The Cultural Heritage of Zagreb County

Franciscan Monastery and Church of St.
John the Baptist, Kloštar Ivanić
The church is a late Gothic structure completed in 1508,
and made from stone blocks, and is the largest Gothic
structure in northern Croatia. The church has a single nave
and an extended sanctuary with a polygonal apse, and
ornamentation of fauna.
The massive bell tower was raised on the southern side of
the sanctuary and connects the church and the monastery.
It was built in brick, unlike the remaining constructive and
ornamental elements, which are all made of stone. The
façade is simple, and the coat of arms of Bishop Luka Baretin,
who commissioned the construction of the church, adorns
the keystone of the Renaissance portal. The bell tower dates
back to the 16 th century, though it lost its original appearance
in the Baroque restoration at the turn of the 18 th century.
During the Turkish conquests, the church was torched.
Restoration works began in 1677 when the vaults were
restored, but were instead given the appearance of Baroque
style barrel vaults. The façade is richly ornamented. In 1745, a
crypt was constructed under the sanctuary and the old altars
were replaced, with the exception of the main altar from
1703 and the altar of the Holy Cross under the choir. The
new altars were consecrated to Our Lady of the Rosary, the
14 Assistances, St. Francis and St. Anthony.
The church was heavily damaged in World War II and left
to deteriorate. Restoration works on its reconstruction and
preservation began in the late 1980s. The inventory dates
back to the 17 th and 18 th centuries, including the main altar
and the four side altars by Zagreb sculptor Josip Weinacht.
Virtually all the paintings and sculptures have been
preserved and are stored in the gallery and the treasury of
the new Franciscan monastery and Parish Church in Kloštar
Ivanić, opened in 1994. The pieces of the inventory yet to be
restored are kept in the monastery.
Construction of the old Franciscan monastery began in
the early 16th century, and was completed in 1748. The
building took place in several phases, each of which left its
mark on the monastery. The old rectory that stood at this
site was incorporated into the monastery. The Franciscans
abandoned the monastery in 1544 while fleeing from the
Turks, and would only return again in 1639. During that
period, it served as a military base for the Military Border. In
1997, the Franciscans relocated to the new monastery built
alongside the Parish Church of St. Mary, and handed over
this structure to the Sisters of the Carmelite order, who have
established the Carmel of the Holy Little Theresa.
Library of the Franciscan Monastery,
Kloštar Ivanić
The beginnings of the now very valuable library stretch back
to 1639, when the Franciscans returned to Kloštar Ivanić. The
library is a truthful reflection of the work of the Franciscans
in this area, as it is followed by expert literature. Today’s
library has been completely catalogued. A symposium on the
library was held in 1999, and symposium papers published in
a volume entitled The Library of the Franciscan Monastery of
Kloštar Ivanić. Today, the library houses some 5000 volumes,
including three incunabula (first prints), one of which is a
very rare German publication. The library also houses about
150 rare volumes in Croatia, and several hundred in foreign
languages. The collection of pharmaceutical and medical
literature is exceptional, as the Franciscans held the only
apothecary in this region from 1728 to 1931, making it one
of the oldest in Croatia. Today’s pharmacy in Kloštar Ivanić
continues the activities of this same apothecary. Considering
that the Franciscan library holds a collection of 42 books of
Kajkavian literature, this collection can rightfully be called
Rara Kajkavaiana, as the Kajkavian works within a rare and
very diverse.
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