St. George and St. Lucia – patrons of Turopolje

Velika Gorica and Turopolje have two patron saints – Saint George and Saint Lucia. Until the 16th century, the main patron of the Turopolje population was St. George. The Noble municipality of Turopolje traditionally held the election of the Turopolje prefect on St. George’s Day, April 23, and the Turopolje flag, as well as the flag of the Turopolje Banner, featured the image of St. George. The judges’ fairs were also adapted to this – the selection of judges in the villages of Turopolje, which were held in conjunction with the feast of St. Matthias, according to the old calendar, February 24.

The symbolism of St. George’s victory over the dragon represented victory over a multitude of terrifying and dangerous properties. This saint has therefore always been a symbol of strength and courage and was invoked for help in various dangers. That is why among the people, men with the name Juraj, which is a favorite name in the Turopolje region even today, were considered protected from attacks and braver to overcome the adversities that befell them.

Numerous chapels in Turopolje villages bear the name of St. George, and one parish of the Velikogorica-Odra deanery – the parish of St. George and the Name of Mary in Odra. On St. George’s Day, Velika Gorica and Turopolje are especially festive. St. George’s bonfires are lit in all Turopolje villages and in the city itself, symbolizing the victory of good over evil – St. George over the dragon, the victory of spring over winter… Among the people, George heralds the arrival of warmer days and marks the true beginning of spring. It was believed that fire and smoke protect against evil and various diseases, and the importance of attending bonfires is also evidenced by the old Turopolje proverb “Whoever is not near a bonfire today, will be later be in coffin”.

Even today, Jurjevo is the main annual manifestation and symbol of the community of Turopolje and Velika Gorica, and in 2007, Turopolje’s St. George customs were included in the list of protected intangible cultural assets of the Republic of Croatia.

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia took over the role of the patron saint of Turopolje from the previous patron Saint George at the end of the 16th century. It was the time of the most severe suffering of the Turopolje population in the history of Turopolje by the Ottomans, the destruction and burning of villages, the plundering campaign of the Turkish general Hasan-Paša Predojević. Many Turopoljes were taken into slavery, many were deprived of their lives. But in 1592, right on the feast of St. Lucia on December 13, an unprecedented snow fell in the Turopolje region, which stopped the Turks and they had to retreat to their fortress Petrinja. Already in the following year, 1593, in the famous battle of Sisak, Hasan Pasha was killed and there were no more such great sufferings of Turopolje from the Ottoman power.

Since then, the people of Turopolje have been grateful to Saint Lucia and declared her their patron saint. Since then, precisely on December 13, through all the past centuries, the great Turopolska spravisce of the Noble Municipality of Turopolska has been prepared. When the city of Velika Gorica was founded in 1995, it was decided that December 13 would be celebrated as City Day.

As a sign of gratitude that she drove out the Turks with heavy snowfalls, the people of Turopolje vowed their loyalty to Saint Lucia. That’s why, since the renovation in 1893, her statue is also on the facade of the Velikogorica Parish Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, while right below it is the coat of arms of the Noble Municipality of Turopolje.

St. George, on the other hand, remained deeply revered in the Turopolje region as a symbol and military protector of the Turopolje people.