- by croatiaweek
- November 5, 2025
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in
News
Marija Orač (Photo credit: Renata Nikić)
A Croatian art and document collector living in Luxembourg for the past fifty years, Marija Orač, has made an impressive donation to her homeland.
Orač has gifted the National and University Library in Zagreb a valuable collection of rare maps, graphics, and historical documents, the Hrvatska matica iseljenika (Croatian Heritage Foundation) announced on Thursday.
“I am now in my later years. The many valuable works I have collected over time I am giving away to institutions that will care for them, preserve them, and educate future generations about their importance,” said Orač.
The oldest piece in Orač’s collection is a map from 1573, titled Schlavoniae, Croatiae, Carniae, Istriae, Bosniae finitimarumque regionum nova descriptio, created by Augustin Hirschvogel and published in Antwerp in Abraham Ortelius’s famed atlas Theatrum orbis terrarum.
Her gift also includes several significant maps depicting the territories of today’s Croatia, Bosnia, Slavonia, and neighbouring regions, such as:
• Le Royaume de Hongrie by G. Valck (Amsterdam, 1702)
• Principatus Transilvaniae In Suas Quasque Nationes… by Johann Baptist Homann (Nuremberg, c.1730)
• Royaume de Hongrie, principauté de Transilvanie, Sclavonie, Croatie et… by S. Robert de Vaugondy (Paris, 1752)
(Photo credit: Renata Nikić)
In addition to the historic maps, Orač has also donated materials connected to modern Croatian history, including the poster “An Appeal for Peace in Croatia”, signed by 81 Nobel laureates in support of peace and the preservation of Croatian statehood, and a bibliophile edition of Kervava kronika glas, published in 1972 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Peasants’ Revolt.
The collection arrived in Zagreb in excellent condition and will undergo basic conservation, restoration, and digitisation before being permanently added to the library’s holdings. These works will contribute to the preservation of Croatia’s cultural heritage for generations to come.
(Photo credit: Renata Nikić)
Orač has long been dedicated to promoting Croatian history and culture in Luxembourg, with the Croatian Heritage Foundation noting that by collecting valuable art, historical documents, and artefacts from both Croatia and Luxembourg, she has “created a unique symbiosis of the cultural wealth of the two nations.”
