Legend of Veronika of Desinić - Intangible cultural heritage

The exhibition Legend of Veronika Desinićka - an intangible cultural asset marks the 10th anniversary of the entry of the oral tradition about Veronika Desinićka into the Register of Cultural Properties of the Republic of Croatia on the list of protected cultural properties.

The exhibition provides the historical context on which the oral tradition about Veronika and Fridrik Celje is partly based, but also the presentation of numerous works and works of art that were created under the influence of this love story in the period from the 15th to the 21st century.

Frederick II. Celjski, by building and painting the chapel of St. John in Ivanić Miljanski (middle of the 15th century), bequeathed us the so-called pittura infamante, wall paintings with which he announced who he considered to be the main culprit for the death of his wife Veronika.

Archaeological finds from the old towns of Vrbovec and Krapina and from Veliki Tabor tell us about the period when Veronika Desinićka lived (15th century).

That Fridrik and Veronika met and met in Veliki Tabor and in Krapina was first written by Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski in the publication Ivan Standl: Photographic Pictures from Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia (1870).

dr. Luka Marjanović, full professor at the Academy of Law in Zagreb, rector and vice-rector of the University of Zagreb (1890 – 1891), is the first author to mention the existence of a tradition, namely that it is said that Veronika was stoned alive in Veliki Tabor.

Gjuro Stjepan Deželić, in the travelogue The Ghost of Veronika Desinićka, saw in Veliki Tabor the room where Veronika was allegedly imprisoned and drowned, and the castle manager's wife told him about the apparition of Veronika's ghost in the castle.

Prof. Gjuro Szabo mentions the existence of a tradition which claims that Veronika Desinićka ended her life in a chamber on the second floor of Veliki Tabor.

With the aim of preserving and protecting this intangible cultural asset, numerous professional and educational projects have been realized in our museum over the past twenty years, which are presented at the exhibition: professional publications, museum-educational workshops, puppet shows, art competitions, international projects, documentary films and 3D video mapping.

The exhibition also brings some new interpretations related to Veronica's character.