Register of Cultural Heritage and Geoportal of Cultural Heritage

A new digital tool to track cultural properties

Nina Obuljen Koržinek, the Minister of Culture and Media, presented the new system called Geoportal of Cultural Heritage. The portal is available to the public, documenting more than 6000 immovable properties illustrated interactively with maps and sharing options. 

The database is pulled from the register of cultural heritage, a public book of all immovable and non-material cultural goods in Croatia.

In April 2021, at the Faculty of Architecture in Zagreb, the Minister launched a new digital tool, Geoportal. It is the result of a project that took several years to complete. Architects, conservators, restorers and engineers worked to provide the information for the database. 

For the first time in history, it gives a detailed overview of all cultural goods in Croatia. It opens up a window of opportunity for international financial aid for the renovation of all protected cultural sites. Data is updated daily, considering requirements for new cultural goods, protection and possible removal from the list of protected goods.

The Geoportal is now the central hub for data for 6144 immovable cultural goods, with more than 159 thousand cadastral plots. 

Protected sites are divided into individual cultural goods, historical sites, cultural landscape, and archaeological sites. 

New research that is planned in the future can now be integrated using newer modern technologies. 

The portal gives access to the Central register of territorial units, digital cadastral plan, and digital orthophoto maps. By utilising fast search, filtering options and parameter inputs, users have transparent access to every protected cultural good in Croatia. 

Better supervision of renovation projects

Along with the database, the ministry is introducing two protected zones. Core zones will have extra protection, supervised by conservators who will be in charge of all decisions regarding construction and renovation. Contact zones will include areas that will follow stricter rules when issuing construction permits. 

By connecting all public services and institutions, issuing of permits will be faster and easier while taking care of protected sites and zones of construction.

In the next phase, a conservation base for Zagreb will be uploaded, with buildings damaged by the last major earthquake in 2020.  Immediately after the earthquake, conservators inspected buildings and determined the level of damage. 

Buildings at risk of collapsing had temporary support constructed and documented. The updated database and detailed information regarding every building will make future renovations easier also. 

The potential of this new system is even more apparent when it comes to analysing structural damage following the earthquake, as 73% of all protected buildings were damaged in Zagreb and 80% in the Sisak region. 

The new register now allows experts and engineers to track renovation, demolition and protection of each building.