As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of August, 2019, for the Municipality of Klis, the former seat of the Croatian kings just above Split, the past year has been one of the most successful ones since its inception.
Thanks to the rise of tourism in the area, a series of completed infrastructural interventions and the start of new ones, as well as the beginning of some brand new projects have been being realised in this small municipality above Split with just over 5000 inhabitants in 14 settlements, and an extremely costly project is being implemented today.
The Klis Municipality is recognised for its pro-natal policy, due to which Klis is being chosen by more and more young families with children. Of the only 58 cities and municipalities in Croatia that have a positive natural increase, Klis is one of them for the second year in a row.
In order to continue this positive demographic trend, Klis is investing a range of resources directly into demographic measures. One of them was announced to help young families buy land for the construction of a family home on very favourable terms. Klis will thus be the first municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County to introduce such a measure.
With the allocation of over 3.5 million kuna, pre-school and school education for more than 500 children has been funded, and with 300 thousand kuna provided for student and student scholarships, the Municipality of Klis is further assisting 65 pupils and students. For the past two years, workbooks have been funded for all elementary students, while textbooks are provided by Split-Dalmatia County.
By the beginning of the next preschool year, Klis will receive its first nursery. The value of the project stands at 400 thousand kuna, and by the beginning of the new school year, the elementary school in Prugovo will also be renovated. The abandoned sports ground in Brocanac has already been renovated with 200,000 kuna, while the Municipality of Klis, in cooperation with the Soline Red Cross, has also arranged and equipped a children's playground at the same location.
As a further step in stimulating parenting, the Municipality of Klis also plans to introduce a parental educator institute. This is an added benefit that unemployed parents with four or more minor children who do not attend kindergarten will be able to receive.
In recent years, Klis has seen great results owing to tourism, the development of which is mostly tied to the Klis Fortress, a cultural and historical monument of inestimable value, which has gained worldwide glory thanks to HBO's "Game of Thrones" series.
Last year's record of 70,000 visitors and revenues of just over 3 million kuna have already been surpassed this year. With an already generated 5 million kuna in revenue, it is expected that over 100,000 tourists will visit the fort by the end of the season.
Currently, the fortress is undergoing the final works on the installation of special lighting, a project worth 2.8 million kuna, and the appearance of the fortification complex will be enhanced after the reconstruction of the two devastated buildings within the fort and the installation of a summer stage or 3D mapping theatre. The total value of the aforementioned works is 5.5 million kuna.
Back at the end of May, at the foot of the fortress, a new interpretation centre, a project worth 1 million kuna in total, was opened, offering innovative simulations of the long and rich history of Klis to its visitors, as well as an overview of the entire Klis tourist offer through innovative 3D technology. In the near future, a souvenir shop will be opened in the very centre of the town, which will, among other things, offer authentic products from local OPGs.
One of the most significant projects for Klis is the construction of a sewage system and the water supply reconstruction in the wider Klis area. Besides that, the construction of the Vučevica tunnel, one of the most important projects for the future of the municipality, which is planned in cooperation with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure and Split-Dalmatia County, will create the preconditions for the revitalisation of the Dalmatian hinterland (zagora).
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