February 22nd, 2022 - The cover is part of the singer’s project Alkonost of Balkan, inspired by Slavic folklore and featuring videos filmed exclusively in nature

Singer Nina Kraljić released a cover of an old Croatian folk song originating from the Moslavina region. Titled ‘Lijepo pjeva za lugom djevojka’ (A girl sings beautifully in the woods), the seldom performed song got a beautiful video as well, filmed on the Moslavacka Gora hill.

Nina and the filming crew spent two days in the region, exploring Moslavacka Gora, reports Novi list. The result is a video that celebrates Croatian cultural heritage and pays respect to traditions and history of Moslavina.

In the video, the singer is wearing authentic folk costumes from the Moslavina region, as well as folk-inspired Etno Mara designs. The video was filmed in the woods of Moslavina hill, including scenic locations such as the Vis viewpoint and the ruins of a former monastery named Bela Crkva.

In order to breathe new life into this precious part of Croatia’s intangible heritage, Nina’s team joined forces with the tourist boards of Kutina, Popovača, and Sisak-Moslavina County, as well as the Rural Escape tourism agency that assisted them with location scouting.

The song and video are part of Nina’s music project Alkonost of Balkan, described as an ‘epic, dark folk project interested in the soul, that which is uncorrupted and unchangeable from the beginning of time. Inspired by the ethnic, film score sounds of the entire world and our Slavic heritage with videos shot exclusively in nature.’

Watch the video below:

The singer said, ‘I’m overjoyed that my project Alkonost of Balkan, dedicated to our ethnic music and heritage, continues with this wonderful Moslavina song! It’s from the heart that I present you with a new song and video. I did my best to demonstrate it through the beauty of sound, lyrics and locations just how beautiful our country is, how rich our heritage is, and how wonderful it is to respect our traditions! I’m proud of my entire team who made sure this ‘Moslavina magic’ saw the light of day! We’ll keep working and creating such songs and videos originating from different parts of our homeland and the wider region, as we have to cherish and appreciate what is ours’, said the singer, once again expressing how proud she was of the project and thanking the sponsors who helped bring the new video to life.

Here are the lyrics in Croatian and English:

Lijepo pjeva za lugom djevojka
Lijepo pjeva daleko se čuje
Slušali je Ivo i Nikola
Ivo veli: "Moja je djevojka!"
A Nikola: "Nije, nego moja."

A girl sings beautifully in the woods
She sings beautifully, it can be heard from afar
To her listened Ivo and Nikola
Ivo says: She’s my girl!
And Nikola: No she’s not, she’s mine.

February 17, 2021 – Although the tourism sector has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, the International Tourist Guide Day in Croatia will be marked with occasional tours of Skradinski Buk in Krka National Park, Varaždin city, and Garešnica in northern Moslavina.

Since 1990, the International Tourist Guide Day is celebrated on February 21, when the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations declared it. This year, their theme is "Tourist guides – contributors to rural tourism through creative storytelling." Some Croatian destinations decided to mark it offering walking and storytelling tours.

Krka National Park

In business and life in general, one should always be accommodating and kind. Such are the guides in Krka National Park. These enthusiastic and creative guides seek to teach visitors about the area's natural and cultural values through direct experience.

Krka National Park invites all nature lovers to join them in a guided tour of Skradinski Buk on Saturday, February 20, 2021. While enjoying the winter atmosphere, visitors will get acquainted with the exceptional flora and fauna, rich cultural and historical heritage, and traditional crafts in the ethno-village.

Skradinski Buk in Krka National Park / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

The number of participants per group is limited, and you can book your visit via the following link. In the winter months, ticket prices for Krka National Park are 30 kunas for adults and 20 kunas for 7 to 18 years old children. The Park is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For Krka's guides, interpretation is not just a "job," but a way of exchanging values, emotions, and inspirations. It is successful when the visitor saw, experienced, and began to appreciate something in the protected area unknown to them before.

Varaždin

For the eleventh year in a row, the International Tourist Guide Day will be marked in Varaždin. On Sunday, Varaždin tourist guides will take citizens and their guests free of charge through the historic city center and introduce them to interesting facts from the history and present of Varaždin.

The starting point for tours of the historic city center will be in front of the City Hall, and the tours will start at 10.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m., following epidemiological measures.

The city of Varaždin / Photo: Varaždin Tourist Board

Besides numerous facts, stories, and legends, visitors will learn some interesting things related to health – the tradition of hospitals in Varaždin, doctors in the past, where the first pharmacy was, and where public bathing areas were.

Garešnica trails of north Moslavina region

In Garešnica, the hometown of two world-famous personalities, "Mr. Morgen" Ivo Robić and Apollo engineer Mike Vucelić, the International Tourist Guide Day will be marked with free walking tours of northern Moslavina. A natural border, the Ilova River, separates Moslavina from neighboring Slavonia.

Photo: Northern Moslavina Tourist Board

During the six-kilometer walk, visitors will get to know the peculiarities of Garešnica and northern Moslavina: the old railway (where it led, how it connected Garešnica, when it ceased to serve its purpose), Equestrian Club Garić, Selište, Lake Skresovi (fishing tradition of Moslavina).

On Saturday, February 20, the tour will begin at 5 p.m, and on Sunday, February 21, at 9:30 p.m. on the Garešnica town square.

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December 7, 2020 – Sisak-Moslavina County plans many new projects for 2021. Among them, the construction of the Croatian Wine House (Hrvatska kuća vina) in Popovača stands out, as a promotion center of Moslavina wines, especially the indigenous variety škrlet.

As Lokalni.hr reports, the administrative department for the economy, agriculture, and rural development of the Sisak-Moslavina County will have a budget of more than50 million at its disposal next year, and a much higher amount is expected for projects from EU funds.

New crafts and businesses

For the economic development in 2021, 8.8 million kuna will be allocated: 4 million kuna for the development of entrepreneurial infrastructure, 3.85 million kuna for subsidies to craftsmen, small and medium-sized enterprises, and 750,000 kuna for capital aid for new investments in production.

The development of tourism will be supported next year with 4.572 million kuna. 1.4 million kuna will be invested in transport and communal infrastructure. Co-financing of passenger transport and co-financing of public road transport in municipalities continues. For regional development and projects co-financed from EU funds, 32.2 million kuna is allocated.

Most of it goes to the work of the Regional Coordinator of the SMC, which prepares and implements projects, and to the Natura SMC project – an educational and presentation center that will include all the richness of the county's natural heritage.

Among other planned projects, which should be co-financed from European funds, is the project "LIFE in Zone Ozone". With this project, a new model of disinfection should be developed, and its value is 7 million kuna.

Croatian Wine House - the future recognizability of the county

Also, a 34-million kuna project "Croatian Wine House" is planned, which would contain two segments. The first would be a tourist segment for which a tasting room, a restaurant, and a viewpoint would be built. The second segment would be scientific and educational and would consist of a laboratory, a wine cellar, and a test field intended primarily for the development of the indigenous wine variety of the Sisak-Moslavina County – škrlet.

The project will be implemented in the area of the City of Popovača, where it was presented in February. The prefect of Sisak-Moslavina County, Ivo Žinić, said on that occasion that the Croatian Wine House is the future recognizability of the county, emphasizing that it is just a continuation of all efforts for better promotion of Moslavina wines, especially the indigenous škrlet variety.

"This is an important project primarily because a lot of people here are involved in winemaking. Wine, vineyard, and wine cellars are the tradition of this area and status symbols of the City of Popovača. Thus, we will complete one story in which it will be possible to present everything that is produced, not only in the area of Popovača but also in the entire County," said then the mayor of Popovača Josip Mišković, Radio Banovina reports.

A special feature of this project is a viewpoint with flower petals that give a new character to this vineyard area.

"Everyone who comes to this area will have the need and desire to visit the wine house, see which wines are produced in this area, but also taste them and all other wines to help our winemakers. They are investing more and more every year, especially in škrlet, which has an increasing value on wine lists. I think that this project will be the capital crown of the entire investment in the development of wine and winemaking," said Mišević.

Other projects – battery development center, photovoltaic power plant, business incubators...

Other planned projects are the renovation of Villa Zelengaj in Topusko (5.5 million kuna), project "Research-development-production center for batteries and design and production of furniture" in the Entrepreneurial Zone Glina (150 million kuna), Photovoltaic power plant Martinska Ves (86 million kuna) and establishment of a network of business incubators in Popovača, Novska, Glina, Kutina, Donja Kukuruzari, Velika Ludina, and Lipovljani, with an estimated value of 192 million kuna.

Sisak-Moslavina County continues with the implementation of the project "County Entrepreneurial Loans", which enables the launch of new crafts and companies, and the growth and expansion of existing ones. This project has been implemented in SMC for years in cooperation with cities, municipalities, and commercial banks, which achieves an interest rate of 0.25 or even 0 percent for entrepreneurs.

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September 25, 2020 – When we think of the richness of Slavonia and Moslavina, our first associations are usually winemaking and agriculture. However, these two Croatian regions hide many benefits, and one of them is mushroom growing.

Apart from truffle hunting in Istria, the Croatian regions of Slavonia and Moslavina also hide a rich above and underground mushroom world. Yes, truffles can also be found in Slavonian forests, but the truffle business has not yet come to life in Slavonia as it has in Istria.

Nonetheless, for the last five years, Mushroom Festivals have been held in Lonjsko Polje Nature Park showing various mushroom species of the Slavonia and Moslavina regions. This year's edition of the Mushroom Festival will take its place this weekend, September 26 and 27, at the Repušnica Visitor Center in the village of the same name near Kutina.

This event is conceived as a combination of science (mycology, enology, sommelier), environmental protection, culture, health, sports, and recreation, because you're out in nature when looking for mushrooms, and they carry medicinal properties.

The Lonjsko Polje Nature Park / Romulić and Stojčić

Wide offer at the Mushroom Festival

Festival visitors can expect a large exhibition of mushrooms and educational content about the biological diversity of Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, and the importance of its preservation.

Mushrooms are also important for the gastronomic offer and are an integral part of various menus, especially vegetarian menus where they are one of the most important ingredients, which is why visitors will be able to enjoy the catering offer of specialties with mushrooms.

One of the rares and most delicious underground mushrooms are for sure - truffles. Authentic Istrian specialty with truffles shown on the picture are scrambled eggs ("fritaja s tartufima") / Donatella Pauković

That the popularity of this festival is recognized outside the Sisak-Moslavina County is proved by the fact that visitors from Moslavina come from the Zagreb County, since Repušnica village is only an hour away by car from Zagreb, near the town of Kutina.

For visitors to get familiar with the mushroom world of Slavonia and Moslavina, every mushroom will be exhibited and marked with cards with the Croatian and scientific names, the label of edibleness, and possible medicinal characteristics.

Mushroom empire in Croatia

The originator of the idea of ​​the Mushroom Festival and the founder of the Center for Mushroom Research "Russula" in Novska, Matija Josipović, has been studying thousands of mushrooms in Croatia for decades and is the author of as many as 8 books on the topic of mushrooms.

In his books, Josipović for the first time presented and described some types of mushrooms that can be found in Croatia, and through his work, he emphasizes the importance of mushrooms for nature.

Screenshot HRT

Josipović also wants to find mushrooms that have not yet been found in Croatia and explore what no one else has.

"Everything in nature tries to tell us something, but sometimes we humans don't listen," Josipović said in an interview with HRT, adding that mushrooms protect trees, and thus everything on Earth. The kingdom of mushroom is, therefore, according to new scientific research, as important as the flora and fauna.

"The latest systematization of all life on Earth consists of the plant world, the animal world, and the mushroom world as a separate world," Josipović explains the importance of mushrooms.

Rich mushroom characteristics

In his book simply called "Mushrooms" (“Gljive”), Josipović also dealt with the healing characteristics of each of them.

Mushroom Trametes versicolor has many medicinal benefits and can be found in Slavonian forests / Pixabay

In a forest around Novska, which is full of mushrooms, Josip found the so-called turkey tail ("puranov rep") mushroom (lat. Trametes versicolor), known in Japan as a cure that reduces mortality in certain types of cancer by 4 to 8 percent and slows the growth of cancer cells by up to 63 percent.

"I hope that such cures will soon be recognized in Europe as well," says Josipović.

In addition to healing characteristics, it is important to know which mushrooms are top quality, which are edible, and which are not tasty, but the most important thing is to know how to recognize poisonous or deadly mushrooms.

There’s never enough caution with mushrooms, so it is important to study books and learn from more experienced mushroom growers before harvesting. Also, mushroom festivals like these in Lonjsko Polje help in educating about these important and interesting forest creatures which are not lacking in Croatia.

The program of the Mushroom Festival runs from 9 am to 6 pm on Saturday, and from 10 am to 3 pm on Sunday.

Mushrooms in nature / Pixabay

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Seven largest producers of Škrlet wine in Moslavina have presented their project: they've blended the best of their harvests, from best positions into one wine. 

Ilovčak, Jaram, Florijanović, Miklaužić, Mikša, Trdenić and Voštinić-Klasnić wineries are joined in the Association of the Škrlet makers. To further promote and improve the brand of their traditional variety, they'll be making a limited number of bottles of this unique blend (5000 bottles are planned for this, the first year). 

Tomislav Trdenić, president of the Association, told the press that this is the first such wine project in Croatia (although young Plavac Mali makers from Pelješac have been doing something similar for a while) and that it proves the togetherness of the winemakers of Moslavina. This year, the wine is of high quality (although low yield), so the blended wine has 12 % alcohol content and is not too strong. It's fresh, semi-aromatic wine with floral and fruity notes. Škrlet is a variety that makes wines with lower alcohol content and higher acids, which makes it refreshing and enjoyable everyday wine with specific varietal flavor. It goes well with any fish, white meat dishes, and pasta. 

The producers have been working together on branding the Škrlet and are satisfied with the position the variety has on the wine-map of Croatia. Now they need to work hard on solving their other big problem, which is the distribution and the quantity of wine they're able to produce. This blended Škrlet will be able to guarantee the high level of quality of the wine and will be able to compete with other varieties that are better known in Croatia and abroad. 

This Saturday, an event dubbed the "Evening of Škrlet and Moslavina Cuisine" (Večer škrleta i moslavačke kuhinje) was held on Popovača main square (Popovača is the center of the Moslavina region, in which most Škrlet is grown) where it was possible to taste the special, blended škrlet.