ZAGREB, November 15, 2020  - The production of cabbage in Croatia is stable, the market is supplied with sufficient amounts of this vegetable, and the corona crisis has led to a price drop this year, according to an analysis conducted by the Smarter consultancy firm.

This year's cabbage crop can satisfy the needs on the domestic market, and 2020 has been perceived as a favourable year for cabbage growing, says Smarter.

On the other hand, the epidemic of coronavirus has prevented holding of events and gatherings, such as wedding parties and other private parties with many guests, and has also affected the hospitality industry, and consequently the demand for cabbage has dropped and its price has also fallen, as a result.

The latest data provided by the Agriculture Market Information System (TISUP) shows that at the end of October the price of kilo of cabbage was HRK 3.66 as against 4.99 kuna in the corresponding period last year.

In 2019, Croatia's cabbage crop was 31,580 tonnes and it was grown on 1,463 hectares.

Record high export

 At the end of 2019, Croatia registered a record high amount of exported cabbage, over 2,000 tonnes, and the value of the export was above a million euros.

Last year, the imports reached 6,148 tonnes, worth 3.3 million euros.

The top market for the export of Croatian cabbage is Slovenia which imported 1,600 tonnes of this vegetable grown in Croatia, and paid 800,000 euros for that last year.

The largest quantity of the imported cabbage, 1,646 tonnes at the total price of over a million euro, arrived in Croatia from Macedonia last year. The  cabbage imports from the Netherlands totalled 1,476 tonnes (€870,000).

The biggest cabbage growers in Croatia are in northwestern areas (Varazdin, Koprivnica and Ogulin) as well as in the southern town of Sinj.

The average annual consumption per capita in Croatia is 11 kilograms.

The "Varazdinsko Zelje" cabbage, grown in Varazdin, and fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) from the western town of Ogulin enjoy a protected status in the EU.

ZAGREB, November 15, 2020 - Croatian politician Anto Kovacevic, who was political prisoner in the Socialist Yugoslavia, died at the age of 68 from the consequences of COVID-19, his family reported on Sunday.

Kovacevic, born in 1952 in the northern village of Ada in Bosnia and Herzegovina, served 8.5 years in the prison in Zenica for his political opinions in the Communist-led Yugoslav Federation, and was declared by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience.

He was a member of the fourth parliament from 2000 to 2003 after Croatia gained independence.

Kovacevic stood in Croatia's presidential elections in 2005.

He used to be a member of the HKDU party and later of the Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starcevic.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Sunday sent a letter of condolences to the Kovacevic family, and wrote that Kovacevic would be remembered for his struggle for the Croatian cause.

November 15, 2020 - Jadran Split and Mladost Zagreb with play in the LEN Cup this season after failing to qualify for the Champions League in Syracuse, Italy.

Jadran Split said goodbye to Syracuse and Champions League qualifications with a victory on Sunday. Namely, Jadran convincingly beat French club Pays d’Aix 11:5 in Sunday’s matinee, which started at 9 am.

Jadran already locked in the win in the first two quarters, after which they led 8:4. In the sixth minute, it was already 4:1, by the end of the first quarter, 5:2, and in the middle of the second quarter, it was 8:2 for Jadran. Not even the exclusion of center Dužević, two minutes before the end of the second quarter, could stop them. 

Croats Maroje Gluhaić and Andro Gagulić scored two goals each for Pays d’Aix. 

Mladost was also left without a spot in the Champions League after they were defeated by the home team Ortigia 9:8 (2-3, 3-2, 1-0, 2-4) in Syracuse.

Goalkeeper Jerko Jurlina recorded an enviable 13 saves. But on the other side, goalkeeper Stefano Tempesti booked 18 saves, two of them in the last 16 seconds of the game, from the Mladost extra-man attack at 9:8. 

Ortigia opened the game better, and the left-handed, experienced Valentino Gallo gave Mladost the most trouble. All three of Ortigia’s goals in the first quarter were scored from the right (Rossi and Gallo - 2). However, Radu and Miloš kept the result close.

In the second quarter, less than two minutes before the half, with a new goal by Gallo, Ortigia was still up by two goals (5:3). Two excellent shots from the outside position, first by Kharkov, and then Buslje, equalized for 5:5.

The third quarter saw a great goal by Luka Bajic for Mladost's first lead (5:6). A period of great plays by Lazić and Miloš followed. Towards the end of this quarter, Mladost had three consecutive shots in the same attack, but the ball bounced off the goalpost twice, while Tempesti remained solid in goal. 

In the final eight minutes, Rossi equalized, but Kharkov again gave Mladost the advantage (6:7). In the middle of the quarter, Giacoppo equalized first (7:7), and less than a minute later, Mirarchi brought the hosts back to the lead (8:7). Mladost managed to equalize four minutes before the end, thanks to Luka Bajić.

However, in the last minute, with 46 seconds to go, after the exclusion of Viskovic, Giacoppa scored for the final 9:8 Ortigia victory. 

Luka Bajić and Konstantin Kharkov scored two goals each for Mladost, while Valentino Gallo scored three goals for Ortigia.

Jadran Split and Mladost Zagreb will continue their European appearances in the LEN Euro Cup this season, and a draw will soon determine the pairs. Thus, the only Croatian representative in the Champions League will be Jug Dubrovnik. 

Source: HVS

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

November 15, 2020 – On the list of the top 100 most popular cakes in the world by Taste Atlas, two Croatian cakes, samoborska kremšnita and mađarica, have deservedly found their place.

After a famous fish dish of Slavonia and Baranja – fiš paprikaš – recently appeared on the list of the top 100 best traditional dishes in the world, it is now time for Croatian desserts to find their place among the most popular ones in the world.

According to TasteAtlas, the global food map guide, two Croatian cakes, samoborska kremšnita and mađarica, were listed among the top 100 most popular cakes in the world. In the competition with the world's most popular cakes, such as German Schwarzwald cake or Italian Ciambella, samoborska kremšnita, originally from the Croatian town of Samobor near Zagreb, took 84th place on the list, and widely-known Croatian cake mađarica took a high 41st place.

Unique souvenir from Samobor

Being the most recognizable symbol and the first association of the town of Samobor is what makes samoborska kremšnita the queen of all cakes for Samobor residents. It is almost unthinkable to visit Samobor without tasting this fine light yellowish cream between the crispy puff pastry.

Samoborska kremšnita / Wikimedia Commons

"Samoborska kremšnita consists of two layers of puff pastry that are filled with custard cream. A thin layer of whipped cream is sometimes placed on top of the custard. The whole cake is typically dusted with powdered sugar, and before serving, the cake is sliced into squares. Kremšnita can be eaten warm or chilled. It is believed that this tasty dessert was invented by pastry chef Đuro Lukačić who had worked in Vienna and Budapest, and upon arriving in Samobor, he modified some of their recipes to create Samoborska kremšnita, which proved to be a huge hit to this day," reads the description of samoborska kremšnita on TasteAtlas.

It is one of the main reasons why Samobor is gladly visited, and many take more of it as a souvenir, so they can enjoy its taste even when they're home. The first kremšnita cakes were made in the confectionery owned by Marko Lukačić, Đuro's brother, located on the Samobor Square. There are several recipes for this cake, but Samoborska kremšnita is unique because of its preparation, but also because of Samobor and the ambiance in which you should enjoy it.

Mađarica or the "Hungarian girl"

On the other hand, the mađarica cake does not have its town of origin but is widely-know in the whole of Croatia as an unavoidable festive and Christmas dessert. As TasteAtlas writes, "although not much is known about its origin or etymology, mađarica is believed to be an original Croatian dessert that was modeled on traditional Hungarian layered cakes," which explains her name meaning "Hungarian girl".

"The layers are coated in a velvety, chocolate-infused cream, and the whole cake is finished with a dark chocolate glaze," reads the description of mađarica on TasteAtlas.

Over 300 different recipes for mađarica can be found on various internet portals, and some believe that mađarica is the Croatian variant of the Hungarian cake called dobos torte, which is ranked 40th on this list, only one place ahead of mađarica.

Croatian cake mađarica / Screenshot YouTube, Domaći recepti

Also, the same as with the mađarica and dobos torte cake, the name, appearance, and origin of samoborska kremšnita are irresistibly reminiscent of the Austrian cake cremeschnitte, which took a high third place on this list, and which had a great influence on the creation of the Samobor version. The title of the world's most popular cake went to the Australian and New Zealand's Pavlova cake, followed by the Japanese Kasutera cake which took second place.

Although these two Croatian cakes have undoubtedly arisen under the influence of the above mentioned neighboring Austrian and Hungarian cakes, by making it to this list, they proved their competence to be in the company of world-famous desserts.

ZAGREB, November 15, 2020 - Of 8,175 tests conducted for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, 29% of them, that is 2,365 have returned positive, Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Sunday.

There have been 43 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of the fatalities to 1,049.

Currently, 1,710 patients are receiving hospital treatment, and of them, 194 are placed on ventilators. There are now 16,929 active cases. 

In the last 24 hours, 2,483 people have recovered from this disease.

Since February 25, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 84,209 people have been infected with the novel virus, and 66,231 have recovered.

To date, Croatia has conducted 619,532 tests for coronavirus.

Currently, 38,824 people are self-isolating.

November 15, 2020 - On Saturday night, Roberto Soldic made his debut in the middle category of KSW and achieved the 18th victory in his 21st professional fight by a knockout in the first round against Polish veteran Michal Materla.

Index.hr reports that the Croatian fighter seemed to feel remorse after beating the local legend. In the ring after the victory, he said that he would not celebrate and that he had great respect for his opponent, which he repeated in an interview for inthecage.pl.

"I did not celebrate after the victory, I respect him very much, and I thank him for allowing me to fight against the great local legend," said Soldic.

"I feel strong, I didn't have to lose a lot of weight, I had more fitness and I hit more, like in training. I believe in my hands, fitness, team, and sponsors. This is my life, I'm moving on, regardless of victories or defeats, I will always fight," the 25-year-old from Vitez continued.

The journalist asked him why he did not finish the fight on the ground when he had the opportunity and when Materla invited him to do so. Soldic preferred to wait for the Pole to get up before finishing him off standing up.

"I wasn't afraid, but why would I grapple when I could finish him standing up? I didn't want to get into that situation. I'm a complete MMA fighter; I'm not afraid of jiujitsu or wrestling," Roberto 'Robocop' explained, then spoke about his plans, considering that he is still the current champion of KSW in welterweight. With this victory, he showed that he really has a place in the upper, middle category.

"I may return to the lower category to defend the title, but we will see what the future holds. I need to talk to my manager and team. I will rest a bit, but I have training again from Monday," said Soldic and thanked Materla in Polish and said he was a real fighter.

Ivan Erslan also competed for the KSW 56 title fight, though he was unlucky against Tomasz Narkun. However, Filip Pejic made sure that the Croatian team did not take home just one victory. It took Pejic just 12 seconds to win against Sebastian Rajewski at the KSW 56 event.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

November the 15th, 2020 - As the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to cause enormous issues for travel and tourism, several Croatian hotels have turned to ''hotel office'' offers. Two popular hotels here in the capital, Westin and the Sheraton Zagreb, have decided to dip their toes in such an offer.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, through active participation in the global programme of the world's largest hotel group, Marriott International, under whose brands the Westin and the Sheraton Zagreb operate, HUP Zagreb's hotels have joined the growing trend of supplying ''hotel offices''. Specifically, Westin and the Sheraton Zagreb offer two options, Stay Pass and Day Pass, as part of Marriott's "work anywhere" programme, as has been found out from HUP Zagreb.

The Stay Pass programme includes bed and breakfast in one of the rooms or suites, early check-in (06:00) and late check-out (18:00), free access to a small meeting room, a welcome coffee, tea or fresh organic juice, a private workspace (desk and chair), enhanced Wi-Fi and connectivity, as well as credit for consumption in restaurants and bars. Under this programme, guests also have free access to the pool, spa and fitness centre at the Westin.

Both of these Zagreb hotels also offer a Day Pass programme, they also offer packages which will cover several days, with free parking, use of the hotel's business centre, lunch and refreshing healthy juices and snacks throughout the day to boost immunity. The total price of the Day Pass package is HRK 560 for 1 day, HRK 1,400 for a three-day service and HRK 2,600 for a seven-day service, with the proviso that the Day Pass which covers several days doesn't need to be used continuously.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

November the 15th, 2020 - The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has taken the world by storm and thrown proverbial spanners in the works of almost every possible investment and business move imaginable. Despite the endless hardships posed by the spread of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, not everything has been forced to grind to a sudden halt. The Zagreb Tesla store opening has still gone ahead.

As Novac/Bernard Ivezic writes, if you're feeling flush, you can now purchase Elon Musk's electric cars right here in Croatia, the country of Nikola Tesla's birth. Tesla Motors has now opened its first store in Zagreb's Avenue Mall. The company also published a telephone number for roadside assistance for drivers in Croatia, as well as vehicle prices expressed in kuna. They offer Tesla Model 3, X and S, which range from the starting price for the Model 3 from 327,490 kuna to the most luxurious model S whose price reaches an eye-watering 1,057,490 kuna.

Tesla announced the Zagreb Tesla store opening for the first quarter of this year, and two months ago it published an advertisement in which it was looking for two full-time employees for the Zagreb office, more specifically a Sales & Delivery Manager and a Tesla Advisor.

One year ago, Musk announced on Twitter that he would open offices in Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia and most other Eastern European countries during the first half of 2020, when it could not yet be sensed that a pandemic was brewing. He emphasised Croatia and Serbia in particular, adding: "Finally, we can make Nikola Tesla proud to have his cars in his countries of origin."

Tesla's entry into Croatia could have a significant impact on the sale of its electric cars here on the Croatian market. Customers have so far been reluctant to choose Tesla precisely because they didn't have any local support for their vehicles, which is an especially sensitive issue when it comes to electric cars due to service and charging stations. Tesla's nearest sales office has so far been in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.