February 11, 2019 - The 20th round of the Croatian First League began on February 8th with Rudeš and Osijek and ended on February 10th with Hajduk and Lokomotiva. 

February 4, 2019 - The 19th round of the Croatian First League returned over the weekend with a big result for Hajduk Split. 

After a long winter break, the Croatian First League (HNL) returned to Croatia’s stadiums and television screens around the country. After missing our favorite Croatian clubs play in league games since the middle of December, this comeback was more than welcomed. 

The 19th round already saw derbies and upsets, like Hajduk overcoming Osijek away at City Garden Stadium, promising better beginnings for the team and fans. Could this be a Hajduk revival? 

We also saw an upset for Rijeka, who lost to former Second-League club Gorica at home. A spring season opener they might wish to forget. 

Without further ado, here is our 19th round recap for the Croatian First League, which was played from February 1 to 3, 2019. 

Lokomotiva Zagreb v. Inter Zaprešić (2:0)

To kick off the second part of the season, Lokomotiva and Inter met on Friday, February 1, 2019, at Kranjčevićeva Street Stadium. 

While the first half went without goals, the second half didn’t see the first goal of the game until the 81st minute when Uzuni scored for Lokomotiva (1:0). Twelve minutes later, two minutes into extra time, Ivanušec knocked a penalty into the back of the net to secure the Lokomotiva win. 

Lokomotiva is currently in third place on the table with 34 points while Inter is in 8th with 17. 

Dinamo Zagreb v. Rudeš (7:2)

Croatian champion Dinamo met Rudeš on Saturday, February 2, 2019, at Maksimir stadium. 

The game saw goals, and quite a few of them early on - with Hajrović (5, 9), Petković (19), and Gojak (40) scoring in the first half for Dinamo. Rudeš got in one goal by Štrkalj in the 23rd for 4:1 at the half. 

The second half started with more goals for Dinamo, as Orišić scored three times, in the 56th, 60th, and 65th. Štrkalj scored again for Rudeš, and the game ended 7:2. 

Dinamo is currently in first place with 48 points while Rudeš is in last with 3. 

Istra 1961 v. Slaven Belupo (1:1)

Istra and Slaven Belupo met at Aldo Drosina Stadium in Pula on Saturday, February 2, 2019. 

A rather quiet game that went without goals in the first half, N’Di scored for Istra first in the 64th minute, while Belupo was quick to equalize less than 10 minutes later with a goal by Krstanović for 1:1. 

Istra is currently in 9th place with 16 points, while Belupo is in 7th with 18.

Osijek v. Hajduk (0:1)

Osijek and Hajduk met for the highly anticipated derby on Sunday, February 3, 2019, at City Garden Stadium. 

The two rivals met in the pouring rain, which didn’t help any conditions on the pitch. The first half went without goals, though it was Hajduk’s Caktaš to score 4 minutes into the second half for 0:1. The Split club managed to hold onto their lead to kick off the second part of the season with a win, and high morale. 

Osijek is currently in 2nd place with 34 points, while Hajduk is in 6th with 26. 

Rijeka v. Gorica (1:3)

Rijeka and Gorica met at Rujevica to close out the 19th round on Sunday, February 3, 2019. 

While it was Rijeka’s Acosty to kick off the scoring of the game for 1:0 six minutes in, Gorica was given a penalty in the 30th to equalize (1:1). 

Gorica’s Dvorneković scored in the 57th minute to give the away team the lead, and Maloča scored in the 87th to secure Gorica’s win. 

Rijeka is currently in 4th place with 34 points while Gorica is in 5th with 30. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. See the Croatian First League table. 

The Days of jobs in tourism events across three Croatian cities, both in continental Croatia and on the coast, are set to offer new employment opportunities for many seeking to enter into the world of tourism, which is by far Croatia's greatest economic asset.

While jobs in Croatia might appear to be few and far between for many of those seeking opportunities elsewhere across the territory of the European Union, tourism remains by far the strongest sector in Croatia, with numerous positions available up and down the coast, and doors opening even in the previously overlooked continental part of Croatia as more and more tourists 

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of January, 2019, the Days of jobs in tourism event will bring together many Croatian employers from across the tourism sector to get both currently unemployed people and those seeking a career change interested in working in Croatia's booming tourism sector this upcoming summer season.

The ''Days of jobs in tourism" event will be held for the third consecutive year this year under the official organisation of the Ministry of Labour and Pensions, the Ministry of Tourism, the Croatian Employment Service and the Croatian National Tourist Board.

The aim of this event is to enable employers and the currently unemployed to connect with each other, gain important information on employment opportunities and engage in tourism career development in one place.

According to the estimates of the event's organisers, this year, "Days of jobs in tourism" will bring together more than 120 employers and more than 17,000 visitors seeking seasonal employment from three cities - January the 18th in Osijek, January the 25th in Zagreb and February the 1st down on the coast itself in Split.

Minister of Labour Marko Pavić and Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli paid a visit to the Zagreb event which start at 10:00 today at the Zagreb Fair (Velesajam).

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business page for much more.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 16th of January, 2019, Osijek's "IT park" business zone story is beginning to develop after a lot of back and forth on the issue, much to the satisfaction of interested parties. The City of Osijek and its numerous IT companies whose business results and success have put Osijek firmly on the map, are leading it to become a focus of the Croatian IT scene.

Glas Slavonije reported that its very last session last year, Osijek's City Council adopted a proposal for a decision on the establishment of the "IT Park" business zone with the aim of attracting investment and opening up new jobs in the IT sector. The value of the investment stands at a massive eighteen million kuna. In the IT park itself, which boasts a total area of ​​2.5 hectares, bigger companies will be able to buy plots of land for the construction of their own buildings, and the City of Osijek will deal with and construct all the necessary infrastructure and business buildings for small IT companies.

In addition to this measure, the City of Osijek has also implemented a program of incentives and breaks for the purchase of plots in this zone, which became valid after being published in the Official Gazette. Osijek's city administration has, once again, prepared a set of "different modules which contain certain measures (incentives and facilitations) aimed at attracting both domestic and foreign investors from the IT sector to long-term investments in the ''IT park'' business zone in Osijek.'' The goal of this measure is very clear, the aim is to create new jobs, reduce unemployment and ensure a high quality environment for the development and operation of the IT sector in Osijek.

Basically, companies will have the right to incentives and numerous forms of breaks if, according to the national classification law, they belong to one of the three priority groups. In the first group, there are, for example, computer programming or computer hardware and software management, in the second group lies production (electrical components, computer and peripheral equipment), in the third group comes processing and computer games.

The reduction in the price of plots of land intended for construction is 10 to 30 percent, depending on the group. If Osijek's new economic facility is built within 24 months of the conclusion of a construction contract, the land price will be reduced by as much as 40 percent. If, in the year preceding the year of the conclusion of the sales contract, a minimum of 1 million kuna is realised, the right to a price reduction of 10 percent will come into force.

Of course, the biggest reduction in the price is related to creating jobs and offering new employment possibilities. An entrepreneur who, from the moment of signing a contract on the establishment a land sale for construction maintains the existing number of employees, earns the right to a 10 percent reduction, if he or she hires up to ten workers, a 30 percent reduction follows, and if he or she hires more than 20 workers, the price reduction will stand at a massive 60 percent.

Make sure to stay up to date with everything you need to know about investment and doing business in Osijek and in Croatia as a whole by following our dedicated business page.

NK Osijek fans gathered to clear the pitch of snow at City Garden Stadium to ensure today's match against Inter Zaprešić could play, reports Gol.hr on December 16, 2018. 

NK Osijek thanked their loyal supporters who responded to the call to remove the layer of snow from the pitch at City Garden so that yesterday's delayed match could be played against Inter Zaprešić.

"A joint action to remove the snow cover from the pitch at City Garden has been successfully completed! At 7 am, two hundred fans, club members, young footballers from Osijek, members of the Red Cross Society, association (No) Addiction and other volunteers who readily accepted the invitation from the Osijek Football Club, came together. The field was cleaned for two hours and will be ready to play today's match that is scheduled for 1 pm,” said the official website of the NK Osijek.

“It is known that our club decided to pay a working hourly wage (25 kuna) on this occasion to everyone who participated in this action, and it is worth pointing out that the Kohorta members have waived their compensation for a humanitarian cause. Namely, they decided to instead help Diana Vranješ, who needs hip surgery. Their example was followed by many other fans and sympathizers of Osijek who also gave up their respective pay for the same goal,” the club added. 

“NK Osijek is grateful to everyone who helped us remove the snow and thus enable conditions for the game between Osijek and Inter. This example, once again, shows the affection of the fans to their favorite club because they were not interested in any compensation, but were motivated by their love of Osijek,” the club concluded. 

The Croatian First League will also see the highly anticipated derby between Dinamo and Hajduk this afternoon at Maksimir Stadium.

To read more about Osijek, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

There can be no denying that Croatia's overall demographic picture is grim. An astonishing amount of people have left, mainly since the country's accession to the European Union, when borders ''opened'' and life was made easier for those seeking opportunities abroad, but also since before then. With an enormous number of Croats having fled the country, mainly from the overlooked continental and eastern areas, the already poor Croatian demographic picture is growing more and more bleak.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of December, 2018, over the last six or seven years, all the first graders from the entire territory of the Levanjska Varoš municipality, with its 136 square kilometres, in which there are just nine settlements, will sit behind just three school desks, according to a depressing report on Croatia's continually worsening demographic crisis by Glas Slavonije.

The small number of children born in this part of Osijek-Baranja County this year offers no hope for this municipality, at least at the moment, and with very little room for optimism in expectations of its demographic recovery, other measures are being sought.

Cash for every birth is an incentive for many, as the aforementioned area is one of the least populated areas, the first association of which is one of ​​poor development, a small population, and one of the areas in the whole of the Republic of Croatia which is the most in need.

In Levanjska Varoš, there are currently less than 6.9 inhabitants per square kilometre. The last census, which was carried out back in 2011, stated that there are 1,250 inhabitants, but, according to the mayor Slavko Tidlačka, for a long time now there have been less than 1,000, about 950 people who live in one of the nine settlements.

Like the poor Croatian demographic picture in general, the prospects for many local villages in this area, as well as across the country as a whole, with a little more ''leg room'' in some areas, are still extremely bad.

Until recently, this municipality has been awarding parents a sum of 1,000 kuna for each newborn child, but now that amount has been significantly boosted. Last year's decision on the right to financial compensation for newborn children in the area was passed. According to the details of that move, parents are paid 2,000 kuna for their first and second child, 5,000 kuna for a third, and for the fourth and then every next child, as much as 10,000 kuna.

Make sure to follow our lifestyle page for more information on the poor demographic image in Croatia and much more.

Robotics in Croatia is a growing trend, with the constant advancement of technology and innovation, Croatia is putting both feet forward when it comes to developing not only robots, but knowledge.

As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of December, 2018, one Osijek-based startup has successfully developed an autonomous robotic platform for cargo transfer and has since presented it to some major global players, names including Orbico, Atlantic and Tokić are now testing it.

The Osijek startup, Gideon Brothers, has thus developed the first Croatian industrial robot. What it involves is an autonomous robotic platform for cargo transport, within the scope of the ''warehouse of the future'' that is increasingly being used by the likes of Amazon and Alibaba, as well as numerous other major logistics and merchants.

It doesn't have a name, at least not for now, but the Croatian autonomous ''robo-warehouse'' has an enviable performance. It can work properly without interruption for 24 hours per day, every day of the year. Its battery allows it to withstand a shift of six hours per piece, and then when the discharged battery is replaced with full one, and the job can continue. It's also fast.

The new step forward in robotics in Croatia, which is also miracle of high technology in itelf, was developed by a team of five doctors of science and 26 experts in the field of hardware and software in Croatia. The robo-warehouse is also a very attractive business product. In less than two years since its inception, this Osijek startup has developed technology which is ten times cheaper and more powerful in collecting its environmental data than the type which is currently the most widely used - the LIDAR driving system.

One example of this are the systems used by Tesla motors in their cars and trucks. Gideon has upgraded LIDAR with its own solution that combines stereo cameras and artificial intelligence (deep learning).

When asked whether the robot has already been seen by some of the biggest global players, such as Amazon and Alibaba, Milan Račić, the co-founder and director of development of Gideon Brothers didn't want to reveal any specific names, while emphasising that they have indeed presented their product "to some of the world's biggest players".

What has been very openly confirmed is that the Osijek startup will target both small and medium-sized companies on a global scale with its product.

"Such robots enable small and medium-sized companies to boost their efficiency and come up to the scale of the same level of competitiveness in transport and logistics which only some of the biggest international companies currently have. Of course, the biggest players are aware of this and they're actively following this technology," Račić says.

Three companies, operating in more than thirty countries and having a massive annual income of over three billion euro, are the first buyers, more specifically, they're the first commercial reference of Gideon's robo-warehouse, which is a major boost not only to this startup in particular but to robotics in Croatia as a whole.

The use of various robotics in Croatia is on the up, and Milan Račić says their product will provide a competitive advantage for Croatian companies and will continue to transform them. Mladen Pejković, senior executive of the Atlantic Group, says that digital transformation is considered an important element for future competitiveness. "That's why we're very excited about the pilot project with Gideon Brothers in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics in our logistics operations," noted Pejković.

"The pace of change will only accelerate in the future, and our partnership with Gideon Brothers will give us tools in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics that will help shape that future," stated Branko Roglić.

Ivan Gadže of the large company Tokić said that in parallel with engaging the best people to help them realise plans to spread to other EU markets, they want to provide their employees with the very best tools to help them achieve this.

"Strategic cooperation with Gideon Brothers is seen as an opportunity to introduce smart automation into our business and we reiterate the success we've achieved in Croatia on the international scene," said Gadže.

Matija Kopić, co-founder and CEO of Gideon Brothers, revealed that along with Milan Račić, his new startup, Gideon Brothers has three other co-founders who have helped significantly in the development of the first Croatian industrial robot. One of those individuals is Josip Cesić, he is one of the authors of the most successful algorithms in the world for simultaneous localisation and mapping, which is based on stereo cameras.

Then comes Edin Kočo, who led in the design and production of robo-warehouse, and had previously designed and manufactured robots for inspection in nuclear power plants. Last but by no means least, the fifth co-founder of Gideon Brothers is Kruno Stražanac, who is a big data expert, extremely knowledgeable in data analysis and technical support.

Kopić stated that he is lucky to live in such an incredible age, because Gideon Brothers has managed to accomplish something that many of the previous theoreticians of robotics could have only dreamed of.

He points out that this success is a result of very strong support from both Croatian and foreign investors. "The support of our investors and clients confirms our conviction that autonomous robots equipped with visual perception will deeply and positively change our society," added Kopić.

In just two years, the Croatian startup Gideon Brothers underwent two rounds of investment. It received 16.3 million kuna or 2.2 million euro in investment from 21 investors.

Make sure to follow our dedicated Made in Croatia and business pages for more information on robotics in Croatia and much more.

Click here for the original article by Bernard Ivezic for Poslovni Dnevnik

Have you ever wondered what Uhljebistan means? We use the word a lot here at TCN and often are quick to forget that not everyone will be aquainted with it (lucky them). In brief, the word encompasses uhljebs - those individuals typically working in Croatia's numerous state bodies who want nothing more than to make your life needlessly complicated, for no gain, and then hopefully charge you a few kuna along the way.

If you'd like to take a more in depth journey into the world of Uhljebistan, click here and get to know some of the apparently unstoppable yet totally useless, self-important and self-serving cogs of the Croatian state.

You'd think that in this day and age, where people often love animals more than they do other people, placing a few signs on the street letting the world know you've lost your beloved pet and would like to find them, would be no problem at all. In fact, you'd think it would be encouraged. Apparently not, at least not in Osijek.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 28th of November, 2018, after her seven-year-old Siamese cat disappeared, one Osijek resident decided to place some signs in her neighbourhood letting others know about the cat's disappearance, and offering a reward for anyone who finds the cat. Soon after, the woman's mother, whose phone number was placed as a contact number on the sign, received an unexpected call. Instead of it being someone with news of the cat's whereabouts on the other end of the line, it was a communal officer, writes Glas Slavonije.

"He told her [her mother] that we had two hours come and remove all the signs, because we'd otherwise have to pay 1,000 kuna for each sign. I have to admit that we'd put many signs up, and we mostly put them on bus stops, that is, at higher levels, on poles, etc. I saw a lot of ads put up in such places, so I didn't think that I wouldn't be permitted to put a poster up about my missing cat. As soon as we were cautioned, we went and removed all of them,'' said the woman, whose publication on Facebook has been shared a lot, namely by other rightly irritated animal lovers.

So, if you've lost your cat, make sure you're willing to pay a ridiculous amount of money to put up an innocent sign asking your fellow local residents for help, because God forbid someone goes without making money from your problems.

Make sure to follow our lifestyle page for more.

He was pulling a Mercedes on the main square of Osijek, where Ante Starčević's statue is located. He stopped at the monument, turned to him and, since he did not receive an answer, pulled Mercedes to the other side of the square. That was a farewell performance, title “My dad is the best in the world”, by multimedia artist Siniša Labrović recently in the center of Osijek, reports Večernji List on November 23, 2018.

“I asked him why he is alone and where are his children, do they call him from Dublin and Munich, do they send money, why he is silent, I asked him whether he felt shameful or guilty. I know he was against monuments and public honors. I asked him what I should tell his children if I met them around the world. ‘The Father of the Nation’ remained silent, stiff, alone and important. The performance did not look at the real character and work of Ante Starčević, who deserves respect, but at his monument in a society which he would consider a betrayal of ideals for which he once fought,” explained Labrović.

Labrović recently left Croatia and moved to Berlin, like so many other Croatians, young and old. The reasons are private and professional. “As a professor of Croatian language, I have not been able to get a permanent job in a school for ten years, after I was told by the Church that I would never get a job since in 2000 I restored a damaged monument to the partisans in Sinj. Also, earlier this year, I received an offer from the Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb, which is officially our main contemporary art institution, that I could create a performance for 500 kuna gross, both the fee and the production costs. Also, the few institutions that remained ‘normal’ are slowly being occupied by clerofascists. So we finally had to hear the message they have been whispering to us all the time – go to hell,” he explained

He moved to Berlin only recently, so he still does not know how the German culture will react to his performances. For now, he says, he is “a foreign worker in Croatia which is a thousand-year-old European country.” In November, he took part in two exhibitions in Rijeka, and he has several other projects planned.

Asked if he would be more appreciated in the homeland now that he is living abroad, he said he was not sure. “My plans are vast, but the future is opaque, so we will see. As for the appreciation in the homeland, it is likely that nothing will change.” He does expect that he will live better in Germany, given that many people are moving there and few are returning. “What the statistics mean for me, I will find out. Maybe I will be an exception,” he added.

Siniša Labrović was in the focus of the media this May when he started collecting signatures for a referendum that would ban the persecution of pedophile priests. Of course, it was just another of his performances, but surprisingly there were people who thought he was serious and who even signed the petition, claiming that priests should never be prosecuted, even if they are pedophiles.

For more on art in Croatia, click here.

Nine months ago, the first health tourism cluster in eastern Croatia was presented, called Pannonian Health, which today brings together twelve members of different health, tourism and business profiles, and whose main goal is to develop and promote the town of Osijek and eastern Croatia as new desirable destinations for health and tourism, reports Glas Slavonije on November 22, 2018.

During this time, the cluster has developed a strategy and opened up for new companies that see their interest in health tourism. The cluster manager Manuel Magdić explained who are the ideal potential partners for this business and promotion concept.

Who are currently members of the Pannonian Health Cluster and what are the benefits of being a member?

We currently have twelve members, from the field of health services, hospitality and accommodation services, as well as transportation, education and information technology. Our members are Air Pannonia, Bizovačke Toplice Spa, Čes Dental Centre, Lege Artis Polyclinic, Maksimilijan private accommodation services, Edukos Instruction Centre, Dr. Balog Eye Polyclinic, Dr. Saša Đukić Dental Medicine Clinic, Svijetli Dvori winery, Szabo winery, and companies providing us with IT support, Ofir and Betaware. We have decided that the founders and their representatives are members of the cluster steering committee.

We are open to all other companies which see their interest in being part of the Pannonian Health cluster, provided they operate in the fields of medicine, transportation, catering and accommodation services and entertainment, and that their ideas and diversity can contribute to our development.

The basic benefit of being a cluster member is the promotion of business activities through available marketing channels at the national and international level. This includes creating a complete company profile in German and English on the cluster’s website, with the possibility for direct communication with customers, ads on social networks such as Facebook and Instagram, Google AdWords advertising, printed promotional brochures, leaflets and booklets, as well as the presentation of companies at health fairs and conferences. Many may not know this, but the cost of attending conferences and fairs on health tourism with the opportunity to present your business is exceptionally high, so the cluster is a perfect opportunity for companies to present their offer to international clients. All members are represented equally with other members.

Do you have the initial feedback from foreign agencies and tourists? Have you already seen the first results of being part of a cluster?

“Ten days ago we were in Turin, and last month in Austria. The feedback is excellent because most European countries have a positive perception of Croatia. Our goal is to connect members with international agencies and providers so that they send potential customers to our region. That was our task in Austria, but also in Crikvenica, where we participated in a conference organized by the Kvarner cluster, learned from their experiences and experiences of successful destinations in the field of health tourism such as Malaysia. We had the opportunity to get introduced to some of the agents from Europe, with whom we immediately got in touch.

For now, we have individual visits to our members, mostly from Austria and Germany. There are also many of our people who work abroad and are emotionally linked to Croatia and come here with their whole families, enjoying the tourist offer of our region. We see them as our strongest ambassador. We are confident that we have high-quality professionals in this town and region and that we can offer top-notch service.

What is the vision of the Pannonian Health cluster’s development?

There are several clusters in Croatia presenting and integrating the health tourism offer of particular regions. Our long-term plan is to connect with as many such organizations as possible to present the whole of Croatia and the Pannonian region as a desirable destination for health and tourism. As the name of the cluster says, we do not want to limit ourselves just to Slavonia and Baranja in the long run. We are open for cooperation with companies from neighboring countries, the Pannonian region, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary, especially because such cooperation opens up the possibility for projects through the EU cross-border cooperation initiatives.

Are there any preconditions that future members need to fulfill to become part of the cluster?

The main precondition is to have a website translated into German and English to enable potential clients to consider whether they want to cooperate. If the website and promotional materials are not ready immediately, there is a transition period for new members. It is also important that team members speak German and English and that the company can be classified into a category such as medical services, transportation, accommodation, catering, education or entertainment. Of course, we are open to all those who can contribute to the Pannonian Health cluster with their activities and want to support this idea. We invite them to join us with their proposals, donations or some in some other way, and we will gladly introduce them as partners of Slavonia and Baranja. We also invite all tourist agencies who see their interest in health tourism to come to us.

For more on health tourism in Croatia, click here.

Translated from Glas Slavonije (reported by Nefreteta Z. Eberhard).