Nasice Travel Guide

Next to the church there is a Franciscan monastery - a small two storeys building that got its final shape during the reconstruction in 1712.

Besides their church role Franciscans were important since they established a grammar school here in 1650s. A High School of Philosophy was established in 1725, and during the period between 1778 and 1815 Franciscans had the only school in Nasice.

If possible, ask for the visit to the small garden and courtyard of the Monastery to take a look into the environment of prayer and reflection.

Inside, the church of St. Antun Padovanski displays the richness of baroque decorations that it got in the reconstruction in 18th Century. Some of the baroque altars are very important as monuments of baroque church sculpture. Inside the church worth taking a look are beautiful church organs built by Josip Jancek from Budim, choir chairs displaying the scenes about King David and St. Anthony as well as the painting on the main altar by Ivan Garikovac from 1711.

Few hundred meters away from the Large Manor, almost side by side, there is yet another manor know as The Small Manor. It was built by Marko VI Pejacevic, son of Teodor Pejacevic.

The Small Manor is a charming H-plan shaped neoclassical one story building built in 1905. On the north side of the building there was a neoclassical garden that was designed in the same style with the building and formed one unity.

The Small Manor in Nasice is interesting from the technological point of view as well since it was one of the first buildings in Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (first in Croatia) that used the reinforced concrete base as a protection against damp and ground waters.

The Small Manor was in the very bad shape and when I was in Nasice last time (Oct 2004) it was under the process of big reconstruction.

A large part of the park is designed around a lake that was made in the shape of swan. In the middle of the lake there are small islands with picturesque pavillions and bridges. The octagonal wooden pavillion, also known as Dora's Pavillion was destroyed during the WWII, but was recently reconstructed. Unfortunately, we only know that park once also had the orangery and a historicist glasshouse that dissapeared during the time due to neglect.

A large landscape park surrounds the Large Manor and was probably designed in mid-19th Century. In front of the main entrance to the manor there was a small neoclassical garden while in the back the views open to a large, 35 hectares large landscape park.

Park is now open to public and serves as a green oasis in the center of Nasice. Besides its artistic values it has an outstanding botanical value with richness of plant species.

Barons, and later Counts Pejacevic (Pejacsevich), the owners of Nasice estate were one of the most important noble families in 18th and 19th century Croatia. They ruled the huge area of Nasice and Virovitica estates from their large manors they built in both towns.

Ladislav Pejacevic was Croatian ban (viceroy - local governor under Austro-Hungarian Monarchy) from 1880 to 1883, and there was another ban from Pejacevic family - Teodor Pejacevic, from 1903 to 1907. It is interesting that they both resigned because of the forced use of Hungarian language and culture in Croatia. Teodor Pejacevic was one of the richest magnates in Croatia and founder of a foundation that provided scholarships for local musicians, painters, sculptors and other artists.

His oldest daughter Dora Pejacevic was the first female composer in Croatia. She spent her childhood here in Nasice and wrote her first piece at the age of 12. She was educated in Zagreb, Dresden and München where she lived after her marriage. Never quite fitting into her aristocratic environment, she led a lonely life and lived her life for music. She left a rich opus, many of which have never been published, but are kept as manuscripts. Dora Pejacevic's best known piece is piano concerto from 1913 which was the first piano concerto in Croatian music.

In Large Manor in Nasice there is a memorial room that holds objects from Dora's personal life and pieces of furniture from her room. Of particular value are the piano and a marble bust called "Sorrow" from 1906 which she used to keep in her room.

Situated right in the middle of the town the late-Baroque Large Pejacevic manor still shows the dominant position Pejacevic family had in Nasice for more than two hundred years.

After many rulers that ruled the area a large estate of 500 square kilometres was finally bought by Barons Pejacevic in 1734 and although they kept their noble name "of Virovitica" in fact they established themselves here in Nasice.

The Large Manor was built in 1811 and got its final appearance in 1865 when facades were reconstructed and side towers and decorations added.

It is interesting to note that the manor did not have a kitchen. Food was prepared in one small house in the park and transported here with a small electric train that ran through the underground tunnel.

The manor was owned by the Pejacevic family untill the WWII, when it was nationalized. Today it houses the Museum of Nasice with several show-rooms that display the scenes from life of old Croatian nobility.