{"id":122460,"date":"2026-03-13T12:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ffos.unios.hr\/terenska-nastava-u-zagrebu-susret-s-cirilometodskom-bastinom-i-povijescu-hrvatskoga-kraljevstva-2\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T11:40:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T09:40:55","slug":"field-trip-to-zagreb-encountering-the-cyrillo-methodian-heritage-and-the-history-of-the-croatian-kingdom-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ffos.unios.hr\/en\/field-trip-to-zagreb-encountering-the-cyrillo-methodian-heritage-and-the-history-of-the-croatian-kingdom-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Field Trip to Zagreb: Encountering the Cyrillo-Methodian Heritage and the History of the Croatian Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday, 10 March 2026, first- and second-year students of the undergraduate single-major and double-major study programmes in Croatian Language and Literature<\/em> participated in a one-day field trip to Zagreb. The field trip was attended by students enrolled in the compulsory and elective courses Old Church Slavonic 2, History of the Croatian Literary Language<\/em> and Slavonic Scripts<\/em>, taught by Professor Milica Luki\u0107, PhD, and Assistant Professor Vera Bla\u017eevi\u0107 Krezi\u0107, PhD, from the Chair of Croatian Language History and Croatian Dialectology. The field trip focused on three principal locations: the Greek Catholic Co-Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Zagreb, the exhibition \u201cIn the Beginning Was the Kingdom\u201d at the Klovi\u0107evi Dvori Gallery, and the headquarters of the Province of the Glagolitic Third Order Franciscans\u2014the Monastery and Church of Saint Francis Xavier in Zagreb.<\/p>\n

The professors and students were generously welcomed by the Provincial Secretary, Friar Mirko Mi\u0161kovi\u0107, who is also a doctoral student enrolled in the postgraduate university study programme Linguistics<\/em> at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek. Friar Mirko Mi\u0161kovi\u0107 accompanied the students and professors to \u0106irilometodska Street in the Upper Town, where the Neo-Byzantine Greek Catholic Co-Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius is located. The church acquired its present appearance at the end of the nineteenth century at the initiative of Ilija Hranilovi\u0107, the Greek Catholic Bishop of Kri\u017eevci at the time. The works began in 1885 as part of the programme commemorating the thousandth anniversary of the death of Saint Methodius, while the restored church was consecrated on 12 December 1886. The project was overseen by the renowned architect Herman Boll\u00e9. The Holy Brothers adorn both the church\u2019s exterior fa\u00e7ade and its interior, particularly the impressive wooden iconostasis. In 1910 and 1911, the distinguished Croatian painter of Slavonian origin Ivan Ti\u0161ov created several large compositions decorating the church\u2019s interior walls, some of which feature various stylisations of the Glagolitic script (The Nativity of Jesus, The Last Judgement, The Resurrection of Christ<\/em> and Christ\u2019s Entry into Jerusalem<\/em>). An engaging lecture on church history was held in the church, with particular emphasis on the use of Glagolitic and Cyrillic scripts and the Old Church Slavonic language in Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic liturgy.<\/p>\n

On their way to the exhibition at the Klovi\u0107evi Dvori Gallery, the students viewed landmarks of the Upper Town, including the courtyard of the Old Church Slavonic Institute. As the \u0160krlec-Balbi Palace, the Institute\u2019s permanent home, was damaged in the earthquake and has not yet been fully restored, its staff are temporarily housed in the building of the Institute of Economics in Zagreb. The students also learned about the establishment of this institution dedicated to the scholarly study of the Cyrillo-Methodian heritage and the Croatian Glagolitic tradition. In 1902, Bishop Antun Mahni\u0107 founded the Old Church Slavonic Academy on the island of Krk. Its activities were revived in Zagreb in 1948, while its name was changed to the Old Church Slavonic Institute in 1952.<\/p>\n

The group was guided through the exhibition \u201cIn the Beginning Was the Kingdom\u201d at the Klovi\u0107evi Dvori Gallery\u2014organised to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the Croatian Kingdom\u2014by one of its authors, Professor Tomislav Galovi\u0107 from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. The exhibits represented key elements of Croatian statehood from the earliest medieval Croatian rulers to 1918. Among the exhibits illustrating the legal and symbolic continuity of the kingdom, the students were able to view various forms of Glagolitic heritage, highlighting its exceptional contribution to the formation of Croatian cultural and national identity. The exhibition presented the centuries-old phenomenon of the Croatian Cyrillo-Methodian heritage: from the earliest documented mention of the Croatian Glagolitic tradition in the letters of Pope John X, preserved in the material contained in Historia Salonitana Maior<\/em>, through Croatian Glagolitic epigraphy, to major manuscript and printed monuments such as the Vinodol Code<\/em> of 1288, the Istrian Demarcation<\/em> from the fourteenth century and the Missal by the Law of the Roman Court<\/em> of 1483. The Ba\u0161ka Tablet<\/em> from the eleventh century must also be mentioned. It commemorates King Zvonimir\u2019s donation to the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Lucy in Jurandvor near Ba\u0161ka on the island of Krk. In addition to exhibits important to the history of the Croatian Glagolitic tradition, the exhibition presented major works and figures from the modern history of the Croatian literary language: from Marko Maruli\u0107, Faust Vran\u010di\u0107, Brne Karnaruti\u0107, Bartol Ka\u0161i\u0107, Katarina Zrinski and Nikola Zrinski to Novine horvatzke<\/em> and Danicza<\/em>, the well-known works of Ljudevit Gaj and other members of the Croatian National Revival. It also featured prominent authors, politicians and the first university professors of the modern University of Zagreb who, each in their own way, shaped Croatian historical, literary and linguistic identity. The exhibition therefore encompassed various perspectives on cultural and historical heritage through the lenses of history, art history, and literary and linguistic history.<\/p>\n

After the engaging and educational exhibition, the students visited the headquarters of the Province of the Glagolitic Third Order Franciscans, namely the Monastery and Church of Saint Francis Xavier in Zagreb. Friar Mirko Mi\u0161kovi\u0107 and Friar Patrik Me\u017enari\u0107 guided the group through the Baroque Xavier complex, and the visit concluded with lunch in the monastery refectory. Before the meal, the students took part in a prayer in Croatian New Church Slavonic. Following lunch and a period of socialising, Friar Mirko Mi\u0161kovi\u0107 delivered an impressive lecture on Xavier\u2019s Glagolitic heritage. He devoted particular attention to Glagolitic manuscripts (the Ivan\u010di\u0107 Miscellany<\/em> from the fourteenth or fifteenth century and the Klimantovi\u0107 Miscellany<\/em> from the sixteenth century), incunabula (the Xavier copy of the missal Editio Princeps<\/em> was exhibited at the Klovi\u0107evi Dvori Gallery, so only the General Confession<\/em> of 1496 was viewed), post-incunabula (the Missal of Pavao of Modru\u0161<\/em>, 1528, Naru\u010dnik plebanu\u0161ev<\/em>, 1507, and the Senj Lenten Book<\/em>, 1508), as well as Croatian (New) Church Slavonic liturgical books printed in Rome between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries and preserved at Xavier. Xavier also houses the oldest text written in the Latin script in Old Croatian (Chakavian) and Gothic script: The Rule and Order of the Dominican Sisters<\/em> (1345).<\/p>\n

During the field trip, the students acquired a wealth of useful knowledge and returned home after their visit to Xavier enriched by new experiences. The visit provided a unique opportunity to become better acquainted with the cultural and spiritual heritage, expanding their knowledge of Croatian literary and linguistic history and the Glagolitic tradition.<\/p>\n

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Text written by student Klara Bili\u0107<\/em><\/p>\n

Photographs taken by student Iva Markanovi\u0107<\/em><\/p>\n

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