Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/ypn4oc8de9
About one square and two monuments – the Great War and Grgur Ninski
Vladimir Huzjan
orcid.org/0000-0001-8968-9382
; Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts,Institute for Scientific Work in Varaždin, Varaždin, Croatia
Abstract
A relatively small area, such as Franciscan Square in Varaždin, was decorated with sculptures only in the first half of the 20th century. The first was the War Memorial, erected in 1915 in honour of the killed soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. It was also intended for humanitarian purposes, as nails used to be knocked in in its wooden parts and the residents used to buy them. The money raised was donated to the dead soldiers’ widows and children from the City and County of Varaždin. When the Great War ended, Austro-Hungarian symbols were removed from the monument, but the memorial itself remained there until 1931 when Grgur of Nin by Ivan Meštrović replaced it. This monument has been the most monumental sculpture in the city of Varaždin to date. While reconstructing Franciscan Square in 2008 and conducting research, the remains of the upper part of the War Memorial with the coats of arms of the City and County of Varaždin were unearthed at the foot of Grgur Ninski with a crown of St. Stephen above them. In 2014, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I, this part with an explanation plate was put on the Franciscan monastery wall behind Grgur Ninski. Thus, Varaždin became one of the few towns in Croatia to display an Austro-Hungarian monument from the First World War publicly.
Keywords
Varaždin; World War I; Ivan Meštrović; Artur Kadeŕavek; Grgur Ninski
Hrčak ID:
230732
URI
Publication date:
20.12.2019.
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