At the opening of the center, Pupovac also expressed satisfaction that the facility had been made available to Beli Manastir, Osijek-Baranja County, members of the Serb community and all their fellow citizens who would visit the centre, regardless of whether for cultural, educational or scientific reasons.
He added that he hopes that such centers will be built by representatives of other minority communities as well to help overcome obstacles in mutual relations with their cultural, spiritual and educational wealth which they can share with others.
Pupovac points out that the "Baranja Serbian House" is not the last project to build cultural, artistic and educational facilities intended for members of the Serb community, and that a Serb cultural center is likely to be opened in Osijek by the summer or fall of this year.
We have many reasons today to be happy to witness the success of the Serb community, the town of Beli Manastir, Osijek-Baranja County and the Republic of Croatia, said Pupovac.
The President of the Council of the Serb National Minority of Osijek-Baranja County, Dejan Jeličić, said that the house in which the community center is located was built in 1910, and was bought in 2021 from the then owner, the Federation of Hungarian Associations.
The value of the project, including the purchase and renovation of the house, is around €200,000, and the funds were secured through the SNV Capital Investment Fund, he said.
The mayor of Beli Manastir, Tomislav Rob, said that the history of the town is multinational and that all the people who built it should be respected.
That history and tradition should be preserved. In this way, culture and tradition are preserved, and that should be passed on to the young generations, Rob said.