Prime Minister Andrej Plenković referred to this important moment in Croatian history during a government session on Thursday, and the Ministry of Culture and Media issued a statement recalling that the Croatian Parliament had proclaimed 2025 as the "Year of the 1100th Anniversary of the Croatian Kingdom" on 14 March 2024.
The Ministry noted that the coronation of King Tomislav and his mention in Pope John X's letter, which convened the First Church Council in Split in 925, signified Croatia's emergence as an autonomous and recognised kingdom. This development played a key role in shaping Croatian national identity and sovereignty.
Additionally, with the advent of the Croatian Kingdom, which was part of the Western Christian tradition, the first documented use of the Glagolitic script and Church Slavonic language in liturgy appeared in the Croatian territories. These would later become significant cultural and identity markers for Croats.
The Year of the 1100th Anniversary of the Croatian Kingdom provides a unique opportunity to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the Croatian people, including their language, art and architecture, which have characterised the past millennium, the Ministry emphasised.
Central exhibition at Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in Zagreb, scientific symposium in Split
National cultural and educational institutions will be involved in commemorating this significant anniversary. The Ministry of Culture and Media and the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth will play a key role in preparing programmes and funding activities, the statement added.
Comprehensive programmes have been prepared by the Croatian Bishops' Conference, the Society of the Brotherhood of the Croatian Dragon, and cities and counties in Croatia and in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Ministry of Culture and Media is coordinating the preparation of a central exhibition, which will open in autumn at Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in Zagreb. This exhibition will present all major elements of Croatian statehood from the era of the first Croatian rulers to 1918.
The exhibition has been initiated by the Croatian State Archives with contributions from the Croatian History Museum, the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments in Split, the Archaeological Museum in Split, the National and University Library, the Croatian Institute of History, the Ivo Pilar Institute, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zadar, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, the Miroslav Krleža Lexicographic Institute, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and other prominent cultural and scientific institutions in Croatia.
The Croatian Bishops' Conference (HBK) is organising an international scientific symposium in Split in May, titled "The Beginnings of the Kingdom: The Church Councils of Split, Tomislav, and His Era." The Archaeological Museum in Split will also participate by hosting an exhibition on the Split church councils, which are crucial for understanding and interpreting the ecclesiastical structure of the Croatian medieval state.
In collaboration with HBK, the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth is organising a Religious Education Olympiad on the theme of 1100 years since the Church Councils of Split and the beginnings of the Croatian Kingdom. Additionally, musical and theatrical works dedicated to King Tomislav will be performed at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb and Split.
Tradition has it that the first Croatian king was crowned at Duvno Field in what is now southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian Chronicle and the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja mention a council held at Duvno Field, where the kingdom's boundaries were determined and its statehood legally formalised.