Croatia: A trip into the past

Karlovac exhibition catalogue

The  Grammar School in Karlovac, Croatia  [Gimnazija Karlovac] recently had its  semiquincentennial [250 years anniversary]. This event was highlighted by a special exhibition in  the City Museum in Karlovac [Gradski muzej Karlovac]  

The past months, a rich overview of teaching aids that served education in the school for many years, and quite often more than a century, was exhibited. Among these, there was a large section with materials, originating from the Natural History Dealer Václav Frič  from Prague. This warmed my heart as Taťjána Spunarová and myself  uncovered  his influence on collecting natural history, and published on this subject back in 2005.  All kinds of objects were present,  of which I only knew that they existed because of a mention in  Frič’s sales catalogues. I visited Karlovac in the third week of January to view this.

Specimens, originating from Frič

The authors Antun and Luka, discussing the exhibit with me

Croatia is coming from a situation marked  by a recent war of independence.  The current exhibition contributes to resuming cultural identity by stressing the unbroken chain of history of education at the Grammar School. For the future, a  recreation of the school’s botanical garden is projected. Further it is hoped, that another link to history will be emphasized by a memorial hall in honour of former student Nikola Tesla.

Catalogue title description in Croatian: 

Put u prošlost prirodoslovlja i obrazovanja : 250 godina gimnazije Karlovac = A trip into the past of natural science and education : 250 years of Karlovac grammar school / [urednici Luka Čorak, Antun Milinković ; autori tekstova Luka Čorak, Antun Milinković, Ljudevit Ilijanić ; prijevod, Tomislav Delač]. - Karlovac : Gradski muzej Karlovac, 2016. - 112 str. : ilustr. u bojama ; 25 cm. ISBN 9789537510657