Croatian History

The first public schools in Croatia were founded in Zadar (1282), Dubrovnik (1333) and Zagreb (1362). The first Gymnasium was founded by Paulists in Lepoglava near Zagreb in 1503. Croatian students studied at many European Universities, starting from the Early Middle Ages. For example, Herman Dalmatin (1110-1154) was our first student who attended lectures of the famous Thierry de Chartres in Paris in the thirties of the 12th century. Born according to his own words in the heart of Istria,…

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Pavao Dalmatin (1190-1255), a professor at the University of Bologna, a founder of the first Dominican communities in Croatia and Hungary, wrote the first systematic tractate on confession in the history of Catholic theology (“Summa de confessione”). Its last edition was printed in 1919 in Dutch.

Augustin Kazotic, a Dominican from the beautiful city of Trogir (13th century), the future bishop of Zagreb, studied at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) by the end of the 13th century. He was reputed to be “an excellent orator and brilliant diplomat” not only in Croatia, but also in France and Italy. He also founded the important Library of Metropolitana in Zagreb, existing continuously from 13th century to these days. Beatified in 1702. It seems that Dante traveled through Croatia,…

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Georges d’Esclavonie (or de Sorbonne, Juraj Slovinac, born in Brezice in present Slovenia, 1355/60-1416), a professor at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) and a theological writer, wrote the first Croatian abecedarium of Christian science in the Glagolitic alphabet about 1400 (held in the Municipal Library in Tours). He wanted to show his renowned colleagues of Sorbonne that except Hebrew, Greek and Latin also existed a genuine Croatian alphabet, or alphabetum chrawaticum as he called it, having a great graphic and…

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“Tractatus de Ecclesia”, written by Ivan Stojkovic de Corvatia (or Iohannes de Carvatia, also known as Jean de Raguse, 1390/95-1443), a professor at the University of Paris, was the first systematic tractate about the Church in the history of Catholic theology. Ivan Stojkovic also headed the delegation of the Council of Basel to Constantinople, aiming to negotiate the Ecumenical questions of the Eastern and Western Church. He wrote that he was from Dubrovnik, which was a Croatian city (de Ragusio…

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Juraj Sizgoric (~1420-1501) was born in Sibenik, and studied in Padova, where he became doctor of sciences. He published a collection of verses “Ellegiarum et carminum libri tres” in Venice in 1477, which is thus one of Croatian incunabula. His book bears witness of a very rich spiritual life in Dalmatia in the 15th century. He also described tragic events related to spreading of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Konrad von Grünberger: Sibenik in 1486