1000 Kuna 1941, Croatia
| in Krause book | Number: 4a |
| Years of issue: | 26.07.1941 - 09.07.1945 |
| Edition: | 53 000 000 |
| Signatures: | Ministar narodnog gospodarstva: Dr. Lovro Sušić |
| Serie: | Nezavisna Država Hrvatska |
| Specimen of: | 26.05.1941 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 170 х 90 |
| Printer: | Giesecke und Devrient GmbH, Leipzig |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Tuning-fork pattern.
Avers:
On left side is the Croatian girl.
Who was the mysterious girl from the banknote and how did she end up in the lens of one of the greatest Croatian masters of photography?
Many thanks again to Vedran Krušelj, from Zagreb, for investigating this issue!
The concept of the golden age of Croatian peasant and national culture is related to the 1930s, especially the second half. It was during this period that numerous folklore fairs were held in the organization of Seljačka Sloga, at that time called Seljačka Sloga fairs and Croatian peasant culture fairs, which were the most concrete way of presenting traditional art to the Croatian public. Once, annually, on the Sunday, closest to the birthday of the Radić brothers, on June 11, large central (all-Croatian) fairs were held in Zagreb peasant culture. Those Zagreb festivals actually represented the culmination of folklore in terms of presentation, and they were huge interest of the public, both ordinary citizens and various artists and experts. Among them was Tošo Dabac, who took advantage of the opportunity and took a huge number of photos of the participants of those reviews in the original folk costumes of the regions they came from. These photos of his still represent priceless Croatian cultural and ethnographic treasures, and also bear witness to a part of Croatian history.
Dabč's photograph, which served Ljuba Babić as a template for the drawing of the girl on the banknote, was created on one such Zagreb exhibition, held on August 28, 1938.
The photo shows Josipa Kovačević, a native of the village of Mrzović, about 20 kilometers east of Đakovo, today in the municipality of Semeljci. Seka or aunt Seka, as her family and friends called her, was born on December 13, 1920. Josipa, her sister Ljubica and her brother Mijo (Miško) were members of the Peasant Harmony branch from their village, and with their folklore performed as a group at various fairs, including at the central fair in Zagreb in 1938. According to Josipina, there were many photographers present at the aforementioned exhibition who were constantly clicking with their cameras, but they are from their folklore group the most visited her and another girl. One of those photographers evidently had to be Tošo Dabac.
The photo shows the complete folklore group from Mrzović that performed in Zagreb at the time. It was taken by the day of the performance, at the, then, Trg Kralja Aleksandra I. (today - Trg Republike Hrvatske), in its northwestern part. Josipa, who was not quite 18 years old at the time (in the middle), her younger sister Ljubica (right) and her brother Miško (left) are marked with blue color. The group from Mrzović performed in third place at the competition, out of a total of 25, two songs: "Šta se to čuje" and "Ja posija lan". From personal life the fact is that Josipa never married and had no children. She died on April 1, 2004 in Osijek, where she lived the second half of her life. The descendants of her sister, Ljubica, live in Đakovo today, and Miško's granddaughter lives in Vinkovci.
Inscriptions and colorful stripes on the watermark field were provided by the Bank as a means of protection against counterfeiting.
On background is the coat of arms of the Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945).
Coat of Arms of Independent State of Croatia is a shield of 25 square white (silver) and red (blood colors) shields, arranged alternately in five rows so that the starting field is white (silver). On the coat of arms it is a star-shaped figure in a troplet of a vase of the same red color, that frames a white field with the big letter U in dark blue color.
Letter U comes from The Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Movement (Croatian: Ustaša – Hrvatski revolucionarni pokret), commonly known as Ustaše (Croatian: Ustaše), was a Croatian fascist, racist, ultranationalist and terrorist organization, active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945. Its members murdered hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews, and Roma as well as political dissidents in Yugoslavia during World War II.
They are variously known in English as the Ustaše, Ustashe, Ustashi, Ustahis, or Ustashas; with the associated adjective sometimes being Ustashe or Ustasha, apart from Ustaše. This variance stems from the fact that Ustaše is the plural form of Ustaša in the Serbo-Croatian language.
The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Roman Catholicism and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span the Drina River and extend to the border of Belgrade. The movement emphasized the need for a racially "pure" Croatia and promoted genocide against Serbs, Jews and Romani people, and persecution of anti-fascist or dissident Croats and Bosniaks. The Ustaše viewed the Bosniaks as "Muslim Croats," and as a result, Bosniaks were not persecuted on the basis of race.
Revers:
Velebit (Italian: Alpi Bebie) is the largest though not the highest mountain range in Croatia. The range forms a part of the Dinaric Alps and is located along the Adriatic coast, separating it from Lika in the interior. Velebit begins in the northwest near Senj with the Vratnik mountain pass and ends 145 km. to the southeast near the source of the Zrmanja river northwest of Knin.
Its highest peak is the Vaganski vrh at 1,757 m. Major mountain passes on Velebit include the aforementioned Vratnik or Senjsko bilo at 694 m.a.s.l., where the Josephina connects Senj with Josipdol; Oštarijska vrata at 928 m.a.s.l. that connects Karlobag and Gospić; and Prezid at 766 m.a.s.l. that connects Obrovac and Gračac.
The important characteristic of Velebit is its simple, solid form, stiff cliffs, and the nakedness of seaward side and the wood-covered slopes of the Lika side. The basic geological characteristic of the mountains is karst; flora and fauna are abundant. The whole mountain range is protected as nature park, and the most popular spots on Velebit are: the peak of Vučjak (1,644 m.) above Zavižan, the botanical gardens and caves, Hajdučki and Rožanski kukovi, Štirovača, the Northern Velebit National Park and the Paklenica National Park. The Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service has a permanent measurement station at Zavižan.
Velebit is usually divided into four regions:
the northern part between the mountain passes Vratnik and Veliki Alan, with the highest peak Mali Rajinac (1699 m.)
the middle part between Veliki Alan and Baške Oštarije with the highest peak Šatorina (1624 m.)
the southern part between Oštarije and Mali Alan (peaks Vaganski vrh – 1757, Sveto brdo – 1753)
the southeastern part with Crnopac as the most remarkable peak
The back side of the Velebit mountain.
Velebit as a whole is a nature park, from which two national parks have been carved out: Paklenica and Sjeverni Velebit.
A further category of even more careful nature preservation exists within Sjeverni Velebit, the special reservation Hajdučki i Rožanski Kukovi, under the highest nature protection available in Croatia. Officially no human activity is allowed there (except research). These are the mostly still unexplored and wild places and probably will stay that way in the future.
A pathway called Premužićeva staza (Premužić's pathway) leads through the northern and middle parts of Velebit. This pathway was built between 1930 and 1933 and it connects northern and southern Velebit. Its length is 57 kilometers (35 mi.). Many parts of Velebit would not be reachable without it. The Velebit mountains are transversed by the A1 through the Sveti Rok Tunnel. 
Comments:
Designer: Ljubo Babić.
Protective elements:
- watermark in a form of continuous geometric "voice fork" pattern
- impregnated red and blue snake-shaped ribbons, on which is written in small letters
NEZAVISNA DRŽAVA HRVATSKA (Independent State of Croatia).
9. Series of issued banknotes:
A, B, C - up to Nr. 2999999.
D, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z - up to Nr. 1999999.
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