CROATIAN CONSTRUCTION HERITAGE EXHIBITION OPENED IN VUKOVAR

( Editorial: --> 2539 ) VUKOVAR, Sept 23 (Hina) - An exhibition entitled "Croatian Construction Heritage - in War and Reconstruction" was opened in Vukovar on Wednesday as part of the European Heritage Day. The Eltz castle has been used for the display of exhibits on destroyed and reconstructed cultural monuments in Croatia. Despite all principles of international conventions, Croatia's cultural and sacral heritage was destroyed and devastated during the Homeland War and aggression on Croatia (1991-1995), deputy Croatian Culture Minister Ivan Saric said at the opening. The Serb aggressor systematically and methodically destroyed towns and villages, and paid special attention to the destruction of sacral and other valuable monuments, buildings and historical urban nuclei that stood in witness of Croatia's thousand-year cultural identity, Saric said. A special government commission in charge of establishing the extent of war damage assessed that 2,440 cultural monuments, churches and historical town centres from Dubrovnik (south Adriatic) to Vukovar (eastern Croatia) sustained damage amounting to a total of DM529.285. Two hundred and thirty valuable monuments have been reconstructed within an extremely short period of time and under difficult conditions. The reconstruction of another 250 monuments is underway, Saric said. The exhibition was organised by the Croatian Ministry of Culture, Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, with the cooperation of the Vukovar city leadership and the city's Museum. Visitors will be able to see the exhibition until October 15. (hina) lml/ sp 231822 MET sep 98