Monastery of St. Francis in Zadar awarded European Heritage Label

(Photo credit: Fabio Šimićev/Grad Zadar)

ZAGREB, 27 Feb (Hina) – The Monastery of St. Francis, where the 1358 Treaty of Zadar was signed, has been awarded the European Heritage Label for 2025/2026 as part of the transnational network “Places of Peace”, the Ministry of Culture said on Wednesday.

The joint initiative links seven sites across Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, and Bulgaria where peace treaties were concluded between the 13th and 19th centuries, reflecting Europe’s long history of diplomacy and conflict resolution.

The Treaty of Zadar, signed in the monastery sacristy between King Louis I of Hungary-Croatia and the Venetian Republic, brought Dalmatia under Hungarian-Croatian rule for the next fifty years, ushering in a “golden age” of economic and cultural development for Zadar.

The national pre-selection and nomination process, as well as the project’s implementation, were supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media.

The Monastery of St. Francis has been an active member of the European Sites of Peace network since 2012, with the support of the City of Zadar, the University of Zadar and other educational and cultural institutions.

The project is led by the City of Zadar, and future activities will be carried out jointly by the monastery, the City, and the University, under a cooperation agreement promoting a culture of peace and the region’s historical and cultural heritage.

Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek noted that Croatia now has three European Heritage Label sites, including the Krapina Neanderthal Museum (since 2016) and the Vučedol Culture Museum (since 2022).

The selected sites will receive formal recognition at the European Heritage Label award ceremony in Brussels on 22 April this year, the statement said.

The “Sites of Peace” is a transnational European heritage ensemble comprising seven partner locations in six countries: the Monastery of St. Francis (Croatia), Kaynardzha Historical Fountain Park (Bulgaria), Henriques Palace of Alcáçovas (Portugal), San Francisco Monastery Alcaices (Spain), Évora Monte Congress House (Portugal), Vasvár Peace House (Hungary), and Trenčín Castle (Slovakia).