October 12, 2021 - The Medvedgrad opening is planned for October 22 after a 3-year renovation that aimed to establish sustainable use of natural heritage through the Medvedgrad Visitor Center.

The renovation of the Medvedgrad burg has been completed, which will be open to visitors at the end of this month. Namely, the Public Institution Nature Park Medvednica has implemented the EU project "Improving visitor capacity for sustainable management of the Nature Park Medvednica" since 2018, which aims to establish sustainable use of natural heritage through the opening of the Medvedgrad Visitor Center and related facilities to contribute to sustainable social-economic development at the local and regional level, reports HRTurizam.

The EU project was valued at 37,726,252.75 kuna to restore and arrange protected cultural property of the medieval noble town of Medvedgrad, which became the Medvedgrad Visitor Center with several functional units.

In the South Tower, a display of natural and cultural values ​​of the Medvednica Nature Park has been arranged to educate visitors about the values ​​and importance of the protected area. The rich history of Medvedgrad and the Park itself called "Enchanted History" is shown in the central part of the Grand Palace, which also houses the newly equipped space of the multifunctional hall and souvenir shop. The small palace contains a museum exhibition "Secrets of the Ancient Mountains" which includes a display of a medieval pantry and a shadow theater.

The implementation of the EU project carried out other demanding project activities that contributed to achieving the goal of protecting, valorizing, educating, and promoting sustainable management of natural heritage, protecting cultural and natural heritage in the Medvednica Nature Park, making it a recognizable tourist destination that contributes to socio-economic development.

In addition to construction and architectural work, some of the basic management documents were developed, such as cycling development strategy, with accompanying action plans, visitor management strategy, Visitor Center branding, marketing plan, visitor center security manual, which included cooperation with HGSS, marking eight bike paths, setting up informational educational boards, but also marking the access to Medvedgrad, purchasing electric bicycles, designing and making toys, and creating educational workshops.

"By opening the Medvedgrad Visitor Center, Croatia gets a new ecological, tourist, and economic content," said Marina Popijač, director of the Medvednica Nature Park, who added that the official opening of the Medvedgrad Visitor Center is planned for Friday, October 22, and will be open for visitors from October 23 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

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November 8, 2020 – Although Zagreb has been shrouded in fog on Sunday morning, it has been a sunny autumn day on Sljeme and its forest.

Standing 1000 meters above Zagreb, the highest peak of Mount Medvednica, Sljeme, is the perfect and most favourite weekend excursion site for many Zagreb residents, as well as people from the surrounding area.

Although the fog did not look promising on Sunday morning, many Zagreb recreationists and excursionists still decided to head to the highest peak of Zagreb. And they did not regret it, as the sun appeared just after the first hills. Climbing to an increasing elevation, the fog slowly but surely disappeared, and the late autumn sun shone through the already half-bare branches of the Medvednica forest.

Sljeme (1033m), the highest peak of Medvednica or Zagrebačka Gora, as it is also called, can be reached on foot and by bike on hiking trails, or by road. From 1963 to 2007, the Sljeme cable car was in operation, and a new one is currently under construction, and should have its first test run of only 16 minutes very soon.

The area of Medvednica is also a nature park of the same name, and along the walk or ride through the beautiful forest, it is possible to get to know more than 1000 plant species. You can find your peace on as many as 70 hiking trails, and listen to the murmur of water from 70 streams. Exactly because of that, but also because of the immediate vicinity of the Croatian metropolis, the interest in visiting Medvednica and Sljeme is great throughout the whole year, and mostly on weekends.

Apart from the beautiful untouched nature, there are other tourist attractions in the Medvednica Nature Park, such as the old medieval fortress Medvedgrad. The Veternica Cave, the sixth-largest in Croatia, and the Zrinski Mine, cultural heritage of the Republic of Croatia, are also an indispensable part of a visit to the park.

Since 2005, Sljeme has been the host of the Snow Queen Trophy ("Snježna kraljica"), women's slalom race of the World Ski Cup. The original name of the race was the Golden Bear ("Zlatni medvjed"), but it was changed in honor of Janica Kostelić, legendary Croatian skier, without whose sporting success the race would not have been given to Croatia and Zagreb to organize. Apart from that, Sljeme is also well-known for its television tower, visible from every part of Zagreb, and the Restaurant Vidikovac.

After a few hours of climbing, depending on the chosen route, hikers most look forward to eating homemade beans or baked “štrukli” and sweeten with strudels in the famous Mountain Lodge Puntijarka (947m).

The descent, due to fallen brown leaves and swept stones, is as challenging as the ascent to Sljeme, but the pleasure of observing the stems and treetops is even greater.

All photos © Donatella Pauković

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