The figures were taken from Ernestinovo during the war and the Serb occupation of that area in 1991 and were transferred to the Junakovic Spa near the Serbian town of Apatin. This evening, Assistant Croatian Culture Minister Branka Sulc, who was present at the take-over of the figures in Apatin, returned with them to Ernestinovo.
The returned figures are mainly in good condition, except for minor damage caused by humidity, Sulc said.
Before the war, the Ernestinovo gallery had over 600 works of art in its holdings, and now it is searching for 300 of them. Interpol is being engaged in the search for missing paintings and sculptures.
During the war the gallery was seriously damaged. In 2000, it was reconstructed. The Croatian Culture Ministry allocated 850,000 kuna and the Norwegian government 600,000 kuna for that purpose.
(1EUR =7.5 kuna)