Motto: For as long as I breathe, I will love you, Slavonia!
Interests: hand forging, tradition, art, Šokadija.
About me: Franjo Vinković is the owner of the only blacksmith business in the Republic of Croatia specialising in custom-made, hand-forged ornaments, forged structures and unique souvenirs. Franjo jokingly says that he belongs to the second oldest profession in the world. He has only seven colleagues in Croatia and neither bishops nor the Ministry of Culture can live without him.
Franjo’s forge works nonstop. Although there are seven of them in Croatia, this forge is the only one that has the artist status and is licensed by the Ministry of Culture. It works on cultural and historic buildings, monuments, churches, etc.
Franjo regularly participates in events organized by the Town of Đakovo and Đakovo Tourist Board and is always a welcome addition when Đakovo is presented as a tourist destination at fairs, special expos and competitions. In his workshop Franjo has so far hosted a long list of local and world-famous journalists and media from China, Japan, Russia, France, the USA, Germany, etc., and the French daily newspaper Le Figaro wrote about him. Tourist groups are also very enthusiastic about participating in the presentation of traditional forging techniques.
At the forge, you can see various craftsmanship skills mostly involving handwork. While their purpose and form follows the patterns of traditional culture, all products and services have a high aesthetic value, with a special emphasis on creativity. Because of that, “Master Blacksmith Craft Vinković” rightfully has the status of a traditional and artistic craft.
In almost twenty years of Franjo’s blacksmiths shop sitting in the backyard of his family house in the Zvečaj Street, and exuding the atmosphere of blacksmiths shops of the past, many objects were forged between his hammer and his anvil, including such delicate ones that the average person would never believe such a rough job could produce. We are happy to invite you to visit Franjo and see for yourself.
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