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Petar Dorcic, a local priest, discovered the stone in the floor of
the early romanesque church of St Lucija in Jurandvor near Baska on the island of
Krk, in 1851.
The preserved text was sufficiently long to make it a valuable source of information
concerning the development of glagoljica lettering, as well as the croatian language.
It confirms the existence of Croatia from the early days, mentions King Zvonimir
and shows the northern borders of his domain on the island of Krk. |
The text was partly deciphered in 1865, but only fully understood
in 1875. Initially it was assumed that it bore some secret message, but subsequently
it became clear that it describes a gift from King Zvonimir to the church of St Lucija.
Amongst other things, the text lists witnesses at the gift presentation, as well
as the year when the church was built. The stone slab itself reportedly dates from
the year 1100. |
This historic relic remained in the spot where it was found until
1934, when it was handed over to the Academy of Art and Science in Zagreb for safekeeping.
In it`s original place in the church of St Lucija in Jurandvor a convincing replica
was erected.
Small imitations of the slab are offered in many shops to the tourists as souvenirs. |
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More detailed information about Croatian Glagolitic Script, Architecture of the Script and Croatian
History
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