September 18, 2020 - By launching e-Services in the City of Supetar, which enables citizens never to receive and send forms and requests to the City Administration, Supetar became the first city on Croatian islands to implement these services, which are a fundamental part of the Smart City Supetar concept.

Dalmacija Danas reports that thanks to the mentioned benefits, citizens can perform numerous administrative processes from their own home without the need to come to the City Administration office.

What is very interesting in this project is that the City of Supetar applies and adapts concepts and technologies related to smart cities to the island environment that has its own characteristics and needs and differs in many ways from the needs of larger cities such as Zagreb and Rijeka.

A special challenge was the need to establish a perfect balance between the technological possibilities that allow us to advance technology daily and the local population's specific needs. It should also be emphasized that the City of Supetar, as a small community, has limited financial and technological opportunities. Still, regardless of all the island's challenges, the digitalization process progresses with big and safe steps.

The decision to develop and implement the Smart City strategy came after thinking about implementing processes in the City Administration as transparently and simply as possible, and how they would be mutually beneficial for both City Administration employees and our fellow citizens. In this situation, it was out of the question to buy ready-made solutions because they are not in line with the needs of the City of Supetar, but to make maximum adaptation to the local community, which automatically meant significantly more time and effort.

In practice, it looked like they had to review all the processes carried out within the City Administration and the relationship of the administration to the citizens, and based on that, create a modern and contemporary city that saves citizens time and maximum facilitation of various administrative processes that have so far required significantly more time.

The Law on Islands, which regulates and defines the management and development of Croatian islands, placed great emphasis on smart cities and islands, which was a great driver and a kind of motive for the City of Supetar to take the initiative and become the first island city in Croatia which has an operational plan for the development of a smart city - Smart City Supetar 2019 - 2023 and already available and launched services within the concept of Smart City Supetar. The operational plan was adopted by the City Council of the City of Supetar in 2019.

Considering the overall strategy of the Operational Plan, two basic goals have been set that the City of Supetar wants to achieve: digitalization of the administration that is currently underway and the introduction of a ferry application to reduce congestion during the summer and for all guests and passengers to have all available information with them.

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July 22, 2020 - The famous Zlatni Rat beach is a trademark of Croatia, and particularly of the island of Brac and the town of Bol.

HRTurizam writes that now, this symbol is the first beach in Croatia, and among the first in Europe, with its very own, bilingual website - www.zlatniratbol.com.

 The extraordinary story of Zlatni Rat is its natural phenomenon where the beach itself changes its shape and position depending on the wind that blows, waves and sea currents, which form the very top of the beach. It is continually evolving. Interestingly, measurements have shown that Zlatni Rat, which is also known as the 'Golden Horn', is growing longer every year.

The website aims to inform guests about the offers on the beach, provide various service information, beach etiquette, as well as real-time weather forecasts, but also the related offer of the destination Bol.

Tourist workers in Bol are currently achieving about 50% of last year's tourist traffic, and they hope to be at about 70% of last year's traffic by the end of July.

Most visitors are from Germany, followed by Slovenes, Czechs, Croats and Austrians.

"Given the situation, we can be satisfied with the arrivals. If there are no major difficulties related to the coronavirus, we hope to achieve about 70% of last year's visits at the end of July. From July 24, in addition to the existing line, we expect the introduction of a second catamaran line directly to Bol. It is important to point out that we adhere to all epidemiological measures to make our guests feel safe and comfortable," said the director of the Bol Tourist Board, Markito Marinkovic.

Twelve daily ferry lines between Split and Supetar and one catamaran line between Split and Bol currently run to Brac, and twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays) Zagreb is connected to Brac by air. At the beginning of August, there are plans to introduce an airline from Frankfurt to Brac, which would be active until October 23, 2029. 

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March 5, 2020 - Welcoming news out of Sutivan on Brac island today as a catamaran line will connect the island town and Split in just 20 minutes this season.

Many have forgotten, and most do not know, that Sutivan was once directly connected to Split by a boat line whose number and type have changed over the years. But after the construction of the new ferry port in Supetar, Sutivan, as well as other coastal towns of Brac, has no direct connection with Split, with the exception of MB Mali Jure, which for several years tried to maintain a connection but ultimately gave up. 

Thus, Dalmacija Danas reports that with the joint efforts of the Municipality of Sutivan, the Municipality of Milna and the company "Krilo Shipping Company", at its 54th session, the Coastal Shipping Agency, gave its consent for a daily commute between Milna - Sutivan - Split and vice versa every day from July 3, 2020, to August 30, 2020.

Passengers who board the catamaran in Sutivan will arrive in Split in 20 minutes, as will passengers from Split to Sutivan. It goes without saying that this will facilitate the lives of islanders or anyone looking to arrive and depart from Sutivan. Until now, passengers traveling without a car are connected via the slower and more expensive ferry service via Supetar.

So, how much will the catamaran line set you back? A one-way ticket will cost only 30,00 kn, for islanders 14,00 kn while for pensioners the ticket is completely free of charge.

This is huge news for the Municipality of Sutivan and news that we think will be welcome by most of us along the Dalmatian Coast. The first season will determine whether this line has the potential to extend the period of its operations in the future, the Municipality of Sutivan said. 

For now, we can all look forward to the return of this catamaran line, connecting Milna - Sutivan - Split from July 3, 2020, to August 30, 2020.

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If you've ever heard of Blaca on the island of Brač, chances are the word associated with it was "desert," and it has nothing to do with sand, dunes, or camels.

I was born and raised in Croatia, and to be frank with you, it took me a while to realise what the name "Pustinja Blaca" meant. I mean, in the Croatian language, the only meaning of the word "pustinja" I was aware of was the already mentioned desert. However, there is another meaning for it, one that might be translated into English as a hermitage monastery, a place that doesn't have a lot of people, and which is practically deserted. The people who have lived there have decided to live their lives away from civilisation, dedicated to prayer and their spiritual lives. 

Marko Tarandek writes for Punkufer about the monastery, explaining its rich past. It was founded in the 16th century, on a very distant piece of land between Bol and Milna. Its founders were the Glagolitic priests, a group of Christian priests that operated between the ninth and the nineteenth centuries and used the Glagolitic script and Old Church Slavonic language.

A group of those priests, who weren't a united organisation, ran from the Turkish occupation of Poljica to Brač and began their monastery there. Their first refuge was a cave, and after some time of living in the cave and cultivating the land around it, they were permitted to build a monastery and a church. And so they built it right on the rock where their original cave was, adding certain necessary objects, and later expanding to almost luxurious accommodation (luxurious for the 16th century, of course). The first record of a church being built there is from 1588. 

The priests proved to be excellent agriculturalists, able to take advantage of every square metre of the soil. That contributed to the creation of an agricultural collective, based on the fair distribution of the gains and joint ownership. More and more people came to participate, which led to the development of this part of the island (please consult the map to see how far away from any of the modern places on Brač it is). They made their wine (of course) and honey, but they also printed books and hosted numerous astronomers, as they had a famous observatory. They needed to be able to trade their goods, so the priests also owned three sailboats (again, look at the map: the monastery is not really THAT close to the coast!), which sailed all over the Mediterranean.

Although Blaca was formally a monastery, it didn't belong to any specific church order. They were permitted by the Hvar-Brač bishop to decide on their own who they wanted to let into the monastery. The brothers chose their leader, who took care of the monastery's business - and at some point, their business was doing so well that the brothers who were supposed to be hermits, hard at work and thinking, had servants and people working on their land! The last family to manage the monastery were the Miličević priests, known for their work in astronomy (they even have two asteroids named after them, Miličević and Brač). In 1963, the last member of the family, don Nikola Miličević, passed away, and the monastery was closed for business as a monastery and became a museum. 

You can visit the Blaca museum, but prepare yourself because it won't be that easy. There are two ways to get to it: one way is by car from the north (you can park around a kilometre away from the monastery, and you have to walk the path the rest of the way), or you can take your boat to the so-called Popova vala (Priest's bay), and then walk uphill to the monastery (it will take you 45 minutes or so to make it there).

The museum is open every day of the week, except on Mondays, and there's no bar or restaurant at the museum, so make sure you have enough water to walk there and back to your ride, especially if you're going during the summer. In the museum, located inside the former monastery building and which has blended perfectly with the surroundings, you can see the old furniture, kitchen, and living quarters. The most exciting parts of the collection are the various tools used for astronomical measurements, a big collection of ancient weaponry and clocks, as well as a library with many unique books. 

Some changes might be coming to the area, as we have previously reported, so if you want to experience the authentic feel of Pustinja Blaca, don't miss the opportunity to visit as soon as possible!

Something new is on the cards for the very beginning of next month in time for the height of the tourist season for those wanting a direct line from Split Airport to Bol on the nearby island of Brač, the third largest island in Croatia.

As Morski writes on the 17th of May, 2019, as of the 1st of June 2019 to the 15th of September 2019, the new fast-freight company Adriatic Fast Ferries d.o.o. will introduce a fast-freight line four times a day from Split Airport to Bol on the central Dalmatian island of Brač. There will be two direct connections and two lines which will head to Bol via Split's busy ferry port.

The direct connection will take one hour from Split Airport to Bol, and the line which will stop at Split's ferry port will take an hour and twenty minutes. There will be three lines in place from Bol to Split per day, according to a report from the local portal Bol info.

Unlike for other ferries and connections, tickets for this new line can only be purchased online at the ship's website.

The catamaran for this line was built back in 1999 at the FBM Marine Ltd shipyard and was purchased from the English company Red Jet. The catamaran is 33 metres long and has a capacity of 190 passengers.

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There's no denying that Croatian olive oil is second to none, and we're not the only ones who think it. Croatian produce has won award after award and the long coastal traditions of olive growing, picking and harvesting in Croatia are worthy of just as much praise as the final results of that hard work are.

As Morski writes on thr 4th of April, 2019, the respected Brač brand of olive oil, Brachia, has launched Brachia Kids, the first Croatian olive oil made just for children of kindergarten and elementary school age, reports Journal.hr.

''Brachia Kids brings the fresh and intriguing taste of organic olive cultivation from ecological [olive] growing from the island of Brač. These flavours are ideal for children when it comes to falling in love with the taste of olive oil. This new product is intended for parents who understand the healing properties and the great nutritional value(s) of olive oil, and who want to introduce it to their children's diet,'' said Leopold Botteri, the co-manager of the Brachia cooperative.

Part of the main role in popularising the consumption of olive oil for children will also be played by its attractive packaging, which has been made by Izvorka Jurić and Jurica Kos.

''We've designed the packaging so that the product is attractive to children, fun to use, and also educational, in order to develop their awareness of the importance of the regular use of olive oil. The body of a glass vial (0.25 dcl) has been partially placed in a box that, together with the black tip of the bottle, forms a crayon, and within which six crayons are actually housed. Following the dissolution of the box, there is a fun colouring book with illustrations of olive trees and leaves and various tasks for children to complete. Olive oil nourishes the body, and the puzzle and colouring on the packaging, acts as food for the brain. Together, they make a complete product for the healthy development of children,'' explained packaging designer Izvorka Jurić.

In addition to the premium olive oil of Brachia Maslina and the latest Brachia Kids product - Izvorka Jurić has designed products for the lines of Brachia sort oils, ecoBrachia and Brachia & Friends. All of these products, including Brachia Kids' olive oil for children, are now available for purchase in UJE stores across the Republic of Croatia.

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Click here for the original article by Journal

One unique school on this central Dalmatian island is of interest for students from across the continent.

''The extended runway enables the beginning of the cooperation with Air Serbia, with whom we've been negotiating for a long time,'' stated Peović.

When you’re not used to snow, you make do with what you have. Such is the story on the island of Brač.