She is currently the most influential in Dubrovnik and is talked about not only in the Croatian city by the sea, but also in the region and the world.
The 10.000-year-old cat Anastasia received the support of more than XNUMX Dubrovnik residents and people around the world through a petition to have a roof over her head in one corner of the Duke's Palace.
A favorite from Dubrovnik since birth, she lives in the corner of a baroque building in the center of Croatia's historical and tourist pearl.
For years, the people of Dubrovnik built her a house out of boxes so that she would be warm and dry during strong winds and rain.
"Anastasia is one of Dubrovnik's tourist attractions and I don't see why we shouldn't show that we care about our animals," says Tihana Zvone, a Dubrovnik resident and volunteer who takes care of abandoned animals, for the BBC in Serbian.
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On Tuesday, May 3, 2022, the volunteers handed over to the Council and the Mayor of Dubrovnik a petition signed by more than 10.200 people on the portal petitiononline.com.
By way of comparison, Dubrovnik mayor Mato Franković won 9.175 votes in the second round of local elections, the portal wrote. www.dnevno.hr.
The management of the Dubrovnik Museums, the institution that takes care of the Duke's Palace, decided at the beginning of April that the improvised house of Anastasia's cat could not be in that place.
The management referred to the decision of the City of Dubrovnik on abandoned animals when removing the house.
"No one is allowed to intervene in the cultural-historical whole, especially not by building shelters and habitats", it is stated in the announcement Dubrovnik museums.
Ivona Mihl, manager of the Dubrovnik Museums, explains that such shelters for animals are not allowed in the city center, including on the porch of the palace managed by the Dubrovnik Museums institution.
"Well, if we are legalists, then we should respect the laws. Nothing happened to the cats, they are still there. The only problem is those houses that someone decided to put there." she says.
What happened?
At the beginning of April, the administration of the Dubrovnik Museum removed the improvised shelter made for the cat Anastasia.
Referring to the city's decision on the care of animals and the fact that the Prince's Palace is under UNESCO protection, they stated that they could not allow a house for Anastasia to be placed there.
"We have to point out that this is one of the city's cats and that they move and stay around the Palace and on its porch, and we cannot and will not prohibit that," the statement of the Dubrovnik Museums administration states.
Aware that a box is not the solution, Srđan Kera from Dubrovnik built a wooden house inspired by the Duke's Palace, but it was also removed by Museum workers, according to volunteer Tihana Zvone.
"The Museum interpreted it as a feeding place and a shelter, but there was no construction, because we only put up that nice house instead of boxes," she says.
When that wooden house was removed, the Dubrovnik volunteers decided to start a petition.
"We were surprised by the number of signatures and where the support came from - from all over Croatia, the region, and the world," says Tihana Zvone.
What is the Duke's Court?
Rector's Palace it was the seat of the government and prince, the highest political office, of the Republic of Dubrovnik, which was established in the 13th century, in the south of today's Croatia.
After several gunpowder explosions during the 15th century, it was rebuilt several times.
At the end of the 17th century, in 1689, the Sicilian architect Tomas Napoli gave the current palace a baroque appearance.
The Duke's Palace served as the seat of government of the Republic of Dubrovnik until 1808, when France annexed the Republic.
Until 1948, it had an administrative function, after which it was turned into a Museum.
Today, the Duke's Palace is taken care of by an institution Dubrovnik museums.
What will be the outcome?
The BBC addressed the city administration of Dubrovnik with questions regarding the cat, the removal of the house and whether, perhaps, they will discuss the petition at the Council, but by the time the text was published, no answer had arrived.
Tihana Zvone says that the petitions are not legally binding, but that she hopes the city administration will discuss their proposal.
Nevertheless, the volunteers and the people of Dubrovnik hope that Anastasia will get a roof over her head again.
"Petitions do not carry much weight in Croatia, but we hope that they will discuss ours and that Anastasia will spend her old age with a roof over her head," says Zvone.
Gil - a cat that lived in Hagia Sophia
One of the more famous cats that lived in cultural and historical monuments is Gil from Istanbul.
This cat found a home in Hagia Sophia, a former museum in a city in the European part of Turkey.
Once the largest Christian church, it was turned into a mosque after the fall of Constantinople, the center of Byzantium, at the end of the 15th century.
With the victory of the secular Young Turks led by Kemal Ataturk, the Hagia Sophia mosque was turned into a museum.
However, by the decision of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in July 2020 Hagia Sophia was restored to its religious function and is once again a mosque.
Gil, then a sixteen-year-old cat, had no problem with this transition and continued to live in the mosque.
Due to old age, the cat died on November 8, 2020. broadcast by the Turkish radio and television TRT in English.
On that occasion, Ali Jeriklaja, the mayor of the Turkish metropolis, announced himself on the social network Twitter and wrote that Gil will not be forgotten.
Read the story about the dog of God, the symbol of Istanbul, which knows the exact timetable of the city's public transport.
Watch the video: A London cafe where street cats live
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