The Croatian Cultural Garden is situated between the Hebrew and the Hungarian Gardens at the Cleveland Cultural Garden to pay homage to Cleveland’s Croatian community. Discussions concerning creating a new garden to showcase Croatian heritage began in early 2010 with a meeting between the Croatian Heritage Museum library staff and a special committee who initiated its construction. Our Croatia Inc. was the sponsoring organization for this garden. Construction on the Croatian Cultural Gardens started in April 2011 after some land from the British Cultural Garden was permitted to be used for the Croatian garden.
There was certainly a desire and need to reflect Croatia’s history in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. The first wave of Croatian immigration to Cleveland occurred between the 1880s and World War I. It is estimated that there were around ten thousand Croatians in Cleveland by World War I. Croatians started coming to Cleveland from neighboring states because of construction and industry jobs being readily available in the area. Many Croatians left their homeland for Cleveland during this first wave due to financial constraints at home, as well as Austro-Hungarian rule. Prior to 1900, Croatian immigrants were predominately single men who moved to Cleveland. Many decided to settle along St. Clair Avenue from around East 24th Street to East 79th Street, as well as south to Superior and Payne Avenue. Moreover, many Croatians along with some Slovenians decided to settle in and around Nottingham, Euclid, Newburgh, Collinwood, and Maple Heights. Many were unskilled workers who worked for local companies: Van Dorn Iron Works, Patterson Sargent Paint Co, W.S. Tyler Plant, and Otis Steel. Many early Croatian immigrants were able to make a home and community for themselves in Cleveland.
Even more Croatian immigrants were inspired to move to Cleveland. There were a couple more waves of immigration with one large wave of immigration to the United States following World War II when many Croatians were fleeing a war-torn homeland and hoped for a better life in America. Another smaller wave of immigration to the United States in the mid-1960s to early 1970s occurred due to economic and political issues at home. According to the 1940 Census, there were an estimated 12,540 Croatians in Cleveland, and between 1967 and 1971, 8,000 Croatians immigrated to Cleveland. The Croatian population continued to grow in Cleveland and by 1985 the Croatian population grew to about 25,000. Due to the large population increase of Croatians, the cohesiveness of the Cleveland Croatians disintegrated into the broader Cleveland community. Despite this apparent fragmentation, Croatian immigrants and Croatian descendants still were and are connected through their churches and community organizations. There are currently 70,000 Croatian immigrants in Ohio, which demonstrates why a Croatian Cultural Garden was necessary and dedicated in 2012.
The design of this garden reflects Croatian history and culture. The lower plaza signifies Croatian folklore because it is formed like a licitar, a heart-shaped cake dating to the Middle Ages that is made from honey dough and wax. The licitar, a symbol of Croatia’s capital Zagreb, is made for special occasions. Many use licitars as ornaments on their Christmas trees and many will also give a licitar to someone on Valentine’s Day. The lower level also contains a 350-pound statue titled “Immigrant Mother.” Cleveland sculptor, Joseph Turkaly, was an immigrant from Croatia and wanted to create a statue that embodied the immigrant experience when he was an art teacher at Gilmour Academy, so he created this sculpture in 1985. The immigrant mother statue in the Croatian Cultural Gardens is not the only immigrant mother statue he has commissioned; there are immigrant statues he sculpted in Toronto, Canada; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Zagreb, Croatia; and in front of his Cleveland Heights home. There is text on the statue that is in Croatia’s original language Glagoltic and it states, “Dedicated to all the immigrant mothers who brought their families to America seeking freedom and a new life. Erected by the Croatian community of Greater Cleveland.” Furthermore, this statue contains a Croatian shield (Grb) and has a Croatian interlace pattern (Pletar) that represents the holy Trinity.
Moreover, there is an upper level to the garden that is conducive to gatherings due to its standard plaza shape. This level holds a baptismal font that illustrates when Croatia converted to Christianity and it replicates Prince Višeslav’s baptismal font. The American Croatian Women’s Club donated the six-sided font with the carved cross symbolizing the coming resurrection of Jesus. The font bears an inscription: “This font receives the weak to enlighten them. Here they are purged of their sins which they received from their first parents, to become Christians, salutary [sic] confessing the Eternal Trinity. This work was skillfully made by priest John at the time of Prince Višeslav, out of piety but to honor Saint John the Baptist, to mediate for him and his protégé.” This font was consecrated by Catholic priest Mirko Hladni of St. Paul’s Church on August 10, 2014, with Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson in front of a crowd who came to see the garden. To connect this garden with Croatia even further, six benches were installed that were forged from Croatian Brac stone. The waterfall that flows from the upper to the lower level is meant to reflect of Croatia’s numerous waterfalls, such as Krka Falls and Plitvice Lake.
The Croatian Cultural Garden is a perfect representation of Croatia’s distinct history and reflects the strength that many Croatian immigrants had when immigrating to America. Their unique heritage is celebrated in these gardens because Croatians have been in Cleveland for over a hundred years. Croatia may be thousands of miles away from the Croatian Cultural Gardens, but anyone who visits this site today will feel a connection to Croatia that is undeniable.
]]>Early Croatian immigrants attended religious services at St. Vitus Church prior to creating churches that fit their own needs. St. Vitus Church seemed like a logical place to attend mass for early Croatians who did not yet fashion their own church because St. Vitus Church held mass in a similar language (Slovenian) and the Slovenes had a similar culture. There was a natural split away from St. Vitus Church, in part due to the increased population of Croatians in Cleveland leading to a collective desire for church services to be performed in Croatian. The last push towards establishing a new church came when the Slovenian priest at St. Vitus accused the Croatian parishioners of adhering to their Greek Orthodox practices rather than conforming to St. Vitus’ way of worship. Originally, Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic Croatians, as well as members of St. Joseph Society wanted to create one united Croatian church; however, there were disagreements on the name that could not be rectified due to the Greek Orthodox members wanting the church to be called the “Croatian Roman and Greek Catholic Church,” while the Roman Catholics wanted it to be called the “Croatian Roman Catholic Church.”
As a result of this disagreement, two important churches were established in Cleveland to fit the religious needs of Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic Croatian immigrants. The first Croatian Catholic Church of Byzantine Rite in the United States was Cleveland’s St. Nicholas Church, which was established in 1901. Rev. Mile Golubić was sent from Zumberak to be the priest of St. Nicholas Church. Golubić would not stay the priest of this new Cleveland church for long. He asked to return to the old country due to a scuffle with the church board over his salary, separation from his family, the burden of fundraising on top of his religious duties, poor health, and the poor Cleveland air. The Diocese sent another priest, Rev. Marko Relić originally for a term of six years but he only stayed from 1903 to 1905. St. Nicholas Church did not have a priest for nearly ten years, so the church board sold the church and parsonage. During this time, some parishioners attended St. John the Baptist Church, which was a Rusyn Greek Catholic Church. Most former St. Nicholas Church parishioners attended mass at St. Paul’s Church. Vlado Hranilović was able to procure a new priest in 1913 for St. Nicholas Church. Coincidentally, he went to Croatia to visit family and was able to convince his brother Rev. Milan Hranilović to head the church and his brother was the priest until 1928. Rev. Relić returned as the church’s priest for a little while but left due to failing health. His successor was Ilija Severović.
After a rocky start to the church’s history, St. Nicholas Church became more stable in the 1930s under Severović. After World War II, Cleveland’s Croatian population increased and there was a greater need for a larger church to serve the growing community. In April 1975, St. Nicholas Church constructed a new church in the place of the old church to accommodate more parishioners and their families that grew since their migration to Cleveland thirty years prior. By the 1970s, St. Nicholas Church served 250 families. Although there were many parishioners that attended services at St. Nicholas, attendance dwindled over the years as the Croatian community started to move outside Cleveland. St. Nicholas Church is located at Superior and East 36th Street and was a fixture in the community until its closure in 2020 due to low parishioner attendance.
Another church in Cleveland that served Latin Rite Croatians was St. Paul Croatian Church. The Roman Catholic Croatians decided to buy a plot of land at East 40th south of St. Clair Avenue in 1901, and the forming church secured its first priest, Br. Milan Sutlić, after sending a letter to Zagreb. The cornerstone for what would be known as St. Paul’s Church was laid on August 2, 1903. On Easter Sunday in 1904, the first mass in the newly constructed church was held by Rev. Milan Sutlić. Like other priests sent over from the old country, Rev. Sutlić left Cleveland and returned to Zagreb’s Archdiocese after reportedly claiming “he would rather beg in the old country than be [a] parson in America.” Rev. Sutlić was replaced in 1904 by Rev. Niko Grsković and he was able to garner a lot of support not only by Roman Catholic Croatians, but also Greek Catholic Croatians and Slovenes to the detriment of St. Vitus Church. He left the church in 1917, due to his political work and support during World War I for Yugoslavia. Rev. Michael Domladovac left his parish in Youngtown, Ohio to head St. Paul’s Church where he was immediately challenged by the Spanish Flu outbreak. The flu killed fifty parishioners cutting the church’s income; however, the parishioners were able to support one another through this difficult time. Economic issues continued to plague the church when many Cleveland factory workers lost their jobs in the early 1920s, as well as when the Great Depression hit in the 1930s.
After the Croatian population increased following World War II, St. Paul’s church was dedicated to helping new Croatian immigrants find a home and a job after the war. By the 1970s, St. Paul’s Church served 5,000 parishioners. With this ever-growing population, St. Paul’s Church continued to support its community by helping to fund Cuyahoga County Croatian activities and organizations into the 1990s. From 1995 to 2018 Rev. Marko Hladni was the pastor of St. Paul’s church and Rev. Zvonko Blaško took over as the church’s pastor after Hladni’s death. Despite these early setbacks, St. Paul’s Church continued to serve its parishioners through the 20th century and remains an important church in Cleveland and continues to serve the Croatian population.
Although the two Croatian churches were established due to religious differences, they both played pivotal roles in the religious and social fabric of the Croatian community. Through the years, the churches have not only offered religious services, but have also helped keep the Croatian community together after many Croatians settled in the broader Cleveland community.
]]>Originally named the Yugoslav Cultural Garden, the Slovenian Garden is located near the intersection of St. Clair Avenue and East Boulevard, adjacent to the Polish Garden.
Over 100,000 people paraded in support of the Yugoslav Garden's dedication on a rainy morning in May 1938. Dignitaries included Mayor Harold Burton, Governor Martin Davey, Senator Robert Bulkley, Judge Frank J. Lausche (later a United States Senator), United States Representatives Martin L. Sweeney, Robert Crosser and Anthony Fleger, Chief Ohio Supreme Court Justice Carl V. Weygandt, WPA Director Colonel Joseph H. Alexander, and Dr. Konstantin Fotic, the Yugoslavian Envoy in Washington. The garden reflected the culture of Cleveland's Croatians, Serbians, and Slovenians and their sometimes conflicted past. As Yugoslavia dissolved in the 1980s and 1990s, so too did the ideal of a unified Yugoslavian Cultural Garden. In 1991, the garden was rechristened the Slovenian Cultural Garden, and separate Serbian and Croatian Garden Delegations emerged.
In "The Paths Are Peace", Clare Lederer describes the Yugoslav Cultural Garden's design: "A circular fountain and pool are the central features of a paved court. Two stately linden trees, the typical Slovenian "lipa", whose sweet-scented, delicate blossoms are used in the brewing of a delightful tea, tower at either side of the garden entrance. The Jugoslav Garden slopes in three levels between the upper and lower boulevards. To the left of the entrance is a reposeful, formal, sunken garden to the right, a semi-circular section. A semi-circular stairway leads to the halfway lower level, and a wide stairway from the mid-level to the lower level, where there extends a spacious, stage-like paved court. Encircling this setting is a beautiful, natural amphitheatre formed of massive shade trees and the cooling stream of Doan Brook."
Over the years, statuary in the Garden has included Bishop Frederick Barago, a missionary to the Ottawa and Ojibway Native American tribes (1797-1868); Ivan Cankar, a poet and political activist (1876-1918); Simon Gregorcic, a priest and poet (1844-1906); General Rudolph Maister, a poet and political activist (1874-1934); Prince-Bishop Petar II Petrovic-Njegos, poet and ruler of Montenegro (1813-1851); and Ivan Zorman, a poet and composer (1885-1957).
Slovenians began settling in Cleveland in the 1880s. The first to arrive settled in the Newburgh area. By the late 1880s and early 1890s a much larger community began to form along St. Clair Avenue. At its peak in the 1920s and 30s, the community ran from E. 30th to E. 79th Streets between the lake and Superior Avenue. The Slovenians kept moving east until the 1980s, eventually establishing a sizable presence in Lake County. Few Slovenians settled on the west side of Cleveland. The two small communities that developed in the West Park and Denison neighborhoods later moved to Maple Heights and Garfield Heights.
U.S. Census data for 1910 lists 14,332 Slovenians already living in Cleveland. By 1970, the number had risen to include 46,000 foreign-born or mixed-parentage Slovenians living in Greater Cleveland area. In the 1990s, the community in the Cleveland area numbered well over 50,000.
After the establishment of an independent Slovenia in 1991, its government opened an Honorary Consulate and appointed a local Slovenian, Dr. Karl B. Bonutti, honorary consul. While the use of the Slovenian language has all but disappeared in large parts of the community, many Slovenians still support organizations and attend performances that reflect their ethnic heritage and traditions.
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