An Attempt of Expropriation and Renovation of the Benedictine Nunnery and Church of St Mary in Zadar (1943 – 1970)

U radu se temeljem arhivskih izvora analizira obnova samostana i crkve sv. Marije u Zadru. Samostan i crkva su tijekom angloameričkog bombardiranja Zadra porušeni 1943./1944., a ondašnje vlasti su 1945. nisu uspjele u svom naumu da svu imovinu i kompleks samostana sv. Marije stave pod privremenu državnu upravu. Od 1948. godine uz pomoć i inicijativu tadašnjeg vodstva Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti započete su pripreme za obnovu. Crkva sv. Marije je do 1959. uglavnom obnovljena, ali samostan nije pa su 1960. sestre benediktinke uputile molbu za obnovom. Obnovu su priječile gradske vlasti pod izgovorom da je prema novom urbanističkom planu na tom mjestu planirana gradnja muzeja. Nakon godina pregovora s gradskim i republičkim organima dozvola za obnovu je ipak dobivena 1968. godine. Gradnja obnove samostana trajala je do 1970. godine kada su se benediktinke nakon dvadeset šest godina vratile u svoj samostan. U kompleksu sv. Marije na njihovu zemljištu 1972. izgrađena je zgrada u kojoj je smješten muzej crkvene umjetnosti u Zadru, službeno otvoren 1976. godine.Benedictine nunnery and church of St Mary in Zadar were among the last historical and cultural monuments that were renovated after the bombing of Zadar in the Second World War. Based on the archival documents, the author analyses the renovation of the nunnery and church of St Mary in Zadar. Immediately after the ending of the War, in 1945 new communist regime did not succeed to expropriate all the possessions and nunnery of St Mary, and putting them under provisional state management. Since 1948 the management of the Yugoslav (Croatian) academy of sciences and arts started preparations for the renovation of the nunnery and church, this renovation was completed by 1959, and mostly financed by funds from the Academy. In 1960 Benedictine nuns wrote an appeal to the National Committee of the municipality of Zadar, but the answer was negative since according to the urbanistic plan this location was prevised for the building of four new museums. Because of this, Benedictine nuns, together with the Diocesan Ordinariate, represented by – at that time young – auxiliary bishop Msgr Marijan Oblak, started long negotiations with municipal and republic authorities in order to achieve a compromise solution regarding the renovation of the nunnery. Unfortunately, negotiation with the municipal authorities was not successful, so this question of the Benedictine nunnery renovation had to be further discussed at the highest level between ecclesiastical institutions (Episcopal Conference and Episcopate of the Social Federative Republic of Yugoslavia) and republic institutions (Executive Council of the Socialistic Republic of Croatia). Moreover, even the Vatican diplomacy, that is pope Paul VI, had to intervene to stimulate these processes. After years of negotiations with municipal and republic authorities, with constant intermediation of the Academy and its Institute in Zadar, the situation regarding the renovation improved and the final agreement was settled in 1965 (i.e., 1967). This agreement regarding the renovation of the nunnery included the establishment of a permanent exhibition of the sacral art within the monastery complex. Nuns returned to the renovated nunnery in 1970, that is after 26 years of “exile”. Finally, the building of the museum for the permanent exhibition of sacral art was finished in 1972, and the exhibition was opened for the public in 1976