Currency of Croatia 10 Kuna banknote 1995
Croatian National Bank - Narodna Banka Hrvatske
Obverse: a portrait of Juraj Dobrila (1812-1882), bishop of Poreč and Trieste.
Reverse: the Arena in Pula and a ground plan of Motovun in Istria.
Watermark: a portrait of Juraj Dobrila, displayed on the left side of the banknote, in the central part of the blank area, visible when the banknote is viewed against the light.
Date of putting into circulation: issue January 15, 1995 was put into circulation on June 30, 1995.
Dimensions: 126 mm x 63 mm.
Paper: toned, with embedded fluorescent fibres, a multitonal positioned watermark and security thread.
Main colour: grey.
Print: the base is printed in multicoloured offset with an iridescent effect; the main motif, latent image, marking for the visually impaired and microtext are printed in intaglio and the inscriptions are embossed; the intaglio and embossed prints are perceptible by touch.
Security thread: embedded on the left from the portrait, appears on the banknote surface in several small reflective silver rectangles featuring the inscription "10 HRK" and becomes fully visible when the banknote is viewed against the light.
Latent image: the hidden inscription "KUNA", visible in the vertical rectangle positioned along the right edge of the banknote when the banknote is tilted while held flat.
Iridescent colour: on the high-gloss rectangular patch, positioned between the portraits and the right edge of the banknote, and on the high-gloss rectangular patches positioned above and below the watermark, along the upper and lower edges of the banknote, featuring fragmented images of the Arena in Pula; when the banknote is tilted under the light, the iridescent colour on the base changes from silver to gold.
See-through register: a square positioned next to the coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia, bordered by the inscriptions "10 KUNA"; triangular elements of the see-through register on the obverse and reverse of the banknote match when the banknote is viewed against the light, forming letter "H".
Ultraviolet: some colours on the base fluoresce under ultraviolet light; the series and serial number designation fluoresces green; the security thread iridesces.
Croatia Banknotes
1993 - 2012 Issue
Juraj Dobrila
Juraj (Giorgio) Dobrila (16 March 1812 – 13 January 1882) was a Catholic bishop and benefactor from Istria who advocated for greater national rights for Croats under foreign rule.
Dobrila was born in the village of Veli Ježenj, Tinjanština (Antignana) region of middle Istria, which was then and for a brief period part of Napoleon's Illyrian provinces and shortly thereafter the Habsburg monarchy (today part of Croatia). His above-average intelligence let him engage a German elementary school in Tinjan and Pazin, then a gymnasium in Gorizia, and Karlovac where he also attended a seminary. He became a priest in 1837 and took duty 1837 - 1838 in Munama and Hrusici. From 1839 he studied theology at Augustineum in Vienna and finished in 1842. After his studies, he became a chaplain in Trieste, a German enlighter and a principal of a girl-school. From 1857 to 1875 he was the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Parenzo e Pola - Poreč i Pula region and from 1875 until his death he was the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trieste e Capodistria - Trst in Koper region.
Dobrila studied with and was a friend of Josip Juraj Strossmayer, another Croatian bishop and benefactor of the 19th century. He was a vocal supporter of the Croat and Slovene population in Istria, which was the majority there, but culturally and politically dominated by Italians from the coastal towns.
During the Revolutions of 1848, Dobrila became a member of the Slavjansko društvo ("Slavic society") in Trieste. He supported the introduction of the Slavic languages into schools and public life, funded children who wanted to attend schools in the Croatian part of the monarchy (in Rijeka and Kastav) and encouraged the peasants in Istria, mostly composed of Slavic people, to read books in their native language and avoid being abused by their mostly Italian lords.
Dobrila printed the prayer book Oče, budi volja tvoja in Croatian in 1854, and supported the publishing of the first Croatian newspaper in Istria Naša sloga in 1870. He also published a collection of folk tales and proverbs Različno cvijeće. His second prayer book Mladi Bogoljub was published in 1889.
He was a member of the Regional Council of Poreč since its founding in 1861 and the representative of the Council in the Parliament in Vienna until 1867. He was also a participant of the First Vatican Council (1870) where he supported bishop Strossmayer's views on the future of the Church.
Dobrila donated his whole estate to charity post mortem. Dobrila's portrait is depicted on the obverse of the Croatian 10 kuna banknote, issued in 1993, 1995, 2001 and 2004. Two high schools are named after Dobrila, one in Pazin and one in Pula. The University of Pula is called in his honour Juraj Dobrila University of Pula.
Pula Arena
The Pula Arena is the name of the amphitheatre located in Pula, Croatia. The Arena is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers and with all three Roman architectural orders entirely preserved. It was constructed in 27 BC – 68 AD and is among the six largest surviving Roman arenas in the World. A rare example among the 200 Roman surviving amphitheatres, it is also the best preserved ancient monument in Croatia.
The exterior wall is constructed in limestone. The part facing the sea consists of three stories, while the other part has only two stories since the amphitheatre was built on a slope. The maximum height of the exterior wall is 29.40 m (96.5 ft). The first two floors have each 72 arches, while the top floor consists of 64 rectangular openings.
The axes of the elliptical amphitheatre are 132.45 and 105.10 m (434.5 and 344.8 ft) long, and the walls stand 32.45 m (106.5 ft) high. It could accommodate 23,000 spectators in the cavea, which had forty steps divided into two meniani. The seats rest directly on the sloping ground; The field for the games, the proper arena, measured 67.95 by 41.65 m (222.9 by 136.6 ft). The field was separated from the public by iron gates.
The arena had a total of 15 gates. A series of underground passageways were built underneath the arena along the main axis from which animals, ludi scenes and fighters could be released; stores and shops were located under the raked seating. The amphitheatre was part of the circuit of the gladiators.
Each of the four towers had two cisterns filled with perfumed water that fed a fountain or could be sprinkled on the spectators. The amphitheatre could be covered with velarii (large sails), protecting the spectators from sun or rain (as attested by rare construction elements).
This amphitheatre, through its remarkable conservation, has served as an excellent example for the study of ancient building techniques.
The Arena was built between 27 BC – 68 AD, as the city of Pula became a regional centre of Roman rule, called Pietas Julia. The name was derived from the sand that, since antiquity, covered the inner space. It was built outside the town walls along the Via Flavia, the road from Pula to Aquileia and Rome.
The amphitheatre was first built in timber during the reign of Augustus (2–14 AD). It was replaced by a small stone amphitheatre during the reign of emperor Claudius. In 79 AD it was enlarged to accommodate gladiator fights by Vespasian and to be completed in 81 AD under emperor Titus. This was confirmed by the discovery of a Vespasian coin in the malting.
A Christian called Germanus was martyred in the arena in the 4th century.
The amphitheatre remained in use until the 5th century, when emperor Honorius prohibited gladiatorial combats. It was not until 681 that combat between convicts, particularly those sentenced to death, and wild animals was forbidden.
In the 5th century the amphitheatre began to see its stone plundered by the local populace. By the 13th century, the patriarch of Aquileia forbade further removal from the Arena.
In the Middle Ages the interior of the Arena was used for grazing, occasional tournaments by the Knights of Malta and medieval fairs. In 1583 the Venetian Senate proposed dismantling the arena and rebuilding it within Venice. The proposals were rejected. Today, a headstone celebrating the Venetian senator Gabriele Emo's opposition to the plan is currently visible on the second tower.
In 1709, stone was taken from Pula arena for the belfry foundations at Pula Cathedral. This was the last time the arena was used as a source of stone.
General Auguste de Marmont, as French governor of the Illyrian Provinces, started the restoration of the arena. This was continued in 1816 by the Ticinese architect Pietro Nobile, commissioned by the emperor Francis I of Austria.
In 1932, it was adapted for theatre productions, military ceremonies and public meetings. In its present state it still seats some 5,000 spectators.
The arena is used as a venue for many concerts. Performances have included Luciano Pavarotti, Đorđe Balašević, Andrea Bocelli, Jose Carreras, Dino Merlin, Jamiroquai, Anastacia, Eros Ramazzoti, Maksim Mrvica, Norah Jones, Zucchero, Zdravko Čolić, Alanis Morissette, Sinéad O'Connor, Elton John, 2Cellos, Sting, Michael Bolton, Seal, Il Divo, Tom Jones, Gibonni, Manu Chao, Oliver Dragojević and David Gilmour.
The arena has also been used for cinematic works such as Titus, a 1999 film adaptation of Shakespeare's revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus by Julie Taymor.
Two professional ice hockey games were played there on September 14 and 16, 2012. KHL Medveščak, a Zagreb-based Erste Bank Eishockey Liga club, hosted HDD Olimpija Ljubljana and the Vienna Capitals.
Motovun
Motovun (Italian: Montona or Montona d'Istria) is a village in central Istria, Croatia. The population of the village itself is 531, with a total of 983 residents in the municipality (2001); 192 of the residents have Italian as their mother language. The Parenzana was a narrow gauge railroad that ran from Trieste to Poreč between 1902-1935, passed valley below the town.