a way to keep the cultural identity alive.
Frank Westerman's book about the Lipik Lipizzaners translated into Croatian
Frank Westerman’s book about Lipizzaner horses, with emphasis on their destiny in the 20th century, especially during the Serbian aggression on Croatia in 1990-1995, originally published in Dutch, has been translated into 15 languages and has 40 editions until 2015. As stressed by Frank Westerman in his book, the CROWN (Croatian World Network) and Nenad Bach had an important role in launching the international media campaign aiming to return from Serbia the stolen Croatian Lipizzaners from back to their homeland. Mr. Westerman visited on many occasion the town of Lipik, in which numerous noble Lipizzan horses have been mercilessly assassinated during the aggression.
Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic Croatia's first woman president inaugurated on 15th February 2015 in Zagreb
Mrs. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic was sworn in as Croatia’s first female president in history. She was a former foreign minister, ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Washington and an Assistant Secretary General of NATO for Public Diplomacy. She was the first woman ever to be appointed Assistant Secretary General of NATO. Mrs. Grabar-Kitarovic is at the age of 47, and except her native Croatian, she fluently speaks English, Castillano and Portuguese and can also communicate in French, Italian and German.
10 Annual Heritage and History Tour of Croatia with Robert Jerin September 12 – September 26, 2015
Join noted genealogist, Robert Jerin, for this custom designed exploration of Croatia’s history and heritage. We’ll have a chance to meet with local villagers as well as professionals working in the field of genealogy while we tour this country rich in tradition and benefiting from a confluence of cultures for thousands of years. This year’s tour will include a tour of places on the lovely, but often overlooked, Istrian Peninsula, Gorski Kotar known as the Green Heart of Croatia, including Mrkopalj, Plitivice Lakes Park, Slavonia, the centuries old pilgrimage town and church of Marija Bistrica, Zagreb and Samobor. Included are many scrumptious traditional meals and several performances by Croatian musical groups including Klapa and Tamburitza.
Michael Bilandic mayor of Chicago 1977-1979 proud of his Croatian heritage
Michael Bilandic was born in 1923 in Chicago, Illinois and was one of four children born of his Croatian immigrant parents. His father was from a village near Sinj, Croatia and his mother was from the island of Brac, also in Croatia. In 1977 he was elected as Chicago’s 40th mayor until 1979. He was devoted to his family, faithful to his church, and proud of his Croatian heritage. He was presented the Vinodol Code Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the administration of justice in Illinois.
Faust Vrancic 1551-1617 Memorial Center on the island of Prvic near the town of Sibenik in Croatia
Faust Vrančić was a distinguished Croatian inventor and encyclopaedist during Renaissance 16/17th centuries. Among his most important inventions we mention the parachute as we use today (very different from Leonardo da Vinci’c), suspension bridge and wind turbine. He wrote an important five language dictionary of the most noble Eureopan languages, which included Latin, Italian, German, Croatian and Hungarian. Faust Vrančić, born in the town of Šibenik, now has a superb Memorial Center on the nearby island of Prvić, where he was burried according his last wish.
Operation "Storm" 1995 prevented new genocide in BiH and liberated occupied parts of Croatia
Congratulations on the occasion of Victory Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders on 5th August to citizens of Croatia and all Croatians in the world. The old Fortress of Croatian King Zvonimir (from 11th century) under the Croatian flag, in liberated town of Knin, just a few days after the start of the operation “Storm” in 1995, has been visited by dr. Franjo Tuđman, the then president of the Republic of Croatia, together with Gojko Šušak, Minister of Defense (both on the photo), general Ante Gotovina and others. The town of Knin has been liberated after five years of occupation.
Michel Iellatchitch from France descendant of the Russian branch of noble Croatian family of Jelacic
Mr. Michel Iellatchitch, citizen of France living in the province of Alsace, visited the city of Zagreb from April 25th till 28th with his two sons Victor and François. While walking through the Zrinjevac park, a local guide, describing them important Croatian historical persons, asked them if they are familiar with the name of Jelačić. They answered: “Yes, we are Jelačić’s!” Mr. Michel Ielatchitch is a descendant of the so called Russian branch of this noble Croatian family, about the history of which he has written a very nice historical survey in the French language, available via Internet.
1135 years since the first international recognition of Croatia, more than 600 years before the discovery of America
The Croatian Prince Branimir, 9th century, made important steps in strengthening the relations with Rome. During the solemn divine service in St. Peter’s church in Rome in 879, Pope John VIII gave his blessing to the prince and the whole Croatian people, about which he informed Branimir in his letters, the first one dated on May 21, 879. This was the first time that the Croatian state was officially recognized (at that time the international legitimacy was given by the Pope), which, as we see, happened more than eleven centuries ago!
Memorial plaque to three Croatians from the 17th century in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem
On March, 29 2014 the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims from Croatia. The reason for this great gathering was the ceremony of putting up a memorial plaque to the Croatians, brothers Pavao, Antun and Jakov in this biblical place on the slopes of the Mount of Olives where Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion. In 1681 these knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem bought the Garden of Gethsemane and donated it to the Custody of the Holy Land. On the photo Cardinal Vinko Puljić, the Sarajevo Archbishop, who unveiled the memorial plaque.
Ljubo Krasic director of Croatian Ethnic Institute in Chicago, USA
The Franciscans established the Croatian Ethnic Institute in 1975, with headquarters in Chicago, for the purpose of preserving and promoting the Croatian heritage in the United States and Canada. This foundation was established with one far-sighted goal, namely, that all which is valuable and in any way related to the Croatians could be found in one place and used for various kinds of research. An additional goal of the Institute was to promote Croatian history, culture, literature, and heritage. The current director of the Croatian Ethnic Institute is fra Ljubo Krasić.
Ivan Bjelovucic the first in history to fly over the Alps in 1913
One of the greatest successes of Ivan Bjelovučić (1889 – 1949) was achieved on 25 January 1913 when, as a French pilot, he managed to fly over the Alps between Brigue and Domodossola in 26 minutes and thus become the first pilot in the history who did it. Born in Peru, on his father’s side he was a descendant from the family of sea captains from Janjina, Pelješac peninsula in Croatia. Recently a postage stamp was issued in his honor in Croatia in 100,000 copies.
The Croatian Academy of America celebrates 61 years 1953 – 2014
The Croatian Academy of America is celebrating its 61st anniversary with its Annual Dinner to be held on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at Appetito Ristorante in New York City with cocktails starting at 6:30 p.m. and dinner starting at 7:30 p.m. The keynote address will be made by Frank Jankac on “Enemy Aliens: Recovering the Unknown Story of the Internment of Croats in North America During World War I”. An additional presentation will be made to commemorate the work of the late Karlo Mirth.
Croatian Fraternal Union CFU founded in 1894 in the USA celebrates 120 years of existence
From a membership of less than 300 in 1894, the Croatian Fraternal Union, or in Croatian – Hrvatska bratska zajednica, has grown into an organization with approximately 60,000 members worldwide. The history of the Croatian Fraternal Union actually coincides with the history of the Croatian people in North America. From the beginning, when an itinerant young newspaperman came to Pittsburgh from Chicago in the late fall of 1893, Zdravko V. Mužina attracted more than 300 people to a meeting on Jan. 14, 1894, to organize a mutual benefit society for all Croatians. On the photo Mr. Bernard Luketich, president of CFU.
Heritage and History Tour of Croatia with Robert Jerin September 26 – October 9, 2014
Join noted genealogist, Robert Jerin, for this custom designed exploration of Croatia’s history and heritage. We’ll have a chance to meet with local villagers as well as professionals working in the field of genealogy while we tour this country rich in tradition and benefiting from a confluence of cultures for thousands of years. We will be visiting: Dubrovnik, Peljesac, Medjugorje, Makarska, Split, Brac Island, Plitvice Lakes, Karlovac, Zumberak, Samobor, Zagreb
Karlo J. Mirth 1917-2013 distinguished Croatian writer and lifetime president of Croatian Academy of America
Karlo Mirth was born in Otoeac in Croatian region of Lika, where also Nikola Tesla was born. He studied Forestry and Civil Engineering at the University of Zagreb. Forced to leave Croatia after 1945, he studied Journalism at the University of Rome. He later studied at the Universities of Barcelona and Madrid, and the Library Sciences at Columbia University. Karlo Mirth was a prolific writer of many articles related to Croatian culture and history. He was very active in Croatian Academy of America, and in 2013 published his autobiographical book (R)ivot u emigraciji (Life as an Emigree).
Joško Paro in Houston for the United Nations Remembrance Day 2014
His Excellency, Mr. Joško Paro, Croatian Ambassador to the United States (left) was in Texas on January 27, 2014 to make a presentation to the Houston Holocaust Museum. This was part of the United Nations Remembrance Day commemorations. There was also recognition of the Croatian “Righteous Among Nations”.
Croatia Summer Conservation Field School June 20 – July 18, 2014 initiated by the University of Oregon, USA
The Croatia Conservation Field School adds an exciting international element to the University of Oregon’s Historic Preservation Program. It is an intensive program that allows students to gain hands-on experience in a culturally rich setting. Students will explore villages, while learning the history of the area of the city of Trogir (protected by UNESCO, on the photo) and on the island of Brae, documenting and analyzing important structures, and participating in a hands-on building project. The program is open to undergraduate and graduate students.
Andrija Mohorovicic 1857-1936 great Croatian scientist discoverer of the MOHO discontinuity in Earth's crust
The MOHO is the boundary between the crust and the mantle in the Earth. This is a depth where seismic waves change velocity and there is also a change in chemical composition. Also termed the Mohorovičić discontinuit y after the Croatian seismologist Andrija Mohorovičić (1857-1936) who discovered it. The boundary is between 25 and 60 km deep beneath the continents and between 5 and 8 km deep beneath the ocean floor. The discovery of MOHO is one of the greatest achievements in the history of Croatian science. Andrija Mohorovičić was born in the town of Volosko on the northern part Croatian coast.