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Without Borders The history of Drenov

Vilim Štefan – Drenovčan who indebted Drenova

Vilim Štefan was born on Drenova in 1920 and died in 2010. He is certainly on the list of our fellow citizens who are important for our Drenova, so we will remember him with the help of our archive and the conversation that was conducted with William a year before he left us, and was published in our Drenovski list.

The interview was conducted by Christian Grailach and was originally published in the Drenovski list no.16, from April 2009.

Writing in our journal about Drenova’s past, I often cited the book as a source of information “Drenova – education and historical development“ (Rijeka, 1987), which was published on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the Drenovska school and in which Vilim Štefan, my current interlocutor, wrote several articles.

These stories about Drenova's past remained to this day almost the only written testimony about the customs, cultural events and struggle of the Drenova people for the preservation of national identity in the times of imposed Hungarian, Italian and fascist rulers. And that's why I think the statement I made in the title is not exaggerated.

Mr. Štefan, who welcomed me in his house on Gornja Drenova, was introduced by Alberto Mihich, who also, in his own way of painting, preserves Drenova's past, so I had the great pleasure of being in company and talking to two, as I would call it, chroniclers of Drenova.

Mr. Štefan, for a start, tell me something about yourself, introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born on May 12, 1920, in this same house. I spent my childhood not so hard, and I can't even say it was easy. In fact, life was hard at the time, and my family was just like everyone else.

I started elementary school at Donja Drenova, which, as we know, in 1924 by the Treaty of Rome, together with Rijeka, belonged to Italy. When the Tunić school in Gornja Drenova was built in 1930, I continued my primary education in the Croatian language in our new Croatian school. From that time I gladly remember teacher Ribarić who, as well-read, cultured and extremely musically wrestled, passed on knowledge to us young Drenovci. After elementary school, I attended and completed 4 grades of Gymnasium in Sušak.

The political and cultural life of Drenova at that time was marked by the work of the Public Reading Room Drenova, in whose work I myself became involved, so at the end of the thirties I was also the secretary of the Reading Room.

I remember from that time Ivan Matetić Ronjgov who came to our house since we are a distant family and who wrote folk songs on the field. This is how he came to listen to Ivan Petrović - Rapinić, a well-known Drenov musician on sopele.

The previously mentioned violent division of Drenova greatly affected life. Many residents of Gornja Drenova were employed in Rijeka's companies, such as in the Tobacco Factory (Palt). As Rijeka was in the then Italian state, these employees were put before the decision to, if they want to keep their jobs and livelihoods, opt for

Italian affiliation (so-called citadinanza) or for the loss of a job that was difficult to find even at that time. Even today, I vividly remember my barba Stanko, who also worked in Rijeka and who was pressed by the decision to opt for Italian citizenship or lose his job crying, saying: ‘Hrvatska mat me j’ gave birth, and moran da san Italian’. And the nona said: "Enroll Stanko, ter you will remain vavek what you are vavek bil - Croat".

And then an even harder time came – the Second World War started!

That's right, war was the hardest and also the most active part of my life. I can say a little good about the war in which I ignored one ear when we were lying in the snow in Lika for fifteen days. The war took my brother Milivoj who died at the age of 18. I was not a hero, but I did not run away from the obligations and difficulties of war and I am proud of my contribution to freedom. After the war, I worked on Brioni as a manager and met Tito often. When I lost my job at Brioni, I got a job at Cleanliness in Rijeka as a worker and gradually progressed to the post of director of Parks and Plantations.

In the book “Drenova – Education and Historical Development”, you participated with your several contributions, which make up almost half of the book. How did you get so much data from Drenova's past?

Even as a student and later as a young man, I often sat next to the elderly, grandparents, father, mother and listened to their memories of the past. Some things I wrote down, some things I remembered. As I was interested in the past of our region, the initiative to publish the aforementioned book was very welcome. It was a unique opportunity to publish my writings and memories and thus enable younger people to get acquainted with the customs and turbulent days of the history of Drenova.

How familiar are you with today's events on Drenova?

Given my age, I'm not as interested as I used to be. I must say that Drenova has always been neglected and somewhat forgotten by both the media and politicians. In recent years, I have heard and I see that a lot has been started on which I have to congratulate.

Do you read Drenovski list? What do you think of him?

I read it regularly and I like it. I like the fact that there is no politics and that it is focused on life topics. I would especially like to commend the fact that the list can find out what is being launched and what is planned for Drenova's progress. I'm also happy to read stories from Drenova's past. All praise to the initiative to launch the newspaper and the people who are working on its realization.

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Without Borders The history of Drenov National

CHURCHS, CAPELINES AND WOOD CROSSINGS

Photo: Marko Jukić, Student of Primary School Fran Franković, the work particularly praised at the Photo Contest “Drenova – pol ure nad rekun 2021”

In V O D

There are few local committees in Rijeka that have two parishes and two churches as Drenova. In fact, three churches, because the Chapel of All Saints in ancient times was the only church on the Drena in which Holy Mass was served. And as we will see from the text, there was a fourth.

There are interesting things in the history of Drenov sacral objects. My intention was to write them down and store them in one place so that they would be accessible to a wider circle of people. In doing so, I am primarily thinking of the people of Drenovci who are social and political circumstances, or rather troubles, scattered around the world and I was convinced of how much they yearn for every word or image from their homeland.

Copies of documents and photographs from the holdings are  the State Archives of Rijeka i the digital collection of the Drenova Regional Museum.

the Shrine of All Saints

The oldest of all sacral buildings on Drena is the All Saints Chapel on Obrš in the area of the Central City Cemetery, and serves for the last farewell of the deceased.

In the Book of the Historian of Rijeka Ivan Kobler 1811 1896) “History of Rijeka” in the part describing the churches of the then Rijeka area, under number 28 we find the following:

The Chapel of All Saints. –  It is located on the Drenovo plateau, towards Podbreg, and it must have been there as early as the 16th century.

In 1603. Catarina Koscich bequeathed 550 lira to this chapel, and in 1606 the Patriarch of Aquileia, in his capacity of superscript, ordered Giovanni Sandalic not to interfere in the management of the land of this chapel, since only the Archdeacon of Rijeka is responsible for this. It appears to have been donated by someone from the Sandalich family, but the modest donation has vanished.

Ivan Kobler

In the “Strazza crediti” notebook   by Drenov trader Francesco Stefan, owner of the former butege and bakery pul Benaši started to run on June 23, 1888, on the second page we find his manuscript:

1890 15/8 There were as many crevices from Sisvetih 3 hundred and 15 flight, Fran Stefan

Francesco Stefan
The first record of the construction of the Chapel

Unfortunately Mr. Fran did not specify the source, but thanks to him we can believe that the chapel was built a long time ago 1575. years.

The chapel was a place of worship, which we will later see in the description of the Church of the Mother of God of Carmel and which is in some way evidence of the existence of Drenova as a settlement for more than 400 years. the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel 1628. and later, the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel 1847. year, the chapel loses its original purpose and is becoming more and more decayed. Coming to Drenova in 1970, the then pastor Mons. Gabriel Bratina advocates for its restoration, which was completed in 1977.

The chapel, like all churches in 1917, was left without bells, which were then torn to make it too warm for the needs of the war. The bells that are now on the chapel and that are advertised at the funeral of the deceased were made by Drenovski obrtnik, left-hander Živko Golubovac in his workshop in today's Ivana Žorža street and on them poured his name and the name of the monsignor Gabriel Bratine. From the memory of Mons. Gabriel bells were erected in 1982 or 83.

Construction the Central City Cemetery in 1984, the chapel begins to serve at the last farewell of the deceased.

It was renovated again in 2008 and, although time-consuming, it fit nicely into the cemetery area.

The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Carmel

May 1, 1837 Don Ivan Cvetko, until then the parish assistant, was appointed pastor on Drenova. The very next year he had a parish apartment built, which today serves as a residence for our retired pastor, Monsignor Gabriel Bratina. In the parish apartment Ivan Cvetko gathered the more advanced children of Drenova and taught them the first literacy.

Worship was then, for the last 10 years, performed in the chapel of All Saints in today's new cemetery, because the chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, built back in 1628 on the site of the parish apartment, was in dilapidated condition.

Ivan Cvetko
Pastor Ivan Cvetko

By the efforts of Ivan Cvetko in civil and ecclesiastical authorities, the construction of a new church was approved in 1847. It is interesting to note that the church in the outer dimensions was built in only 3 months and Holy Masses began to be held there. It was consecrated on September 24, 1863 to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.

Interesting information about Drenovska, first the chapel, and then the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, can be found in the above-mentioned book by Ivan Kobler in which, under number 29, he brings the following:

Parish Church of Sv. Mary of the Mount of Carmel. – Once a chapel located on the Drenovo plateau and built at the expense of spouses Antonio and Maria Petrarolo, who owned a house there with a vineyard and a forest called Paškvinovac. The foundation stone was blessed on May 2, 1628, by Bishop Giovanni Agatich of Senj and Modruš, and on that occasion its founders undertook to convert the income of half of their house in Rijeka to the Zborne Church, to maintain the chapel and perform worship. By the will of 1639, they founded an inalienable inheritance for the benefit of the Fiorini family, with the obligation to maintain the chapel, but the fideikomis (confidence) was abolished in 1742.

Ivan Kobler


At this point, I'm going to interrupt a quote from Kobler's book to say a few words about the chapel itself. Our great monsignor Gabriel Bratina found under the stone next to the old Parish apartment a brass plate that was placed there in 1628 under the cornerstone, as Kobler described it.

Brass tile with construction start date  

From the following images  showing the window from the outside and the inside on the western wall of the basement room of the Parish apartment, it is visible by the shape of the window that it was a window on the chapel (and not the basement that it is today), that is, that the chapel of Our Lady of Carmel in question was exactly in that place.

Continue reading:

When Giovanni Battista's last male heir, Fiorini de Blühenberg, died in 1718, his two daughters, Franciska, wife of Giovanni Domenico Peri, and Maria, Giuseppe Antonio Svilocossi, shared his father's inheritance. Then Antonia, the widow of Monaldi, the daughter of the aforementioned Peria, left in her will in 1756 to her cousin Archdeacon Svilocossi the estate on the Drenoa, with the obligation of maintenance and worship in the chapel. After his death in 1780, possession and patronage belonged to Archdeacon Peria, who, by a document dated 1789, declared that he was the last heir of the female lineage Fiorini, and that he was thus allowed to freely dispose of possession and patronage, because Monaldieva in her will limited possession of goods and patronage only to family members.

Archdeacon de Peri, who died in 1810, with a will from 1807, left the estate on the Drena, with the same obligations, to his great-grandson Frances de Terzy.

As early as 1789, Chaplaincy was founded on Drena, the center of which was this chapel, and the first chaplain was Canon Munier, but when after a year it was abolished, the esteemed Kaptol again took spiritual care.

On September 3, 1836, the City Council decided to establish a parish court on Drenova, which was approved by the Diocese in November of the same year, so that on May 1, the priest Don Giovanni Cvetko, until then the parish assistant in Delnice, was elected pastor on Drenova.

During arranging the income for the maintenance of the cult, the patron Francesko de Terzy, then the city chancellor, vinculated the sum of 500 forints in favor of this chapel.

A little later it was found that due to its weak structure the chapel would not last long. That is why in 1846 it was decided to build a more spacious church with a sum of 2,367 forints. The chapel was demolished, and on September 24, 1863 the bishop was consecrated to Bl. He dedicated a new church to the Virgin Mary from Mount Carmel.

Ivan Kobler

I will add here the data from Marin Štefan’s pen in ‘Drenovski list’ No 18:

Thus, on May 10, 1847, the cornerstone of the new church was blessed, and on November 22 of the same year, the built part was blessed so that the liturgy could be used. The church was finished and solemnly consecrated on September 24, 1863 by the Bishop of Senj and Modruš, Dr. Vjenceslav Šoić.

Marino Štefan

A document on this with the signature of the pastor Ivan Cvetko can be found in the Parish Book entitled Liber insertionis historiae neorectae Parochiae Drenovensis ab anno 1887.  (The book of additions to the history of the newly founded parish of Drenova since 1887.)

In the above-mentioned parish book, which is kept in the church, you can find many interesting things related to the appearance and furnishing of the church.

Record of the bell tower by the parish priest Izidor Gudc

So is Pastor Izidor Gudac  wrote that in August 1903, the bell tower on the church, which I had built by the Rijeka Magistrat, was completed, and the construction was entrusted to the Drenov construction entrepreneur Lino Kučić. And instead of the bell tower – as Reverend Gudac famously wrote – Until then, you could see a dove on the roof of the church - with bells in it.

Appearance of the bell tower before remodeling

We also find an interesting record of Reverend Gudac that on February 18, 1906 a collaboration of new church organs was made by Pietro Bassani from Venice, but, as he says, there was no one to play them. It was not until 1916 that the Drenov church was given a permanent organist when Fran Blažić Jurov-Jr., on the initiative of the parish priest Mate Polić, finished his teaching at the Rijeka organist Josip Vidrih.

The plan of landscaping the church from 1856.

Looking on the Internet for information about the church, I came across an interesting, although I would say, slightly idealized view from 1856 (picture above), where you can see the church, the parish court and the “Old School” in its first form, which was added in 1913 to the size of today's building.

On the lower, slightly more recent, sketch, you can also see the well, the access stairs that still exist today and the house of Lino Kučić where it was sold for years: Linot's butega In its place there is a building called “Beautiful Brena” by the people of Drenovci.

Sketch of the surroundings of the church and school
The Church's Remodeling Plan of 1902

Also interesting is the story of the bells on the Drenov churches of the older age. In the so far frequently mentioned Parish Book, as early as 1917, the parish priest Mate Polić wrote under the title Bells  inter alia:

The Military Ministry requisitioned the bells for war purposes, and decided to spare the bells of historical value and one bell for religious use. On March 29, 1917, the following bells were removed from Krasica by Lessee Togunjec:

Mate Polić

The parish priest Polić describes in detail two bells (weight, engraved texts and figures) that were removed from the bell tower of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as well as two on the Chapel of All Saints and gives an interesting detail from the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel:

These bells were thrown out the window of the bell tower, but none of them broke...the least of them were left for religious use. And this was finally taken away in the year 1917 in the month of October

Mate Polić

There are two bells on the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel today: large since 1947, weighing 350 kg made by the company Kvirin Lebiš from Zagreb and small, weighing 82 kg made in 1924 in the company Salio A. Blažina from Zagreb.

With the most necessary maintenance of the building, the church resisted the time until 2001, when a serious reconstruction began.

The following paintings show the interior of the church before the remodeling, where you can also see a beautiful crystal chandelier, which was unfortunately destroyed during the church's construction.  

Beginning of reconstruction of the wolf. Gabriel Bratina described this in the Parish Book: What happened on October 1, 2001? The parish church began to collapse, but it was to be built!

‘Novi list’ of 16 July 2003 adopted an article entitled Church built by contributions of the faithful from which is shown the image of the church in the course of reconstruction .

That same year in 2003, in June, Pope John Paul II visited Croatia and Rijeka. On this occasion, a statue of the Virgin Mary and a plaque with a commemorative inscription were placed on the stone pedestal in front of the church.

A few years later, in 2006.  Works on the extension and extension of the church continued, making the entire complex today's appearance. The upgraded part resulted in a pastoral center with all the necessary facilities that provide an opportunity for quality pastoral work.

the Church of Holy July

Source: The Wolf. Nikica Jurić, 70 years of St. Peter's. St. George's martyr on Upper Drenova, ‘Drenovski list’ No 16’

By the Treaty of Rome in 1924, Drenova was separated into Upper and Lower Drenova. This demarcation left the upper part of Drenova, Podbreg, Kablari, Lopača, Grohovo without a church, cemetery and school.

It was not until 1931 that the construction of the sacral building began: The future church.

Along with the church, a parish apartment was built, which was completed the same year. The church was built intensively the following year, but it was not fully completed until August 6, 1939, when it was blessed by Dean Anton Košir, parish priest in St. Matthew. Prior to that, the same year, on 23 April, by decree of the Senj-Modruš Episcopal Ordinariate in Senj, the parish of St. George the Martyr was founded on Gornja Drena.

Picture from the time of completion of construction

The newly established parish includes: place Drenova and villages Benaši, Brdo, Grohovo, Kablari, Lopača, Mugarić, Patersko and Podbreg.

The church was built with the contribution and care of the Croatian Ban's government in Zagreb, which bore all the construction costs. It was built from reinforced concrete with a stone wall in the Old Croatian style. The length of the building is about 16 and the width 11 meters. The main altar is made of stone with an embossed picture of St. John the Baptist. George above the tabernacle. The altar was erected on April 26, 1937. The bell dedicated to St. Juraj, weighing 192 kilograms, was salived in Zagreb at the company ‘Kvirin Lebiš’. It was acquired in 1933, and was consecrated by the then auxiliary bishop Franz Salis-Sevis of Zagreb, who later led the Archdiocese of Zagreb after the arrest of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac.

During and after World War II, the parish apartment also served for military purposes, so that there was a German military command, and after the war the right of disposal was usurped by the Rijeka Housing Community.

It was not until 1961 that the right of ownership of the parish was restored, but as a real estate of the parish of Sv. St. Matthew, from whom he was a wolf. Marijan Dujmović, then director of the parish of Sv. St. George's Parish Church Jurja has been renovated and rehabilitated several times: From 1969 to 1971, the bell tower was repaired in 1975, and the roof in 1985. Work on the maintenance and renovation of the church continued, as can be seen in the picture from 1991.

By advocating for a long time the head of the parish, Fr. Nikica Jurić's parish apartment and the church that looks like this today have been completely renovated

Today's appearance of St. Peter's Church. Juraj

SHOPPING ON YOUR GOOD

Source: Marino Štefan, Sparks from Drenov history – chapel or monument to an unknown hero on Veli Vrh, ‘Drenovski list’ No 19

In the daily newspaper  LA VEDETTA D’ITALIA which were published in Rijeka at the beginning of the Second World War in the numbers of 5, 11 and 12 October 1941 written testimony about the preparation and opening of the chapel at Veli Vrh (Italian Monte Lesco) on the day of St. Martin, 11 November 1941.

The chapel was blessed by the Military Ordinary Mons. Bartolomasi, accompanied by military chaplain Giussepe Raimondi. It was built by the border guards and soldiers of the XXVIII sector of the Italian army (these were soldiers from northern Italy, mainly from Bresce and Bergamo). The construction and consecration was on behalf of Italy, as a symbol of the victory in April (think of ending the April War between the Axis powers and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 6 to 17 April 1941) and the liberation of this region from Serbian tyranny as the same source puts it from 5 November 1941, p.3: “...che il nome d’Italia suoni come simbolo di Vittoria e di civitta’ in una terra da lunghi anni soggiogata dalla tyrannia serba’. The chapel also received its protection in the name of the Mother of God from the guards at the border!  

It was built on the highest elevation of Veli vrh, a hill above Drenova, at an altitude of 439 meters. The years of construction determined the neoclassicist architecture of the 30s and 40s of the last century. The chapel has an ejected apse (about 1 m away) and a horsetail over the entrance facade, interestingly, without a bell. In the copy there is a stone relief of the Mother of God, which holds two churches: Trsat and Cossack. The chapel has a large arched entrance where originally, there were only iron doors from metal profiles, visually transparent (which would have been better if it had remained during the renovation, without glazing). The chapel remained in use until 8 September 1943. During the post-war period, from 1945 onwards, no one took care of it, so that the building progressively deteriorated.  Partly because at the time of construction, but also later, this area was in the military zone and it was not allowed to carry out any works in it, without the consent of the military authorities. The population of Drenova, in the time of Italy, could only be there on the day of the opening of the chapel, which also testifies to the character of the building.

The Chapel Before the Restoration

This state of deterioration lasted until the second half of the 1990s, when spontaneous renovation began, which included a complete renovation of the building with a new roof and roof, plastering and painting of the masonry, facade and floor tiling. A black locksmith was also installed (two side windows and an entrance metal door modelled on the former one, initially installed without glazing, later, contrary to the will of the refurbishment designer, glazed). The interior of the apse was painted by the Russian artist Alexander Zvyagin, while the stone relief in a copy was restored by the academic sculptor Zlatko Kutnjak. 

Shortly after the renovation, the environment of the chapel was further enriched in the immediate vicinity, for which the municipal services of the City of Rijeka also showed interest. A removal order has also been issued, but... nothing yet.  

Chapel on Lokva


It doesn't exist anymore. It was built in 1883, but in 1960, when the road, today's Drenovski put, was widened, it had to be demolished.

A stone slab from the chapel on which it is carved is preserved, and in the newly erected drywall by the road:

    JESUS AND MARY BILA

OUR GOOD COUPLE

NIA TEACHED BI 1883

KAPEL AT THE TIME OF REBRA

The year 1913 stands on the top of the Rebre chapel. Everyone would have thought that this was the year the chapel was built. However, I was convinced that this was not the case when our great Reverend Gabriel, in the already mentioned Parish Book, showed me a record entitled ‘The New Chapel at the Peak of the Rebre’, which was recorded on 9 September 1913 by the then Drenov parish priest Mate Polić. Here is the verbatim transcript:

New chapel at the top of the Rebre

At the top of the hill, the so-called The "Rebre" consisted of a crucifixion, which he had raised with a posthumous crucifixion. Francik Kucich (d. Škripalo) as a gift to the Crucified Saviour and Bl. To the Virgin Mary of Mercy at Trsat. The tooth of the time worked on the mentioned crucifix, which finally in 1912 the bora, which was there good blowing, broke and shattered the stones. There is no other option but to raise a new crucifixion.

Some parishioners, especially Anton Franković and Iginio Superina, decided to erect a chapel, which will somewhat protect the crucified from the storm and storm. Immediately, these two were given to collect the donations, and they gathered on Dolnja Drenova and on Pula the sum of 139 Kr. 28 phil., and the Iron Cross was donated by Mr. Mate Petrich, Capomakinista at the maritime area in Rijeka. With this collected sum, they began the construction of the chapel, having previously received permission from the building office, and working for a few days for free, they would finally be built, and Mr. Venceslav Cergnar, the conductor of this local school, would give the same color.

September 7, 1913 is the same as the licensed bisk. Ordinariate in Senj blessed. From the parish church we went through the procession to the chapel, where first the blessing of the cross was performed, then the homily and finally the Holy Mass was sung. The people decorated the chapel with flowers and flags for this occasion, and the blessing was done with the shooting of the mortars. The cost of construction was lih 138 Kr. 56 phil., and this is because some parishioners worked free and donated materials for construction. The list of income and expenses can be found in the archives of the parish. The chapel would be valued at 500 BC.

Drenova, September 9, 1913.

Mate Polić, pastor

It turned out that in 1913 the chapel was placed in a place where there had been a wooden crucifix for a long time: It is not known exactly when it was installed, Mons. My brother thinks it was 1890. It is also dedicated to Bl. To the Virgin Mary on Trsat from what was once seen from that place the Shrine on Trsat. Today, it is no longer visible from newly built houses and growing greenery. The beautiful iron cross mentioned in the text and seen in the picture from the time before 2. World War II was destroyed after the war due to ideological turmoil at that time.

The chapel is now regularly maintained. The Reverend Gabriel told me that he had built a stone relief made in Italy into the chapel, but it was soon demolished by irresponsible individuals with a ‘piercer’, which caused significant damage. Relief has been repaired (see picture)  and is waiting to be put back in place of the present crucifix that you see in the image of the chapel today, after it was restored in 2008.


SHOPPING ON THE OLD GROB OF DRENES       

In 1903 the Old Cemetery of Drenova was built. Within the cemetery, the middle part of today's chapel was built.  At that time and years later, the funerals moved from the church, and the building was used in the case when the deceased did not attend mass, such as suicides or in the case of death from an infectious disease. According to Monsignor Bratina, a massive stone table was set up in the building, on which the autopsy of the deceased could also be performed. In 2000 it was extended on the south side and on the north side a canopy was built so that since then the funerals no longer start from the church but from the chapel.


TWO CAPALS IN CABLES

The first chapel “Na Franić” is at the beginning of the village along the road.  Unfortunately, it's quite neglected and it would be a real shame if it failed.

 The second is in the center of the village, next to the old communal well.  It takes place inasmuch as someone is colored from time to time.

No one, not even the oldest locals, knows when they were built. Everyone just says: ‘The shoe is made of vavek tu’.

CAPITAL AT LUBANIA'S DISPLAY

A beautiful chapel was built into the dry stone wall along the ascent of Lubanj.  Older locals say that the local milkmaids stopped there to pray on their way to Rijeka. At that time, the road from that place turned towards today's Orešje in order to break out at the Master's on today's Drenovski put.

The chapel was renovated by Mr. Ivan Franković from Lokve in 2006 with his own efforts and funds.

KAPELICA IN GROHOV

It was built by the locals of Grohov in 2000 on the initiative and personal commitment of Grohovčan Ivan Marić.

Chapel in Grohovo

In the chapel, the parish priest of St. George's parish, which includes Grohovo, celebrates Holy Mass every year on Grohovo Day (the first Sunday after the Assumption of Mary).

THE SHOWER OF THE CHILDREN OF THE CHILDREN OF THE SIMPLE

Chapel or Grota (cave) to the left of St. George's Church  She preserves the figure of the Virgin of the Poor from Banneux, Belgium, where she appeared to a girl in 1933.

Virgin of the Poor in Banneux, Belgium

The statue of the Virgin of the Poor was given to Ljiljana Marić from Drenovčanka in Belgium and in 1995 she had a chapel built in which the statue was stored.


CROSS PUL BENAŠI

On the old wall, at the crossroads of the Drenovski put and Bruno Francetić Street, the Benaši pole, for over 120 years stands a wooden cross with a crucifix on a pedestal made of carved stone and carved year of construction in 1899.

Cross Pole Benaši

The cross is protected, for that time, by a characteristic tin lining.


The Cross Ends Holy July Church

In the park between the church of St. George and St. George's Street, on a stand made of masonry stone, stands a wooden cross with a crucifix.

Cross next to the Church of St. George

Similar to the old cross on Benaši, it is protected by a tin roof. The year 1983 was engraved on the cross when, during his service, he was a wolf. Berislav Humski, and set.

A Cross on the Hill Along the St. George's Street

On the Hill, next to St. George's Street, there is a wooden cross with a crucifix erected on a masonry stone stand.

Cross in St. George's Street

She had it installed by Drenovčanka Milena Polonijo and wears the engraved date of installation 10. 6. 2001

THE CROSS IN THE STREET OF IVANA ŽORŽA

As it stands in the inscription on the marble slab, the cross was erected by Mate Sikavica in 2012, as the first inhabitant of the street.

Cross in Ivana Žorža Street

This statement does not stand up, knowing that this part of Drenova had been inhabited before. Let's leave mr. Sikavians to keep their opinions and accept his contribution to the enrichment of religious symbols on the Drenoa,

SHARING SHARING

From 1903 until the end of World War II, there was on Skull, at the beginning of the old road to Lopaca, a large iron cross with a crucifix that was demolished, apparently, for ideological reasons. Many older people in Drenovci do not know this, but the documentation from the museum's digital collection and the recently found statue of Jesus from the crucifix are proof of its existence.

On March 28, 1903, the then Drenov parish priest Antun Ladić sent a letter to the Diocesan Ordinary of Senj Modruš in which he prayed that the blessing of the crucifix be approved and that an open-air mass be held on that occasion. It says in the letter;

Reverend Ordinariate!

Milodars of the Drenovski regiment were provided with a nice large iron propeller, which, at the request of the parishioners, would have to be placed on top of the hill of Skull, which lords over the entire parish j through which passes the people of Rijeka from all over the parish of Deer. It is the wish of the whole people, and of mine, that the blessing of this propeller be done as solemnly as possible. Therefore, I would be free to pray to the venerable Ordinariate, so that on the occasion of this ceremony, which would be held next Sunday (flowering plant), in addition to the solemn blessing of the prophecy, I would be allowed to attend Holy Mass under the clear sky in front of that prophecy, with the occasional sermon, in case of a favorable time. I believe that this would contribute greatly, that in this people, who are mostly employed in a corrupt city, where many seek to abduct his faith in the crucified Christ, the worship of the Holy Cross of Jesus will be strengthened and the constancy in professing the Holy Faith will be strengthened. If it's a crossword. The Ordinariate would not find it appropriate, if Holy Mass were to be celebrated above, I ask that he grant me permission, so that I may solemnly bless the crucifix.

Drenova 28. III. 903.

Antun Ladić

On March 31, the Diocesan Ordinariate sent a letter approving the request of the parish priest Ladić. Unfortunately, we don't know the exact date of the blessing, but we can certainly count on 1903. It was crucified and marked on a map from the end of the 30s of the last century

After many years, a statue of Jesus made of cast iron (unfortunately damaged), about 80 cm tall, was recently found in the tavern of Alenka Franković's house, which was placed on a crucifix from 1903.

Finally, I want to thank you:

  • Mons. Gabriel Bratini for selfless help and providing valuable information that helped me greatly in compiling this text
  • The Wolf. Nikica Jurić and Mr Marin Štefan whose writings I used in ‘Drenovski list’
  • The Wolf. Marijan Benković for allowing me an insight into the Parish Book, which is an inexhaustible source of many events from Drenova's past.
  • To the staff of the State Archives of Rijeka on expert assistance when searching documentation

Sources:

  • Digital Archive of the Drenove Regional Museum
  • State Archives Rijeka
  • Giovanni Kobler: History of Rijeka, Book One (Preluk, Opatija, 1995)
  • Notebook Strazza crediti  the Drenov dealer Francesco Stefan
  • The Parish Book: “ Liber insertionis historiae neorectae Parochiae Drenovensis ab anno 1887.
  • Glasilo MO Drenova Drenovski list

The author's text was originally published in DOMETIMA No. I-IV from 2019.

FEATURES of the Festival are the Branch of Matca Hrvatska in Rijeka
Categories
Without Borders The history of Drenov National

DRENOVSKI MAŠKARE - PRINCIPLES OF RIJEKA KARNEVAL

An exhibition entitled ‘Drenovske maškare’ was held for the Drenova Days in 2006 and featured around 150 photographs, documents and newspaper articles related to the history of the Drenova carnival tradition, from before the Second World War to the latest days.

Vilim Štefan, in his book “Drenova – schooling and historical development”, says about the carnival days on Drenova:

During the carnival, Drenova was lively and cheerful, much more than today. The few weeks that carnival days lasted, and especially the last week, groups of masks visited the place, sang, cheered and danced, always accompanied by music, at least accordion and drums. The highlight of the festivities was the last Sunday when masked dances were held until late at night and a smokey Tuesday when deserted was lit. Groups of masks would come from Kastav and Grobinština, and Kastav bell ringers would also come.

Vilim Štefan, ‘Drenova – education and historical development’

It should be added that these dances were especially popular after the People's Home on Lokva was built in 1929.

After the Second World War, the then government tried to present carnival customs as historical remains that were overcome by the then ideology. However, the people of Drenovci did not just forget the old customs, and in this text I will refer to two events that were remembered and marked Drenovska, and one can say the post-war Rijeka carnival tradition. Despite the ideology and even prohibitions of the time, the Carnival of Drenovci is marked in the same way as their ancestors did.

The Fifty Years

Drenova in 1951

Already in the early fifties, they began to disguise themselves, first in a cowboy uniform that was a traditional Drenov mask for the next ten years.


The first of the two events occurred during the carnival days of 1954. A group of Drenovski young men, masked in what is now a much more beautiful traditional cowboy ‘uniforme’, first took photographs to remember in the iconic Foto ‘Belveder’, and then descended and walked down Rijeka’s Korzo. According to the story of one of the cowboys, Dušan Štefan, they caused great attention, astonishment and approval of the people of Rijeka , and especially of the people of Rijeka I found on Korzo. The following day, however, the press at the time, read the government, published an article in the then ‘Riječki list’ (later ‘Novi list’) entitled ‘Where is their pride?’

In the pictures below, Dušan Štefan recognized the majority, and it is no wonder that he could not remember the name of some, but it has been 67 years.

Ćuče: Mario Črnjar, Mario Benčan, unknown, Makso Pilepić. They are: Pepić Pilepić, Milutin Frlan, Livio Benčan, unknown.
Squats: Dušan Štefan, Livio Benčan. They are: Milutin Frlan, Mario Mihić, Mario Francetić and Zdenko Blečić.

What the 70s bring

In the early 1970s, the people of Drenovci began to introduce cars with allegorical figures and satirical messages into carnival columns. Such a motorized column passed through Kastav, Grobinština, it would ride through Bakar, Šmrik, and go to Lovran. On such an expedition ‘La voce di popolo’ from Rijeka on 14 February 1971.  He published an article with a multitude of photographs by photographer F. Morić, accompanied by a text by L. Superina.

La voce di popolo: “Alcotest before departure of column – Everything is OK, can be started”
La voce del popolo: “Drenova hit...”
The Drenov team also stopped in Zamet...
...and as the first in the history of Rijeka Carnival as a carnival column passed through Rijeka
The following day, a commemorative article was published in ‘La voce del popolo’.

The next day, February 15, 1971. , in the same newspaper L.Superina published an article which I will translate from Italian:

As we reported yesterday in our photo service, the allegorical caravan organized by the people of Drenovci has achieved great success throughout our region and will remain recorded (although not in official form) in the annals of local carnival events. The caravan itself followed intensive preparations that lasted practically two months. A group of young enthusiastic people worked in the afternoon (after hours of work in the workshop or in the office) and at night in the characteristic basements of Drenova. Without any help, only with their own financial resources and with great will, Alberto Mihich, Vincenzo Segnan, Livio Benzan, Rino Stefan and others worked as architects, painters, modelists, electricians, etc. The taverns and cellars were turned into real craft workshops for the occasion (as in Viaregigio in Fan (albeit to a lesser extent). This is how the most diverse, allegorical figures and dolls were created, which caused so much hilariousness. Alberto Mihich, mechanic at ‘R. Benčić’ – the main organiser of the group – told us: “We do not lack enthusiasm and have willingly sacrificed all the free hours in the last two months. I have a suggestion. To complete all these events, it would be advisable to organise a general parade on Korzo in the future, that is to say, all masked groups and allegorical parades in the region, with prizes for the best. Hopefully someone will carry it out..

La voce del popolo February 14, 1971

That is how the people of Drenovci or, more precisely, Bertić, predicted something that began 11 years later, in 1982, when, for the first time, in the organisation of the then Rijeka Tourist Board, three carnival groups – We Easy Go, the Pehinar Festival and the Halubajski Bell-ringers – passed through Korzo and launched the famous Rijeka Carnival.


After the text was published on our site, Ms. Silvana Šuperina commented and, among other things, wrote:

Otela bin just adds that these "two unknowns" to Mr. Dušan Štefan, from a 1954 flight picture (another dream recognized Dad's handwriting) at the top right stands Lino z donje Drenove (Lino Mihić, op.a.), and squats (third from left) my dad Rino Štefan.

Silvana Šuperina

Categories
Activities Without Borders The history of Drenov

Revealed memorial plaque to Ivo Grohovac

On June 21, 2021, in Oktavijana Valića Street, a memorial plaque was discovered on the house where he lived and died Ivo Grohovac. He was born on this day 146 years ago in Grohovo. He was a poet and publicist who at the time of Italianization and Hungarianization fought passionately for the use of the local, Croatian language and local Chakavian speech in Rijeka and its surroundings. During his short life (he died at the age of 39 from the effects of tuberculosis) he published three collections of poems, as well as numerous articles in the Riječka glasnik, Riječka novine and Riječka nova list, in which he published under the pseudonym Tik-tak in the section Negda i sada.

Association Without Borders keeps the memory of Ivo Grohovac, and cooperates with the descendants of the Grohovac family, especially with Mrs. Stella Maček Grohovac and Mrs. Sylvie Remillard. The family financed the construction and installation of the panel on the entrance wall in front of the house at today's address Oktavijana Valića 29 in Rijeka. Today, this house is occupied by the Portner family whose courtesy is placed a plaque at the entrance to the courtyard of the house. In order to get this information about the present address of the former house of Ivo Grohovac, a real little research was conducted. Our valuable members Vesna Lukanović and Christian Grailach were helped by Mladen Urem, Head of the Archives Reading Room Department of the State Archives in Rijeka, as well as Dragica Fadljević, Director of the Department of Local Self-Government of the Department of City Self-Government and Administration of the City of Rijeka. Thank you all!

At the beginning of the ceremony, Christian Grailach read a brief review of the life and work of Ivo Grohovac, and Vesna Lukanović read Grohovac's work on toponyms Belveder and Kozala, for which Grohovac offers old names. Thus Belveder is actually Vozrinj, and the area of today's Kozala carried a number of names, some of which have been maintained to this day in the names of the streets (Brašćine, Lukovići, etc.). On behalf of the City of Rijeka, the ceremony was attended by the Deputy Mayor, Mrs. Sandra Krpan, who, together with Mrs. Stela Maček Grohovac, unveiled a memorial plaque.

The event was accompanied by numerous journalistic teams, and you can see for yourself how it looked like:

Video from the discovery of the memorial plaque to Ivo Grohovac from Rijeka

After the ceremony, we headed to the old cemetery of Donja Drenova where Mrs. Maček Grohovac, accompanied by her daughter Jasmina and granddaughter, laid flowers on the grave of Ivo Grohovac and his family.

For more details on the life and work of Ivo Grohovac, see a short presentation prepared by Chistian Grailach: