As Morski wrties on the 16th of June, 2019, with the traditional raising of the festival's flag on the square in front of the cathedral of Sv. Jakov in the heart of Šibenik, and the performance of the much loved classic ''The Jungle Book'' by Theater Baj Pomorski from Torun in Poland, the 59th International Children's Festival in Šibenik was officially opened.

It's interesting to note that back in 1963, the very first of the foreign ensemble in Šibenik was from Poland, giving the prefix ''international'' to this Šibenik festival, according to the local news portal ŠibenikIN.

''Welcome to the centuries-old city of Šibenik, one of the most beautiful squares in the world, and the best festival in Croatia. This is something we look forward to every year, because in two weeks the city's small, narrow streets, stairs and squares will be taken over by children, who will become creators and artists. Let's hear what they have to say, because we can learn a lot from them!'' said Šibenik's mayor Željko Burić.

The festival's story began this year with great success even before the opening itself took place. Thanks to the online registration (yes, you read it right, something actually happens online in Croatia) for the first time ever for the festival, and 99 percent of the workshop programs were completed on the very first day of registration.

Some of the workshops will be attended by world-renowned artists from Japan, Italy, and neighbouring Montenegro. Numerous theatrical performances were sold out on the first day

The film program is also very rich, and begins with the screening of the first ever Croatian children's SciFi movie with the appearance of the film crew.

The artist's program was enriched by Polish artists with their own graphics. Famous artist Melinda Šefčić will paint the bus station in Šibenik with the kids, as well as the children's playground on the nearby island of Zlarin. This year, in the name of the environment, there is a distinctive ecological component to the festival, and it's symbolic that the opening of 2019's Šibenik Children's Festival has coincided with World Wind Day.

For two entire weeks, the beautiful and historic Dalmatian city of Šibenik will become the playground of children's endless creativity and imagination, reminding us all of the need to keep the child within us alive and happy.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

It isn't unusual to see Croatia's stunning coast being talked about, the natural beauty and the sparkling Adriatic sea are enough of a winning combination for any wordsmith. But it's somewhat different when someone outside of Croatia recognises and talks, or writes rather, about the success and the renaissance history of a city, especially in a publication with as much international respect as the Washington Post boasts.

As Morski writes on the 19th of January, 2019, this is exactly what the historic Dalmatian city of Šibenik has experienced on multiple occasions in recent years, and the city was written about once again on Friday in one of the world's most highly respected daily journals, the Washington Post. The journalist who wrote about Šibenik is Anja Mutić, who has Croatian roots. She is the daughter of legendary sports journalist Boris Mutić and lives in New York, she has written for the likes of Lonely Planet, the Wall Street Journal and Conde Nast Traveler for a number of years.

Anja's vivid description of Šibenik for the Washington Post begins with her gazing upon the Adriatic sea from St. Michael's Fortress, describing how the late September bura has cleared the skies. Her comments about the scent of Cypress trees in the air is enough to fill the senses of anyone who has spent any time on the Dalmatian coast.

Anja continues, talking about how the fortress upon which she is standing as she takes in the views was all but an abandoned place not so long ago, and how Šibenik itself was much more of an industrial place, which saw the majority of tourists skip right over it in favour of the glitz and the glamour of the arguably more tourist-developed south of Dalmatia. Touching on the 1980's, when tourism and leisure came a firm second to industry, she details how the war changed Šibenik's industrial ''look'', altering its direction permanently. With that being said, as Anja correctly states, the city only really got its first city beach, Banj, in 2012.

Going back to Šibenik's very roots, Anja takes the reader through a proverbial maze of time, detailing Šibenik's glorious renaissance, the foundation of the city by King Petar Kresimir IV in 1066, the later Venetian era, Juraj Dalmatinac's touch on the city, all the way to UNESCO recognition and the city which it has become today. Anja speaks in depth about how Šibenik, unlike southern Dalmatian cities, has adopted a culturally sensitive way of developing its tourism.

''Taking small measured steps, respectful of the ground it walks on, immersed in heritage and tradition, Šibenik is on the slow rise to Croatia’s hall of fame,'' Anja concludes.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle and travel pages.

Click here to read the Washington Post's entire lowdown on Šibenik

It goes without saying that the historic coastal city of Šibenik is beautiful, and yet despite that, quite a lot is still said about it. How could one not try to describe the beauty of the sunset over the Adriatic sea? And on the other hand, how could one really begin to describe it? 

Dotted with ancient stone cities and towns, the Dalmatian coast is a magnet for tourists from not only Europe but from all over the world. Attracting millions and millions of international travellers each and every year, the world's ''discovery'' of Dalmatia has propelled Croatian tourism to previously unimaginable heights, even seeing it leak over into continental Croatia, the country's still somewhat undiscovered gem. 

As SibenikIN writes on the 9th of January, 2019, the well-known New York musician and DJ, Brian Cid, who performed live in Šibenik in May last year and opened his music season with his live video set at Šibenik's utterly stunning St. Mihovil (St Michael's Fortress), has recalled his stay in this incredible Dalmatian city in a beautiful manner and shared it with his army of fans on both Facebook and Instagram:

''On this precise moment, while playing a live stream set on the highest tower of a majestic castle in Šibenik, Croatia, overlooking the historical city, river and mountains...

I turned around, took a deep breath while looking straight to the orange sun, and said ‘thank you. I surrender to you, mother nature’.

This is the perfect representation of 2018 for me. On to the next one''

His live video set located at the fortress, where he performed alongside the Šibenik DJ Lawrence Klein, has been viewed by about 55,000 people on Facebook, and tens of thousands of views of the video have accumulated on different YouTube channels, with the stunning city of Šibenik playing host.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

A two million kuna project will see the popular Sovlje beach in Tribunj near the historic Dalmatian city of Šibenik get a variety of new facilities, including new steps, smart benches, new showers, and a very welcome cash injection from the ministry.

As SibenikIN writes on the 3rd of January, 2019, the new year has started off wonderfully for the Tribunj Municipality, where the Croatian Ministry of Tourism has approved 400,000 kuna for the ''doing up'' of the popular Sovlje beach, while the rest of the funds are set to be provided by the municipality itself.

''The public procurement process is currently in progress, and as soon as January the 8th, we should know who the contractor to carry out the works on Sovlje beach will be, as that will be when the public procurement process ends,'' said Tribunj Mayor Marko Grubelić.

With a massive total investment of around two million kuna, the entire coastline of Sovlje beach will be given a new lease of life. There will be stone steps going into the sea in more place,s and a ramp for wheelchair access for the disabled will be constructed. There will also be two brand new smart benches and two new showers on the beach.

''Considering the increase in the tourist accommodation capacities in the area of ​​Sovlje, increase the surface area of the beach should reduce the crowds during the summer months,'' stated Grubelić.

Grubelić was initially dissatisfied with the original conceptual solution for the fixing up and modernisation of Sovlje beach and, when he took over the function of Tribunj's mayor, he requested that the architectural office in charge of overseeing the procedure to change its plans.

As a result of the new conceptual solution and the collection of all the necessary certifications and green lights to get things going, the Sovlje beach project became a major one and a building permit was finally obtained. Works should begin in January this year following the announcement of the company which will be chosen and contracted to do the works on the 8th of this month, and the project's completion is expected as soon as May this year.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for much more.

New hotels in Croatia are popping up all the time, and some major investments have seen the tourism sector come on leaps and bounds even very far away from the glitz and glamour of the yacht-filled coast. 

Croatia's investment climate has some big improvements to be getting on with, and quickly, but despite numerous issues, large investments in the country's safest sector, tourism, continue to pour in.

The Croatian capital of Zagreb has gone from all but entirely overlooked as a tourist destination to a ''must visit'' continental city which many are referring to as the ''new Vienna'' among other names. The city's dazzling Advent in Zagreb festivities has seen the Croatian capital take the prize for best European advent destination for an impressive three years running, and as the hotels fill up, new ones continue to open their doors.

As SibenikIN writes on the 28th of November, 2018, the new luxury Hotel Capital Zagreb group Amadria Park, to which the extremely popular Solaris Resort near the ancient Dalmatian city of Šibenik belongs, will be officially opened on Thursday in the centre of the Croatian capital. The brand new hotel boasts 112 rooms and the value of Ugo Group's investment, which stands behind Amadria Park, is a massive 14.5 million euro.

The new hotel is located in the building of the former Croatian branch of Wiener Bankverein at the corner of Jurišićeva and Palmotićeva street, and is the first so-called ''city'' hotel of the Amadria Park group.

''[Opening - TOMORROW 29.11.2018] The moment has arrived! It's time to unveil Amadria Park's first Zagreb hotel - Capital.

A heritage hotel with a well-appointed, central Zagreb location, it combines early 20th century architectural grandeur with the upmarket elegance of a modern hotel.

Only 450m from Ban Jelacic Square, it offers 112 rooms, restaurant, bar and cafe, fitness zone, underground garage, upmarket store and meeting rooms.'' wrote an update on Amadria Park's Facebook page.

Make sure to follow our travel and lifestyle pages for more info on new hotels in Croatia, and much more. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, stay up to date with our dedicated Total Zagreb site for everything going on in the capital.

Something new for the Dalmatian hinterland's famous City of Knin as the Šibenik meteo team place the area's very first panoramic camera with a stunning view over the city and the surrounding area, as well as of the Dinara mountain, located on the border of Croatia and neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As SibenikIN writes on the 18th of November, 2018, the Šibenik meteo team set up Knin's brand new panoramic camera at a high location with an excellent view, on Knin Fortress, offering a stunning view of the historic Croatian city and its dramatic and rugged surrounding area which is typical of the Dalmatian hinterland.

As the title suggests, this is the first such camera in Knin, which, in addition to offering those who view it online an image of the City of Knin that alternates every five minutes, also allows for live streaming, and everything can be tracked directly via this link.

''This demanding project was brought to realisation in cooperation with the city administration which provided the location and the necessary approvals, as well as the financial assistance of the Krka National Park, Šibenik-Knin County, and the Adris Foundation,'' they state from Šibenik meteo.

The Šibenik meteo team have also announced that they plan to install a modern automatic weather station in the area belonging to of a local school (Osnovna škola Domovinske zahvalnosti), which will, in addition to the city's brand new camera, send real-time data to the Internet, and the same will be implemented in regard to the panoramic camera as well.

To keep up with more information like this, from Knin, the Dalmatian hinterland and far beyond, make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle page.

The vessel, carrying over 1,000 passengers, arrived in Šibenik yesterday.

Šibenik marks an important anniversary.

The real figures are even higher if non-commercial accommodation facilities are accounted for, and this year there are nearly half a million beds in 102,000 such facilities.

Šibenik is the place to be for the youngest members of our families!