ZAGREB, October 19, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic on Monday visited the Knowledge Centre and the Centrometal company in Medjimurje County, saying his impressions were excellent and that Medjimurje "has no special resources other than people."

Asked by the press what he would highlight, he said "work, organisation and resources... there are no special resources (here) other than people."

"This should be a model to everyone in Croatia," he added.

Centrometal is one of the leading manufacturers in Medjimurje, primarily manufacutring central heating boilers and solar systems, and it is mainly focused on renewables.

Its director Davor Zidaric said the company managed to weather this year's crisis without asking for assistance despite a three-week closure during the spring lockdown. The company was established in 1965 and employs 245 workers.

He said the company exported 70% of its products, not just to Europe, and that last year's revenue was HRK 270 million, "an increase of some 10%."

In Cakovec, President Milanovic also visited the Knowledge Centre and the first mechanical engineering research institution in northwestern Croatia, the Development and Educational Centre
for the Metal Industry - Metal Centre.

After visiting the Knowledge Centre, housed in a former barracks, he said these facilities were built for an empire more than a century ago, after which they were taken over by the former Yugoslavia and then Croatia which, he added, did not need them so they were given to local government.

"This is just one small example of how to approach ideas responsibly, diligently and constructively," he said, adding that good organisation in order to obtain European money was also necessary.

"This Knowledge Centre has a dozen institutions in which more than HRK 95 million has been invested in the last decade, mostly absorbed from European funds," county prefect Matija Posavec said, adding that more than 1,500 people work or study there.

"We have two research centres, the Medjimurje College, three Technology and Innovation Centre buildings, a student dormitory, development agencies and institutions, and software used by Porsche is also maunfactured here," he said.

(€1 = HRK 7.57)

October 11, 2020 – Sparkling wine Urban white from the Štampar Winery won the gold medal, and Sibon brut from the DGA Sparkling Wine Company won the silver medal at the 17th Decanter World Wine Awards, giving the Međimurje wine region the best sparkling wines in Croatia.

As Večernji.hr reports, this year's prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 brought numerous awards to Međimurje winemakers, but also a big surprise for all sparkling wine lovers who will from now on certainly include Međimurje sparkling wine in the selection of the best.

The winning sparkling wine Urban white from the Štampar Winery is characterized by a straw-yellow color and persistent and numerous beads, while the smell is extremely pleasant, fresh, and fluttery. Its taste lingers, is elegant, and harmonious, and it goes well with dishes from Međimurje and the continental area, but also Mediterranean cuisines such as oysters, mushroom omelets, creamy risottos, pasta, and quiche.

"This award is an additional confirmation of what we somehow knew deep down based on our previous experiences and wine knowledge. Pušipel is a true sort for the production of sparkling wines and that is exactly the reason why we decided to produce sparkling wine from our indigenous Međimurje sort. With perseverance and the constant searching for knowledge and innovation, we managed to produce a sparkling wine that is today, confirmed at the international level, at the very top of the Croatian wine scene," said David Stampar on the occasion of receiving this important medal.

Also, in addition to the mentioned sparkling wines, in Međimurje County there is a large number of well-known winemakers who prove their wine skills in the field of sparkling wines, and we should mention the excellent sparkling wines Cmrečnjak Wines, Dvanajšćak Kozol Wines, Hažić Wine House, Tomšić Winery and Jakopić Winery, for which valuable medals are also expected in the coming period.

Next to the top sparkling wines at this year's Decanter, there were also excellent wines from Međimurje winemakers, who won seven more silver and six bronze awards, and one in the COMMENDED wine category, which is a wine with a recommendation that only slightly missed some of the awards.

The year 2020 brought four more medals than the previous year, and a total of 15 awards and one recommendation were awarded, which is an excellent result of Međimurje winemakers at the prestigious international wine competition Decanter. Expectations for 2021 are high and further awards are expected.

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September 21, 2020 - Madjerka Hill is better known as the mystery of Medjimurje. From up there, you can see 4 countries, taste the most delicious wines, and enjoy breathtaking views.

Mađerkin breg (Madjerka Hill) stands 341 meters above sea level, only three and a half meters lower than Mohokos, which is the highest point of Medjimurje. The view extends to 4 countries - Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, and Slovakia. You can see Zagorje, and in clear weather, you can also see Sljeme. It was named after Emilia Krauthaker, better known as Mađerka (Madjerka). Emilia was born on July 22, 1889, on St. Mary Magdalene in Budapest. Symbolically, the Municipality and Parish of Strigova celebrate their day on July 22. Nives Kutnjak told Matej Scavnicar for eMedjimurje about the history of Madjerka Hill, as she wrote her thesis on this topic back in 2018.

Madjerka Hill | Photo by eMedjimurje

"Emilia Krauthaker moved to this area around 1940. She came for her husband, a Hungarian soldier, i.e., an officer and a major, Albin Krauthaker. The communists killed him in 1945, and she was left alone. Madjerka's husband, Albin, also had a sister who married a rich trading family Strahonja from Cakovec. The whole street around the health institution in Cakovec was theirs. Strahonja and his wife Rozika, Albin's sister, lived on the first part of the hill while Emilija, better known as Madjerka, lived on the second part of the hill. Around 1958, when nationalization arrived in this area, everything was taken away from these two families. They left them only a space of 10 acres. All the surrounding local population came to Madjerka hill to work for Emilia; they even came from neighboring Slovenia. Emilia had a large vineyard, but poverty was growing. From the beginning, she could still pay the workers with the wine she sold and the chickens she had. She was selling eggs in Strigova, and when asked: "How does she live", she would respond that she lives from those few eggs and is nourished by the beauty of the nature that surrounds her.

Madjerka Hill | Photo by eMedjimurje

The vineyards failed, but she did not want to sell her land even though she had buyers long ago. It slowly began to decay.

Emilia was accustomed to a gentleman's life. For the time when women in the countryside did not know how to bake even an ordinary cake, she baked top-quality cakes, cream puffs, etc. Besides, she was a famous dancer, a ballerina in Budapest. Emilija had no descendants, but the Krauthaker family, the descendants of her husband who inherited Madjerka Hill, sold the land in 2014 to the current owners, the wine-making families - Cmrecnjak and Stampar."

The founder and owner of the Cmrecnjak Winery, Rajko Cmrecnjak, fondly remembers his childhood memories about Madjerka Hill.

Rajko Cmrecnjak | Photo by eMedjimurje

"All my life, I have been connected to Madjerka Hill. Even as a child, my window looked into the distance at the terraces of Madjerka Hill. The sun is setting behind Madjerka Hill, and I remember watching the sunsets through my house's broken window. At the beginning of the nineties, we started to be more serious about viticulture. Even then, I dreamed of having our vineyard on Madjerka and that one day, we could take casual or intentional travelers there and show the best position for growing vines in Medjimurje. I would dare to say that the biggest step forward of our winery in recent times was when we bought the so-called Madjerka Hill. This area is undoubtedly the highest quality wine-growing position in Medjimurje and beyond. The condition in which we found Madjerka Hill after the purchase was not desirable at all. It was overgrown with thorns and bushes; it was a state of thickets, the forest's initial degradation stage with difficult access or extreme inability to access in some parts. It was a great challenge for our winery," says Rajko Cmrecnjak and proudly concludes that the wine produced from Madjerka Hill has already won a gold medal in wine evaluation.

Fifty meters below, driving through the terraces of Madjerka Hill, eMedjimurje meets David Stampar, the successor of the Stampar Winery, who planted 14,000 Pushipel vines a few months ago.

David Štampar | Photo by eMedjimurje

"Madjerka Hill is a special place for me; I have known about that hill since I was a child. At that time, I never dreamed that I would be a co-owner of this beautiful lookout together with my family one day. So far, we have planted 25,000 vines of Pushipel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franca. Next year we plan to plant another 15,000 vines of Pushipel and Sauvignon," says David.

Not so long ago, Art Colonies were held on Madjerka Hill

"Art colonies were held from 2000 until 2005. These colonies were attended by amateur artists - amateur art associations from Medjimurje, Varazdin, and Slovenia. The idea of TZO Strigova was to slowly start branding this beautiful, natural lookout point that could become an important point of the tourist offer of our region in some future times. Other events used to be held - the celebration of May 1 and various bicycle tours," says Josip Mikec from the local tourist board.

Josip Mikec | Photo by eMedjimurje

Madjerka Hill experienced its most significant popularity in 2015 when Sime Strikoman took a millennial photo in the shape of a cluster on Sunday, July 19, at the Days of the Strigova Municipality. Then a record was set in drinking gemišt (wine+sparkling water). At the same time, 1,034 gemišt drinks were consumed.

"Madjerka Hill was known before, but only the hosts from nearby villages and a few nature and hiking lovers. Some targeted introduction and presentation of Madjerka began with the Art Colonies to expand millennial photography to the whole of Croatia and Slovenia. Since then, Madjerka has been practically an indispensable point of various events from Urbans, Strigova Nights, First Day of Summer, New Year's Eve... Today, no Medjimurje resident has not heard of Madjerka Hill," says the expert associate of TZO Strigova, Josip Mikec.

In agreement with the owners, the Municipality of Strigova has registered the project of Vidikovac "Goričko sviralo" to the INTERREG Hungary Croatia EU fund, and a positive solution is expected. The value of the project is 1,698,366.46 euros. The project aims to maintain and develop the tourist and historical significance of this unique hill. In addition to the construction of a lookout point run by the Municipality of Strigova and the Strigova Tourist Board, the construction of a camp, souvenir shop, wine tasting room, and cellar is also planned.

Madjerka Hill | Photo by Stampar Winery

What exactly is the secret of Madjerka Hill?

Maybe a beautiful natural lookout, terraced vineyards, a view, fresh air, peace, quiet, the chirping of birds, or the smell of grapes?

Let the secret remain hidden.

Discover for yourself what inspires many photographers to make the pilgrimage to Madjerka Hill, wanting to capture that perfect moment of sunset or sunrise. This is what the hardworking people from Štigova, led by Cmrecnjak and Stampar, who nurture this hill and keep its secret, want.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of July, 2020, in the heart of upper Medjimurje lies picturesque Sveti Martin. Over the years, Sveti Martin has become a well known tourism generator for that particular inland county. Today, private renters, family farms and numerous attractions such as walks with deer take place there, according to Dnevnik.hr.

They're all calling Medjimurje ''coronavirus free'' and so far in July, when the rest of Croatia is typically recording just 50 percent of last year's results, they recorded 12 percent more arrivals and the same number of overnight stays. Of that, 58 percent are Croatian guests who are encouraged to holiday here at home. Foreigners on the other hand, are increasingly choosing luxury holiday villas.

"I'm extremely glad, they're very dear guests. They decided essentially to be here given the fact that Spain had such a situation as it did, as did Italy. As far as coronavirus is concerned, we've done really well here, we have practically not had a single infected person for months,'' said Antonija Nesik from Sveti Martin, who rents out private accommodation to tourists.

In order to make more money from tourism, the county shares a coupon for every 250 kuna spent, which can be used for 100 different tourist experiences or services. For example for a wine tasting experience or a lunch discount.

"What is typical in Medjimurje is our meat from Tiblica for which we're well known, it's our traditional dish. There's a dessert that I think everyone knows about, which is Medjimurje gibanica, it's a dessert people come to Međimurje to eat,'' said restaurant owner, Branimir Jakopic.

So far, more than 15,000 coupons have been distributed, and as such, in the last month alone, tourism in the area has generated about four million kuna. "It just shows that it's the right decision and the strengthening of our tourism in enogastronomy, the identity of Medjimurje, the cultural heritage, active and sustainable tourism, is the right thing to do," said Medjimurje County Prefect, Matija Posavec.

They hope that this formula will not only save 2020's coronavirus-dominated tourist season, but also persuade guests to return.

For more, follow our travel page.

July 6, 2020 - The 8th edition of Forestland readies to open the festival season in Croatia with music workshops, club programs, activities and performances that culminate from July 17 to 19 in the forest of Brezje. In a slightly modified form adapted to the 'new normal', Forestland will be held this year for 48 hours, from Friday to Sunday, on three stages with over 60 different musicians.

Live performances, trap and hip hop

The young Croatian forces of the new wave of rap, trap and hip hop will have their opportunity on Saturday, July 18, on the main stage. Zembo Latifa, Swen and Tikach, 30zona, Kuku$ and Dino Blunt & Swana are some of the names that will bravely enter the first open-air festival of the new age. 

Techno - renaissance wave of electronic music

A new wave of techno has re-emerged on the wings of electronic music's popularization. Slovenian great Uroš Umek is a legend of the scene, with performances that date back to the Kuršanec club Ex. From former semi-illegal raves, today, the best Slovenian electronic brand was born. Festival-goers will also enjoy Tea Vučković, a DJ whose name is synonymous with strong and energetic techno sets. The Slovenian has a lot of experience, and after her native Slovenia, she honed her craft on regional and world club and festival stages. Tea releases music for respectable techno labels Techburst Records, Eclipse Recordings Funk’n’Deep, DSR Digital, Blue Monkey Records, Moonlogic Records. She is involved in the organization of parties, club evenings and festivals (ECO Fest), as well as education on stage. 

From Croatia, on the other hand, Forestland presents Kraundler and Felver, Eleven and Yakka. ELEVEN, the independent live act of ABOP drummer Ivan Levačić, is characterized by the sound of electronics, IDM, electro and other genres of electronic music. Solid, dance groove and bass sections intertwine with emotional, film themes and upbeat sequences of analog synthesizers. He has already left a deep mark on the domestic music scene as the author and active member of the bands ABOP, Chui and Kries, and is the former drummer of Pridjevi, Lollobrigida, Pips, Chips & Videoclips and Mayales and backing drummer Natali Dizdar and Dino Dvornik.

ELEVEN performs his music live with the help of synthesizers, sequencers, samplers and rhythm machines. He was nominated for this year's Ambassador Award for "The most promising band/songwriter's electronic music project".

And the winner of the Ambassador 2018 award for the Croatian DJ of the Year, chosen by the audience, and one of the most current house DJs on the regional scene is YAKKA, the owner of the Beatality Records label, which includes releases for foreign publishers (Pacha, King Street, Deeperfect, Casa Rossa Cruise Music and many others). All techno fans know about the Koprivnica DJ and producer Kraundler. Fully committed to producing his own music, Kraundler is ranked among the very top regional producers.

48 hours of Forestland

Since the third year of the festival, Forestland is a multi-day event, the culmination of summer in Međimurje, which is attended by hundreds and thousands of visitors, tourists, young and old. Musical performances by dozens of artists, an adrenaline park and the beautiful Međimurje are a guarantee of a great time.

"We haven't slept in the past months, we won't lie to you," said Krešo Biškup, the festival's spokesman. "From the whole situation with this pandemic, we have decided to wait, be persistent and keep hope. We knew we were going to have to change the story, we canceled the big foreign DJs and focused on the region, the neighborhood, our “home”. In February, we had the entire construction of the festival closed, all the concepts, we worked on dozens, and maybe even hundreds of hours of meetings, preparations, conceptual solutions to make everything fall into place."

The Forestland festival is the only festival of this size in northern Zagreb and almost the only festival in Croatia to be held this summer. "The trust of the partners was not lacking, it was difficult, but we broke through. As there are no activities, no events, everyone cut their marketing budgets first, but we can readily say - our partners are loyal to us, we have confidence and we will continue to work. We are followed in 2020 by HEP, one of the main partners is Zagrebačka pivovara with which we have excellent, long-term cooperation, which will continue, then Coca Cola and a number of accompanying assortments, Jagermeister, Red Bull, but also our local community.

The Tourist Board of Međimurje follows in our footsteps, and we return with an excellent promotion of Međimurje, the destinations and activities we create. The official vehicle of the festival is the new Suzuki hybrid, a Vitara SUV provided to us by AC Baumgartner, which has been supporting us for many years," says Biškup.

"Local municipalities, the County, we are partners with all institutions that support us, and our favorite is when we place a beautiful story in the world. The photo and image that Croatia Full of Life shares and is proud of these days - the Croatian National Tourist Board gives us the wind in our backs and helps us to create the best festival so far. Of course, media coverage is extremely important, and this is where we come to mutual cooperation, storytelling and relevance of the content."

What's next? Forestland's multi-year plan:

"The story of the Forestland festival has its own multi-year plan. We never just work on the current project, but plan, look to the future and think about what we can improve, fix, change and make attractive. We are in negotiations with big production companies, they are coming to accompany one artist to Forestland where they will record a video for his new single, agencies are following their performers and pictures from the 'Forest' will tour the world. In 2021, we continue to hope to become part of another larger, global story, because northern Croatia deserves such a focus, attraction and quality that foreigners and tourists already recognize,"adds Biškup.

Forestland takes place from 17 to 19 July in Brezje, from noon on Friday to Sunday at noon when the afterparty moves to the pools in Toplice Sveti Martin where all visitors with bracelets have free admission all day.

Tickets for the festival are 100 kuna, valid for both days of the festival, and you can find them online, at www.ticket2go.hr or at the entrance to the festival from July 17 at 12:00 pm. More info about Forestland can be found here.

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June 18, 2020 - The Tourist Board of Medjimurje County, in cooperation with Terme Sveti Martin and about 50 partners from the public and commercial sector, has launched a tourist campaign under the slogan "Medjimurje gives more!".

Finally, a campaign focused on domestic guests!

Namely, HRTurizam reports that the 'Medjimurje Gives More' campaign lasts from June 15 to September 15, 2020, and was launched to achieve the best possible tourist traffic in the coming months, which has been greatly reduced. The main idea of ​​the campaign is to offer the market a free bonus based on the realized consumption instead of competing in lowering prices, thus stimulating potential guests to decide to vacation in Medjimurje.

Instead of the classic discounts, Medjimurje decided on a different approach - with overnight stays or consumption, the guest gets added value through free content in the form of a bonus coupon.

Guests will thus receive a bonus coupon from accommodation, catering or other commercial service providers, provided that the guest has spent at least HRK 250 (once) in any of the commercial providers of catering and tourist services in Medjimurje.

Commercial partners hand over the coupon upon realization of the service, i.e., upon arrival at the accommodation facility, and with catering services after paying the bill. With the obtained coupon, the guest can visit one of the public tourist facilities and sites once or use one of the tourist services donated by public or commercial partners in the project.

The conditions and manner of using the coupon are published on a special website ( www.visitmeđimurje.com ) where you can follow the course of the entire action, as well as on the promotional leaflet that will be distributed with the coupons.

For the needs of the campaign, a prize game was made, along with a special web page, and a video and visuals that follow the entire campaign. The campaign is also advertised through online and offline media.

With the campaign, tourist entities in Medjimurje County have clearly defined what they want to achieve, as the President of the Medjimurje County Tourist Board Rudi Grula pointed out, and that is to convey to markets the message that it is a safe, quality, interesting and meaningful holiday destination year-round, which offers a quality service for a "fair" price, and rewards guests with added value.

“The goal is to achieve as many guest arrivals and overnight stays in Medjimurje as the rest of the year, to extend the average length of stay of guests, to encourage higher consumption of guests who will choose Medjimurje for their vacation, but also to encourage the local population in catering and other tourist facilities in the area,” Grula points out.

The project involves about 50 partners who offer more than 100 free experiences that include sports activities and yoga, tickets for visits to museums and collections, guided tours, tastings of fine wines and delicious dishes, the use of e-bikes, event tickets, and fun adrenaline adventures.

"Medjimurje, with all its potentials, contents and awards, does not allow us to be average, but to give more in service and quality continuously. Such a positive project, with our standard and quality service to guests, gives even more content for free, which will make us stand out from the rest of the competition and show that we are a significant factor in tourism in Croatia," said LifeClass Terme Sveti Martin, a partner that is involved in the project with a special offer.

Also, to mitigate the negative consequences of the coronavirus, Medjimurje County has announced a public call for grants to co-finance the work of travel agencies/tour operators.

With these grants, the County wants to encourage the growth of tourist traffic and consumption in the area, and for the implementation of the project, HRK 50,000 has been provided from the County budget. The support of the County amounts to HRK 50 per tourist overnight stay in the area, and the support will be paid based on the applications of the travel organizers until the end of 2020 or until the planned funds are used.

“Come to Medjimurje because Medjimurje gives you more - more nature, more health, more songs, more delicious dishes and wines, more quality and more security!" reads the message of the campaign that invites everyone to the region.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 2, 2020 - Forestland Electronic Music Festival will be officially held this summer in Međimurje, from July 17 to 19, in the idyllic Brezje. For the eighth time, Forestland becomes the center of summer in the northernmost part of Croatia.

It has been almost ten years since the idea came to fruition, and even the most difficult circumstances cannot stop the Forestland team, who have spent many sleepless nights and thousands of working hours to hold 48 hours of electronic music in the woods.

"We have been fighting for months and went through dozens of options just to decide - Forestland will take place!" said festival spokesman Krešimir Biškup. "Forestland is an idea, a rebellion, a desire and a dream in one, and this year we will maintain it and do it in the best possible way in this difficult situation. We respect all the measures prescribed by the CNIPH, we have disinfection points, running drinking water in several places, and more than 4m2 of space will be provided for each visitor."

Forestland has been held for several years in Brezje, in an idyllic field surrounded by oak, beech, and hornbeam forests, a lake and streams, with over four hectares of festival space.

There have been some changes in the list of performers, but all those announced will play at the festival either this year or next: "We have been planning and watching for months, but in the end, we agreed that due to the Covid-19 situation we were forced to postpone foreign contractors for the winter of 2020, or the summer of 2021," said Biškup and added: "Kiril Djaikovski, Mark Sixma and Moguai have been moved to future dates due to long travel, but 2020 will still be remembered by the biggest regional names."

Forestland is convinced that the festival will attract a large number of local and Slovenian audiences:

"We have had a close relationship with our neighbors for years, a large number of Slovenian DJs perform at the festival, this summer we are doing hip-hop and graffiti jam, we are building an entire small town at the festival site. Due to the destination itself, we are extremely pleased to attract that number of tourists and work on the promotion of Međimurje as a party center of continental Croatia. Our goal in the next period is to connect even more with various musicians, DJs and bands in Croatia and Slovenia and unite them all at the festival, to become a kind of meeting point for electronic music," concludes Biškup and adds:" We will always give the advantage to local and regional artists, and the announcements of this year's artists will show that."

Tickets for Forestland can be purchased exclusively online through the start-up ticketing system www.ticket2go.hr at a price of 100 kuna for a festival ticket, or 160 for a camping ticket.

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

ZAGREB, March 30, 2020- Grape farmers from the northern Croatian region of Međimurje will be able to cross the border into Hungary to tend to their vineyards there despite the border restrictions Hungary has introduced to fight the coronavirus epidemic, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Sunday.

Szijjarto said that he and his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlić Radman had agreed on cross-border commuting in areas near the border, according to the Hungarian news agency MTI.

The Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Ministry did not respond to Hina's query about the agreement.

Szijjarto says that Croatian grape farmers from Međimurje recently contacted him about the border restrictions preventing them from crossing over to Hungary to farm their grapes.

"And if they do not finish the work now then there certainly won't be any harvest," he said on Facebook.

The Hungarian minister said that he had phoned his counterpart Gordan Grlić Radman and they quickly agreed to enable commuting over the border.

"The two police captains will work out the details and spring work can start," Szijjarto said.

More news about relations between Croatia and Hungary can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 9, 2020 - The day commemorating the unification of the region of Međimurje with the parent country Croatia was marked at a ceremony in the northern town of Čakovec on Thursday.

An envoy of the Croatian state leadership, Mursko Središće Mayor Dražen Srpak, said that on 9 January 1919 Međimurje had actually reunited with Croatia, its parent country, to which it had always belonged, and with the Croat people.

Međimurje County remembers today an important date in its history, when at a large national assembly in Čakovec on 9 January 1919 a resolution was adopted on Međimurje's secession from the Kingdom of Hungary.

Wreaths were laid at the Čakovec cemetery at a monument to Ivan Novak, the organiser of a military campaign for liberation from Hungarians, and the graves of all those who had contributed to the adoption of the decision on Međimurje's unification with the parent country were visited as well.

Srpak, a member of the ruling HDZ party, said that Međimurje had always belonged to the Croatian homeland. It was never really a part of Hungary and the people of Međimurje never started speaking the Hungarian language, he said.

Asked about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's policy and his having photos of himself taken by a historical map showing Međimurje as part of Hungary, Međimurje County Assembly head Mladen Novak said that Hungary's policy had not changed for a hundred years and would probably never change, and that the residents of Međimurje always had to be prepared for the challenges of such a policy.

"We are quiet but when we raise our voice, we are pretty fierce and we know how to fight for our interests," said Novak.

Attending the ceremonies was also county head Matija Posavec.

The day commemorating Međimurje's unification with the parent country Croatia is observed as a memorial day in line with a Croatian parliament decision of 2005.

The adoption of the resolution on the secession of Međimurje from the Hungarian state is important because of its relevance for the historic aspiration to preserve the integrity of Croatian territory.

After the military liberation of Međimurje, a large national assembly was held in Čakovec on January 9, 1919, at which a resolution was adopted on the secession of Međimurje from the Hungarian state and a wish was expressed to join the then Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Even though Hungarians gave up on Međimurje only in 1920, after the Treaty of Trianon, the national assembly in Čakovec was one of the most important decisions for the Croatian population of Međimurje and was attended by more than 10,000 people. Dr Ivan Novak is considered as the person who deserves most credit for secession from Hungary.

More Međimurje news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 13, 2019 - The Roma minority member of parliament, Veljko Kajtazi, said on Wednesday that 12 Roma children had been expelled from a kindergarten in Kotoriba, Međimurje County, calling on all those involved to solve the problem as soon as possible so that children could continue attending kindergarten.

Expelling Roma children, even for a short period of time, will have long-term negative consequences, Kajtazi said at a news conference in the parliament.

The November 5 decision whereby the kindergarten management expelled the Roma children reads that a child stops attending kindergarten if its parents do not pay the kindergarten fee for two consecutive months, with the final deadline for due payments being November 9.

The children were expelled because the Science and Education Ministry was late with payments even though the kindergarten is aware that it will obtain the money, Kajtazi said.

Since 2009 the Science and Education Ministry has been co-funding preschool education and it has been covering the share of the kindergarten fee paid by parents for all members of the Roma minority.

This, along with the financing of the rest of the membership fee from local budgets, has made it possible for kindergarten care for members of the Roma minority to be free, Kajtazi said.

The children were expelled because the kindergarten holds their parents responsible for the payment of the membership fee share that is paid by the ministry, he said.

Kajtazi said that he received information from the ministry on Tuesday saying that it met its obligations regularly and that the request for payment from September was being processed as well as that it would soon pay the 28,000 kuna that it was required to pay.

He said that the ministry paid funds at the kindergarten's request twice during a school year and that since 2015 almost 113,000 kuna had been paid into the Kotoriba kindergarten's account.

The MP also said that his office had tried to contact Kotoriba municipality about the problem but was referred to "the kindergarten whose manager is on sick leave."

More news about the status of Roma in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.