KING PETAR SVAČIĆ

Petar Svačić was the last Croatian king of national origin. He was elected king in year 1093 as the leader of Hungarian resistance on Croatian territory. In the spring of 1097 there was a battle on Mount Gvozd between the Croatian army headed by King Petar Svačić and the Hungarian army led by Koloman Arpadović. The battle ended with the defeat of Croats and King Peter died on the battlefield.

Petar Svačić is deeply engraved in the memory of the Croatian people and in his memory the mountain previously called Gvozd was named Petrov gvozd, today known as Petrova gora.

The message of King Peter Svačić:

“This nation needs harmony if it does not want to disappear!No one can help us but ourselves. ”

“No, I’m not alone. Along with meLjudevit, Braslav, Mojslav, Tomislav.Out of the ground they are sprout, out of the bloody steam.Everyone is watching me. I know what they’re afraid of.The last ruler must be crashedWith the crown on his head, with the pride in the soul!”

From the poem: The monument of Croatian King Petar Svačić
Vladimir Nazor

PETAR SVAČIĆ IN ART

The memory of the last Croatian king in the Croatian people is not fading for centuries now. He became inspiration to many artists – writers as August Šenoa, Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski, Ante Tresić-Pavičić, Vladimir Nazor, Zlatko Tomičić and many others. He is also an inspiration ti painters as Oton Iveković (piece Death of Petar Svačić) and Josip Međimurec (piece Death of Petar Svačić). The academy sculptor Kažimir Hraste made a bronze sculpture 2.7 meters high. On the occasion of the 900th anniversary of Peter’s death the sculpture was set up along the river Krka, at the viewpoint of Kamičak – Visovac. This area was, according to legend, Petar Svačić’s birthplace.