February 3, 2021 – With heavy hearts, Rijeka's only electronic and underground music club Crkva announced its permanent closure today. It was a huge supporter of arts, culture, music and minorities for both the city and the region and will be greatly missed

While independent business owners and entrepreneurs took to the main square of Zagreb in protest at the perceived inequality in Coronavirus measures and their enforcement, 160 kilometres away on the Kvarner coast, the ban on operations for catering and entertainment venues was forcing a very hard decision.

Beloved Rijeka club Crkva today announced its permanent closure. The news will be taken with great sadness by not only the young people of Rijeka and the students who live there for university but to clubbers across Croatia and the many visitors who have passed through its doors. Within the nightlife offer of the vibrant city of Rijeka, Club Crkva was unique.

“Thank you for every dance, smile and happiness, thank you for every arrival and every morning we welcomed together. Thank you to all the artists who have performed here, thank you to those who have not, and yet they have filled our sacred chambers with their sound.” wrote club Crkva's Sasa Jovanovic in a clearly emotional Facebook post this afternoon.

Club Crkva was Rijeka's only dependable weekly club offering late-night electronic and underground dance music. Every major city in the world has at least one place like club Crkva, which puts it on the international music map. Now, Rijeka has none.

The club gave countless opportunities to young Croatian DJs and promoters, never dictating a style on the enthusiasm and ideas of the up-and-coming clubbing generations. It hosted house and techno, drum n' bass, breaks and any other style you might find in a big city's underground music club. After the closure of the irregular Hartera happenings, club Crkva was the only nightclub in Rijeka to regularly be visited by internationally-renowned DJs. It also played host to all of the biggest names of regional talent.

Club Crkva proudly and actively supported arts and culture programmes born in the local community, many of whom were simply independents who had a great idea they were passionate about. The club was due to host several key happenings in the Rijeka European Capital of Culture 2020 year until the pandemic put pay to much of the programme. Many will also remember club Crkva as a committed supporter of the city's gay and minority communities. It regularly opened its doors to members of the region's gay, lesbian and feminist movements who asked to throw parties there.

“Thanks to our stewards, all the staff and friends. We created beautiful memories and wrote a history of world-class Rijeka and regional clubbing, “ Mr Jovanovic continued. “What I regret the most is that we will not say goodbye at one last big party.”

“One thing is for sure, if this pandemic is a difficult path to a better, more honest and more advanced society, then let this Church of ours be sacrificed for it and let all the energy we have produced here for years be used for that purpose.”

All internal images © Club Crkva

As Morski writes on the 23rd of June, 2019, over the next twelve months, there will be temporary traffic regulations placed in Rijeka to allow for some significant works to take place. Works on the reconstruction of Krešimirova street (ulica), which include the construction of a new wastewater, water supply, and other types of necessary infrastructure, will begin on Monday, June the 24th, 2019.

The route of the course of these works is 930 metres long, it includes two south traffic lanes and stretches from the intersection with Blaž Polić street to the intersection with Milutin Barać street. At that section of the road, traffic will be two-way on two north-traffic lanes.

As Rijeka's city traffic centre has stated, for the purpose of maintaining the minimum traffic flow, the new traffic regulation is forbidden for all vehicles turning left from Krešimirova at the intersection to the Public Health Institute as well as for those turning left from Krešimirova to Manzonija street. It is also forbidden to turn left from Nikola Tesla street into Krešimirova in the direction of Žabica for all vehicles except for public transport vehicles and emergency vehicles.

On the route of the works on Krešimirova street, all bus stations except those next to Index restaurant (in both directions) are being removed, and they'll be moved slightly further away towards Žabica square (trg) and the bus station at the intersection of Krešimirova - Milutin Barača - Zvonimir (in the direction of Rijeka city centre) will be moved to Zvonimirova, just before the intersection. Bus stations in Manzonija street and Nikola Tesla street will remain in function as normal.

All of Rijeka's city bus lines will remain unchanged and will function according to the new route, except for line number three, which changes the direction of traffic on its return journey to the centre of the city, and instead of Zvonimirova and Krešimirova, it will operate as follows: Zvonimirova-Rikard Benčić-Franjo Čandeka-Vukovarska-Viktora Cara Emina-Fiorello la Guardia-Pomerio-Žrtava fašizma-Delta.

It is unfortunately expected that the congestion of Krešimirova will cause constant traffic jams and traffic issues, which will be particularly pronounced during peak hours, such as rush hour, therefore all of Rijeka's road users are advised to use public city transport more often, or to better educate themselves on the locations of bypasses, which will be marked by appropriate traffic signaling. It is also advisable for drivers heading between the eastern and western parts of the city to use the Rijeka bypass.

The City of Rijeka has asked all road users for understanding, and have continued to emphasise the fact that they must use the aforementioned bypass order to avoid too much crowding and congestion on Rijeka's roads.

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