NSK Day 2026: Celebrating 419 years of creating and guarding Croatia’s culture

This year’s National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) Day will be celebrated on 20 February (13.00), in memory of the printing on 22 February 1483 of the first book in the Croatian language and the first book in Europe not printed in the Latin script.

Available on the NSK Digital Collections website, a ‘Missal by the Law of the Roman Court’ (Misal po zakonu rimskoga dvora; Missale Romanum glagolitice) is the pride of the Library’s Manuscripts and Rare Books Collection, which holds two of altogether only 11 incomplete surviving copies in the world.  

The Library’s strong bond with this historic work of Croatian cultural heritage is also embodied in its logotype, the letter of the angular Glagolitic alphabet Iže, i.e. the transliterated Latin letter ‘I’, which has been taken over precisely from the missal, the date of whose publication since 2019 has also been celebrated as the Croatian Glagolitic Script Day.

NSK, a major partaker in the development of Croatia’s culture

The celebration will mark 419 years of the Library’s history and its contribution to the advancement and preservation of Croatian culture. Acting as the Croatian national library and the central library of the University of Zagreb, NSK has a vital role in safeguarding Croatia’s written culture and is a major partaker in its current developments in culture, research and education.

The celebration programme will traditionally include the National and University Library in Zagreb Awards ceremony, which will spotlight the last year’s most outstanding member of NSK staff, the most prominent longstanding library professional at the national level and a legal entity with most success in implementing intrasectoral and intersectoral cooperation initiatives.

Also, a special award from the NSK Director General will be presented to a member of NSK staff for excellence and proactivity and to an NSK team for excellence and effective teamwork.

Another NSK Doors Open Days lively warm-up

Traditionally ushering in the NSK Day celebration will be the Library’s Doors Open Days programme, which will once again give the general public the opportunity to make special guided tours of the Library, learn more about its collections and activities, and take part in special presentational programmes.

NSK Doors Open Days dates and details of the 2026 NSK Day programme will soon be announced, so keep following our website!