Ingrid URH
The Croatian art historian and theorist of the 1930s, Ljubo Karaman, stated that - in the cultural sense - Croatia is a 'borderline and peripheral milieu' of Europe.
Karaman's description of Croatia as a culturally 'borderline and peripheral milieu' of (early twentieth-century) Europe is an intriguing one. It can be interpreted as simply meaning that Croatia, due to its geographic location, is at the border of different cultural influences - '...in the orbit of two or more cultural centers from which it obtains incentives,' as stated by Radovan Ivancevic. (1)
However, on another level, there is the implication that Croatian cultural expression is somehow on the 'fringe' (ie. inferior to) mainstream 'European culture.'
In researching this topic, I have become aware not only of the extent of Croatia's cultural achievement throughout its history, but also of the destruction (and, more recently, lack of acknowledgement) of some of this culture and how the country's geographic location has played a significant role.
In this short essay I will provide an overview of Croatia's position at a 'crossroads' and discuss advantages and disadvantages of this situation. I will conclude with my reflections on Croatia at its current 'crossroads' - a country culturally defining itself having recently claimed its nationhood, and in negotiation to become a member state of the European Union (EU).
Croatia - a significant geography
Geographically, Croatia is situated in Central Europe at the intersection of four cultural zones - Western and Eastern European, Northern (Central European) and Southern (Mediterranean).
'...Nowhere is the Mediterranean so Central European and nowhere is Central European so Mediterranean as they are in Croatia. Nowhere is Latin Europe confronted with Islamic culture to such an extent...' (2)
This geographic position has exposed Croatia to many (often competing) cultural influences and created a diverse cultural history. Examples of this diversity can be found in art and architecture, the development of Croatia's language and its strong graphic arts tradition. For instance, Croatia adopted the Latin language and alphabet from Western Europe, using it as the official language from the 9th to the middle of 19th century, while simultaneously being the only European and Slavic country to preserve the Glagolitic alphabet (glagoljica) - the oldest Slavic alphabet. Catholic Croatians also used a version of the Cyrillic alphabet (Croatian/Bosnian Cyrillic script [bosancica] - from the 12th to the 18th century), while the Bosnian Arabic script (arabica) was also used from the 16th century onwards.
In addition to allowing the country to be receptive to other languages and cultures, Croatia's geographic position also brought it into conflict. Historically, the territory of present-day Croatia formed part of a migration route and path taken by various conquering armies, as Radovan Ivancevic states: 'Croatia was constantly on the battlefield.' (3)
An inevitable consequence was the destruction of some of the country's cultural heritage (which I will discuss in a little more detail later in this essay).
Crossroads – Advantages and Disadvantages
The main advantage of being a 'country on the borderline' (4) is exposure to a variety of creative influences and access to materials which may not be naturally-occurring in the region. These influences can be seen in Croatia today - it is a country containing examples of pre-Romanesque churches, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque towns and diverse artistic, musical and literary movements which are not merely imitations of those occurring in 'greater Europe' but which have their own intrinsic creative qualities.
As asserted by Karaman, peripheral centres such as Croatia, '...influenced by great art centers did not simply reproduce the original in inferior forms, but assimilated and modified it according to their needs.' (5)
One of the most personally intriguing examples of external influences on Croatian cultural endeavour is the landscaping developed and cultivated in the 15th and 16th centuries in areas of the former Dubrovnik Republic (significantly damaged in the Liberation War of 1991-1995). Much of the vegetation and soil in the gardens, parks and vineyards in this region was transported from Southern Italy in trading ships returning to Dubrovnik. The landscape design itself was modelled on that of Italian vineyards, with careful consideration given to planting and irrigation systems.
As I mentioned previously, Croatia's geographic location at a crossroads of different civilizations placed the country in a vulnerable position. As Radovan Ivancevic points out: 'Many Croatian cultural monuments were destroyed even before Europe and the world had the chance to hear about them.' (6)
As a typical example of this, Ivancevic describes a Gothic church in Vocin, Slavonia, which was substantially destroyed during the Turkish wars and again during World War II. After being restored in the 1980s, the church was shelled, then completely demolished by the Serbian insurgents and Yugoslav Army in 1991 as a deliberate attempt to destroy the cultural identity of the region.
Many similar examples exist, particularly in the areas surrounding Dubrovnik and Vukovar, where richness of Croatia's cultural heritage has only been brought into world consciousness after its destruction.
Looking to the Future...
Croatia was formally recognized as an independent, sovereign and democratic republic in 1992 and is now at another crossroads - one of developing a 'national' identity and (re)defining its culture, whilst simultaneously negotiating its entry into the European Union (EU).
The task facing cultural historians is that of defining and cataloguing Croatian cultural heritage (as opposed to Yugoslav/South Slavic) and presenting it to the world.
As Radovan Ivancevic asserts, up until now Croatian cultural heritage has been 'drowned... in vague concept of Yugoslav art.' (7)
It is now time to define what is uniquely Croatian. The translation of literary works and art history reviews into other languages is of significant importance in making Croatian culture more accessible to the world's public.
As Croatia continues to establish itself as an independent nation and future member state of the EU, I believe that Ljubo Karaman's description of the country as 'borderline and peripheral milieu' on Europe's cultural map will become irrelevant.
Croatia will no longer be a 'borderline and peripheral milieu' of Europe, as it is in the process of becoming a dynamic member state whose contribution to Europe's cultural heritage will be rightfully acknowledged and whose contribution to contemporary European and world culture will be (at long last) valued.
The author is a third year student in Croatian Studies at Macquarie University in Sydney. She is a recipient of The Narona/Family M & A Vidovic Prize awarded for outstanding performance in a Croatian language program at any level in 2006.
LIST OF SOURCES:
1. Ivancevic, R. (1996)
- 'Artistic heritage of Croatia in the context of European Cultural Tradition', Moritz, M., Nekic, N. and Vadjon, V. (eds)
- Croatia in the Heart of Europe
- Mediterranean and Central European Cultural Landscapes of Croatia
- Croatian Paneuropean Union, Zagreb, Croatia; (p. 37)
2. Katicic, R. (1966) - 'Preface' (Ibid; pp. 7-8)
3. Ivancevic, R. (1996) - 'Artistic heritage of Croatia in the context of European Cultural Tradition' (Ibid. p. 37)
4. Ivancevic, R. (1996) - 'Artistic heritage of Croatia in the context of European Cultural Tradition' (Ibid. p. 38)
5. Maticevic, D. (1991) - 'Identity Despite Discontinuity' (Online - i-CAN Reader; p. 1)
6. Ivancevic, R. (1996)
- 'Artistic heritage of Croatia in the context of European Cultural Tradition', Moritz, M., Nekic, N. and Vadjon, V. (eds)
- Croatia in the Heart of Europe
- Mediterranean and Central European Cultural Landscapes of Croatia
- Croatian Paneuropean Union, Zagreb, Croatia; (p. 39)
7. Ivancevic, R. (2006) - 'Devastation of Cultural Heritage 1991-1993' (Online - culturenet.hr; p. 2)