The churches of Lopud

The small Croatian island Lopud is home to three large churches: the church of the former Dominican monastery of Sv Nicholas, the church of the former Franciscan monastery Sv. Marija od Špilice (St Mary of Špilica), and the parish church Gospa od Šunja (Our Lady of Šunj). The churches were all built in close succession during the heyday of the Dubrovnik Republic and during the island's strongest economic period in the 15th century, a tremendous feat of construction for such a modest, sparsely populated island.
Lavishly carved, gilded and painted retables are place of worship and devotion and still adorn the interiors today.

The Project

The Cologne Institute of Conservation Sciences (CICS) at the Technical University of Cologne (formerly Cologne University of Applied Sciences) and the island authorities have been in close contact since 1987. Since then, groups of students and their lecturers have been visiting the island annually over the summer term break to work on projects aimed at restoring endangered works of art.

Following conservation work in the island's museum of local history and the restoration of individual paintings, work on the large retable in St Nicholas’ Church began in 1997, after the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995), and was completed in 2001 with its re-erection.

In 2002, the project, which until then had been exclusively Cologne-based, was transformed into the International Conservation Workshop Lopud (ICWL), a partnership between the universities of Antwerp, Brussels, Split, Dubrovnik and Cologne. From then until 2023, a further 4 retables as well as historical furniture from the two churches were restored in annual two-week summer schools with students and lecturers from the stone, painting, polychromy and wood disciplines in changing teams.

The ICWL is ongoing and is currently focused on the conservation and restoration of the old choir stalls in the Franciscan monastery church.

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Sv Marija od Špilice
Mary retable

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Sv Marija od Špilice
Joseph retable

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Sv Nicholas
Nicolas retable

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Gospa od Šunja
Holy Cross retable

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Gospa od Šunja
Annunciation retable

Aims

Supporting the municipality of Lopud in the preservation of its cultural heritage

International and interdisciplinary cooperation of universities as a platform for the exchange of teaching opinions, concepts and strategies in theory and practice of conservation and restoration

Training and implementation of practical restoration and conservation work, interdisciplinary exchange of specializations in wood, polychromy, painting, textiles, stone and paper

Raising awareness of conservation issues and necessities when working in situ - particularly with regard to the importance of restoration/conservation and reconstruction of objects with a religious function and in the social context of the community

A special feature is the previously untouched authentic nature of the objects. This places the highest demands on the concept and quality of execution. The project therefore bears a special responsibility. The basis for the treatment concept is the priorization of the authenticity and the age value of the objects.

In this context, the concept of minimal to moderate intervention was developed, discussed and represented in all committees. Reconstructions were largely avoided.

All aspects of the concept and implementation are coordinated with the local authority and the monument preservation authorities; the students are active participants in the decisions and discussions and the aim is to achieve the greatest possible acceptance of the results.

Project Partner

Association for the Protection of Lopud’s Cultural Heritage and Nature (Croatian: Društvo za zaštitu spomeničke baštine i prirode Lopuda)

Diocese of Dubrovnik (Dubrovačka biskupija)

Monuments Care Office in Dubrovnik (Konzervatorski odjel u Dubrovniku)

Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia (now: Ministry of Culture and Media of the RC / Ministarstvo kulture i medija Republike Hrvatske)

Croatian Conservation Institute in Zagreb (Hrvatski restauratorski zavod) and its department in Dubrovnik (Restauratorski odjel Dubrovnik/Villa Stay).

Publications

This publication summarizes the results of more than 20 years of the International Conservation Workshop Lopud. Find here the description of the treated retables and the detailed conservation reports.
open publication

The central piece of the Holy Cross retable is the 16th century crucifix from Mexiko, a lifesize sculpture made out of maize stalks. The publication explains in detail the results of the multi-disciplinary investigation of the object.
open publication

This historical account of the island of Lopud, published in 1932, was written by the former priest Vincenz Lisičar. The booklet has been out of print for many years. Even though some of the information is out of date, the text is an important source and is now accessible again.
open publication

Jana Eich, Tüchleinmalereien (oslikana zidna platna) s otoka Lopuda. Offprint: Dubrovnik 2/2012, p. 62 -71 With permission by Ogranak Matice hrvatske u Dubrovniku. This paper summarises the investigation of the rare ensemble of Tüchlein-wallhangings from the church Gospa od Šunja.
open publication

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