ZAGREB, November 8, 2018 - The Zagreb-based Croatian History Museum will mark 100 years of the end of the Great War by staging an exhibition called "1918 – A Turning Point for Croatia", which will be formally opened at 11 am on 11 November in memory of 11 November 1918 when the armistice that ended fighting on land, sea and air in World War I between the Allies and Germany was signed and when it was agreed that a ceasefire took effect at 11 am on that day.

The exhibition, that will run through 19 May, includes 518 artefacts and exhibits as well as parts from the relevant archive and library holdings. The museum's director Matea Brstilo Rešetar said on Thursday that, while in the past exhibitions in this museum included solely artefacts from that institution's holdings, this exhibition would include exhibits and artefacts from other museums and similar institutions.

Brstilo Rešetar told a news conference that the exhibition would focus on the decisions of political elites that had far-reaching effects on the course of Croatia's history. "The first global conflict known as the 'Great War', which ended in 1918, caused huge human and material losses, and led to the collapse of old empires and the creation of new states and new geopolitical and social relations," according to information about the exhibition which the museum posted on its web site.

"For the historical development of the Croatian people, the year 1918 was undoubtedly a turning point and thus this exhibition primarily presents political and social developments. Towards the end of the year, Croatia terminated all state and legal relations with the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and joined a new, Yugoslav political entity.

"The activity of Croatian political parties and personalities active in the country and abroad focused on solving the national question. In the South Slavic territories of the former Monarchy, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was created in late October. Internationally unrecognized, the State of SHS soon joined a new common state with Serbia and Montenegro due to unfavourable external and internal circumstances. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was proclaimed in Belgrade on December 1, 1918.

"The Peace Conference held in Paris during 1919 failed to ensure lasting peace," the museum writes in its comment on the exhibition.

Croatia's president to attend Paris ceremony marking 100th anniversary of end of World War I

Over 60 heads of state or government, including presidents Donald Trump of the USA, Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović of Croatia, are expected to take part in the central ceremony marking the end of the First World War in Paris on 11 November, the AFP news agency has recently reported.

On 10 November, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are due to visit the forest near Compiegne in northern France where the armistice between the Allies and Germany was signed in a railway carriage, marking the end of hostilities which began in 1914.

Croatian President Grabar-Kitarović is due to attend the Paris ceremony, as announced by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković during his visit to the French capital in early October.

For more on Croatia’s history, click here.

After 40 years, Zagreb will again witness a major exhibition on the Glagolitic script, which is the oldest Croatian script. The Croatian Glagolitic exhibition will open tonight at the National and University Library (NSK) in Zagreb. It will stay open until December 15, reports Jutarnji List on November 6, 2018.

There are many interesting things to see, and among them is the largest book ever printed in Croatia – it is intended as a textbook to learn the Glagolitic script, and it will be exhibited in the library lobby. It was printed for this very occasion and its dimensions are 145 x 200 cm, enough to break the record.

The NSK holds the largest inventory of Glagolitic books, and it has launched the glagoljica.hr website, so it is no surprise that the library has decided to set up such a large exhibition. Preparations lasted for a full year and involved renowned scientists and experts from the fields of literature and language. The areas covered are the theory of Glagolitic origins, geographic areas where it appeared and spread, the selection of some of the most significant manuscripts and print works, and the contemporary application of the script in communication, economy and culture.

“We have decided to round up our promotion of this script, and the exhibition seemed to us as the perfect solution for that purpose,” said Sandi Antonac, the author of the exhibition.

The library lobby will host eight panels of different sizes, two totems, the record-breaking handbook, a plotter and a 3D printer, where visitors can learn how to write letters and print them out. The whole exhibition is adapted to blind and partially sighted people – for this reason, each exhibit is accompanied by a small plate featuring an explanation in the Braille alphabet. In addition, the text of each description is written in the Latin script, in Croatian and English, as well as in the Glagolitic script.

“The oldest Croatian epigraphic monuments and thousands of pages of the most valuable books and documents written in the Glagolitic script, testify to the longevity and the continuous development of Croatian culture. That is why we thought this exhibition was needed,” said Antonac.

The oldest preserved Glagolitic manuscripts stored at the National and University Library in Zagreb are liturgical books, preserved as a whole or in part. In addition, there are also transcriptions of legal texts that show that the Glagolitic script was deeply rooted in Istria and the Croatian Littoral region.

The Glagolitic script was used for other documents as well: collections of sermons, theological manuals, and collections combining spiritual and secular themes. Moreover, the preserved monuments show that the Glagolitic script was sometimes used by ordinary people as well. Particularly interesting are the intricate, often dramatic records from the margins of Glagolitic texts, which writers used to leave us testimonies about the times and the societies in which they lived.

“The Glagolitic script lives today as a brand and through artifacts in culture, sport, society. To people, it is intriguing and mystical, it attracts them, although they do not know much about it. The last book using the script was printed in 1864, so not that long ago. It is important for the Glagolitic script to become part of our education system. Some schools are already working on that, but everybody should learn it,” concluded Antonac.

To read more about Croatian history, click here.

Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Zrinka Korljan).

The exhibition will include skis from the late 19th century.

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The man who has discovered the cause of Tutankhamun’s death is delighted with his discoveries in Zagreb.

The safe could be hiding millions in gold.

The town witnesses scenes right from a historical Hollywood blockbuster.

ZAGREB, August 26, 2018 - A wreath-laying ceremony was held on Sunday in Split to mark the 77th anniversary of the death of 24 fighters of the 1st Split Partisan Detachment and the 1st Solin Partisan Detachment, executed on 26 August 1941 after they were court-martialled by the Independent State of Croatia.

The photos are inspired by folk legends and were shot on Krk and in Podravina.

ZAGREB, August 4, 2018 - The 303rd edition of the Sinj Alka tournament will be held in the town of Sinj in the Dalmatian hinterland on Sunday.