ZAGREB, 12 Feb 2022 - As people are continuing to emigrate from Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Catholic Croats, the country's authorities are showing no interest in addressing this problem, the new Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sarajevo, Tomo Vukšić, warned on Saturday.

Speaking in an interview with Fena news agency, Vukšić cited data from the parishes according to which 424,000 Catholics had lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina immediately after the country's 1992-1995 war, and the country was left without as many as 100,000 Catholics in the 2003-2019 period alone.

Before the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early March 2020, slightly over 350,000 Catholics had lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and their emigration continues, the archbishop noted.

He said people were leaving because they could not find work, as well as because of hopelessness, corruption and legal uncertainty.

"This affects people of all faiths, but unfortunately just like in neighbouring countries, the government is hardly interested, which is a shame," Vukšić said.

He said that all problems, including demographics, should be dealt with faster, and that religious communities had the responsibility to establish and promote dialogue as a precondition for addressing the problems.

"Ecumenism and dialogue is achieved through open and friendly meetings with other people who are different. This is an integral and indispensable part of the identity and mission of the Catholic Church, even when perhaps others do not accept it," the archbishop said. "I want such cooperation and dialogue with everyone and will always try my best to be open."

Vukšić succeeded Cardinal Vinko Puljić, who had served as Archbishop of Sarajevo for 30 years until last month when he was retired by Pope Francis.

For more, check out our politics section.

July 2, 2021 - Dedication to researching and developing the field of social sciences sees the Ivo Pilar Social Research Institute expanding scientific cooperation once again after Željko Holjevac's visit to Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Ivo Pilar Social Research Institute, active as always, continues to expand its cooperation on scientifically explain social issues (symbolically noted as 2021 marks 30 years of the Institute).

As reported on their official website, Institute headmaster dr. Željko Holjevac visited Sarajevo, the capital city of the neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, from June 21-23.

The main story of that visit was a signed bilateral cooperation agreement between the Ivo Pilar Social Research Institute and the Sarajevo Catholic Faculty. The agreement was signed by Holjevac and Faculty dean dr. Darko Tomašević.

Additionally, Holjevac was at the reception with Vrhbosanski's vice bishop Vinko Puljić.

„They talked about possible shared projects that would be adjusted to the tradition, culture and developing needs of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina“, informed Ivo pilar social research Institute.

Croatian Cultural Society Napredak (progress) also met with Holjevac. Napredak soon celebrates 120 years of work and was founded at the start of the 20th century when the famous Croatian social scientist Pilar was active in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Napredak plans various manifestations for their big anniversary, and dr. Holjevac discussed the possible cooperation in organizing an international scientific symposium regarding the identity of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ivo Pilar Institute working in full speed

This sort of cooperation in regards to researching the Croatian diaspora in the neighboring country where the Croatian historical role and present is significant is nothing new for the Ivo Pilar Social research Institute.

As TCN reported earlier in May, the Institute, along with scientific partners, organized a conference “Identity of Boka Kotorska Croatians“, and the three-day event gathered crucial scientific institutes in Croatia to the town of Tivat in the Bay of Croatian Saints in Montenegro.

Scientists from the Institute were also active this year as they participated at European Conference For Social Work Research (ECSWR), International Society for Ethnology and Folklore (SIEF) Conference, and also by presenting a book on Croatian Mountain Rescue Service in Gospić, or by presenting book Cultural Identity of Vukovar – Contribution to Investigating Heritage and Successors“ – to list some of the activities TCN reported on throughout 2021.

As 2021 marks the 30th year anniversary of the Ivo Pilar Institute, apart from the aforementioned actions (to which we can include nurturing relations with scientific colleagues in Slovakia or opening a new research office on Vis Island), several more goals were envisioned by the end of the year: to publish the first edition of critical translation for the book „South Slavic (Yugoslav) Question“ by Ivo Pilar from 1918, and to make and publish Pilar's Kaleidoskop of Croatian society.

With the active academic dynamic demonstrated by the Institute, there is no doubt there is enough quality and capacity to achieve these goals. It is only a matter of time in such a busy and productive schedule.

Learn more about Croatian Diaspora on our TC page.

For more about science in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 13, 2021 - Split could not use home-court advantage against Spars in the 70:76 (46:49) defeat in the first ABA relegation match on Wednesday. 

Jugoplastika veteran Toni Kukoč was present on the VIP stands and witnessed a bitter defeat for his former team in the battle to stay in ABA League 1. The guest team Spars from Sarajevo was able to take away the home-court advantage and could already finish this mini-series with another win at home on Saturday. The team to win two games first will get to play in ABA league 1 next season; the other team will play in the 2nd division.

The Yellows from Split ended up playing in the relegation because their impressive run ended abruptly when they had to take a Corona-break from games and practices just before the end of the season. The previous success that came with new coach Mile Karakaš lost steam, and eventually Split lost their positions in the national league and in the ABA league. While recapturing the second position in the national league, they fell to the last position of the ABA League 1. With Primorska already having withdrawn from the league earlier, the Yellows' did not drop out of the league directly. Still, they had the right to play relegation against the runner-up in ABA League 2, which turned out to be Sarajevo.

Spars Sarajevo had just lost the championship in Division 2 of the ABA league against Studentski Centar Podgorica. After the regular season, they had qualified for the finals as runner-up. Then Spars lost the two final playoff games against Studentski Centar, who then qualified directly for ABA League 1, while Spars kept the chance to play the relegation games against Split.

The game was conducted under Covid measures, and KK Split had a better start into the game. Sarajevo coach Miodrag Kadija saw his team fight back and take control of the second part of the first quarter and most of the second quarter to secure a slight 46:49 lead at halftime.

Both teams returned eager to fight this game till the last second, and the second half became an intensively fought defensive battle. Just 90 seconds before the final whistle, Split scored for 70:71 that put them in reach of victory. What followed was a wild back and forth where both teams lost the ball several times. The Yellows couldn’t turn the game around and had to watch Lithuanian Orelik Gediminas hit a three-pointer to seal the visitor’s victory.

Sarajevo’s rising star Kenan Kamenjaš was the top scorer and most valuable player of the night with 19 points. Should Split manage to win in Sarajevo on Saturday, the final game would be played in Split again.

Box score:  https://www.aba-liga.com/match/1/20/8/Boxscore/q1/1/home/split-spars/ 

Referees: Miloš Koljenšić, Igor Dragojević, Radoš Savović

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

ZAGREB, 31 January, 2021 - Bosnia and Herzegovina Foreign Minister Bisera Turković on Sunday condemned an incident in which an EU flag was torn down from the Croatian Embassy building in Sarajevo, describing it as an act of vandalism and calling on police to investigate it as soon as possible.

"This act of vandalism is unacceptable, it does not represent the views of the majority of our citizens and it has no place in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are firmly committed to membership in the EU as well as to promoting good neighbourly relations with Croatia based on mutual respect and understanding," Turković said.

She added that she expected the competent institutions to investigate the incident as soon as possible.

The Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo earlier in the day sent a protest note to the BiH Foreign Ministry over the incident.

The European Union flag on the building housing the Croatian embassy in Sarajevo was torn down and left lying in the street between 11 p.m. and midnight Saturday.

The Croatian flag on the embassy building was not damaged.

The Ministry of the Interior of Sarajevo Canton said police were looking for the perpetrator.

January 31, 2021 – The Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo was last night again the target of an aggressive act. The flag of the European Union, which hung above the entrance, was ripped from its mounting and left lying on the ground in the darkened street

The Croatian Embassy Sarajevo was attacked last night. Zagreb-based media Vecernji List learned the news from their sister title in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A wall mounting that jointly held poles carrying both the Croatian flag and the flag of the European Union were the focus of the attack. Someone tried to rip the metal mounting from the wall on the outside of the Croatian Embassy Sarajevo. This is not the first time the Croatian Embassy in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been targeted.

The Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo © Miłosz Pieńkowski

It could have been mindless vandalism, drunken idiocy, politically motivated – or even all three. The Croatian Embassy lies in the very heart of Sarajevo. It is situated just north of the river Miljacka and in the same quarter of the city as the building for the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, other government and municipal buildings, the Sarajevo National Theatre and is just across the park from the embassies of France and Austria. There are several cafes, bars, fast food restaurants and pubs close by. It is a popularly frequented part of the city at night. Unlike Croatia, businesses selling food, alcohol and other drinks are currently open. Sarajevo city centre is alive at night.

The damage caused to the Croatian Embassy was minimal. The wall mounting was damaged but held firm, as did the pole carrying the Croatian flag. The pole carrying the flag of the European Union fared less well – it snapped under the force of the aggression and was completely prized from the mounting. Last night the pole and the flag of the European Union were left lying on the darkened pavement outside the Croatian Embassy, immediately in front of the doorway above which it previously hung.

An investigation is underway and police are searching for the culprits.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

December 15, 2020 – Young Croatian innovator from Samobor Matija Hržić won third place for his innovation Smart bee scale at the Fair of Innovations and Entrepreneurship in Sarajevo.

As Večernji list reports, after conquering the ARCA international exhibition. together with colleagues Lovro Stipanović and Josip Oroz, young Samobor innovator Matija Hržić won third place and the Special Award "Sarajevo 2020" in Sarajevo at the first virtual Fair of Innovations and Entrepreneurship "Sarajevo 2020".

His mentor was a teacher at the Vocational High School Samobor and innovator Ivan Vlainić. The award was presented to him by Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac, who was also one of Vlainić's students.

Almost two decades ago, professor Ivan Vlainić encouraged Rimac to apply for the first student competition, which he won. A few months ago, he also encouraged Matija Hržić to apply for the Innovation Entrepreneurship Fair "Sarajevo 2020".

Thanks to the award, Hržić's innovation Smart bee scale will bear the International Federation of Inventors' Associations' logo, better known by the acronym IFIA.

What exactly is a smart bee scale? Namely, beehives are often a hundred kilometers away from the beekeepers' residence, making it impossible to monitor them regularly. The scale is therefore equipped with many sensors. Thus, by placing the hive on the scale and implementing its sensors inside the hive, all important data can be available to the beekeeper in real-time. Therefore, the beekeeper can act on time and apply solutions to the observed problems in order to potentially prevent swarming, starvation, or death of his bee community.

Matija was one of the 36 innovators who competed at the Sarajevo 2020 Fair. From one of the best-equipped exercise laboratories in Croatia, Matija's presentation was followed live by students of his Vocational High School and cheered for his best placement.

Matija's innovation was exhibited at the Vocational High School in Samobor, which was also attended by Matija and Mate. Today, many students pass by it who, in addition to professors Ivan and Mate, now have another role model.

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

ZAGREB, August 17, 2018 - The mayors of the capital cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, Abdulah Skaka, Milan Bandić and Zoran Radojičić respectively, held a meeting in Sarajevo on Friday to discuss possibilities to enhance the cooperation between those three cities, notably on the economic front including tourist trade.

Some time in the neighbour's spotlight for Zadar.

ZAGREB, April 3, 2018 - Former Croatian president Stjepan Mesić has declined to accept the title of honorary citizen of Sarajevo and will not visit the Bosnian capital on April 6 when the city authorities still plan to confer the honour on him despite his refusal, the Dnevni Avaz newspaper said on its website on Tuesday.

ZAGREB, February 27, 2018 - Former Croatian president Stjepan Mesić has refused the title of honorary citizen of Sarajevo after the city government withdrew its earlier decision to give the award to world-renowned Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, local media in Bosnia and Herzegovina reported on Tuesday, which was later confirmed by Mesić.