People of the Krka – a series of photographs initiated by Krka National Park

The Krka connects generations through time: We have fulfilled the wish of visitor Mirna Koloper by giving her an old photograph of her grandmother that she noticed was part of an exhibit of photographs entitled “Women of the Krka”. The photograph was given to her at Roški slap by Nella Slavica, director of the Public Institute of Krka National Park.

Imagine walking along Skradinski buk and seeing a photograph of your late grandmother. That is exactly what happened to our visitor, Mrs. Mirna Koloper, who last year came to see the exhibit “Women of the Krka”, where one of the photographs on display was of her grandmother. As she described, at that moment she was overwhelmed by emotion and wanted to have that photograph. Her wish has been fulfilled: at Krka National Park they developed and framed the photo, so it can stand on the wall in grandmother’s old home and bear witness to the lovely and happy moments spent with friends and the Krka River.

Nella Slavica, director of the Public Institute of Krka National Park, handed the photograph to Mrs. Koloper. She said, “The Krka River is tied to countless images of the magnificent works of nature and millennia of unique cultural heritage. But when we think of the Krka River, people have always been on its bank, living along the river. The Krka is deeply rooted in the identity of the people here, and they are responsible for the fact that the park today contains an exceptional ethnographic legacy that is a cultural good. They have preserved this heritage for us, and we proudly protect the memory of those people. This is just one beautiful example of all the ways the Krka connects us through time.”

“The Women of the Krka” is the continuation of the emotional series of photographs entitled “People of the Krka”, that the Park launched for its 37^th anniversary. The concept of the exhibit is made up of photographs taken during the period since the inception of the Park, showing the faces of people whose lives and work are connected to the Krka River, to the natural beauty and cultural and historical heritage that abounds in the area.

Mrs. Koloper spoke about how she and her sister were walking through Krka National Park last year, saw the exhibit and were interested. When they went to take a look, she got quite a shock.

“On one of the photographs, we saw our late grandmother with her girlfriends, and I experienced a thousand emotions all at once. Since that time, I have dreamt about how nice it would be to have that photo and put it up where it belongs, in grandmother’s house. Our grandmother was always there for us, always knew the right thing to say, and showed us what we should aspire to,” said Mrs. Koloper, expressing her gratitude for the gift.