Dugo Selo - Capsule Stories #1
17/04/2019
“Having such a rich history is a blessing. It is important to write about it as much as possible and to keep it from being forgotten. The role of our local library “Terra Sancti Martini“ is to promote the local community and St. Martin himself as the symbol of sharing –finding the necessary information and workshops regarding the regional history and culture.“
Interview with Predrag Topić, the Director of the Dugo Selo City Library whose collection includes the “Terra Sancti Martini“ regional library.
How and when did you come up with the idea of the “Terra Sancti Martini“ regional library?
Back in 2005, we organised an evening of poetry and came up with the idea that we could get involved in publishing. Late Aleksandar Antolović who was the Director of the library at the time and I did not have many doubts about the title of the book series we would publish – the Terra Sancti Martini title was the natural title of that book series. It is associated with us, the people from Dugo Selo, and our region. It has marked our existence from the beginning of written history. The first time it was mentioned was in 1209 in the charter to the Templars of Andrew II.
There have been 73 editions in the “Terra Sancti Martini„ library. How many are closely tied to St. Martin and his heritage?
We strive to publish as many historical books as possible. Each of them with such content is tied to our history and to St. Martin. All five books from the Collection of Works of Josip Zorić are tied to our saint protector, as well as the “History of Rudolf Horvat“ who wrote about the history of the old church of St. Martin in Prozorje, the symbol of our City of Dugo Selo. I would like to emphasize that each book with a historical character is either directly or indirectly tied to him.
What is the contribution of the city library to the NPA project?
In any case, the contribution of the city library is the popularisation of the NPA project itself through publications, cooperation with the local media and all the factors included in this project. We are already participating by publishing articles and working on some events tied to St. Martin. We are doing this so that we can bring history closer to everyone, especially the younger population, thereby also helping with a good foundation for the future.
What is your opinion about the NPA project?
This is an excellent project. There is a number of cities and regions and Europe that nurture the heritage of St. Martin. We do the same, and we also have a great potential. We are members of the European Union and its foundation is solidarity and bringing everyone closer together. NPA is a part of that, Martin is the focus, cooperation and exchange of experiences and knowledge bring people even closer together both on the international and regional levels. Having such a rich history is a blessing. It is important to write about it as much as possible and to keep it from being forgotten. The role of our local library “Terra Sancti Martini“ is to promote the local community and St. Martin himself as the symbol of sharing –finding the necessary information and workshops regarding the regional history and culture.
