Original scientific paper
The Dedication of the Flag and the 25th Anniversary of the Davor Croatian Choral Society in 1896 (A Contribution to the Cultural History of Brod)
Mato Artuković
Abstract
This paper discusses the dedication of the flag and the 25th anniversary of the Davor Croatian Choral Society of Brod na Savi. The relevance of the celebration went beyond the local level. This cultural event in Brod was attended by numerous Croatian choral societies and indicated the significance of the contributions of these societies to the strengthening of the national consciousness. On the recommendation of the Croatian Choral Association, at this celebration the Croatian national anthem was performed for the first time. The meeting of Bishop Strossmayer, who consecrated the flag and was the true leader of the Independent People’s Party, known as the Obzoraši, and Baron Juraj Rukavina, the president of the political group Domovinaši, resulted in the forming of the Opposition Coalition established by these two parties for the elections in 1897. In 1903 this coalition merged into one party, the Croatian Party of Rights. This party was the main pillar of the Croat-Serb Coalition after its establishment in December 1905.
The dedication of the flag and the 25th anniversary of the Davor Croatian Choral Society on August 15 and 16, 1896 in Brod was deemed an outstanding event on the local as well as on the national level. The dedication of the flag was performed by Bishop Strossmayer whose very presence was a recognition for “Davor” and the town of Brod. The preparations for the celebration started in 1893. However, not until two month before the celebration were crucial problems solved, such as the confirmation of regulations, which had gone missing in the offices of Banski dvori and the appearance of the flag, i.e. the prohibition of the coat of arms on the flag, which was stipulated in the regulations as the “coat of arms of the Croatian Kingdom”.
All things considered, this celebration can be ranked among those cultural and national-political events that testify to the level of national consciousness of the Croatian people in the Brod area. The role of “Davor”, as of all Croatian choral societies in general, was of great significance. The contribution of “Davor” to this process in the Brod area as well as the strengthening of national consciousness of the Croatian population in Bosnia and Herzegovina was extremely important. Khuen’s political idea of reducing the Croatian name to just a geographical term and treating “slavonstvo” (Slavonian affiliation) and “dalmatinstvo” (Dalmatian affiliation) as equivalent to the Croatian name, was destined to fail at events such as the dedication of the Davor flag. The Greater-Serbian idea of the Serbian parties in Croatia, which did not acknowledge the term “Croatia” as an integrative term and rather made use of regionalisms (Slavonia, Syrmia, Zagorje, Croatia, Lika, Kordun, Banija, Dalmatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina), was also found unacceptable during such events.
Keywords
Flag consecration; Croatian Choral Society (HPD) „Davor“; bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer; baron Juraj Rukavina; Ivana Brlić Mažuranić; Opposition Coalition; Croatian anthem; national choral societies; strengthening of national consciousness
Hrčak ID:
211140
URI
Publication date:
1.11.2018.
Visits: 1.424 *