August the 15th, 2022 - Sveti Jeronim is now taking to the sparkling and currently tourist-filled waters of Split-Dalmatia County, and the vessel is part of an enormous 186 million kuna wider project. Each single kuna of that eye-watering figure spent on the new boat is worth it, however, to keep this part of the Central Dalmatian coastline safe and secure.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the leaders of Split-Dalmatia County's local government unit and the More and Karst public institution recently presented a new vessel, Sveti Jeronim, from the wider project of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development entitled "The development of the framework for the management of the Natura 2000 ecological network".

The aforementioned vessel will sail under the name Sveti Jeronim, and it has exceptional maritime capabilities with the possibility of a sailing length of almost 30 miles. Split-Dalmatia County occupies the largest area of all of the Croatian Adriatic coastline and which welcomes countless tourists from across the world each and ever year.

This part of Central Dalmatia will be served by the new vessel for the supervision and protection of the coast and the many islands which are dotted throughout the territory, but also for the preparation of anchorage studies and for the purpose of protecting the abundance of natural resources of these coastal Croatian areas.

"We managed to get the fastest and best vessel possible, but we should also keep in mind that our maritime area is by far the largest, almost one third of our part of the Croatian Adriatic coast belongs to Split-Dalmatia County," said prefect Blazenko Boban.

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ZAGREB, 21 Jan 2022 - The Split-Dalmatia County emergency medical service on Friday received ten new emergency medical vehicles and ambulances valued at almost HRK 4 million.

During the handover ceremony, County Prefect Blaženko Boban said that the one emergency medical vehicle and nine ambulances were fully financed by the county administration.

Three ambulances will remain in Split while the others will go to Vrgorac, Imotski, Omiš, Makarska Sink, and Kaštel Stari. 

The head of the county emergency medical service, Leo Luetić, said that ambulances are a key working resource and the service conducted about 60,000 runs a year and traveled more than 4 million kilometers.

The ambulances that are going to remain in Split will be used to transport patients to Zagreb, Varaždin, Krapina, and Vela Luka, while the emergency medical vehicle will transport patients to tertiary health institutions, primarily the KBC Hospital in Zagreb, he said.

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ZAGREB, 30 July 2021 - A geographic information system for the maritime domain in Split-Dalmatia County was presented on Friday by county head Blaženko Boban, who called on citizens to report cases of devastation of the maritime domain so that it could be protected as much as possible.

Split-Dalmatia County accounts for one third of the Croatian Adriatic coast, it has the largest number of concessions for the use of the maritime domain and it has invested significant effort to protect it, Boban said, calling for the involvement of all, the state, inspectors and members of the public, in its protection.

The geographic information system enables citizens to report via mobile phone cases of devastation of the maritime domain.

County deputy head Stipe Čogelja said that once all toponyms were entered in the system, it would be possible to check if a concession was being used in line with the law.

"Revenue from concessions in 2020 rose by 120%, and I am almost certain that one of the reasons is full transparency. Until now, information had to be collected personally from different registers but once everything is digitalised, we will have a great tool for the integral planning of processes on the coast," he said.

The head of the county office for tourism and maritime affairs, Matea Dorčić, said that the project covered 52 ports, noting that this was not the first geographic information system but was the first to offer all data and information on the maritime domain and the related concessions in force in the county, as well as applications for concessions that were being processed. 

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February 5, 2021 - Split-Dalmatia County Prefect Blaženko Boban announced that in agreement with local mayors, the competent ministry, the airport administration, and other stakeholders, he would launch an initiative to rename Split Airport.

Famous for saying, "Forgive me, Lord, for I am a Dalmatian," Saint Jerome is the protector of Dalmatia and is honored on Saint Jerome's Day on September 30. Interestingly, according to the oldest and most famous Encyclopedia Britannica, Jerome was born in Stridon, a village near Emona on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia, probably near modern Ljubljana in Slovenia. 

However, as it has yet to be scientifically proven, Split-Dalmatia County Prefect Blaženko Boban doesn't seem to mind, so much that he will launch an initiative to confirm just how much Saint Jerome means to Dalmatia, reports Slobodna Dalmacija. 

"Saint Jerome is our saint, the protector of Dalmatians and Split-Dalmatia County. His birthplace, which has never been scientifically proven, was not the motive for choosing Saint Jerome, whom we have long worshiped in our area, as our heavenly protector. We sincerely hope that the whole world will worship and respect him as we do. May he be the protector of the whole world!"

Boban added:

"In my opinion, the wrong direction is to limit the worship of a saint to the place of birth. For example, Saint Dujam, the patron saint of the city of Split, is worshiped by the people of Split, even though he was not born in this area. Through the generations, numerous families give names to their children in honor of our saints, Dujam and Jerome. There is a wide range of names - Dujam, Duje, Jere, Jeronim, Jerko, Jeronima, Jerka ... And the proof of the veneration of Saint Jerome in our area over the centuries is numerous churches dedicated to this saint."

Therefore, in honor of the heavenly patron of Dalmatia, the Split-Dalmatia County Prefect announced the following important step in branding the favorite Dalmatian saint:

"Our exclusive motive is to worship Saint Jerome. Moreover, we plan, in agreement with the mayors, the competent ministry, the airport administration, and other stakeholders, to launch an initiative to rename our Split Resnik Airport after our heavenly patron, Sveti Jeronim Dalmatinac."

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October 14, 2020 - At the Sanus Association, Split-Dalmatia County Prefect Blaženko Boban welcomed three super marathon cyclists - Tomislav Mrkonjić, Marko Marić, and Miljenko Mrkonjić - on their 1,500-kilometer-long humanitarian "Road to Life" from Frankfurt to Imotski.

 The money raised in this commendable action will be donated, and half of the amount is intended for "Sanus", the club of parents of children suffering from malignant diseases.

As Slobodna Dalmacija reports, Miljenko Mrkonjic, a 26-year-old young man from Zmijavec near Imotski, was born and lives in Germany. As a boy, he contracted lymph node cancer and embarked on a difficult and uncertain battle with a malignant disease with his parents.

 The effort paid off, and family friends and strangers came to the rescue. Ten years later, Miljenko is close to fulfilling his life vow, so he sat on a bicycle with two friends in Frankfurt, and today he arrived in Split. His destination is - Imotski.

"I want and hope to attract people's attention, to involve them as much as possible, and to help this action with my donations. Just one call to my Tomislav was enough and as a real man, he bought a plane ticket, flew to Frankfurt, took a bicycle, and trained with Marko.

In the first days, we collected more than 6000 euros. There will be more and that makes us happy. I want to be a pebble in the mosaic of goodness and contribute to at least help a child and his parent in that fight. Because treating that disease costs both nerves and money. I overcame my malignant disease exactly 10 years ago.

However, a lot of nice things happened to me during that period because I was lucky and had a lot of help from all sides. The money we will collect together will go to the associations "Sanus" in Croatia and "Hilfe für krebskranke Kinder" from Frankfurt.  These two associations are selflessly fighting for a better tomorrow every day and I am very grateful to them for that", said Miljenko Mrkonjic.

Diligent travelers have come close to the finish line, and we can conclude that perseverance pays off and that a good voice is heard far and wide.

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February 17, 2020 - The first tourist guide for Croatia’s underwater cultural heritage has been presented in Split-Dalmatia County. 

HRTurizam reports that "Underwater Heritage of Split-Dalmatia County” is the name of a new tourist guide presented by County prefect Blaženko Boban, Head of the Department of Tourism and Maritime Affairs Stipe Čogelj, and Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board director Josko Stella. The new guide was also presented by archaeologists Saša Denegri and Silva Kukoč, and Tea Katunarić Kirjakov, archeologist and art historian at the Art Academy of the University of Split.

The project, funded by Split-Dalmatia County in the framework of the Call for Proposals for Financing Projects from the Program of Development, Protection and Valorisation of Maritime Heritage in Split-Dalmatia County in 2019, is the first of its kind in Croatia

There are more than 200 underwater archeological sites in the marine area of Split-Dalmatia County, ranging from single isolated finds of small artifacts to preserved shipwrecks carrying amphora loads and wrecks from World War II. The goal of developing a cultural and tourist guide for the underwater heritage of Split-Dalmatia County is to promote underwater archeological sites to get a complete picture of the richness, diversity and importance of the underwater world, and further develop archeological and diving tourism in Split-Dalmatia County.

The new cultural and tourist guide presents 28 underwater sites and three museum collections with underwater archeological finds. The guide is designed in such a way that the waters of Split-Dalmatia County are divided into five geographical areas (the waters of Split and the Bay of Kastela, the waters of Brač island, the waters of Hvar island, the waters of Vis and Palagruza islands), and covers the period from prehistory to World War II. All localities are approximately indicated on maps, and different colors indicate different depths of sites. 

A separate section also features the Battle of Vis as the most significant naval battle on the Adriatic and the three wrecks that participated in the battle as one of the most significant underwater finds in the Adriatic. The guide represents different types of cultural property from all historical periods, covering the entire waters of the county (ancient remains of architecture and shipwrecks, late medieval shipwrecks, and the remains of modern-day wrecks and planes from World War II). In addition to the historical and geographical information, each site has its depth and accessibility for visitors. The guide is available in Croatian and English.

“With the introduction of this guide, we offer something that should be recognizable, especially to the clientele who will not stand for busy roads and terminals, and their financial potential is exceptional. For this purpose, the underwater heritage of our county stands out as an additional value of our tourist offer. Through the guide presented, almost all the localities of our county are listed, with all the directions, depths, and a breakdown of what is allowed at these locations. In addition to tourism, this guide will serve to protect these beautiful sites. I believe that through the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, tourists who want to see these cultural and tourist values in an organized manner can now become acquainted with them. I also thank the authors of the guide, as well as the county services who have done something extremely valuable and of good quality,”  said Boban.

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