December the 19th, 2022 - We've seen how much FIFA will give to HNS and how much each player on the Croatian national team will take home from the government for their time spent representing the country in Qatar this year, but what about the Croatian clubs themselves?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian national team performed incredibly under the guidance of the much loved Zlatko Dalic, remaining in the game at the World Cup for the second time in a row until the very end (the last time being back in 2018), which greatly benefits Croatian clubs whose players also play for the Croatian national team.

Dinamo Zagreb, which sent five of its players to Qatar - Dominik Livakovic, Josip Sutalo, Mislav Orsic, Bruno Petkovic and Sadegh Moharrami, will earn the most of all of the Croatian clubs (HNL). Croatian clubs will all receive 10,000 dollars for each player for each day spent at the World Cup in Qatar. In translation, Dinamo Zagreb will earn 50,000 dollars per day from this alone for its players having been on the pitch over in Qatar.

This amount is paid out by FIFA for as long as the selected national team remains in the tournament, and the Croatian clubs themselves are compensated for the fact that the players had to undergo short preparations before the tournament.

For more, make sure to check out out dedicated news section.

December the 19th, 2022 - Minority languages in Croatia are either given no attention or are quite controversial, and with such a rich and tumultuous history which involves some of their speakers, some are given more rights under the Croatian Constitution than others.

We've explored many of the dialects, subdialects and indeed languages in their own right as some linguists consider them to be which are spoken across modern Croatia. From the Dubrovnik subdialect (Ragusan) in the extreme south of Dalmatia to Northwestern Kajkavian in areas like Zagorje, the ways in which people speak in this country deviate from what we know as standard Croatian language enormously. That goes without even mentioning much about old Dalmatian, Zaratin, once widely spoken in and around Zadar, Istriot, or Istro-Venetian. 

What about minority languages in Croatia, though? While some of the above might seem as if they themselves are minority languages, with so much controversy about whether they're languages or mere dialects has unfortunately caused many to not even be given a proper protected status. It's true that some are even on UNESCO endangered languages list, but they're still not categorised by the Croatian powers that be in the same way that the likes of Czech, Hungarian or Slovakian are in this country.

Let's look into what exactly is deemed to be a minority language in Croatia and how that functions within the Croatian Constitution. 

Minority languages in Croatia are the mother tongues (first languages) of national and ethnic minorities living across modern Croatian territory. In addition to personal and intra-community use, minority languages in Croatia are used in different ways and to varying extents in both official and public areas.

The Croatian Constitution defines the Republic of Croatia as the nation of the Croatian people, the country which belongs to all its citizens, including traditional autochthonous communities, which the constitution refers to as national minorities. The minorities explicitly listed in the constitution are; Serbs, Czechs, Italians, Hungarians, Slovaks, Jews, Germans, Ukrainians, Ruthenians, Austrians, Bosniaks, Slovenes, Macedonians, Russians, Montenegrins, Bulgarians, Poles, Romanians, Turks, Roma, Vlachs and Albanians.

Article 12 of the Croatian Constitution states that the official language in Croatia is what we now call standard Croatian, while for some local self-government units (cities and municipalities) another script may be introduced into official comparative use.

Now we've seen who the national minorities are, how do minority languages in Croatia stand under the law?

The use minority languages in Croatia is regulated on the basis of competent national laws, international conventions and agreements which the country has signed. The most important laws at the national level are the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities, the Law on the Use of the Language and Script of National Minorities and the Law on Education in the Language and Script of National Minorities. The most important international agreements related to minority languages in Croatia are the European Charter on Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities adopted by the Council of Europe. The members of national minorities have acquired certain rights in this country over time through interstate and international treaties and agreements, such as the Erdut Agreement and the Rapala Treaty.

It's unfortunate to say but must be said regardless, that the Croatian public and in many cases the authorities don't always have much of a positive attitude towards issues experienced by minorities in this country, and as such minority rights, but Croatia's EU membership has had an overall very positive impact on the affirmation of the official use of minority languages in Croatia, and things in that respect continue to stabilise as time goes by.

There are several Croatian municipalities in which what are deemed to be official minority languages are spoken today.

German

The National Association of Danube Swabians, which is the largest minority association of the German Community, strongly advocates for German language use in the Eastern part of the country, particularly in and around Osijek where it holds a form of traditional status. In modern Croatia, spoken German is primarily the first or second foreign language someone has, and it is also recognised as the official minority language of both Germans and Austrians living in Croatia.

Czech

Over 6000 people living in the continental Croatian county of Bjelovar-Bilogora have declared themselves to be members of the Czech national minority. 70% of these individuals say that Czech is their mother tongue. Back in 2011, MP Zdenka Cuhnil pointed out that based on their acquired rights, the Czech minority in Croatia has the right to equal use of the language (alongside standard Croatian) in nine local self-government units.

Ruthenian

The Ruthenian dialect spoken in both Vojvodina and modern Croatia became standardised back during the first half of the 20th century, with Ruthenian publications having been being published since the 1920s. While in Ukraine, the Ruthenian community isn't officially recognised as being a separate nation, minority status and language rights outside of Vojvodina and Croatia were recognised and began to develop only in the post-Cold War period.

The Ruthenians living in the area of Eastern Slavonia don't differ from the Ruthenians living in Vojvodina culturally or linguistically. It is worth noting however that Ruthenian spoken in this area does differ from the speech of other Ruthenian communities located elsewhere, and is characterised by a significant number of loanwords from Croatian as we know it today. The use of the Ruthenian language on the whole began to decline after the Second World War, and the process accelerated even more following the end of the Homeland War (Croatian War of Independence).

Romany (Roma language)

While the Croatian Parliament formally recofnised the Day of the Roma Language (May the 25th) back in 2012, the Central Library of Roma in Croatia, which is also the only Roma library in all of Europe, was on;y opened back during the summer of 2020, so not long ago at all when you consider the length of time the Roma people have been present in this country and the wider region. The Roma people are among those who experience a lack of help when it comes to the authorities, and issues between this community and the general public are rife for a multitude of reasons.

Slovakian

A magazine called Pramen is published in the Slovakian language by the Union of Slovaks in Croatia. This was achieved thanks to cooperation with the Slovak Cultural Centre (located in Nasice). Back in 2011, over 500 students in the Eastern part of the country were taught Slovakian twice per week from the first grade of elementary school onwards.

Ukrainian

The Ukrainian community present in Croatia publishes the following publications in the Ukrainian language - Nova Dumka, Vjesnik, Nasa Gazeta, Vjencic (aimed at kids) and Misli s Dunava. Since way back in 2001, the Department of Ukrainian Language and Literature has been in function at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zagreb. Following the outbreak of war in Ukraine following shock Russian invasion back in February 2022, Ukrainian presence has been far stronger in Croatia thanks to its very welcoming stance towards Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russian onslaught in their homeland. As a result, it's likely that the language will be heard much more.

Hebrew and Yiddish

The library of the Jewish Municipality of Zagreb actually doesn't (yet, anyway) have the status of one of the central minority libraries of Croatia. In addition to the library in Zagreb, the Hugo Kon Elementary School, founded in 2003, is also in operation. The Festival of Tolerance - The Jewish Film Festival was founded back in 2007 by the well known Branko Lustig with the aim of preserving the memory of those lost during the Holocaust and promoting tolerance going forward so that such horrors are never repeated.

Hungarian

When it comes to higher education institutions in Croatia, Hungarian can be studied at the University of Zagreb, the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek, and most recently at the University of Rijeka. To turn the wheels of time back a little, it's worth remembering that much of Croatian territory was once under the reign of the former Austro-Hungarian empire, and aside from being our neighbours, Hungary and as such Hungarian language has had quite the influence on this country over the centuries. Now classed as one of the official minority languages in Croatia, Hungarian has been advocated for in many ways here. Back in 2004, representatives of the Hungarian national minority called for the introduction of Hungarian into official use in Beli Manastir, referring to the rights acquired by Hungarian nationals before 1991 and the complications which arose due to the outbreak of war. In the same year (2004) the Hungarian minority made up 8.5% of Beli Manastir's resident population.

Italian

I've written numerous articles on the array of dialects and subdialecs spoken across the Istrian peninsula, most of them deriving in some way from Venetian. These dialects (and some linguists would argue them to be languages in their own right) come from the complex and very long history Italy and Istria share, as the two are deeply historically, culturally and as such linguistically enmeshed. As such the Italian minority in Croatia achieved a significantly wider right to use their own language than all other minority communities in the country. La Voce del Popolo is a daily newspaper published in the Italian language that is published in Rijeka. On top of that, we also have the likes of Istro-Venetian, which is sparsely spoken in comparison to standard (modern) Italian, and you can learn more about it here.

Serbian

By far the most controversial of all, and for obvious reasons, is the Serbian language as one of the Croatian minority languages. I probably don't need to go into the ins and outs of why it is controversial in comparison to the others, as that would be an article of its own. Instead, I'll just list some facts. 

Education in Serbian was made possible in the territory of the former self-proclaimed Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and western Srijem on the basis of the aforementioned Erdut Agreement, which created the preconditions for the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region. In this region, teaching is conducted according to Model A of minority education, in which the entire teaching takes place in the language and script of national minorities - in this case it is Serbian. Schools in Podunavlje, for example, do organise classes in Croatian or in another minority language if the minimum number of students to enroll in a class according to a certain model are present.

Critics see the continuation of the Croatian-Serbian conflict in the Danube region in the model of divided classes, while the official representatives of the Serbian minority see the negative attitude towards the Serbian departments as pressure in the direction of denationalisation. In either case, the use of the Cyrillic script on road signs, on buildings and indeed elsewhere in parts of Croatia which were ravaged by Serbian onslaught back during the nineties are far from popular and have remained a burning issue ever since the Homeland War drew to a close.

Of the other languages, one which is sadly dying out at an alarming rate is the Istro-Romanian language, which is listed in UNESCO's own Red Book of Endangered Languages as seriously endangered. With Istro-Romanian likely to follow the same path as Istrian-Albanian and become extinct within the next few decades, if not sooner, little is being done to preserve it for generations to come.

For more on Croatian languages, history, minority languages and dialects, follow our lifestyle section.

December the 19th, 2022 - Following an absolutely incredible performance at 2022's World Cup over in Qatar, the Croatian national team arrived home this evening to a packed Ban Jelacic Square and a welcome home celebration reminiscent of scenes from 2018 - which they thoroughly deserved. With football fever now over for another four years, just how much will HNS get from FIFA, and how much will Croatia's players earn from the government?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian national team (or the Vatreni, if you prefer) played an absolutely fantastic game of which we can all be very proud, they defeated Morocco 2:1 and pocketed the bronze medal. Thanks to them having showcased Croatia's enormous sporting spirit, they will all also receive handsome amounts of money, but how much does it all amount to, precisely?

HNS will receive a cheque for 30 million dollars (Morocco will receive one worth 25 million dollars) from FIFA for coming third place, and this sum will later be divided between the federation itself and the Croatian national team in a ratio of 60-40 or 55-45 percent. It will be carried out in whichever manner the two parties agree.

Of the amount that will go to those who deserved it the most, 80 percent will be paid directly into the Croatian national team players' personal bank accounts, and 20 percent to the members of the team's dedicated coaching staff.

That's not all, because all members of the Croatian national team will all also receive 120,000 kuna each from the government, as this is according to the regulation for awards to athletes in Olympic sports for medals won at world championships held every four years, i.e the World Cup, as published by tportal.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

December the 19th, 2022 - Three Croatian cities are the most ready of all to dip their feet in the proverbial pool of almost 700 million euros provided by the European Union (EU) through the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, through the Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds, the EU has provided a massive 681.3 million euros to be spent on increasing the quality of life and the green transition of Croatian urban areas, and most Croatian cities have plans for projects that they will apply under this particular programme.

22 Croatian cities are entitled to access funds from the Integrated Territorial Programme (ITU mechanism), and Bjelovar is one of only three Croatian cities that already have prepared all of the necessary documentation ahead of time.

If we're to include municipal projects, there are fourteen priority projects in Bjelovar alone, with Mayor Dario Hrebak highlighting the restoration of the old prison building in the centre, a protected cultural property whose restoration is demanding and cannot be submitted to other tenders, as well as the revitalisation and furnishing the building for the needs of the student dorms.

"Bjelovar and the neighbouring municipalities of Veliko Trojstvo, Stefanje, Rovisce and Kapela have all acquired the right to a financial envelope of 22 million euros from the ITU mechanism, with Bjelovar receiving 70 percent and the municipalities 30 percent of that amount," says Hrebak. In addition to the revitalisation of the old prison, they also list some other projects in Bjelovar; a digital innovation centre, the Jabuceta business incubator in the municipality of Kapela, the Rovisce development centre, the proper arrangement and equipping of the social centre in Narta, pedestrian and bicycle paths with storm drainage in Gornji Plavnice, the revitalisation and equipping of the student dorms,Terme Bjelovar, and much more.

"Bjelovar currently has prepared documentation for investments worth 1.2 billion kuna in total. I expect that through the ITU mechanism, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and all other sources of funding available to us, we'll manage to realise 80 percent of these projects over the next four years. Equally, we expect that the participation of Bjelovar in this will stand at 250 million kuna", explained Hrebak. In order to realise the projects from the ITU mechanism, Bjelovar established the Administrative Department for the implementation of the ITU mechanism.

Rijeka also has a horse in the EU funds race. Back during the period from 2016 to 2021, during which the implementation of several projects important for the development of the City of Rijeka and the city's agglomeration was contracted, and this included public transport.

"The preparation of projects for the period until the year 2027 is currently underway, and they'll be presented only after the decision of the Coordination Council as the governing body of the Agglomeration, and we believe that in January 2023 we will be able to state which projects we're talking about. There is no doubt, however, that the newly proposed projects must be shaped within the established priorities, that is, the specific goals on which the Integrated Territorial Programme for the period 2021-2027 is based, and they are; the industrial transition of Croatian regions, strengthening green, clean, smart and sustainable of city traffic and the development of urban areas through the rehabilitation and revitalisation of brownfield areas, the restoration and presentation of cultural heritage for the development of sustainable tourism, and the development of green infrastructure, etc, they explained from the City of Rijeka, headed by Mayor Marko Filipovic.

Of the other ''most ready'' Croatian cities, Osijek also started preparing for the ITU financial period 2021-2027 last year with the establishment of the Osijek Urban Agglomeration. The territorial scope of the Osijek Urban Agglomeration consists of ten local self-government units: the City of Osijek and the municipalities of Antunovac, Bilje, Bizovac, Cepin, Erdut, Ernestinovo, Petrijevci, Vladislavci and Vuka.

As they revealed from Administrative Department for Finances and EU Funds of the City of Osijek, during 2021 and 2022, the establishment of the Urban Agglomeration of Osijek took place alongside the establishment of the Coordination Council. The drafting of the Osijek Urban Agglomeration Development Strategy, a strategic document that defines development goals and is a precondition for the use of funds from the ITU mechanism, has now been started. For this purpose, on November the 22nd, 2021, all local self-government units from the scope concluded an agreement on cooperation on the development and implementation of the Osijek Urban Agglomeration Development Strategy 2021-2027.

For more, check out our news section.

December the 18th, 2022 - The Croatian team welcome party in the very heart of Zagreb (Ban Jelacic square) is set to take place this afternoon when the team lands back home from an incredible performance in 2022's World Cup in Qatar. Here's what you need to know.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after returning from Qatar, the members of the Croatian national football team will land at Zagreb's Franjo Tudjman International Airport shortly after 17:00, after which they will head to Ban Jelacic square along the same route they took four years ago when they returned from Russia as runners-up in the 2018 World Cup.

The Ministry of the Interior (MUP), in cooperation with HNS, has published numerous tips on its official website, in addition to maps with the route that the vehicles carrying the members of the national team and professional staff will take as they make their way towards the very heart of the city.

You can see official and detailed photos of the route from the airport to Ban Jelacic square by clicking here.

From the airport, the buses will run along Ulica Rudolfa Fizira, turn onto Zagrebacka Ulica towards Buzin and then head along SR Njemacka Ulica onto Avenija Dubrovnik. Then, they'll travel along Ulica Hrvatske bratske zajednice until they reach Vukovarska Ulica, from which they will turn onto Savska, extend to Frankopanska and then onto Ilica, and end their journey at the main stage, which this time will be located on the west side of Ban Jelacic square, more precisely in front of the Zagrebacka banka branch office located there.

For more, make sure to keep up with our dedicated Croatian news section.

December 18, 2022 - Firebird: the most famous Croatian poster now available in a new limited series

Mimi and Vanja Rakočević, father and son, owners of the Zagreb gallery Paravan at Martićeva 4 were motivated by the great demand for the works of our famous artist Boris Bućan, to create a unique limited series of firebird posters in Plexiglas in collaboration with the author himself.

About one hundred copies of the Multipla Firebird were made in the size of 40x40cm. The item consists of six individual plans made of Plexiglas. Each multiple is numbered and signed on an aluminum plate by Bućan himself.

"Months passed from the idea to realization, several months filled with interesting and vivid conversations with the artist Boris Bućan. The preparation for printing itself lasted three weeks," says graphic designer and owner of the Paravan gallery, Vanja Rakočević.

One hundred original copies of the Firebird poster

Firebird is the most famous Croatian poster, created in 1982 for Igor Stravinsky's ballet at the Croatian National Theater in Split. Today, it is also in the lineup of the Tate Modern and MoMA museums and has become a recognizable motif of Croatian contemporary culture. As such, the Firebird poster is one of the most sought-after works in the Paravan gallery, where one of the hundred original copies from 1982 is exhibited. However, that copy is not for sale.

Vanja and Mimi Rakočević came up with the idea of performing it through a different medium and decided on a multiple. Multiples were created in 1955 when the artists Jean Tinguely and Arman, wanting to make their works more accessible, presented the idea of producing a more extensive and unlimited series of their artworks.

"The specificity and in fact the transparency of the medium itself resulted in an interesting and somewhat pop art expression. Because of the combined six individual planes, the work has a three-dimensional effect and takes on different forms, depending on the angle from which it is viewed," explains Vanja Rakočević.

The foreground is in red color, the beak, the tail, and the heels. The second plan is the bird itself, the third, fourth, and fifth plans have green leaves printed on them, and the sixth plan is white. Getting the exact shades and color variants was one of the biggest challenges, and until the final product was ready there were more than 10 numbers of printed proofs.

As expected, the general public and the artistic community recognized the value of this series and have already reserved almost 50 copies of this limited series in the Paravan gallery. For reservations and more information about the work itself, you can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., via Facebook, Instagram, or in person at the address Martićeva 4, Zagreb.

December 18, 2022 - Looking for a job in Croatia? A new weekly feature on TCN, in partnership with leading job site agency, Posao.hr, who present a selection of weekly job listings.

How hard is it to find a job in Croatia, and what is on offer?

We spoke to Ines Bokan, director of leading jobs site Posao.hr, who kindly took the time for this excellent interview overview.  

Ines has kindly agreed to work with us on a new weekly feature on TCN - a weekly selection of 10 job listings, as chosen by Posao.hr.  Details and links to the job opportunities below in the latest edition of this feature.

yoummday GmbH is hiring a person for the position of Customer Consultant (f/m/x) Remote Europewide. Remote workplace. Send complete applications via link by January 11^th

Strabag BRVZ d.o.o. for services is hiring a person in the position of Client Application Engineer - Windows Desktop, SCCM, Packaging (m/f/d). Place of work Zagreb. Experience in the Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager environment (MECM/SCCM) is an advantage. Send complete applications via link by January 05^th

EMBL European Molecular Biology Laboratory is hiring a Senior Network and Security Engineer (f/m/d). Place of work Heidelberg, Germany. Experience in topics such as virtual networking, zero-trust security model, software defined networking. Send complete applications via link by January 14^th

Delta-X GmbH is hiring a person for the position of Structural Engineer (m/f/d) - focus: reinforced concrete. Place of work Stuttgart, Germany. Send complete applications via link by January 10^th

Hilton International Wien GmbH is hiring a person for the position of Chef (m/w/d). Place of work Wien, Austria. Send complete applications via link by January 15^th

Scalable Global Solutions d.d. is hiring a Senior Sales Account Manager (m/f). Place of work Zagreb. Have a "can do" attitude. Someone who gets things done with minimum supervision. Send complete applications via link by December 31th.

BHS Corrugated machines d.o.o. is hiring a person at the position of Multinational apprenticeship - Electronics technicians for automation technology (m/w/d). Place of work Varaždin. Send complete applications via link by December 31th.

Future HR is hiring a person for the position of Sales and Marketing Manager (m/f). Place of work Zagreb. Send complete applications via link by December 29^th.

Lindner Montage + Service GmbH is hiring a person in the position of Structural Engineer / Construction Designer (m/f). Place of work Arnstorf / Leipzig (Germany) or around Zagreb (Croatia). Send complete applications via link by December 24^th.

dotSource is hiring a Java Developer (f/m/x). Place of work Rijeka. Send complete applications via link by December 25^th.

For more career options and job listings, visit posao.hr.

These weekly job listings will appear in the weekly TCN newsletter - you can subscribe here.

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December the 18th, 2022 - Cafe culture is a big deal in Croatia, from business meetings to concluding contracts to getting together with the neighbours to gossip about other neighbours, it's more or less all done over a (usually) very tiny cup of coffee that one somehow manages to make last for three hours. The sight of kuna and lipa coins left on tables on top of receipts is also common, but how will that sight look following Croatian Eurozone membership?

Croatia is set to scrap the kuna and adopt the bloc's single currency in just two weeks, and there are already issues arising surrounding cash, how to get it, and how to avoid getting stuck with large denominations of euros in cash that you actually can't spend anywhere.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the changing of the national currency is now very much in full swing and many people are already ready to carry out their business operations with the new currency as early as today. However, Dnevnik Nova TV reports that some are worried that there could still be some problems in the first days following the euro's adoption here.

When the first customer wants to come and pay for a coffee in euros in the new year following Croatian Eurozone membership, restaurant owner Franz Letica says he will definitely be ready. He says that he could do business in euros today if it was necessary.

"As far as catering and hospitality in general is concerned, I guess our sector was born ready because we're used to constantly introducing something new and seeing things change at the last minute, so that's normal for us," says Letica.

However, some people are worried about the possibility that in those first days of Croatian Eurozone membership, before there is much money in circulation, customers will come to them trying to pay for items with large denominations of 50 or 100 euros. After they return the rest, they wonder if they will have enough money to return any change to others.

Franz has his own solution for that. He says that it is unacceptable that 100-euro notes should ever be accepted for coffee, and he cites Germany as an example: "You cannot buy bread in a store with a 200 or 500 euro note, you must be prepared and take small change with you."

The Croatian National Bank says that the law does not stipulate whether or not a restaurant or shop or cafe owner or indeed anyone else can refuse an excessively large banknote in exchange for goods or services being sold or rendered. 

For more, check out our news section.