Matica Hrvatska
Matica Hrvatska
a Croatian literary and scholarly society. It was founded in 1842 on the initiative of prominent figures in the Illyrian movement. At first it was called Matica Ilirska and was a monetary fund of the National Reading Room in Zagreb, intended for the publication and distribution of literature in Croatian. With the closing of the National Reading Room in 1850, it became an independent society. In 1874 it adopted the name Matica Hrvatska. The society accomplished much for the development of the Croatian language and literature, the popularization of science, and the spread of education.