ZAGREB, Nov 8, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 2,543 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 42 related deaths, and this is the second day in a row that a record number of single-day fatalities was reported, the national COVID-19 response team said on Sunday.

The number of active cases in Croatia today stands at 15,678, including 1,396 COVID patients in hospitals and 145 on ventilators.

Since the start of the epidemic, a total of 67,247 people have contracted the novel coronavirus, 794 of them have died, and 50,775 have recovered, including 2,365 in the last 24 hours.

Currently, 31,427 people are self-isolating.

To date, 559,016 people have been tested for coronavirus, including 8,787 over the past 24 hours.

November 8, 2020 - In its first appearance in the EHF Cup in Osijek, the Croatia men's handball team defeated Hungary 31-27 (17-13).

Since the World Handball Championship will be held in Egypt from January 13 to 31, 2021, these matches serve as good preparation for the big competition ahead.

It was the first game for the Croatian 'Cowboys' in nine months when they won silver at the European Championships in Sweden. Coach Lino Cervar could not count on about 10 standard national team members due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite that, Croatia led throughout the match, and with a 5-1 series at the end of the first half, they turned an 8-9 deficit into a 13-10 advantage and went into halftime with 17-13. Still, Hungary opened the second half better and leveled the score at 18-18, but did not take the lead. In the last 10 minutes, Croatia led 25-24, and goalkeeper Sego stood out with three stellar saves, one of which was off a seven-meter shot. Croatia then managed to lead 28-25.

Manuel Strlek and Ivan Martinovic scored six goals each for Croatia, Domagoj Duvnjak added five goals, while the most efficient for Hungary was Richard Bodo with six goals.

After the great victory against Hungary, coach Lino Cervar commented on the match.

“After 10 months, the players showed a connection to the national team jersey. They came from all over Europe to play, risking getting sick, so hats off to our national team, the players who came here. I am also satisfied with the victory; of course, it is a victorious path that we continue from Stockholm. The players prepared differently since there were breaks. Therefore, such a situation was more for us to endure in such difficult conditions and without spectators, which I am upset about. What should be pointed out today is that they showed a desire to win."

With this victory, Croatia took the lead in the EHF Cup with two points from one match. Hungary, which played two matches, has the same number of points, while Slovakia, who did not play a single match, and Spain, who played one, have no points.

Croatia should play the next game in the EHF Cup on January 6 against Spain away, and only three days later, they should host the same opponent at home.

Source: Gol.hr

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

November 8, 2020 - An interesting historical document was recently published by the mayor of Ploče, Mišo Krstičević, giving insight into the youngest Croatian town. 

Morski.hr reports that although Ploče is the youngest town in Croatia, it matured primarily for its port and then military significance, and its oldest mention dates back to the 14th century.

Ploče was first mentioned in 1387 in a document kept in the Historical Archives in Dubrovnik. The document states that on November 6, 1387, Matej, son of Maroja Pripičeva from the island of Koločep concluded a contract with Milča from Novi Brdo according to which Matej should arrive with his ship from Dubrovnik to the port of Ploče, at the mouth of the Neretva (ad quedum locum dictum la Ploca que est in fluminis Narenti) to load about 600 small cattle and shackles and a small amount of wood. The historical archive also preserves a document from 1426 in which Ploče is mentioned by the Council of Intercessors of the Republic of Dubrovnik.

Ploče has a history of changing its name. First, during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the name was changed to Aleksandrovo, after King Aleksandar I. Karađorđević, which lasted until the Second World War, and the Italian occupation, when Aleksandrovo became Porto Tolero (Italian port for transshipment, to load raw materials from Bosnia to Italy).

At the end of the war in 1945, the original name, Ploča, was restored. From 1950 to 1954, and from 1980 to 1990, the town was named Kardeljevo after a Yugoslav politician, Slovene Edvard Kardelj. In the meantime, from 1954 to 1980, the name Ploče was introduced for the first time, i.e., the plural of the original name, which dates back to the beginnings of the independence of the Republic of Croatia, on November 22, 1990.

Today, Ploče is a small modern port town at the mouth of the Neretva in Dalmatia in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. A little more than 6500 people live in Ploče, and the wider area, about 11000 inhabitants. The area of the city also includes the settlements Baćina, Banja, Komin, Ploče (Stablina, Birina and the inner city area), Peračko Blato, Plina Jezero, Rogotin, Staševica, and Šarić Struga.

The backbone of Ploče's economy is the cargo seaport, which, after Rijeka, is the second-largest transshipment in the Republic of Croatia.

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

November 8, 2020 - Great news for the Croatian boxing world, as Filip Hrgovic books his 12th career victory!

Filip Hrgovic reached his 12th victory after defeating Rydell Booker with a technical knockout in Florida on Saturday evening. Booker entered the ring with 112.4 kilograms, 2.4 more than Hrgovic, but that couldn't help him much in the end. 

In the first round, Hrgovic proved just how much better he was, though he didn't fully show his dominance over the American boxer until the second round when the judge had to count Booker twice.

His domination continued in the third round, but Booker held his own and showed why no one ever beat him by knocking him down. The best Croatian boxer continued with relentless attacks, and the judge decided that it was enough only in the fifth round. Booker could no longer defend himself and received so many heavy blows that the judge decided to stop the fight for his health.

"Thanks to Booker for accepting the fight. He's a great warrior; he had a hard life. I had a good fight; a lot of tough plays, the referee made the right decision. I thought I would knock him out sooner, but I did a good job. Next, I want to fight the best in the division. Let's go, people, sign the contract, it's not that hard. I am impatient, I feel good, and I want a hard fight. Boxers mostly talk via Instagram and don’t want to fight El Animal. I need big names. Michael Hunter, Daniel Dubois, Povetkin, Dillian Whyte, Chisora, I want them all," Hrgovic said after the fight.

This was Hrgovic's 12th fight in his career and 12th win.

Hrgovic was weighed in on Friday before the fight with 110 kilograms, 2.4 kilograms less than his opponent.

"I didn't come here to be Booker's friend; I intend to finish him. You'll see a great fight tomorrow before the knockout because I need to box him. I'm not just going to knock him out; I'm going to show my boxing skills," he said before the fight.

Source: Index.hr

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

ZAGREB, November 7, 2020 - A section of the second floor of Zagreb's Dubrava Clinical Hospital where no patients are accommodated was left without electricity for about an hour and a half of Saturday after the switch cabinet was believed to have been damaged on purpose, the hospital's acting director Ivica Luksic said, adding that the police have been informed.

"This is no accident, because smashing the cabinet door and heavily damaging the massive electric switch requires intent, time and some heavy-duty tools. In short, this can be considered intentional damage, and I hope the police will establish the facts and identify those responsible," Luksic said in a statement.

Luksic said that security had been stepped up following a similar power outage at the hospital on November 1. He said he had informed Health Minister Vili Beros and the chairman of the hospital's governing board and state secretary at the Health Ministry, Silvio Basic, of the latest incident.

November 7, 2020 – Protected by UNESCO, the unmistakable Slavonian folk song style will get deserved attention at the new Museum of Becarac in Pleternica.

There are lots of pretty little towns in Slavonia like Pleternica. The average outsider often has no way of distinguishing between them. But, Pleternica is determined to stand out. In a smart and considered move, they've decided to become synonymous with a UNESCO-protected element of Slavonian and Croatian culture - Bećarac.

Last year, Bećarac Square was opened in Pleternica. Soon, the town will become home to another symbol of heritage preservation – the Museum of Becarac. The Museum of Becarac will be located right next to Bećarac Square in the center of the town.

Bećarac is a traditional and humorous type of folk song originally from Slavonia. It has an unmistakable sound. It is characterised by a rhyming, call-and-response type of delivery and is performed acapella or accompanied by the traditional Slavonian folk music style of tamburitza. The melody of Bećaraci remains constant, only the song words differ as it continues or is again performed. In this way, Bećarac is more akin to the traditional storytelling aspect of folk music than it is an individual song.

The first verse is sung by the choir leader and forms a logical thesis; it is repeated by the choir of gathered men. The second verse is a humorous antithesis, also repeated by the choir (but often broken by laughter). Bećarci is usually performed at the peak of a party as a drinking song after the crowd is sufficiently warmed up by wine and music. A series of bećarci can last indefinitely. Their words are often made up spontaneously. The creator of the lines of lyrics can draw on many different sources of inspiration - recent happenings, local stories, reputations, past songs and much more. The style is embraced by almost every band who you will ever hear play tamburitza music - young, old, traditional, or modern. Thus, the subject matter and language used can vary greatly, as does the appeal of the humour and the lyrics. If a writer creates a popular motif, it can be remembered, repeated and even replied to at later instances. It may travel outside of its source of origin in the same way traditional folk music always has. 



Bećarac was declared an intangible part of cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The name bećarac comes from the word bećar, meaning reveller, and the word is often used to describe young Slavonian bachelors.

Museum of Becarac to present Slavonian heritage in a modern way

As Požeški vodič reports, the Museum of Becarac project was presented at the beginning of 2020. The 1400 square meters that the Museum of Becarac will occupy has already been designated during the construction of Bećarac Square.

Below the stands of the square, it is planned to house a souvenir shop and a cafe. The Museum of Becarac itself will be built on two floors. The first is already visible when you walk through the passage under the stands. The larger part of the museum will be located underground, in the basement space. The museum is expected to open at the end of 2021.

Bećarac Square in the center of Pleternica, under whose stands the Museum of Bećarac will be located, is designed as a reminiscence of golden Slavonian fields and sunny hills / D. Fabijanić, The City of Pleternica

"The Museum of Bećarac will be a presentation of heritage with all modern techniques: music, video, and visual recordings, and at some point, you will even have the feeling that you are running through wheat fields," said Antonija Jozić, the Mayor of Pleternica.

Apart from Slavonia, the Croatian regions of Baranja and Srijem are also home to bećarac, and it belongs to them equally. Furthermore, it is also performed in parts of southern Hungary and Vojvodina. It is a part of traditional culture throughout much of the Pannonian Basin. Like its UNESCO protection, its continued performances seek to preserve a special Slavonian tradition. This dedicated museum will also contribute to doing just that.

"Folk costumes and other objects will be exhibited in the museum, too, because it is very important, but we will use other methods to contextualize these objects. First of all, this is not a museum of folk costumes, but a museum of folk song bećarac. And it is performed. So we have to figure out how bećarac will be in focus all the time, but then we will, of course, talk about other anthropological, ethnographic, and historical phenomena related to bećarac," explained Dragana Lucija Ratković Aydemir, founder and director of Muza company which participated in the presentation of the museum project on January 13, 2020.

The Museum of Bećarac is part of a large project called "Svijet graševine" (The world of graševina), which is being carried out by the City of Pakrac, with the City of Pleternica as one of the partners. Out of the total 65.7 million kuna of the project, 30 million kuna is intended for the Museum of Bećarac, while the rest is intended for the City of Pakrac's "Spahijski podrum" project and branding.

The rich city cultural treasury

The Museum of Bećarac is designed as an extension of the tourist offer of the small Slavonian town. Pleternica has about 11,000 inhabitants, but every year, one event attracts as many as 100,000 pilgrims there. It is the Novena of Our Lady of Tears, whose sanctuary is located in the heart of Pleternica and for which the city of Pleternica is otherwise known. It is held every year from 23 to 31 August.

The June Days of Amateur Creativity called LIDAS are also important for Pleternica, during which the splendor of the cultural treasury of this region is presented. The children's tamburitza festival "Cvjetići glazbe" (Flowers of Music) is held on those days and is the only one of its kind in Croatia. Due to the parish church of Sv. Nicholas, who is the patron saint of the city, Pleternica City Day is celebrated each year on December 6th.

Pleternica has been looking for a "trigger" for a long time to help them attract even more tourists, and they finally recognized it in bećarac.

"Many years ago, at the suggestion of one of my fellow citizens, we protected the name of the Museum of Bećarac at the Intellectual Property Office because we felt that it could be a good story that would bring tourists to Pleternica. As European funds were available to us, we developed the project and, now we are in the phase of completing equipping the museum. I believe that from the end of next year we will be able to count the tourists who will come to Pleternica," the mayor Jozić told Večernji list.

An interpretation center rather than a museum

The museum currently produces all video and audio materials, applications, art installations, and procures all exhibits, and to consistently convey the spirit of Slavonian tradition to visitors, preparations by museologists, experts, and ethnologists are indispensable.

"The museum we are working on is not a classic museum, it is more of an interpretation center, that is, a visitor center. We will show all tourists who come what bećarac is and what Slavonian life is. And then, of course, when they visit the museum, we hope that they will visit all our other beauties, from wine roads and cellars to family farms," says Antonija Jozić.

November 7, 2020 - The Croatian sixth-grade textbook Šestica, published by Profil Klett, was named the best textbook in Europe at the BELMA - Best European Learning Materials Award international competition.

T.portal reports that the group of Croatian teachers won first place and the prestigious BELMA award for the high quality of materials that promote reading in the digital age.

The publisher emphasizes that the authors of the textbook set are responsible for this success - Croatian language teachers with many years of experience teaching students: Diana Greblički-Miculinić, Lidija Sykora-Nagy, Dejana Tavas, and Krunoslav Matošević, Ela Družijanić Hajdarević, Zrinka Romić, Nataša Jurić Stanković.

An award-winning teacher and author Diana Greblički-Miculinić pointed out that they wanted to create a modern textbook whose quality invites reading, brings literature closer to students and opens worlds, and expressed satisfaction that the BELMA jury recognized this.

The three-member jury, made up of international education experts, highlighted the quality of the material, which is ideal for promoting a love of reading in the digital age.

In addition to this segment, it was emphasized that Croatian literature is clearly positioned concerning world literature. The jury also provided some useful tips and suggestions for improving future materials such as adding assignments for pair or group work, discussions, and creative projects.

Director of Profil Klett Dalibor Greganić pointed out that at a time when public opinion is increasingly influenced by false information, and trivialization of content and pseudo-science has an increasing influence, Profil Klett sees itself as an ally to teachers in the fight for knowledge and considers it its role in society.

"Knowledge has never been more valuable in a world of rapid change and insecurity caused by the pandemic. I am proud of the entire team and the teachers who worked on the award-winning ‘Šestica.’ We have shown that Croatian teachers can succeed in Europe. I am sure that the textbook will help many teachers throughout Croatia teach our students," said Greganić.

An extended team of Croatian experts also took part in the production of the award-winning textbook. Marina Hrupec (Studio 2M) is responsible for the graphic design, while Dragan Kordić did the illustrations.

Digital educational content was created within the IZZI digital platform, and the awarded authors are Dejan Varga, Majda Čolak, Hana Tepeš, and Andrijana Mihaljević. Klara Šarčević and Diana Greblički-Miculinić edited the textbook.

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

ZAGREB, November 7, 2020 - In 2019, there were 24,592 enterprise births in Croatia, the data on enterprise deaths are still not known, while survival rates was at the levels registered in the previous years, show the temporary data provided by the national statistical office (DZS).

The business demography for Croatia show that the enterprises, that were set up in 2019, employed 41,212 people. The ratio of the newborn enterprises to employees show that they had 1.7 workers on average.

Broken down by business activity, the largest share of newborn enterprises, 4,119, were from the expert, scientific and technical activities. There were 3,171 newborn enterprises in the construction and 2,913 in commerce.

In 2018, there were 16,667 business births and 12,160 business deaths.

An enterprise death is defined as a business that was on the active registered enterprise
dataset in a reference year, but was no longer present in the dataset in the two following reference years.

The temporary data show that survivals of the companies in the years since their establishment were similar as in the previous periods. Thus, in 2018, one-year survival rate was 85%, and in 2017 this was around 89%, while in 2016, it stood at 85%.

The data on the survival in the following four years since the enterprise birth show that of the companies, born in 2015, 57% were active in 2019.

When it comes to the five-year survival rates, of the companies, set up in 2014, 56% of them were still active in 2019.

The DZS statistics show that in 2019, as many as 209,317 enterprises were active and they employed 1.23 million workers.

The highest share of hired workers, 272,521, were in the processing industry, and 244,029 were employed in construction businesses, while 121,049 were in hospitality services businesses.