ZAGREB, 16 March 2022 - A temporary injunction prohibiting the use and departure of three yachts from Croatian ports has been issued on suspicion that they are connected with persons on the sanctions list released after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Croatia's Sea Transport and Infrastructure Ministry stated on Wednesday.

The yachts are moored in the marina of Betina, the ACI marina in Skradin, and the port of Rijeka.

The injunction is in compliance with the restrictions adopted by the European Union in response to the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and extended to include certain individuals.

Politics: For more, check out our politics section.

October 28, 2021 – A Falkuša gajeta from Komiža on Vis island and a Betina gajeta from Murter are shown in a competition-winning Croatian photograph which will now become an official European Union postcard

If you're reading this, chances are you already know Croatia is very often 'postcard-pretty.' Well, it seems you're not the only one to think so.

One Croatian photographer's work has won over judges in a competition to find an official European Union postcard. The photograph (main picture), taken by Hina journalist Andrina Luić shows two sailing boats – a Falkuša gajeta and a Betina gajeta. Both are traditional wooden ships commonly seen in Croatian waters. In the background, the Betina gajeta is instantly recognizable as Croatian because its sail carries a red and white checkerboard pattern.

European Union postcard competition

© Dani u Vali

The 'Greetings from the Islands' photo competition was published in September by the European Commission's Clean Energy for EU Islands Secretariat (here). Andrina, who is from Lukoran on Ugljan island, took her winning photo two years ago in Stari Grad on the island of Hvar. The sailboats were snapped during the festival of ships, sea and sailors 'Days in Vala' (here). The event is organized by Cronaves of Split, of which Andrina is a member. They are a society with an aim to promote Croatian maritime heritage.

Andrina's photograph will now help promote Croatian maritime heritage all across the continent. Thousands will see the traditional wooden ships and their sails when the image is made into an official European Union postcard. The picture triumphed above other island photo entries from Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal and elsewhere in Croatia. The evaluation criteria were originality, creativity, overall artistic impression and composition, and visual appeal. Each competitor was only allowed to enter one photo into the competition. It would seem that Andrina - who has been taking photographs for many years - made exactly the right choice.

Falkuša gajeta from Komiža on Vis island and Betina gajeta from island Murter

Traditional gajeta ships from Betina in a regatta around island Murter © Neven Jović

A Falkuša gajeta is a thinner and faster version of the Murter-style gajeta. Falkuša boats have been used for fishing in the area of islands Vis and Korčula since at least the 16th century. They were adapted to the needs of fishermen from Komiža on Vis island, who would regularly travel far out into the open sea - as far west as the Palagruža archipelago - to chase their catch.

The template of these boat designs was taken to Betina on Murter island by Korčula shipbuilder Paško Filippi in the first half of the 18th century. There he founded a shipyard and began building his boats, adapting them to the slightly different climate and the very different needs of the locals.

The people of Murter and its surroundings needed a boat as much for transportation of goods as they did for fishing. Therefore, the Betina gajeta was made stronger, wider, bigger and more load-bearing, with a deck at the bow and stern. They were commonly used to transport goods between Murter and estates on the Kornati islands.

You can today visit an award-winning museum (here) dedicated to the history of this wooden boat building in Betina, island Murter. Or, if you can't make it there any time soon, you can now make do with one of Andrina's postcards until you can.

March 26, 2020 - Murter and Betina are under quarantine as of yesterday.

Sibenik.in reports that the measure was passed because 8 of the 15 coronavirus cases in the area were recorded there. Mayor of Murter-Kornati Municipality Toni Turcinov described what life is like there today. 

“We have made several decisions to declare war against the coronavirus. The locals will be able to go out on the street, briefly, once a week, maybe twice, we are still deciding. Three shops are working, but since there are a lot of people who do not live there, they will also organize shifts. If necessary, we will release trucks with goods, and we have also raised three civil protection teams, one of which is tasked with taking medicines and other supplies in Lovisce, where there is a police blockade, as needed,” Turcinov said.

What the people of Murter were most concerned about yesterday is gasoline, because the gas station will no longer work.

What Turcinov is most looking forward to is the triage ambulance he has been seeking from the state for several days.

“The ambulance arrived and we located it near the church and kindergarten on a large plateau. They just plugged it in. We also have a team that looks after the elderly. We finally have everything we need and I have to commend all the locals for strictly adhering to the rules. The people of Murter have always been great fighters when needed, and so we will the fight against the coronavirus,” said the Murter Chief, noting that he is available by phone 24 hours a day.

In the neighboring Betina, which belongs to the Municipality of Tisno, all the shops are open, and the communal security officer Silivo Tomas is in charge of all the elderly and those who need any help.

As Chief Ivan Klarin said, there is no restriction on leaving homes in Betina, although the recommendation is to stay inside and only to go outside if urgent.

"We have put in place all measures that apply in the event of a quarantine," Klarin says.

Out of a total of 15 coronavirus cases in the area, eight are from the island of Murter, where 67 people are currently in self-isolation.

Follow our live updates on the coronavirus crisis.

On Saturday, June 8th, the outdoor exhibition of the Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding was opened. The exhibits of the museum presented to the public in the natural outside ambience testify the highest quality of the traditional wooden shipbuilding, as well as the methods of maintaining, the multiple uses that were designed for the ships, the sailing and the traditional materials. The newly designed outdoors exhibition of the Betina Shipbuilding Museum complements the permanent exhibition of the museum, by placing the objects into their original context. That allows the Betina-made gajeta, leut, pasara and many other boats located at the local port to be interpreted correctly, within their natural environment. 

The museum keeps and saves the knowledge and the tradition of the wooden shipbuilding which has always been (and remains) a part of the great Croatian maritime heritage. That heritage is an important part of the European culture of shipbuilding and living by and of the sea.

Croatian culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek opened the outdoor exhibition in Betina and said in her opening remarks that all of the successes of the museum can be attributed to those who work hard now to maintain and promote the craft (art?) of shipbuilding as a non-material cultural heritage. She added that the shipbuilders, as well as other woodworkers of the past, are equally as meritorious for that success, as they've never stopped transferring that knowledge and skills to the younger generations, up until today. The Minister added that the most worthy non-material worth to be accounted for is the strong bond of the local community with the shipbuilders and the shipowners. That bond is attested to by the name of the path between the port and the museum building itself, which has been called the "Shipbuilders' Path".

The museum can take pride of many accomplishments and awards it has won during the four years it's been open, including the latest one by the European Heritage/Europa Nostra award for Education Training and Awareness-raising, won recently.

The opening of the outdoor exhibition of the museum was held during the International 25th Forum of Mediterranean Maritime Heritage, organized by the Association of Mediterranean Maritime Museums (AMMM) in Betina Shipbuilding Museum this June.

The European Commission and Europa Nostra, the leading European heritage organization, announced this year's winners of the European Heritage Award/Europa Nostra Awards, the most prestigious European awards in this area, funded by the Creative Europe program, reports HRTurizam on May 21, 2019. 

An independent jury of heritage experts from across Europe examined a total of 149 applications filed by organizations and individuals from 34 European countries and selected the winners. Amongst this year's winners in the Education, Training and Awareness-raising category, is the outstanding Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding.

The museum keeps its knowledge of traditional wooden shipbuilding, which is an indispensable part of the Croatian maritime heritage and thus an important part of European maritime cultural heritage.

Among some of the dedicated individuals and positive initiatives of European heritage awarded in 2019 are: the conservation of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud in Turin, a unique place of religious heritage destroyed in the 1997 fire which is now reopened to the public; the development of a digital archive of Roma, an internationally accessible space that makes Roma culture and history visible, and responds to the usual stereotypes and stories of the unexplored history that the Roma have told themselves; the commitment of one of the oldest non-governmental organizations in Europe that has been committed to heritage protection in Norway for more than 175 years; and a training program for displaced heritage experts from Syria, run by the German Institute in Istanbul, which serves as a powerful example for the countries of Europe, but also wider. You can find the full list here. 

Thee Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding is located in a protected cultural and historical building in Betina in the very center of town, in a building which has its own cultural, historical, and architectural importance. Betina is a small town of typical Dalmatian architecture, with around 800 inhabitants, mainly engaged in tourism, agriculture, fisheries, trades, and crafts.

“The town of Betina, on the island of Murter, is one of the few places along the Dalmatian Coast where the art of wooden shipbuilding has survived. It is known for its Gajeta, a sleek boat equipped with a lateen sail that has an important role in the daily life of the local community in Betina. In 2011, fearing the disappearance of a practice that has been so central in the culture of Betina for the past 300 years, the local community took action and formed the Betina Gajeta 1740 association. The association’s endeavors resulted in the foundation of the Betina Museum for Wooden Shipbuilding in 2015, an institution dedicated to the maritime heritage of the region. The Municipality of Tisno, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Regional Development and the Ministry of Culture have each provided financial support to the Museum,” writes Europa Nostra in their description about the award winner. 

The highlight of Betina shipbuilders can be summarized with the Gajeta, a wooden ship of 5 to 8 meters long and 2 to 2.6 meters wide, with a sail as the main propulsion. The craftsmanship of this wooden boat was recognized by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia and incorporated into the Register of Cultural Property of the Republic of Croatia as an intangible cultural heritage.

"The museum collection is a witness of the community’s generosity and passion for this topic. Many of the collected pieces have been donated and many of the Museum’s texts and video material feature locals who gladly shared their stories and experience. The Betina Museum is, however, much more than a displayed collection. The museum staff organizes and participates in folklore demonstrations, sailing and rowing regattas, workshops, lectures, and many other cultural events to keep the shipbuilding tradition alive," Europa Nostra continued on their website. 

“The project reinforces the central notion of the sea as a vital component of European heritage and reinforces community links with it. It also highlights the centrality of all aspects of maritime culture in daily life in the region,” the Europa Nostra jury stated. 

“The project also has a strong entrepreneurial element that realizes the economic potential of local inherited shipbuilding traditions, in response to unsustainable global trends in ship construction,” the jury concluded. 

Bravo to the Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding on this incredible honor! 

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

As the tourist season approaches in Dalmatia, the compass jellyfish makes an appearance.

As Morski writes on the 14th of May, 2019, potentially harmful compass jellyfish (Chrysaora hysoscella) have made an appearance in the sea near Betina, experts warn that if one sees this jellyfish they should give it a very wide berth and make no attempt whatsoever to go near it or touch it as a sting from this animal is very painful.

Chrysaora hysoscella, known as the compass jellyfish, is a species that typically lives in the coastal waters of the Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean sea, often appearing along the coast of the United Kingdom, especially in the North sea, Ireland, and as far south as Turkey. It is characterised by a yellow-brown ''cap'' that resembles a compass and it can grow to up to thirty centimetres in diameter, with tentacles reaching up to one metre long. The compass jellyfish has 24 tentacles that are divided into three groups of eight, as was described by the Centre for Invasive Species, which reported that the same had jellyfish appeared near Poreč in Istria last summer.

Although during spring compass jellyfish may occur in slightly larger numbers, a small number of individuals reach sexual maturity and continue to survive until the summer. This type of compass jellyfish belongs to a group of jellyfish which possess their cnidocite on their tentacles and thus, if one comes into contact with it, it can cause painful burns and marks on the skin. 

Compass jellyfish tend to appear in cycles but not each and every year, and their lifespan is one year. They feed on zooplankton, and the natural enemies are sea turtles and the Ocean sunfish (Mola Mola) - a large fish that feeds on them.

The aforementioned centre advises that if you do come across and come into accidental contact with a compass jellyfish while swimming, then you need to cool the burned area with aloe vera or a similar gel which soothes burns.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

Early September brings a celebration of the big screen to Betina.

How much do you know about the oldest sports organization on Murter? 

May 14, 2018 - Splendid news from Murter island: the Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding in Betina town now has a major award to boast!

Our cultural highlight of the week takes us to Šibenik