Matica Hrvatska celebrates its 180th anniversary
The oldest contemporary Croatian cultural institution and publishing house, Matica hrvatska, is celebrating its 180th anniversary.
On March 24, 2022, Croatian Post will put into circulation a new commemorative postage stamp with the motif of a book and national identity – a sign of the activities of Matica Hrvatska in honor of the anniversary.
The author of the brand is Katarina Lončar, a designer from Zagreb.
The following text on the occasion of the release of the new commemorative stamp was written by Matica hrvatska.
Matica Hrvatska, the oldest modern Croatian cultural institution and publishing house, was founded by Croatian revivalists in 1842 in Zagreb, at the time of the awakening of national consciousness and the constitution of the modern Croatian nation, in order to promote the cultural, literary and economic ideas of the Croatian national revival through books and magazines published on literary language of Štokavian basis.
In the beginning, it operated under the name Matica ilirska as a publishing fund of the Ilirska čitaonice, whose founders and members at that time – under the influence of the ideas and process of national integration on European soil – initiated the establishment of a number of fundamental cultural and economic institutions, such as theaters, museums and economic society.
Since 1851, Matica Illyrska has been operating as an independent literary and scientific society. After the foundation of the Academy, St. Jeronima and the University of Matica in 1874 under the changed name (Matica hrvatska) carried out modernization in the program, organizational and business plan, directing work towards the cultural needs of the growing Croatian citizenry. , developing national consciousness and cultural enlightenment.
For this purpose, Matica launched the publication of a systematically designed publishing program of original and translated literature as well as educational, scientific and popular literature in the fields of humanities, social, natural and technical sciences.
High ranges of fiction texts and scientific discussions, clear style and good language, as well as top-quality graphic and artistic equipment of the books became the hallmark of Matica’s editions, which by the end of the Second World War were occasionally published in more than 10,000 copies.
During the time of monarchist and communist Yugoslavia, Matica’s cultural program in Croatia was often accepted as an alternative political platform of resistance to centralist and hegemonic tendencies directed against the interests of the Croatian people.
In the mid-1950s, when it was enabled to establish branches throughout Croatia, Matica began to realize the concept of polycentric development of Croatian culture. Branches print their own books and magazines, and Matica establishes a Publishing house, which develops its publications, bookshops and antiquarian shops on a commercial and trade basis.
In 1962, Matica launched the Five Centuries of Croatian Literature library, the most significant Croatian literary edition of the 20th century, and in 1967 she encouraged the adoption of the Declaration on the Name and Position of the Croatian Literary Language.
Through cultural events and publishing, Matica became one of the main bearers of the ideas of the Croatian Spring, its work was suspended by the regime after Karađorđe, and prominent officials and members were sent to prison.
After an eighteen-year hiatus, the work of Matica was renewed in 1990 and since then it has been continuously operating as an independent and non-profit association in charge of research, preservation, development and promotion of national and cultural identity in the field of artistic, scientific and spiritual creativity, economy and public life, and care for democratic social development.
Through its activities and continuity, Matica has become a national institution that has published more than 8,000 printed publications in 180 years, and there is almost no more important Croatian book, author, social agreement or movement that did not originate from its circles.