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Tourism and culture
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Chiaro-scuro photographs

NEVIĐANE (The island of Pašman, Zadar archipelago)
On the sunny side of the street.

Nino Vranić, 1979.

Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia
Photo archive of the Conservation Department in Zadar
Inv. No. 27784, neg. 9289B
KOPRIVNIČKI IVANEC (Koprivnica, The area along the Drava River, northern part of Croatia)
Parish Church of St Johan the Baptist
Going to the mass
In harmony with the black and white contrast of the women’s local costume, there is a scene of a woman going to mass, against a record from the middle of the 17th century that records: “The people in that parish are cruel, careless and godless and do not care about sermons and the Holy Mass, and are disobedient to pastor and to other members of the church. They want to seize church property by force. A few years ago, a few of them did not hesitate to drive their pastor out of the village, hitting him five times with a club. Even now, they are publicly protesting against the captain of Koprivnica, who is their landlord.”

Nino Vranić, 1965.

Ministry of Culture and Media og the Republic of Croatia
Photo archive of cultural heritage
Inv. No. 28753, neg. II-6720
RIJEKA
Šišmiša Street in the Old Town as the frame of a carefree childhood. Such a situation will soon become a thing of the past, as the old city core will undergo considerable renovation and construction in the coming decades, and childhood will grow into maturity.

Valentin Šerak, 1954.

Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia
Photo archive of the Conservation Department in Rijeka
Inv. No. 4595, neg. II-912
DUBROVNIK
Detail of the staircase at the Jesuits

Nenad Gattin, 1970.

Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia
Photo archive of the Conservation Department in Dubrovnik
DUBROVNIK
Detail of Sponza Palace, view from the balustrade of the Church of St. Blaise (St. Blaise – the patron saint of Dubrovnik)
Sponza Palace, or Divona, is a Gothic-Renaissance palace built by the local master Paskoje Miličević and the Andrijić brothers from Korčula in the period between 1516 and 1520.

Tošo Dabac, 1968.

Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia
Photo archive of the Conservation Department in Dubrovnik
DUBROVNIK
Main façade of the cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – the Our Lady
The current baroque cathedral was built in the period from 1671 to 1713 on the site of a former Byzantine and Romanesque cathedral, destroyed in the great earthquake of 1667.
According to the legend, the Romanesque cathedral from the 12th century was built with the money of the English king Richard I the Lionheart, who survived a shipwreck not far from Lokrum island, after returning from the Third Crusade in 1192. As a sign of gratitude, he gave 100,000 ducats, which was a lot of money at the time. It was the first Romanesque Basilica in the eastern Adriatic and it influenced church architecture in the entire region.

Tošo Dabac, 1970.

Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia
Photo archive of the Conservation Department in Dubrovnik
SPLIT
The vestibule
of the ancient mausoleum (tomb from the beginning of the 4th century) within the palace of Emperor Diocletian, and from the time of the estabilishment of Christianity, also nowdays, the vestibule of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, popularly known as the Chatedral of St. Dujma (sr. Duje). Today’s Split Chatedral thus bears the epithet of the oldest cathedral in the world.

Živko Bačić, 2007.

Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia
Photo archive of the Conservation Department in Split
DUBRAVA (Omiš)
Church of Saint Luke
Detail of a building built continuously from the 11th to the 19th century with broken stone in mortar, in the shape of a Latin cross with a conical dome in the middle. In the interior, on the altar partition, there are inscriptions in Bosnian, an authentic and distinctive script created in medieval Bosnia and the surrounding areas.

Živko Bačić, 2006.

Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia
Photo archive of the Conservation Department in Split
Other Chapters
Cultural landscapes
A valid phrase describing the concept of a cultural landscape is “a space with identity.” In other words, the most concise definition of a cultural landscape is: a combined work of nature and humans. Although the term “cultural landscape” has been present in geographical terminology since the early 20th century, the key year for its international legal protection is 1992, when it was recognized as a distinct category of cultural heritage.
Banovina and Kostajnica
This heritage conservation photograph takes you into the historic noble seat of the Zrinski and Frankopan families, but also into the folk world of wooden, ornamented, ever-anchored boats.
Fishing, maritime, and river navigation
Fishing, maritime, and river navigation have been an integral part of human life since time immemorial, so it is no surprise that they are captured in old black-and-white conservation photographs with a hint of sepia. Beyond documenting the traditional activities of this economic sector, they continue to play a role in modern economic life, possessing a notable potential for societal development.
Traditional agriculture
Farming has always been the backbone of rural areas. It forms the foundation of food security and economic sovereignty for every region and nation, and it is inseparably linked to the diligent, calloused hands of our people. Conservation heritage photography tells this story in its own distinctive way.
Vedutas and scenes
Vedutas are painterly or (photo)graphic works that depict a part of the landscape—rural or urban, a square, street, or similar—in a detailed and faithful manner, regularly employing perspective to convey a sense of spatial depth. Vedutas become even more striking and lively when they include context, such as scenes with people and/or animals, whether these figures serve as nearly equal participants in the spatial composition or merely as its embellishment. Conservation photography often captures such veduta views, frequently and enthusiastically.
Spaces of intimacy
Alongside monumental cultural heritage—shared treasures of the broader community, the nation, and even the world—conservation heritage photography also gladly records another form of heritage: the opposite extreme of communal life, namely human intimacy. This represents the inalienable and unique inner and emotional world of an individual person.
Portraits
Whether in literature, painting, or photography, the portrait—one of the most direct literary or visual expressions of human intimacy—can either offer only a superficial engagement with the subject, presenting merely the model’s appearance, or it can pursue a deeper, more thoughtful, and intimate approach, contributing to the subject’s individualization and characterization.
Musical organs
Organs, queens among musical instruments, companions of St. Cecilia and symphonic ensembles, which originated in antiquity as hydraulis (the distant ancestors of today’s sea organs in Zadar!) and were gilded during the Baroque period—especially thanks to Bach’s virtuosity—were the focus of systematic study and protection during the Musical Instrument Protection campaign carried out by the national conservation service from 1972 to 1975. During this three-year fieldwork, aimed at documenting, systematizing, evaluating, and appropriately safeguarding musical instruments across the Republic of Croatia, just under 800 organs—mostly of monumental significance—were recorded, and a total of 5,462 photographs were taken. This effort formed the basis for the creation of the Unique National Register of Historic Organs.
Intangible cultural heritage
Intangible cultural heritage refers to practices, performances, expressions, knowledge, and skills that communities, groups, and individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage, transmitting them from generation to generation. Unlike tangible heritage (monuments, objects), intangible heritage is “living,” constantly evolving, and provides a sense of identity and continuity. The following photographs, taken in the early 1960s, illustrate that the recognition of the importance of intangible heritage among Croatian conservators preceded UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore (1989), the UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity (1998), and the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) by two decades or more. These international frameworks ultimately led, in 2006, to the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, following ratification by a sufficient number of states.
Tourism and culture
Heritage photographs in general, including those presented in our virtual exhibition, although created long before the establishment of cultural tourism, should be valued not only for their contribution to our culture and tourism—since they promote our regions, monuments, and people—but also more broadly as a powerful national and social reference. They raise awareness of our identity and uniqueness in increasingly globalized and challenging times ahead.
Chiaro-scuro photographs
Must conservation photography be solely functional and documentary, or is it sometimes allowed the freedom to venture into interpretative realms? Reflect on this question in light of the following photographs…
Sign-off
The conservators and the eKultura team of the Ministry of Culture and Media thank you for your attention!
Impresum
Author of the exhibition: M.Sc. Sanja GrkovićMinistry of Culture and Media – Photo archive of cultural heritage The virtual exhibition was prepared by the Cultural Heritage Digitization OfficeMinistry of Culture and Media Photo preparation: DIGITAL FOTO ART, Dragutin Škreblin
Cultural landscapes
A valid phrase describing the concept of a cultural landscape is “a space with identity.” In other words, the most concise definition of a cultural landscape is: a combined work of nature and humans. Although the term “cultural landscape” has been present in geographical terminology since the early 20th century, the key year for its international legal protection is 1992, when it was recognized as a distinct category of cultural heritage.
Banovina and Kostajnica
This heritage conservation photograph takes you into the historic noble seat of the Zrinski and Frankopan families, but also into the folk world of wooden, ornamented, ever-anchored boats.
Fishing, maritime, and river navigation
Fishing, maritime, and river navigation have been an integral part of human life since time immemorial, so it is no surprise that they are captured in old black-and-white conservation photographs with a hint of sepia. Beyond documenting the traditional activities of this economic sector, they continue to play a role in modern economic life, possessing a notable potential for societal development.
Traditional agriculture
Farming has always been the backbone of rural areas. It forms the foundation of food security and economic sovereignty for every region and nation, and it is inseparably linked to the diligent, calloused hands of our people. Conservation heritage photography tells this story in its own distinctive way.
Vedutas and scenes
Vedutas are painterly or (photo)graphic works that depict a part of the landscape—rural or urban, a square, street, or similar—in a detailed and faithful manner, regularly employing perspective to convey a sense of spatial depth. Vedutas become even more striking and lively when they include context, such as scenes with people and/or animals, whether these figures serve as nearly equal participants in the spatial composition or merely as its embellishment. Conservation photography often captures such veduta views, frequently and enthusiastically.
Spaces of intimacy
Alongside monumental cultural heritage—shared treasures of the broader community, the nation, and even the world—conservation heritage photography also gladly records another form of heritage: the opposite extreme of communal life, namely human intimacy. This represents the inalienable and unique inner and emotional world of an individual person.
Portraits
Whether in literature, painting, or photography, the portrait—one of the most direct literary or visual expressions of human intimacy—can either offer only a superficial engagement with the subject, presenting merely the model’s appearance, or it can pursue a deeper, more thoughtful, and intimate approach, contributing to the subject’s individualization and characterization.
Musical organs
Organs, queens among musical instruments, companions of St. Cecilia and symphonic ensembles, which originated in antiquity as hydraulis (the distant ancestors of today’s sea organs in Zadar!) and were gilded during the Baroque period—especially thanks to Bach’s virtuosity—were the focus of systematic study and protection during the Musical Instrument Protection campaign carried out by the national conservation service from 1972 to 1975. During this three-year fieldwork, aimed at documenting, systematizing, evaluating, and appropriately safeguarding musical instruments across the Republic of Croatia, just under 800 organs—mostly of monumental significance—were recorded, and a total of 5,462 photographs were taken. This effort formed the basis for the creation of the Unique National Register of Historic Organs.
Intangible cultural heritage
Intangible cultural heritage refers to practices, performances, expressions, knowledge, and skills that communities, groups, and individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage, transmitting them from generation to generation. Unlike tangible heritage (monuments, objects), intangible heritage is “living,” constantly evolving, and provides a sense of identity and continuity. The following photographs, taken in the early 1960s, illustrate that the recognition of the importance of intangible heritage among Croatian conservators preceded UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore (1989), the UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity (1998), and the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) by two decades or more. These international frameworks ultimately led, in 2006, to the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, following ratification by a sufficient number of states.
Tourism and culture
Heritage photographs in general, including those presented in our virtual exhibition, although created long before the establishment of cultural tourism, should be valued not only for their contribution to our culture and tourism—since they promote our regions, monuments, and people—but also more broadly as a powerful national and social reference. They raise awareness of our identity and uniqueness in increasingly globalized and challenging times ahead.
Chiaro-scuro photographs
Must conservation photography be solely functional and documentary, or is it sometimes allowed the freedom to venture into interpretative realms? Reflect on this question in light of the following photographs…
Sign-off
The conservators and the eKultura team of the Ministry of Culture and Media thank you for your attention!
Impresum
Author of the exhibition: M.Sc. Sanja GrkovićMinistry of Culture and Media – Photo archive of cultural heritage The virtual exhibition was prepared by the Cultural Heritage Digitization OfficeMinistry of Culture and Media Photo preparation: DIGITAL FOTO ART, Dragutin Škreblin
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