The Kapela Sveti Ivan Nepomuk Association symbolically launched the project to restore the sacral structure demolished in 1954. With the blessing of a new crucifix and a public gathering, locals showed that the memory of the chapel has never faded.
At a site where silence had reigned for over seven decades, prayers were once again offered in mid-May 2026. Along the old Lujzijana Road, just by the tunnel in the settlement of Donja Dobra, a new oak crucifix was blessed, officially marking the start of the project to bring back the Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk, demolished in 1954.
Behind this initiative stands the Kapela Sveti Ivan Nepomuk Association, founded on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025. Association president Goran Burić emphasizes that the chapel has never been just a piece of land for the local community.
The walls and foundations are gone. The roof is gone. Every visible trace of the sanctity of that area is gone. But what has not disappeared is the memory of the people, Burić told Novi list.
Given the complexity of a full restoration, the association's members decided to take a symbolic yet powerful first step, which they named the First Vow. Although this is a spiritual project, its realization required a serious institutional approach. The activities involved the Municipality of Brod Moravice, the County Road Administration of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatian Roads (Hrvatske ceste), HŽ Infrastructure, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Department for Physical Planning, Construction and Environmental Protection (Delnice Branch), the Conservation Department in Rijeka, and the Delnice Police Station.
The project was not built on large financial resources but on unity. Materials, expert assistance, logistical support, and labor were secured. An oak crucifix with a traditional shingle roof was erected, the base was landscaped, and a granite memorial plaque was installed to permanently bear witness to this historic event.
The culmination of the initiative took place on May 16, 2026, the feast day of St. John of Nepomuk. Despite bad weather, rain, and cold, around 70 people gathered for the public religious ceremony in Donja Dobra. The new crucifix was blessed by Rev. Fr. Tomislav Ravnjak of the Brod Moravice parish, catechist Antonio Crnković, and Lucija Injić.
For many in attendance, it was a moment filled with deep emotion. After more than 72 years, prayers and invocations of God's name were once again offered publicly at that site. Goran Burić stresses that this was not just a blessing of the crucifix but the return of prayer to a space that had been deprived of a sacred symbol for decades.
For Burić, this initiative also carries a deeply personal note. It was in this very chapel that his ancestors received the sacrament of marriage, and the family's history was also marked by great tragedy.
During World War II, my grandfather was employed on the railway, and in 1942, at the age of 30, he was killed between Lokve and Delnice after partisans mined the tracks. That immense tragedy forever transformed the life of our entire family, Burić said.
Plans for further activities are already in place. During the upcoming summer months, the area around the newly erected crucifix will be landscaped and enhanced, and there are plans to install a flagpole with the Croatian national flag. However, the ultimate goal is the restoration of the Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk.
The crucifix is just the beginning. In the coming summer months, we already plan to further tidy up and beautify the surroundings of the newly erected crucifix so that this sacred site gains an even more dignified appearance, befitting its historical and spiritual value, Burić emphasized.
With strong support from the association's vice president Ivan Stipaničić, the residents of Donja Dobra, the Brod Moravice parish led by Fr. Ravnjak, and the Municipality of Brod Moravice with Mayor Mario Šutej, the chapel restoration project is no longer just an idea. It is a process that has already begun, and anyone wishing to help can do so by making a donation to the account of the Kapela Sveti Ivan Nepomuk Association (IBAN: HR5524020061101324719).
