The Cultural Heritage of Zagreb County

Žumberak – Catholics of east and west
In this region, where east and west meet, as the borders of state and cultural influences changes, so did the borders of the dominant
influence of the eastern and western church organization. Since the 16th century, this area has been inhabited by a mixture of Catholics
of the eastern and western rites.
Over the years and centuries, the faithful did not view these rites as two different religions, but more as two different customs. The
Christian lives in that diocese in which he was born or to which he moved, celebrated God in the way typical for that area, under the
influence of the priest of one rite, if there was no priest of the other rite in that area. The ceremony is no more than a collection of
customs, manners and regulations as to how Christians in a given area celebrate their holidays, receive their sacraments and organize
the life of their religious community.
Since the very beginning, the Catholic east and west do have, however, differences in the singing, dress and painting of holy pictures and
church architecture. Over time, different ways of celebrating mass and different rituals had evolved, and the holidays were celebrated
according to the Julian calendar, or the newer Gregorian calendar that was implemented by Pope Gregory in the 16th century for
Catholics of the eastern rite. The frequent Turkish attacks in Žumberak, the destruction and abandonment of fortified cities, the
imprisonment of their people, and the fear the Turks spread, which forced the residents of Žumberak to flee in search of safer areas,
lead to the first demographic crisis in this region in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The Croatian feudal lords were left without their serfs, income and defensive strength was weakened, and so the imperial rulers
found the solution in relocating Christians from the Turkish territories, from their nomadic, combat lifestyle. The Austrian rulers saw
these Christians first and foremost as experienced warriors who would defend this important border land from the frequent Turkish
invasions, and then as farmers and livestock breeders. They were relocated here in several waves, from 1530 to 1538, and they were
called uskoci (which loosely translated means ‘those who jumped in’).
From the 17th century forth, the native inhabitants and the new residents who were Catholics of the eastern rite, built many churches
in beautiful, prominent positions on the vast mountain plateaus that are characteristic for the Žumberak region, near to settlements
that once existed and that would soon be built, and offering lovely vistas over the entire region.
66 Žumberak