Exhibition ‘The Medieval Centuries of Zrin’ by Prof. Hrvoje Kekez, PhD, opens to the public

On Statehood Day, May 30, 2026, the Days of the Zrinski Family event was held in Zrin, organized by LAGUNA. Its aim was to revive an area that suffered greatly during the Second World War and the Croatian War of Independence by building a tourism offer based on its exceptionally rich cultural heritage. The event began with a Eucharistic celebration held beside the ruins of the medieval Gothic Church of St. Mary Magdalene, also known as the medieval Church of St. Stephen, presided over by Monsignor Marko Cvitkušić, Vicar of the Diocese of Sisak. The rich program included a parade of historical military units, historical workshops for children, and a classical music concert.

During the event, the exhibition ‘The Medieval Centuries of Zrin’ was opened. The exhibition was created by Prof. Hrvoje Kekez, PhD, from the University Department of History at the Catholic University of Croatia, and Dr. Krešimir Regan from the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography. Designed as a travelling exhibition consisting of seven large panels, it presents Zrin not only as the seat of a famous noble family and a site of later historical suffering, but also as a medieval settlement, manorial center, sacred space, fortress, and defensive stronghold during the transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period. A particular value of the exhibition lies in its refusal to reduce Zrin to a single historical narrative. Rather than focusing solely on a romantic image of ruins or a memorial site associated with the Zrinski family, the exhibition offers a broader perspective on a place that developed over centuries.

Through a series of thematic sections, visitors are introduced to Zrin’s medieval position, settlement, estate, sacred heritage, fortification development, historical visual representations, and the period of the Ottoman threat. One of the collaborators involved in the exhibition’s preparation was Matea Jurić Matulić, MA in History, a teaching assistant at the University Department of History of the Catholic University of Croatia.