Žumberak (Croatian) / Gorjanci (Slovenian) is a range of hills and mountains in northwestern Croatia and southeastern Slovenia, extending from the southwest to the northeast between the Krka and the Kupa / Kolpa. It covers an area of 430 km2. The geographically unified massif consists of two parts, separated by the Bregana and Žumberak rivers. The northeastern part is the Samobor Hills with the foothills. The central and western part is named the Žumberak Hills. Its northwesternmost part, named Gorjanci, lies in Slovenia. The highest peak of the range is Sveta Gera (Trdina Peak) on the border between Croatia and Slovenia, being 1,178 m high. Since 1999, an area of the range in Croatia has been protected as the Nature Park Žumberak–Samobor Hills. The Žumberak lies near and partly on the border between Croatia and Slovenia, which mostly passes through the highest parts of the massif. The highest peak, Sveta Gera / Trdina Peak, is subject to a long-lasting border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia. An isolated Yugoslav Army barracks building stands there that has been used as an outpost by the Slovenian Army since the 1990s, although it is recorded in the Croatian land registry, and the Croatian side see this as an occupation of their land.
Authors: Nikolina Hazdovac Bajić, Filip Škiljan, Ana Perinić Lewis, Lana Peternel
Types: ETHNOGRAPHY, HISTORY, ARCHIVES, OBSERVATION, VISUAL ESSEY, ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Theme: Connectivity, Rural landscapes, Migration, Aging, Infrastrukture, Bordering, Borders, Poverty, Tourism, Ecology, Identity, Religion, Orthodox heritage, Multireligiosity, Ethnicity
Neglected Faiths: Case Study of the Isolated Orthodox Churches in Croatia, accepted for the conference 27th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN)
Authors: Lana Peternel, Filip Škiljan
Through the description of isolated, abandoned and destroyed Orthodox churches, this presentation aims to contribute to the discussion on the status of geographically, socially and culturally neglected minority religious communities in the contemporary Croatia. By presenting the long-lasting efforts of religious communities for legal recognition, visibility and nominal acceptability during the socialist and post-socialist times, we intend to shed light on the position of religious minorities in the Croatian society today. More specifically, the problem we want to address is the understanding of hidden patterns of social isolation as indicators of present and possible future cultural and social change. The anthropological literature offers an understanding of the consequences of social isolation and cultural neglect, however, today, in the (post)pandemic and (post)conflict era, the concept takes on new levels of meaning, and a new potential for dialectical reflection. Thus, the problem of isolation and neglect needs to be redefined in terms of time and space, focusing on personal experiences, values, and identities. Acts of neglecting, desecration, devastation or conversion of sacred places and churches established by minority religious communities were among the (post)conflict consequences in the 20th century. By describing the devastation of the material religious heritage of minority religious communities in Croatia, this work aims to contribute to the discussion about the social and cultural position of religious minorities in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. From an anthropological perspective, our goal is to describe the meaning of cultural and social “isolation” and “disappearance” associated with the devastation of religious spaces and heritage. The authors are focused on the Orthodox churches in the earthquake-ravaged region of Bania/Banovina in Croatia, and on the Russian Orthodox Church in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on the Adriatic coast in Croatia. In the research, the authors use diverse archival materials from state archives, as well as from private archival collections. In addition, the results of the analysis are based on ethnographic field research, in-depth interviews and visual analysis of archival photographs. The study analyzes the complex political and historical circumstances that drive the erosion of the multi-religious heritage of marginal communities in the Croatian social landscape. The paper will reveal new types of isolation, emptiness, and disappearance by explaining how small communities and individuals perceive global trends of being connected, and how they deal with their own isolation. The authors acknowledge that the project “Isolated People and Communities in Slovenia and Croatia” (IPS-2022-02-3741) is financially supported by the Croatian Science Foundation.
BEING ORTHODOX IN CROATIA: FROM OVERLAPPING TO DISAPPEARING AND DISCOVERING
Authors: Nikolina, Hazdovac Bajić,Lana Peternel, Filip Škiljan
The authors are focused on the Serbian and Russian Orthodox Church in Žumberak, Croatia. In the inquiry, the authors use a variety of archival materials from state archives, as well as from private archival collections of minority religious communities. Also, the analysis results are based on ethnographic field research, in-depth interviews, and visual analysis of archival photographs. Finally, the study analyses the complex political and historical circumstances that trigger the erosion of the multireligious heritage of marginal communities in the Croatian cultural landscape. By describing an abandoned church in Croatia, this paper aims to contribute on discussion reflecting the status of minority religious communities in Croatia’s current society. Acts of desecration, devastation, or conversion of sacred places and churches established by minority religious communities were acts of neglect toward cultural dimension of human rights and their heritage. However, from the perspective of believers, the destruction of sacred places also raises the question of facing and coping with cultural and social disappearance and maintaining the faith and religious lifeworld in the circumstances of past political discrimination.