Regalia of the 27th degree

The Croatian Freemasonry lived to be its founding and its first blossoming during the Drašković's Observance, the original and independent system that originated during the second part of the eighteenth century. Certain members of different Lodges were already holding higher degrees. Thus Count Ivan Drašković, (1740-1787) Grand Master of the first Grand Lodge of Croatia had the sixth degree of a Strict Observance (Templar), and perhaps even the seventh degree (Eques Professum). The member of the Viennese Lodge, The Truthful Harmony (Zur wahren Eintracht), Governor of Galicia, Count Josip Brigido, had the highest Scottish degree in 1782. His brother, Archbishop of Ljubljana, Ivan Michael noble Brigido (1742-1816) was a member of a Lodge in Budim, Magnanimous (Magnanimitatis), in 1783, where the Bishop of Zagreb, Maksimilijan Vrhovac (1752-1827) worked under the secret name Eques Cruce Archiepiscopali: they were both holding the highest Scottish degrees. Count Stjepan Niczky (1747-1777) had most certainly the degree of a Scottish Master and possibly the degree Templar. Brethren Erdody, Count Ladislav (1746-1786) and Count Ludvik (1749-1794), members of the Lodge in Varaždin, Perfect Alliance (1772) obtained the second Scottish degree: they were Scotts and Elu of Nine.

In the Balkans, beside the blue lodges there were other lodges working in the higher degrees of the Scottish Rite during the period between the two world wars. The Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Freemason's Scottish Rite was founded and consecrated in Belgrade on May 10th 1912. The light was brought from Greece. Out of ten members of the then Supreme Council only two freemasons were from the Croatian blue lodges (Dimitrije Mijalković from the Lodge Vigilance and Petar Šreplović from the Zagreb Lodge - Croatian Fairy, who later affiliated into the Belgrade Lodge Bosom-Friend). In succeeding years, few Croatian Freemasons obtained high degrees in Scottish Rite, as follows: diplomat Dr. Hinko Hinković, writer Ante Tresić-Pavičić, Adolfo noble Mihalić, Aleksandar Šmit, Dr. Franjo Hanaman and Dr. Vladimir noble Katičić. The later one founded in Zagreb the Workshop on the fourth degree Justice. The brethren of this workshop published a book of freemasonry works "The Work on the rude stone". Forty brethren were working in the Atelier of the fourth degree, Justice - Zagreb. Among them there were fathers and relatives of some of todays active Croatian and Slovenian Freemasons.

Some of the today's Croatian Freemasons were initiated into the Scottish Rite in foreign countries during the nineteen eighties.

After the fall of the Warsaw Pact, the return of democratic political systems into the countries of the Middle Europe, the first Freemasons from Croatia and Slovenia obtained higher degrees in Scottish Rite in Prague (1991). The Slovenian Freemasons founded the Supreme Council of A:.A :.S:.R:.F:. for Slovenia on March 25th 2000. Immediately afterwards they started founding the Atelier for Croatian Brethren under the leadership of the Most Powerful Sovereign Grand Commander of A:.A :.S:.R:.F:. for Slovenia Br:.V.V. More than twenty Croatian Brethren worked in it.

For the first time in the history of Croatian Freemasonry, Croatia obtained its independent and Sovereign Supreme Council of A:.A :.S:.R:.F:. for Croatia in the Valley of Zagreb on March 22^nd 2003.