January the 24th, 2026 – You’ll find large statues of Gregory of Nin (Grgur Ninski) in not only Nin, but also in Split and Varaždin. They all look the same at first glance, but there are slight (and important) differences…
As Putni kofer writes, his finger is raised a little bit threateningly above his head, a large book is held in his hand, a heavy robe is seen cloaking his body, yet his feet are always bare. From a modest sandal, the only golden part of the otherwise grey bronze monument sticks out – his big toe. From this description, few people will immediately guess who it is. Those in the know will immediately recognise that we’re talking about the monument to Gregory of Nin, or, if you’re local, Grgur Ninski. He’s (by far) one of the most famous symbols of Split, despite being synonymous with Nin.
Why exactly are statues of Gregory of Nin also in Split and Varaždin? They all look very similar, but they aren’t when you look a little closer. Here is the story behind them and who exactly the bishop whose big toe brings good luck to all who touch it actually was.
the great Ivan Meštrović gifted gregory of nin to nin, split and Varaždin
The author of all three of these famous monuments is the great Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović, who gifted Croatian cities with multiple public monuments without which their streets would be unimaginable today. Gregory of Nin (or in this case Split), is, without a doubt, the most famous of them all. Not many have passed him by without rubbing his big toe for luck. Split’s Gregory of Nin stands at 7.58 metres tall, and was originally placed on the Peristyle back in 1929. After being dismantled and removed in 1941 when the Independent State of Croatia came to be, under the leadership of Dr. Ante Pavelić, it was only placed at its current location in 1954.
The monument that was placed on the Peristyle back in 1929 wasn’t actually the first one that Meštrović sketched. Split was indeed the first Croatian city to erect a Meštrović monument, but the sculptor subsequently changed the design for the location on the Peristyle. The originally conceived sculpture was donated to Varaždin in 1931. The people of Varaždin placed it next to the Franciscan Church, where it still stands today. Meštrović accompanied this gift with the words: “Let Gregory of Nin be in the Croatian north, just like the one in the south – in Split, a visible proof of our successful fight for Old Church Slavonic language and the Croatian Glagolitic script”.
a defender of the honour of language
While the Split and Varaždin monuments of Gregory of Nin differ in some other details, apart from their size, the one in Nin is an identical, only smaller replica of the Varaždin Gregory. The main difference between the original design, according to which the Varaždin monument and its replica in Nin were made, and the one in Split, is the position of the hands and the way the bishop holds the Holy Scripture. The city after which the bishop is named, Gregory of Nin, was ironically the very last to receive the monument. This happened only in 1969, on the occasion of the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the issuance of the charter of the Croatian king Petar Krešimir IV. It was erected in the old centre next to the church of St. Anselm and has remained in that location to this day.
Gregory of Nin was no ordinary bishop, and it’s no surprise that his monument is the pride of three Croatian cities. He was one of the most important bishops of Nin and the chancellor of the Croatian royal court. He served way back during the 10th century, more specifically from 900 to 929, and was known as an advocate of the Old Church Slavonic language and the Glagolitic script. He fought for the maintenance of church services in the Croatian, or Slavic, language, but he didn’t manage to obtain the support of the Pope and masses continued to be held in Latin. After the abolition of the Nin diocese, he served in Skradin.
