EU ambassador Fabrizi opens restored Franciscan convent

NEWS 28.06.201910:15
Tanjug/ Jaroslav Pap

European Union Delegation chief Sem Fabrizi handed the keys to a restored Franciscan convent to the abbot, saying that the renewal of the cultural monument is just one step on Serbia’s road to the EU.

The restoration of the 12th century convent church, 14th century bell tower, its library and other later buildings covering 2,500 square meters was financed with a donation from the EU and Serbian Culture Ministry funds, totaling a million Euros.  

We are opening this convent as just one step on the road that the EU and Serbia are creating together, Fabrizi told the ceremony at the convent in the Vojvodina town of Bac. He recalled that the EU helped the reconstruction of the Senj industrial mine, archeological site at Lepenski Vir, the Golubac fortress and Synagogue in Subotica. “The EU market 2018 as a year of cultural heritage and we breathed new life into the fortress in Bac and Bac got an award for its cultureal heritage,” Fabrizi said.  

Culture Minister Vladan Vukosavljevic said the dust was removed from part of the common heritage of the European peoples whenever monuments of culture were preserved. “This is a monument on a crossroads of centuries, culture and religion,” Vukosavljevic said.  

The Franciscan convent in Bac is also a museum which has been classified as a cultural monument of exceptional importance in Serbia.   Serbia’s northern Vojvodina province is home to a mix of people and faiths, mainly Christians which includes Serbian Orthodox, Catholics and protestants as well as some Jewish and Moslem populations.