Croatia
OSMTHU joins the Order of the Dragon in celebrating Templar History in Croatia
On the summer solstice of 2023, the Templar Order (Grand Priory of Croatia O.S.M.T.H.U.) and “Fratres Draconic Croatici” joined forces in Zagreb to propagate knowledge of the modern Templar Order and its history.
“Fratres Draconis Croatici” society is a legal successor of the “Order of the Dragon” from 15th century and actively works in Zagreb ever since 16th of November 1905.
Lecture was hosted in Fratres Draconis Croatici headquarters at the Stone Gate, historical place in the very center of Zagreb and moderated by Božo Skoko PhD, a full professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb.
The guests were Grand Prior of Croatia Lovro Tomašinec, Marija Karbić PhD – scientific advisor at the Croatian Institute of History and Damir Karbić – manager of the Departmant of Historical Sciences of HAZU.
History experts Marija and Damir Karbić PhD gave an extensive lecture about history of Templars in Croatia and their influence on Croatian soil, which formerly was a Templar province of Hungaria.
Grand Prior Lovro Tomašinec continued the lecture elaborating the circumstances that led to the fall of Templar Order, their survival in different organisations after “the fall” and finally the rise of a modern Templar Order founded by Fabre-Palaprat in 1804.
This significant cooperation in form of a lecture between two chivalry Orders with extensive and prestigious history, shows us that there is still a need within society to preserve knowledge and valuable teachings of history, carry them on and cherish the values they intend to perpetuate.
Templar heritage in Croatia presented during International Conference in Trakoscan Castle
The first contemporary monograph dedicated to the Knights Templar in Croatia was solemnly presented at the Trakošćan Castle, entitled “Templar Heritage in Croatia”, a project carried out by the Croatian Knights Templar.
A number of Croatian scientists have been working on this issue for years. The Templars are one of the most important knightly orders that emerged in the Middle Ages. Breaking Mysticism and Taboos they represented a special form of religious community, embodying two ideals of medieval man – devotion to God in religious life and the virtues of chivalry. Their history has attracted the attention of both scientific circles and the general public from the Middle Ages to the present day. The way in which the order disappeared or was destroyed also played an important role, and this led to the emergence of various myths and stories related to the Templars.
That is why this book presents in a scientifically based way the development and history of this order, both in general and in the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom, and its cultural and historical heritage in Croatian lands, discovered by archaeological research. In addition, it points to the importance of nurturing Templar traditions in modern society – said the book’s editor, Ph.D. Marija Karbić, scientific advisor at the Croatian Institute of History. The reviewer prof.dr.sc. spoke about the importance of this publishing venture. Ivan Jurković from the Faculty of Philosophy, Juraj Dobrila University in Pula, who emphasized the importance of scientific facts in breaking mysticism, taboos, but also fiction about this mysterious order.
Dr. sc. Juraj Belaj from the Institute of Archeology, who wrote a chapter dedicated to archaeological finds related to the Templar heritage, stressed that throughout Croatia there are remnants of the rich Templar heritage that has yet to be valued and revealed to the local and European public. Namely, Croatia has a centuries-old Templar tradition, which is quite unknown to the general public. That is why Dr. sc. Damir Karbić, director of the Department of Historical Sciences of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, warned of the importance of rare preserved sources related to the activities of the Templars in Croatia, emphasizing the HAZU archive. In addition to the collected material, original scientific works of leading Croatian historians and scientists dealing with this issue have been made, as well as new maps that “draw” Croatia on the Templar map of Europe.
The Knights Templar, their work and heritage are certainly one of the most intriguing topics of popular culture and arouse public interest. However, too little is known about how Croatia, thanks to its Templar heritage, secured an important place on the map of Europe in the Middle Ages.
Templar forts, churches and chapels sprang up all over the then Croatian lands…
On their way to the Holy Land, European Templars met and stayed in Croatia. And when they were banned in Europe under the pressure of French King Philip, thanks to the then Bishop of Zagreb, today’s Blessed Augustine Kazotic, Zagreb gave them refuge in what today is Nova Ves. Croatia became their last legal refuge after persecution in France – said university professor Bozo Skoko, who published a chapter on contemporary Templar heritage in Croatia and the world in a monograph with professor and communicologist Ivan Tanta. A memorial plaque at the beginning of the street, which was unveiled in 2019, testifies to Nova Ves as the last European legal refuge in Europe.
Croatia has a centuries-old Templar tradition, which is quite unknown to the general public. There are remnants of the rich Templar heritage throughout Croatia that has yet to be valued and revealed to the local and European public, in which interest in this mystical religious knightly order is constantly growing. That is why the Croatian Knights Templar, associations and fraternities, initiated the publication of the first modern monograph dealing with this topic.
The monograph was published with the support of the Adris Foundation and the support of the Templar Corps International.
Conference and Ceremony
On the following day the Grand Prior of Croatia, Fr+ Lovro Tomašinec was installed in Office by the representatives of the Magisterial Council of the OSMTHU in a ceremony that took place in the beautiful medieval Chapel.
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