November the 9th, 2026 – A church facade that was allegedly “damaged by birds” in the Croatian village of Gvozd will get €466,000 as local youth leaves permanently and jobs remain scarce.
As much as €466,000 from taxpayer pockets will go to the renovation of the Catholic Church of St. Peter and Paul in Gvozd, a small municipality halfway between Karlovac and Sisak. Paula Hadjur reports for Index that this is an expense that the Homeland Movement (Domovinski pokret) proposed by an amendment to the budget re-balance, and which is only one of the five that the government accepted.
The rapidly emptying old village, in which the majority is Serbian population (62.63 percent according to the last census), a few years ago received its first Orthodox church, while the Church of St. Peter and Paul was built back in 2008. Although it is relatively new, the Homeland Movement in its explanation stated that the church should be renovated due to the damaged facade and “protection from further decay”. The mayor of the municipality Milan Vrga, otherwise a member of the SDSS, found out about the renovation of this church from the media. Given that it is a large investment in a small municipality, Vrga welcomed the expense, regardless of what it related to. “When something is being built, there is labour force and our cafés and shops work more. That is certainly a benefit for the renovation,” he said for Index.
the church renovation has been accepted, but the rest is being waited on
However, the municipality would likely also welcome the renovation of other buildings that suffered due to lack of maintenance or in the earthquake. They are aware of the fact in Gvozd, so they applied for two large renovation projects on the last tender of the Ministry of Construction, for which they are still waiting for a decision on whether they will be accepted. “We have investments, we are in talks with the Ministry of Construction and Minister Branko Bačić so that we would renovate the culture centre that collapsed in the earthquake,” Vrga says. People, like the mayor, welcome this church renovation, but they would welcome the renovation of any sacral building, regardless of the faith. What bothers them is, they tell us, that investments are not being made elsewhere either.
why is there no cash for other projects?
“I have nothing against that, I myself am a believer, but if there is money for something like that, why isn’t there for something else?” local resident Milka Zorić-Dmitrović tells us and gives the example of the former court building that is located in the very centre of the municipality, and which could be renovated. “Why couldn’t that building be turned into a nursing home? We have a majority of older people,” she said. “I have nothing against the church, let it be renovated, but please pull some money for things like this as well.” In general, the residents of Gvozd themselves are of the belief that events, workshops or similar activities do not happen particularly often in their village. “There’s nothing here. There’s a library, but there are no workshops or anything similar there,” Milka also stated.
one of croatia’s most undeveloped municipalities
Dara Gruborović also lives in Gvozd, she went to school there and herself notices that the situation in her place is difficult. This is also confirmed by statistical data because the Government classified Gvozd in the lowest group according to the development index. “There are very few people living in Gvozd. Those who stayed here are old, and all the young ones have left and gone elsewhere. There are no jobs,” she explained. “It would be good if factories were built so that people could work,” she says, and it also saddens her when she sees that children in the village do not have many opportunities. “There are very few children, and none of them socialise with anyone. They have nowhere to go out, it’s sad.”
The bright spot of the municipality, the residents told us, is the non-profit association Suncokret. We could also see their posters in front of the building of the collapsed community centre that the mayor also spoke about, where they also set up boxes with clothing donations for all those who need them. Their activities range from socialising with children who come to them after school and helping residents with filling out forms to the exchange of volunteers from all parts of the world. Two volunteers from Finland were also in Gvozd.
“It’s a very quiet village, they have everything basic that is needed. I like being here for a month, but this is not a place for some activities. If you want to be at peace, it is nice,” Jonathan from Finland said. “I would return here, but I wouldn’t spend too much time, a year or more, because there’s not much to do here, but the people are very nice.”
