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The Beginnings of a School System in Stara Gradiška
The first written evidence of public education (42) in Stara Gradiška dates back to 1758. According to some canonical reports by visitors from the Zagreb diocese there are records of visits to and surveillance of schools in Stara Gradiška and Nova Gradiška. In the school in Stara Gradiška of that time, writing and reading in Croatian and German were taught as well as counting and catechism.
Before a public school was established in the town, the Franciscans were the bearers of education and culture in Stara Gradiška and at that time their monastery had already been active for 75 years. The fact that there was a Franciscan monastery in the town leads us to believe that there was also a school primarily for the requirements of the religious order itself. It is beyond dispute that the existence of the school at such an early point in its development provided prosperity and development for the town and its inhabitants.
After a truce had been signed with the Turks in Sremski Karlovci in 1699, the Franciscans were mostly responsible for introducing the school system to liberated Slavonia. Great concern was shown for the education of young novices who were to join the Franciscan order. At the Council of the Order held in Osijek on l9th January 1708, it was emphasised that attention had to be paid to the education of the young "in accordance with the new circumstances and the position achieved". It was concluded that means had to be provided for talented students, on both sides of the River Sava, to continue their school education.
The first young students in the period following the reign of the Turks, in accordance with the instructions of the Order, had to gather in the Franciscan monastery in Našice. The level of obligatory tuition was determined and was carried out in accordance with "the Latin grammar" and then they were sent to noviciates in Brod, Ilok and Velika. In the same year, the supreme administration of the Franciscan order in Rome sent its representative, Father Ivan de Vietri, to visit and assess the activities of the newly founded Franciscan monasteries and their schools in Slavonia. This Franciscan representative (43) outlined in his report the activities of the monastery in Gradiška. Since one of the reasons for his visit was to gain insight into the efficiency of the newly founded schools, this indirectly proves the existence of the school in Gradiška dating back to 1709. This assumption is additionally proved by the fact that this period lasted for five full years, from 1705 when the monastery was founded. This period of time was more than enough to consolidate the way of life and other sacral activities related to the organisation of the parish. During the first several years, twelve Franciscans lived and worked in the monastery without receiving any help from trust funds. They controlled the following parishes: Orubica, Gorice and Kraljeva Velika, which were taken over from the monastery in Velika in 1738 and the parish of Jazavica, which was taken over in 1751. The Franciscans carried out all parish duties and kept the books required for these villages. A Franciscan library was founded in the monastery of Stara Gradiška. The first famous monastery librarian was Father Josip Ljubić, who was also appointed to the post of guardian in 1785. The catalogue of the library in Stara Gradiška reveals a rich literary collection. The catalogue was divided into four basic parts: "Latin, Illyrian, German and Italian books". Father Paškvalin Verman worked as a teacher in the monastery school as well as the teacher of church liturgy and Father Tomo Varšić was the teacher of the young Franciscans. It should be noted that the number of parishes controlled by the monastery of Stara Gradiška was subject to change and varied. When parishes were founded in these villages, the income of the monastery was reduced, which led to the Franciscans in Stara Gradiška experiencing financial problems. Part of their income was provided by agriculture, since the monastery owned meadows and vineyards in the neighbouring villages, Gorice and Cage. After the arrival of Orthodox people in these villages, following the liberation from the Turks, these estates are no longer mentioned as the property of the monastery. Apart from the school, the spacious garden should be mentioned as an important source of income. It was located outside the fortifications and unfortunately frequently endangered by the periodical flooding of the River Sava.
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