HAZU at 164: Pillar of Croatian science, art, national soul

The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU) marked its Day and the 164th anniversary of its founding at the HAZU Library, where a formal session was held and the Academy's annual awards for the highest scientific and artistic achievements in 2024 were presented.

HAZU Day is observed in memory of 29 April 1861, when the Croatian Parliament, chaired by Ban Josip Šokčević, adopted a resolution to establish the Academy at the proposal of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer. That decision was enacted in 1866, when it was confirmed by Croatian King Franz Joseph I, CE Report quotes HINA.

HAZU President Velimir Neidhardt said the Academy had established itself as a leading historical institution in safeguarding national identity during the formation of a modern and distinct Croatian nation.

He noted that the Academy contributes to the development of science, the arts and culture, and to the advancement of Croatian society as a whole.

"HAZU is the conscience and soul of the Croatian nation, and its independence from all political power enables it to give free and unbiased judgment on all matters, free from political or other undesirable influence," Neidhardt said.

He stressed that the Academy's mission includes fostering Croatian unity without divisions of any kind, as a prerequisite for progress in all areas of life across the Croatian ethnic space.

"For us, there is only one Croatia, with Zagreb as its capital, the centre of gravity for Croats around the world and the symbol of the Croatian state," he said.

"In more than a century and a half of uninterrupted work, the Academy has borne witness to major global upheavals and endured a series of imposed state structures and ideological delusions," Neidhardt added, noting that it had finally lived to see the establishment of the Republic of Croatia and had permanently adopted its Croatian name.