February 3, 2022 - On February 3, Dubrovnik celebrates its most important day, the feast its patron saint, Saint Blaise (Sv. Vlaho), the man who saved the city from the Venetians in 971. A look at the Saint Blaise 2022 festivities, the 1050th celebration. 

By traditionally releasing pigeons and raising flags in front of Dubrovnik's Saint Blaise Church, the 1050th Festivity of Saint Blaise officially began on Wednesday. 

For over one thousand years, Dubrovnik has celebrated the feast day of Saint Blaise by staging one of the most impressive and iconic annual festivals in Europe, and indeed, the world: the Festivity of Saint Blaise (Festa svetoga Vlaha). The celebrations encompass the whole city and surrounding region.

The festival commemorates Saint Blaise’s salvation of Dubrovnik on the eve of a surprise attack in 971. According to tradition, Saint Blaise’s miraculous intervention successfully thwarted a planned invasion of the city. As an expression of gratitude, the residents of Dubrovnik embraced the saint’s cult, proclaiming him their patron saint and their eternal protector.

The Ragusans' ideal positioning and famed diplomacy made them the arch Adriatic trade rival of the jealous Venetians to the north. Lacking in the diplomatic abilities possessed by the Ragusans, the Venetians would often use force, plotting numerous attempts to attack and invade the Republic and bring it to its knees over many years. Saint Blaise's intervention in the foiling of the surprise Venetian attack, whose boats were already silently waiting outside the city walls, meant more to the city than could ever possibly be expressed.

This tradition is still an intrinsic part of the city's deep sense of not only culture and tradition but also identity. Saint Blaise's likeness can be found all over Dubrovnik, watching over the city and its people, and is as much a part of Dubrovnik's soul as the walls themselves. 

Grgo Jelavic/PIXSELL

The saint's flag was raised by this year's hosts (festanjuli) - sailor and captain Teo Grbić, and craftsman Toni Cvjetković, to mark the 2022 Saint Blaise celebration on Wednesday. 

After reading Laus, the traditional text that opens the festivities and which ends with the exclamation 'Long live Saint Blaise!', the Bishop of Dubrovnik, Roko Glasnović, greeted the crowd.

Bishop Glasnović said that 'the connection between Dubrovnik and Saint Blaise is not only a testimony to the wisdom and ability of the old citizens of Dubrovnik to happily unite faith and tradition, universal and local, sacred and secular but also a testimony of the primordial tradition of the local church that inherits Christ, under the protection of its patron saint.'

"The festivity is a testimony to this relationship, from the apparition to don Stojko and the defense of the city in 971. Over the centuries, it has developed, changed, and supplemented, going through all the good and bad moments with the city," said the Dubrovnik bishop.

Rector of the Saint Blaise Church Hrvoje Katušić then read congratulations and greetings from all over the world from those who couldn't attend the Festivity of Saint Blaise this year. After that, the gifts were blessed, and in the end, white doves flew from the hands of Bishop Glasnović.

The inauguration of the 1050th Festivity of Saint Blaise event was attended by the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović, Vice President of the European Commission Dubravka Šuica, Envoy of the Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Envoy of the President of the Croatian Parliament Branko Bačić, Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds Nataša Tramišak, Neretva County Prefect Nikola Dobroslavić, Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković and others.

On the morning of February 3, Dubrovnik City Day Saint Blaise Day, a Mass will be held in front of the cathedral, led by Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, followed by the relics and flags of the parishes in honor of Saint Blaise.

On the final day of the Festivity of Saint Blaise, Sunday, February 7, a solemn procession will be held to Gorica, after which the flag will be solemnly lowered in front of the saint's church.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

February 3 - The level of ignorance among Croatians about what lies in the east of their country is staggering. And they are really missing out, for eastern Croatia is amazing. 

I really don't know where to start. 

Perhaps at 06:35 on November 16 last year. For it was then that I picked up American digital nomad videographer and emerging media star, Steve Tsenterensky, for a 6-day tour of eastern Croatia that I promised would blow his mind. 

It blew his mind. 

(Osijek, Full of Life - Osijek Tourist Board)

Prior to the trip, I asked Steve what he knew about Croatia east of Zagreb (he has been here for just over a year on this visit). Very little, he confessed openly - the war, Vukovar. That's it. Six days later he knew a hell of a lot more, and you can read an in-depth account of what was easily the most sensational trip in my 18 years in Croatia. In Slavonia. In November. Time to Tell the Truth about Slavonia Full of Life.

I posted a LOT on Facebook during our trip, and I was struck by the number of locals admiring the destinations and asking where I was. But I was truly unprepared for what happened when I got back to Zagreb. Local friend after local friend told me that they had never been to Slavonia - even though it is motorway all the way, and despite the fact that its most eastern point - Ilok - is closer to Zagreb than Split. 

I never complain on social media - there is no point, as nobody cares, with so many of their own problems to deal with, but I posted on Facebook that I was genuinely shocked (not that I was bothered personally) how many of my Zagreb friends had never been to Slavonia. They were really missing out as the east is FANTASTIC. 

And so it started in a predictable way. You are a rich foreigner (ha, if only) and we poor Croats only earn 4,000 kuna a month, so cannot afford to go. I rephrased my sentence. I was genuinely shocked (not that I am bothered) how many of my Zagreb friends who are among the 200,000 who go skiing abroad each and so have money, have never been to Slavonia. 

Silence. 

But then... 

A very educated Dubrovnik friend of mine was in town and he had also never been to Slavonia. I decided to ask him three questions.

1. What is the biggest town in Baranja? Hmmm - is it Vukovar?

2. Can you name three famous buildings in eastern Croatia, NOT including the Vukovar Water Tower? Hmmm - nope.

3. Can you name three Slavonian dishes not including kulen? Hmmm - nope. 

I have asked those first two questions (biggest town in Baranja, 3 famous buildings) to 30 friends in Zagreb over the last few weeks. Only one person could answer both questions correctly. 

And the sad thing is that Osijek is the most vibrant city in all Croatia, certainly at this time of year. It has fantastic energy, much different to the media portrayal of emigration and decline. 

And so when the Croatia Airlines magazine article had Osijek on the Danube (it is on the Drava), and the Kingdom placed Djakovo Cathedral in Osijek (does this mean that Djakovo is actually on the Danube now?), it might not be total incompetence as it seems, but perhaps total ignorance, with an incompetence chaser. 

But then again... any national tourism board who can promote a full 18-hole golf course in central Zagreb is a bit special. Yes really - read more in Tourism Quiz of the Summer: How Many Golf Courses Will Croatia Have Next Week?

I came up with an idea to film a tourism questionnaire on Ban Jelacic to highlight the problem (I will still do this), offering a free rakija from a Slavonian colleague in traditional dress to anyone who takes part. 

And then yesterday... This. 

Index.hr, super quick as usual, beat me to it. An Index journalist took to the streets of Zagreb and showed locals photos from Pula, Virovitica, Osijek, Karlovac, Rijeka, Rovinj, Varaždin, Đakovo, Dubrovnik and Split.

The continent and the coast. You don't need to understand Croatia to see the results. 

I will still do my survey, as it is part of a bigger project to Make Osijek Great Again (#MOGA).  

A project which received strong support from Minister of Tourism and Sports, Nikolina Brnjac, at our first meeting last month. 

Zagreb is a natural source of tourism for Slavonia, and this is certainly not charity. In my opinion, a big difference between tourism in Slavonia and tourism in Dalmatia is that nobody who visits Slavonia comes back disappointed. 

And there is so much to see and do. This video below is for another project, but it felt apt to add it here. For those who know the east well, do you recognise all the places? And for those who don't know Slavonia at all, go and have your mind blown, as Steve did - this is his video. 

And if you are interested in the #MOGA project and have something to contribute, come to the TCN MOGA networking drinks at Pivnica Runda in Osijek on Monday at 19:00. 

Want to know more about Osijek? Check out the Total Croatia Osijek in a Page guide. 

February the 3rd, 2022 - Could coffee become a luxury? This Croatian custom which involves sitting around a (usually really small) cup of coffee for hours on end while putting the world to rights might be affected by the introduction of the euro as Croatia's official currency next year.

As Novac/Jutarnji writes, how we can avoid price increases is a question that is becoming more and more important as the introduction of the euro approaches. In the run up to the change, mechanisms are needed to monitor prices - such as their double expression, and, ultimately, so-called blacklists. The Croatian Government is not giving up on trying to hound this further, and it claims that it intends to denounce all those who have decided to make extra money on the back of the change unjustifiably.

It's too early to guess how much a cup of coffee will end up costing due to the introduction of the euro and the rounding off of prices. Because even before that, some Zagreb hospitality establishments will, as they say, raise their prices due to the overall higher prices of energy and raw materials.

''This year, we expect an increase in all prices due to rising energy, gas and electricity costs, as well as the already announced increase in coffee prices of 150 percent, which has been announced by some Zagreb hospitality establishments. Will coffee become a luxury now? That's the question that has arisen. The introduction of the euro in Croatia will also result in a certain price increase, Franz Letica, president of the Association of Caterers of the City of Zagreb at HOK, told HRT.

Even before the introduction of the euro, hairdressing and beauty services will become significantly more expensive, but the conversion itself should not cause too much of a price increase for the end user.

''There will be no problems in terms of recalculating prices, but it will probably involve some rounding, purely because of the simpler handling of the euros,'' said Antonija Tretinjak from the Guild of Beauticians and Pedicurists at HOK.

The growth of prices of most products is already very visible in stores. The Most (Bridge) party believes that the Croatian Government must not give up publishing a black list of traders who will unjustifiably increase their prices due to the conversion.

''What we're asking for is that this measure of publishing the list of those who unjustifiably raise prices will certainly be part of this changeover of the kuna to the euro. We also want to open the question of whether this is the time for the introduction of the euro at all,'' said Nikola Grmoja from Most.

The advantages of the introduction of the euro are multiple, says the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Coric, and the black list will be one of the ways to prevent any unjustified price increases.

''The idea is that those who change their prices and use the time and process of conversion for one-time profit without any reason or basis should be noticed, both by consumers and institutions. What we'll do in the coming months is for that to happen and for them to be denounced,'' warned Coric.

The best way to prevent unjustified price increases is to double-check prices and keep making a note of them in the few months before the introduction of the euro.

For more, check out our business and politics sections.

February the 3rd, 2022 - Croatian designer Marlena Dapcic is working on the designing of the most luxurious yacht ever to be constructed here in Croatia.

As Jutarnji/Novac writes, after graduating from the Faculty of Industrial Design in Venice, young designer Marlena Dapcic has already developed her career abroad working for other companies.

However, a few years ago, Marlena Dapcic decided to focus on her design studio and on Croatia, within her own company A.D. Group, with which she's carried out several notable projects and brought elements of ''real'' yachting into domestic shipbuilding practice. Yachts Croatia spoke to her in Split, where she is working on two new fifty-metre yacht projects and putting together some ideas for the future.

''My colleagues in Italy are famous designers and engineers, but nobody here knew me. At the beginning I was ''the one who chooses the colours'' and they called me in for interior design, although I started from an office where we did everything for smaller boats, and in the meantime I upgraded my knowledge, in Croatia we started all over again, from the beginning. In a few years, I managed to become recognisable, both as a designer and an engineer in one. The difference between a classic designer and my office is that we make a complete product. This way is quite similar to the mentality that the Croatian people have learned, that an engineer who has completed shipbuilding works on the design and everything else.

However, working in this way, the exterior design of existing projects hasn't progressed, so I started working on the interior and exterior design, with maximum effort to work with Croatian engineers who have a lot of experience, such as Vinko Strizic and Branko Vukovic. But they lack what I learned about design and materials in Italy,'' explained Marlena Dapcic.

''When I initially came to the shipyard with my construction plans, I wasn't accepted, partly due to the ignorance of the workers and my colleagues. It's paradoxical that at the same time, we have a profession which is done abroad for a lot more money, and they're much more valued over there, who wouldn't want that? Here in Croatia I have to constantly fight, which benefits me because I study, but it's very difficult to fight against the existing system, and the workers are older. I don't work as a classic designer, I had to give up that concept, but investors come to me and approach me as if a house is being built, not a ship, with all its requirements. Real designers often work for themselves and simply sell their concepts or work for a shipyard,'' added Marlena Dapcic.

''I was initially alone in A.D. Group, and since I only have two hands and one head, we had to increase the team, today there are four of us, there's my sister Helena who is an architect, one of my colleagues is an external collaborator and at the same time works for Fincantieri, and one of us is renderist who makes videos and renders,'' said Dapcic, who pointed out that it isn't a coincidence thay they're doing all this in Split, as two yachts are being ''born'' here under her supervision.

''On these two projects, we did the exterior and interior design, architectural plans and 3D renderings. The first yacht is ICY, and it's a new brand that will be heard about a lot more. The first yacht in the series is a fifty-metre mini cruiser, which should have the characteristics of a yacht, but it has fifteen cabins, and its own norms and rules of passenger ships, which are very strict. But the look will be at the level of yacht quality, unlike most existing ''winged'' mini cruisers. It can also be built as a yacht with six cabins, with an identical or similar external appearance.

On the other hand, the 46-metre yacht for which we're starting construction has a completely opposite logic. They opted for the concept of a real yacht with six cabins, but with masts and a slightly more classic look. We conceived it as a yacht ''from head to toe'', but with conservative and simple solutions in exterior design because we don't want to take risks with complicated shapes, but instead adapt to the construction possibilities that exist in steel and aluminum.

Marlena Dapcic added that it will be the most luxurious yacht built in the Republic of Croatia so far.

''It's characterised by clean exterior lines and a wave motif that is repeated both on the outside and on the inside, as two units which are connected by design. Inside, we used onyx with backlighting and lots of innovative materials, with the presence of proven materials like alcantara and fabrics that give the yacht a feeling of warmth, a ''clean'' design with white surfaces and gold details predominates. It's a yacht which weighs 499 tonnes, with a lot of space that we carefully arrange, and it's being built with a class for ''unlimited navigation'', for which the designer Vinko Strizic is in charge, by order of the investor,'' Dapcic stated.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

February the 3rd, 2022 - The Osijek company Future Machines is launching a brand new and innovative vehicle called ''Taurus'' as part of a production project focused on organic and home food production.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the Osijek company Future Machines project is aimed primarily at encouraging agricultural production with an emphasis on organic and own food production. With it, they're investing in a new factory and not only continuing the production tradition of the failed Osijek OLT, but going a step further.

Future Machines is the largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery in Osijek and is a family company owned by Darko and Matija Markovic. With its first investment in the purchase of the now bankrupt OLT plant and technology, the Osijek company Future Machines took over almost the entire programme of agricultural machinery of the failed company and today works mostly for the domestic market, while income from abroad ranges from 10-15 percent, most of which is from exports to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to director Matija Markovic, in its sixth year of existence, this company has regained the part of the market in which OLT used to be strongly present.

"I'm glad that people recognise us more and more and that we're more and more present every year on the market in which there is a lot of competition from foreign mechanisation today," says Markovic. Since they're the only company in all of Croatia that produces pneumatic seed drills - the most complex agricultural machine with about 1000 positions and assemblies, most of their revenue comes from this product.

Through this new phase of development, investments in new plants are being made, with a total estimated value of 5 million kuna, and at the same time the innovative Taurus project is being completed, whose test production is already underway.

“The goal of the project is to enable the wider population to engage in agriculture, ie growing food in their own gardens through the simple application of machines and technological maps. In this way, but also through continuous improvements of the machine, our goal is to encourage agricultural production with an emphasis placed on organic and on the production of our own, domestic food, both for our own needs and for commercial purposes,'' explained Markovic.

The Osijek company Future Machines innovative new ''Taurus'' is designed as a vehicle of smaller proportions with an associated modular assembly to which tools or tillage attachments are attached, which are also being developed as part of the project.

These are 18 attachments, such as a plough, a mechanical and pneumatic seed drill, a cultivator, a fertiliser spreader and the like. Along with the machine itself, a technological map is being developed, and it consists of instructions for the production of vegetable crops with the simple use of a universal machine.

Instructions for the use of the machine would include about 30 vegetable crops with the attached technological map and the organisation of growing space, with an emphasis on organic production. The innovative element is precisely the modularity of the machine and the concept of use with the technological map, which is something new in Croatia and beyond.

“We could say that it's a hybrid between motor cultivators and smaller tractors, and it's based on modularity. Similar projects have been developed in the last century, but for some reason this has not come to life in any sort of wider application. That's why we're present the machine in a retro style,'' stated Markovic.

In addition to the company's professional staff, external experts in the field of design, marketing, agronomy, as well as the Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences in Osijek and TERA Tehnopolis, which deals with the promotion of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, ie connecting science and economy, are also important.

The Taurus project is in the final phase of the Osijek company Future Machines project, the production of a zero series of 8 machines is being completed, and as it is a prototype, they plan to place the zero series with special conditions through partners dealing with agriculture and forestry.

If all goes according to plan, they expect that serial production of Taurus will begin in 2023, after which they'll also announce new employment and work on further development of the concept for the agricultural programme, as well as further adaptation to use the machine for communal purposes.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

February the 3rd, 2022 - The Dubrovnik Valamar portfolio reshuffle has been completed, and a new investment cycle is set to begin this autumn, following the main summer tourist season.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, Valamar Riviera announced on Tuesday that a transaction with Imperial Riviera was concluded on the last day of January, on the transfer of the Dubrovnik Valamar portfolio to Imperial.

These are three hotels which boast a total of 947 accommodation units, Valamar Lacroma Dubrovnik Hotel, Club Dubrovnik Sunny Hotel by Valamar and Tirena Sunny Hotel by Valamar, with an acquisition value of 95.3 million euros and 100,676 euros per accommodation unit.

"Considering the interests of the acquirers of the hotels in question, the financing of this transaction was secured by taking over the company's credit obligations for two club loans with OTP Banka from Split and OTP Banka from Budapest, and four loans from the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development from Zagreb, totaling 90.2 million euros at the current overall weighted average interest rate of 1.36 percent and secured liens on the hotels being transferred, while the remaining amount of 5 million euros will be paid in cash.

These three hotels in the area of ​​Babin Kuk in Dubrovnik, together with the real estate previously entered into the Imperial portfolio in the process of increasing the share capital (with an estimated value of 352.8 million kuna), will form a sustainable and strategically important technological unit,'' they said from Valamar.

They added that through Imperial, a joint company for growth and development, the Dubrovnik Valamar portfolio, as a destination, will start with the further development of its tourism portfolio as soon as this autumn, through significant investments by both Valamar and AZ pension funds.

As previously announced, the five-year investment plan in the destinations of Dubrovnik, Makarska and Rab is worth 2.1 billion kuna.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

February 3, 2022 - It appears we have a music-themed month on our hands with Zagreb Music Fair and a few delicious live shows lined up in the coming weeks. We bring you a selection of three performances in Zagreb and Pula that are all rooted in traditional music of the Balkans, some partially, some in full. Enjoy!

Zoran Majstorović & JazzIstra Quartet - Musical Migrations / Zagreb, February 4

First up, Zoran Majstorović and the JazzIstra Quartet performing in Zagreb this Friday. They’ll be playing the six pieces which make up the album Musical Migrations, composed by Majstorović and recorded in 2020.

The album was written for a jazz orchestra featuring a multi-instrumentalist, in this case Majstorović himself. Musical Migrations are influenced by American jazz and traditional music from various parts of the world, combining musical elements originating from multiple cultures in six original compositions. Every piece is a story of its own, with three of them inspired by traditional music of the Balkans and Istria in particular. Here's a rundown as presented in the event description:

The opening track Baal Un is an interpretation of balun (a form of traditional Istrian dance) in an abstract drum’n’bass performance. La Tierra Y El Cielo is inspired by Latin music and flamenco, with a mandolin adding a touch of Mediterranean sound. Wangari combines the music of West Africa with American swing and is dedicated to Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Duck’s Remarks draws inspiration from island music, featuring Jamaican reggae, Hawaiian ukulele, and a dose of free jazz.

In the video above, listen to Oro Machno, named after the Istrian village Koromačno and combining the Balkan oro in 9/8 with melodic elements of the Istrian scale. And finally, Not Giving Up on Our Species, a composition in which delta blues and the New Orleans sound meet Istria and the Balkans.

Zoran Majstorović - guitar, oud, saz, kamal
Branko Sterpin - trumpet, flugelhorn
Bojan Skočilić - double bass, bass guitar
Borko Rupena - drums

Kulturni centar Mesnička (Mesnicka Cultural Centre), Zagreb
February 4, 9pm start

The album will be available for purchase at the venue.
Admission is free, with voluntary donations welcome.

Alice In WonderBand / Zagreb, February 13

On the second weekend in February, Močvara club in Zagreb will host Alice In WonderBand, a duo from Serbia known for their captivating blend of folk music and performance arts. They bring Balkan folklore to life in a unique way, performing traditional music through a combination of singing and body percussion.

Ana Vrbaški and Marko Dinjaški are artists and performers who have been life and stage partners for 25 years. The Alice in WonderBand project was conceived at Fruška Gora in 1998, and has since made its way all over the region. They perform traditional songs from Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Turkey and Hungary.

Their shows are a mesmerising fusion of music, theatre, dance and acrobatics performed using a special skill of body percussion. Watch the video below to see them skip, clap, tap and twirl, all the while belting out some serious tunes:

Močvara, Zagreb
Sunday, February 13, 8pm start
Tickets can be purchased here and at the venue before the show.

Tamara Obrovac Quartet / Pula, February 23

Singer, songwriter, composer and flutist, Tamara Obrovac is a powerhouse best known for her Istria-inspired flavour of ethnic jazz. The immensely talented artist is performing in Pula on February 23 with one of her long-standing ensembles, a quartet whose line-up hasn’t changed since 1997!

They’ll be playing new compositions written by Obrovac for an album coming out later this year.

Have a taste of their sublime sound with a 2018 performance:

Tamara Obrovac - vocals
Matija Dedić - piano
Žiga Golub - double bass
Krunoslav Levačić - drums

INK Pula (Istrian National Theatre Pula)
Wednesday, February 23, 8pm
Tickets can be purchased here. 

February 2, 2022 - Zagreb is about to host the first music fair in Croatia, a dream come true for all music lovers - record collectors, passionate audiophiles, industry veterans, and everyone in between

Organised by Tvornica kulture, Zagreb Music Fair (ZMF) brings a vast selection of records, new and used musical instruments, and audio components available for purchase. They have also prepared a range of audio and video workshops, light & sound courses, and music lessons for various instruments.

ZMF is the first in Croatia to assemble manufacturers and distributors of musical instruments and other music gear, record labels, and concert producers. 

Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Yamaha, Ludwig and Premier are just some of the brands that will be making an appearance at ZMF. A full list of participating brands and vendors will be published shortly, together with a detailed programme and a couple of surprises to boot.

The fair is offering an opportunity for all music-related businesses to present their products and services, be they major players on the market or small local manufacturers. ZMF is inviting musicians, authors, publishing experts, business developers and music influencers to gather and bond over their appreciation of music.

All music lovers can look forward to three days of exploring music in all its forms. Professionals, amateurs and enthusiasts alike can try out musical instruments, purchase records, music gear, books about music, or simply enjoy a wonderful music-themed weekend.

Looking to sell your instruments or other audio gear? This is your opportunity - if interested, send an inquiry to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

ZMF will take place from Friday, February 4th to Sunday, February 6th 2022 at HALA Zagreb.

Working hours:
Friday 4pm - 9pm
Saturday & Sunday 10am - 9pm

Address: HALA Zagreb, Heinzelova 96a

Follow Zagreb Music Fair on Facebook.