NSK Manuscripts and Old Books Collection

NSK Manuscripts and Old Books Collection is the oldest among the special collections of the National and University Library in Zagreb. Since its establishment in 1894, its staff have systematically curated Croatia’s oldest and most valuable manuscripts and books. 

Holdings

The Collection’s manuscript material includes codices, manuscripts and handwritten documents of prominent historical figures and institutions, the archival material of various legal entities throughout history and smaller separate manuscript collections. 

The books in the Collection include old and rare items dating from the beginnings of printing in Europe to 1835, as well as items of more recent date such as bibliophile books, inscribed book titles, limited edition books, etc.

Many items in the Collection have been digitised and are available as part of the NSK Digital Collections and Croatian Glagolitic Heritage websites.

Manuscripts  

Standing out as particularly valuable among the manuscripts in the Glagolitic alphabet are The Vinodol Code (Vindolski zakonik, 16^th-century transcript on parchment), Mavar’s Breviary (Mavrov brevijar, 1460; parchment, angular Glagolitic script), Petris Miscellany (Petrisov zbornik, 1468 transcript on paper), The Vrbnik Statute (Vrbnički statut, 16^th c.; parchment, angular Glagolitic script) and the Istrian Book of Boundaries (Istarski razvod, 16^th-century transcript on paper). Representative of Croatian Cyrillic tradition is the Statute of Poljica (Poljički statut, 17^th-century transcript on paper), as one of several manuscripts in the Collection in this ancient Croatian alphabet.  

Especially valuable among the manuscripts in Latin are On the Trinity, a 15^th-century transcript on parchment of the famous work by Saint Hilary of Poitiers (Hilarius Pictaviensis) (De Sancta Trinitate), the original manuscripts of the major works of Croatian literature such as The Siren of the Adriatic Sea, by Nikola VII Zrinski (Miklós Zrínyi) (Adriai tengernek Syrenaia, 1651) and The Death of Smail-aga Čengić, by Ivan Mažuranić (Smrt Smail-age Čengića, 1846), as well as a large number of transcripts of Ivan Gundulić’s Osman, one of the rare works of old Croatian literature translated in several languages, and of Croatia’s other great literary works. 

Manuscript archives

The Collection includes personal manuscript archives of prominent Croatian writers and other distinguished individuals in the context of Croatian history and cultural heritage such as one of the most distinguished Croatian writers and thinkers of all time Miroslav Krleža, Croatian linguists Vatroslav Jagić and Stjepan Ivšić and others.  

Printed treasures

Also preserved as part of the Collection are the invaluable printed treasures, ranging from the first printed book in the Croatian language and alphabet, the 1483 incunabulum Missal by the Law of the Roman Court (Misal po zakonu rimskoga dvora), through works by “the father of Croatian literature” Marko Marulić, Hanibal Lucić, Dinko Ranjina, Marin Držić, Ivan Gundulić, Bartol Kašić, Andrija Kačić Miošić, Matija Antun Reljković and other distinguished names of Croatian literature, to those featuring discoveries and achievements of the leading figures of Croatia’s history of science such as Antun Vrančić and his nephew, the “Croatian Leonardo da Vinci” Faust Vrančić (Faustus Verantius), Matija Vlačić Ilirik, Frane Petris (Franciscus Patricius), Marin Getaldić, Ivan Lucić, the world-famous 18^th-century physicist, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher and Fellow of the Royal Society Ruđer Josip Bošković (Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich), Pavao Ritter Vitezović, 18^th-century Croatian historian and clergyman whose 1777 generous donation of volumes and manuscripts makes the basis of the entire NSK’s collection Adam Baltazar Krčelić, Matija Petar Katančić, Juraj Habdelić, Jakov Mikalja, Ivan Belostenec and others. 

The Collection holds Zriniana, the library of the Zrinski family, many of whose members left an indelible mark on Croatia’s history and cultural heritage, and the library of the Kušević family, another great Croatian family. 

Reference collection

The Collection’s reading room makes available an extensive collection of various reference works including bibliographies, inventories, catalogues, lexicons, lists of works and encyclopaedias.

Digital resources 

The Collection’s digitised resources are available on the NSK Digital Collections and NSK Digitised Manuscripts websites.   

The digitised works of the Croatian Glagolitic tradition whose originals are preserved as part of the Collection are available on the Croatian Glagolitic heritage website, Glagoljica.hr, which also provides access to the digitised works in the Glagolitic alphabet whose originals are preserved in the collections of institutions outside Croatia.

Access to collection items

Owing to their great value and the need for careful handling, resources in the Collection may only be consulted in the Collection’s reading room, upon being requested in advance, in person, by phone or e-mail.

Reference works available in the Collection’s reading room may be freely consulted without a prior request during the Collection’s opening hours. 

The Collection’s resources may be digitised upon request, for research purposes only. Digitisation requests may be submitted online or in person, in the Collection’s reading room. 

Projects and exhibitions 

The Collection and its staff are included in various activities related to NSK’s projects and its cooperation initiatives involving heritage, academic and research institutions in Croatia and abroad.

Apart from being presented on the NSK Online Exhibitions website, the Collection’s valuable resources are frequently featured as part of physical exhibitions in Croatia and abroad.