The reading-room element of the national revival movement in Istria and the Croatian reading-room in Svetvinčenat

Abstract

In the beginning of the paper the A. presents the history of the creation of reading-rooms not only in Istria, but in Croatia and Dalmatia as well. The biggest number of them was established in Istria, more than one hundred. Then he describes the activity and significance of reading-rooms. They were the centres of general cultural and educational activities, but also of national revival. They brought together conscious Croats and became centres of action and mobilization in the fight for national liberation. Reading-rooms set in motion various activities, such as choirs, amateur orchestras based on "tamburice" strings, wind orchestras, popular libraries, conferences, shows, concerts, humunitarian aid etc. The A. continues with a review of the situation in the territory of Svetvinčenat in the period of the creation of the Reading-room and in the immediately preceding years. It is obvious that even before the establishment of the Reading-room there was some sort of national-revivalist infrastructure: Croatian schools in Svetvinčenat, Štokovci, Smoljanci and Bokordići, credit co-operatives in Stokovci and Svetvinčenat, the Economic Society in Svetvinčenat. The Reading-room in Svetvinčenat opened on the 12th July 1908, and it was very active in the beginning. However, the activity subdued very quickly and almost stopped, only to be reactivated in 1913. It is not possible to reconstruct in detail the activity of the Reading-room, because the sources are very scarce, so that we do not know when exactly it stopped working. This probably took place in 1918, with the arrival of the Italians, when all Croatian societies in Istria were banned and closed in very short time.