November 13, 2021 – After many years of preparation and effort, the largest church mosaic in Croatia has been revealed to parishioners at the Church of Saint Joseph (Crkva sv. Josip) in Karlovac

The beautiful mosaic covers an incredible 120 square metres of wall behind the church's altar. Depicted in the mosaic is the birth of Jesus Christ.

The mosaic is the work of renowned Croatian artist Josip Botteri Dini who is based in Split. On 1st January 2021, Mr Josip Botteri Dini and several assistants began stacking coloured glass pieces into one-square-metre templates to construct the work.

Largest Church Mosaic in Croatia © Marina Buric / Visit Karlovac

Each template contains around 2500 mosaic parts. In total, the mosaic has around half a million pieces of coloured glass. It took Mr. Botteri Dini nine months to finish stacking 168 templates. After completing that long section of the task in Split, he then travelled to Karlovac and continued working there. The installation of the templates onto the wall took two weeks. Subsequently, six weeks of cleaning and aligning of the mosaic followed.

From the rear of St. Josip's Church © Marina Buric / Visit Karlovac

Josip Botteri Dini, the artist behind the largest church mosaic in Croatia

Although he now lives and works in Split, Josip Botteri Dini was actually born in Zagreb in 1943. He studied at the city's Academy of Fine Arts, notably in the class of famous Varaždin painter and graphic artist Miljenko Stančić. Josip graduated in 1968. Since the early 1970s, the work of Josip Botteri Dini has been exhibited over a hundred times throughout Croatia and overseas. In addition to painting, he works with mosaics and stained glass.

In detail, Croatia's largest church mosaic, in St. Josip's, Karlovac © Marina Buric / Visit Karlovac

Being the largest Church mosaic in Croatia, it was necessary to construct a 13-metre high scaffold for the work to be set on the church wall. Although Mr. Botteri Dini is now 78 years old, he climbed the scaffold every day to finish his work, helped by his brothers Juraj and Dezi. They are also in their seventies.

Nacionalno svetište svetog Josipa (National Shrine of St. Joseph) in Dubovac, Karlovac

Nacionalno svetište svetog Josipa (National Shrine of St. Joseph) in Dubovac, Karlovac

Otherwise known as Nacionalno svetište svetog Josipa (National Shrine of St. Joseph), the modern Church of Saint Joseph lies to the west of Karlovac city centre in Dubovac. In fact, it sits at the foot of the hill on which is placed the 13th-century castle fortress Old Town of Dubovac, from where the settlement gets its name.

Construction of the Church of St. Josip started in 1968 but its external facades were not completed until 1972. In 1975 its bell tower was built although it would take until 1980 for three new bells to be placed within it. In 1987, the church was dedicated as a national shrine for Saint Joseph, marking the 300th anniversary of Saint Joseph being assigned as Protector of the Homeland and the Croatian people. Saint Joseph is also the patron saint of Karlovac.

The largest Church mosaic in Croatia is not the only masterpiece to be found in the Church of St. Josip. Within the building is the permanent exhibition space Galeriji 'Martin Borković'. It contains works of art by 28 eminent Croatian painters and sculptors. You can see them every day after Holy Mass.

The Old Town of Dubovac © Ivo Biočina

The Old Town of Dubovac is one of the best-preserved buildings of its kind in Croatia. A popular tourist attraction, it hosts events and has one of the city's best restaurants on the ground floor of its atmospheric courtyard. With the addition of the largest Church mosaic in Croatia, visitors now have another excellent reason to stop off in the quiet Karlovac suburb of Dubovac.

You can read more about Karlovac in the Total Croatia guide to the city here. For the latest news about Karlovac, be sure to check Total Croatia News tagged pages here

October 29, 2021 - Karlovac Tourist Board organizes the Petrova Gora Stars Trail, which will bring together nature lovers and recreationists, and the organizers expect more than 150 competitors, aiming to promote the beauties of the county and to raise funds for a humanitarian cause.

The Regional Tourist Board of Karlovac County invites to the premiere edition of the trail race on Petrova gora. The Petrova Gora Stars Trail will bring together nature lovers and recreationists, and the organizers expect over 150 competitors and certainly as many people in the entourage who will come to support their friends, family members, and acquaintances.

You can find more information at https://www.utrka.com/utrke/petrovagoratrail/2021/info/

As HrTurizam.hr reports, the Regional Tourist Board of Karlovac County expects a beautiful day filled with numerous activities for runners and other participants who may not actively participate this time.

Lunch and drinks after the race, a dry-fit long-sleeved sports shirt, protein bars, and rich refreshments during the race, which includes healthy products from local family farms, are provided for all participants with a starter pack. Before and after the race, all those present will be entertained by a musical duo who will take care of the good atmosphere, while for all those who will not run this time, a guided tour of the sights on Petrova Gora is provided.

Free transport will take all those interested to the memorial to the last Croatian king Petar Svačić, as well as to the place where the Central Partisan Hospital was located and to the monument on Petrova gora, where the participants of the race will run.

09:00 - 11:30 download of start packages, 12:00 start of the long race, 13:00 start of the short race.

In addition to the rich sports and entertainment content, the race will raise funds for the girl Klara, who has her roots in the vicinity of Karlovac, and due to a serious illness, she needs generous financial resources for treatment outside the Republic of Croatia.

We invite all lovers of sports and nature to combine the pleasant with the useful and take advantage of the beautiful day that awaits us and come to the first Petrova Gora Stars Trail race which will take place at the hunting lodge Muljava on Saturday, October 30, 2021, from 11 am.

The organizer of this event is the sports association Footloose with the support of destination partners of the Regional Tourist Board of Karlovac County and the Tourist Board of Vojnić and Hrvatske šume doo.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.