ZAGREB, July 22, 2019 - Supertoon, the international festival of animation, starts in the coastal town of Šibenik on Monday and over the next five days it will feature 211 animated shorts from across the world, including 177 in competition.

The ninth edition of the festival includes screenings aboard a 35-metre boat.

The programme includes animation workshops for children and students, concerts, DJ sets, panels and talks with authors, a virtual reality cinema, and trips aboard the festival boat.

Organisers say their competition of animated music videos Supertune features the highest number of videos when compared with world festivals, 54, by artists such as The Beatles, De La Soul, Mitski, Run The Jewels, U2 and Beck.

Since Šibenik is known for the International Children's Festival, Supertoon pays special attention to the children's programme selection.

Supertoon also features documentaries focusing on migration and identity, and films on the pollution of the world's oceans and seas with microplastics.

Entry to all screenings on land are free.

More news about festivals in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

As Juraj Filipovic/Morski writes on the 19th of June, 2019, on Saturday, Šibenik's St. Nicholas (Sv. Nikola) fortress was finally opened to the public. This marks yet another sight in the city protected by UNESCO. The opening was preceded by highly demanding works to make sure the fortress was operational to finally begin to make the most of its tourist, cultural and economic potential.

This season, this newly opened fortress can only be reached by boat from Šibenik. From mid-June to mid-October this year, the boat will depart from Šibenik according to its pre-arranged schedule, and make the journey back and forth four to five times per day.

This all-encompassing experience of Šibenik and its wider area, including a boat ride through the Sv. Ante channel and the visit the fortress St. Nicholas lasts about two hours. Tickets are 130 kuna per piece (for adults), and can be purchased at the point of sale on the Šibenik riva (waterfront) or online.

The price includes a boat ride, a ticket for the St. Nicholas fortress, a mobile multilingual guide for every visitor, educated staff, and the story about this truly unique location which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

''On the first working day after the fortress was opened, from June the 16th, tickets were free for all visitors to celebrate.

During the first few days of the functioning of the fortress, which will last from June the 17th to June the 28th, residents of Šibenik-Knin County will be offered a free visit to the fortress with the reservation of a free ticket and their ID card as proof of their residence in the county, at the Fortress of St. Nicholas' info centre on the Šibenik riva, the address of which is Obala dr. Franje Tuđmana 4,'' stated Anita Babačić Ajduk, the director of the Public Nature Institution of Šibenik-Knin County, which has coordinated the whole project for the past several years.

She also pointed out that nothing would have been possible without the totally selfless support of all participants who recognised the importance and potential of this amazing Šibenik fortress.

''Over the past three years, about five million kuna has been invested in its reconstruction, of which four million kuna has been allocated from the budget of Šibenik-Knin County, while the rest was financed by the Croatian Ministry of Culture,'' added Ajduk, expressing her satisfaction with how things have gone, and how this historic Dalmatian city can now valorise the fortress' potential in both a cultural and a touristic sense.

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

ZAGREB, June 16, 2019 - St. Nicholas' Fortress, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, formally opened its doors to visitors after two-year-long renovation. In the last three years, about five million kuna (675,000 euro) was spent on the revamping this fortress, and 4 million was set aside by the Šibenik-Knin County while the rest was provided by the Culture Ministry.

The project of revitalisation of the site encompassed the thorough cleaning and reconstruction of some segments of the fortress to improve the safety conditions for visitors.

Attending the ceremony, Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek thanked all who participated in the project. She emphasised the importance of the fortress as part of the national heritage.

Šibenik is the fifth city in the world to have two landmarks added to the UN World Heritage List -- the St. James' Cathedral and this fortress, she recalled.

In July 2017, Šibenik's St. Nicholas Fortress and Zadar’s fortified city walls and gates were officially inscribed on UNESCO's protected world heritage list at the 41st meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Krakow.

The two coastal sites were inscribed as part of protected defence systems on the territory of the former Republic of Venice. Šibenik's St. Nicholas Fortress, one of the strongest fortifications on the Adriatic, and Zadar’s 3-km-long fortified city walls and gates were built in the 16th century by the then Republic of Venice as defence from invading Turks.

Šibenik's cathedral, which was built in the 15th century, won its global recognition in 2000, when it was entered in the UNESCO World Heritage List. it is often known as "St Jacob's", because Croatian, like many other languages, uses the same name for both "James" and "Jacob". It is dedicated to Saint James the Greater.

More Šibenik news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

The town of Šibenik has finally published a public tender for the project of the construction of the long-awaited cable car, which is supposed to connect the two Šibenik fortresses, St. Mihovil, St. Ivan and Šubićevac neighborhood. The Šibenik Cable Car project will be chosen from the ones submitted at the tender, and all applicants are required to submit three ideas - with the 3D simulation of the cable car in a historic and current context. Once the best project is chosen, the architect will have to present the entire documentation needed for the location information to build the cable car, Dalmacija Danas writes.

Šibenik Mayor Željko Burić points out that this is just the first step, needed to fully comprehend what the project might mean to the town. Then the alternative transportation, tourist considerations and everything else will be weighed, once the technical details such as the positions of the pillars are known. Mayor Burić said also that the finances for the project are not the biggest problem, but the complexity that the innovation and the laws involved bring to it. The final budget for the project will, of course, depend on the specific project selected through this process. Mayor Burić added that he's also not giving up on his idea of excalators in the walls of the fortresses, but that a solution needs to be found for those that will follow the guidelines set by the conservators.

The deadline for the submition of the ideas for the Šibenik cable car is on June 17th, at noon. Submition openings will not be public, and those that have applied will be notified of the results as soon as possible. You can find the details of the tender here (unfortunately, only in Croatian).

The Stranglers, one of the most prominent and influential British rock bands, is coming to the St. Michael’s Fortress in Šibenik on August 21, 2019! The Stranglers will arrive in Šibenik as part of a tour that includes many international stages, reports Dalmatinski Portal on June 3, 2019. 

Formed in the mid-1970s, The Stranglers released three albums in just 13 months at the beginning of their career, which included the hits ‘Peaches’ and ‘No More Heroes’. Engaged, eloquent, and suggestive lyrics with melodic compositions complemented by an aggressive, uncompromising, and rebellious attitude made them unique in the music scene. Their characteristic and unpredictable style based on flirting with various musical genres won over the mainstream rock scene and pushed them to become pioneers of new wave. 

In over forty years they released 17 albums, and the hits ‘Always The Sun’ and ‘Golden Brown’ brought them international fandom. Known as one of the most daring British bands, The Stranglers are currently on a world tour marked by numerous sold-out performances and are said to be preparing a new album. 

And now, everyone who finds themselves at this stunning stage along the Adriatic will have the chance to delight in the talent and the timeless quality of their songs.

MasterCard users will have the exclusive right to buy tickets from Wednesday, June 5, at the entrance to the St. Michael’s Fortress and Barone, at the City Point (Don Krste Stošića 1) and the online ticketing system Eventim.

All other tickets will go on sale from Friday, June 7 at the listed sales venues, including the online system Croatia Tickets. A limited number of tickets will be available for 330 kuna, while the price will rise to 350 kuna at a later date. 

For all users of Mastercard and Maestro cards, a 10% discount is available at all sales venues throughout the sales period.

As with all previous concerts at the Fortress of Culture, City Point provides a 10% discount for loyal members of the Friends Club (individual members for one, and families for two tickets). Additionally, Addiko bank cardholders will receive a 5% discount when buying a ticket.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

As Morski writes on the 2nd of June, 2019, the City of Šibenik, D-Marin, and Sailing Club Val (JK Val) announced the start of the biggest sporting event taking place today in Šibenik - the D-Marin ORC World Championship.

113 sailboats and more than 1,000 sailors from all over the world are expected to participate in this six-day international regatta, and the D-Marin Mandalina marina, Sailing Club Val and City of Šibenik are the joint hosts of this sailing event.

''This world championship is an event of special importance for Šibenik because it connects sailing, our beautiful sea, and Šibenik's rich heritage, in addition, it also positions us as an important destination on the world's nautical chart. This sailing spectacle is an excellent promotion of Šibenik as a tourist destination,'' stated Željko Burić, mayor of the City of Šibenik.

''We're confident that the D-Marin ORC World Championship will be a spectacular competition organised at the highest possible level. The organisation, which lasted exactly one year, was dealt with by the members of JK Val, all of whom were volunteers, who should be praised for the huge amount of work that was done. These are valued people who love this city, their club, and sailing. For us, it was a large and demanding project, whose importance to the local environment is the only thing which surpasses the sporting aspect,'' stated Marin Paić, president of JK Val.

''Croatian Sailing should be grateful to the Dogus Group, not only for their efforts in investing in the development of sailing and bringing some of the world's top races to Croatia, but also through the sponsorship of our most successful Olympic team. The logistics of the City of Šibenik and above all, of Sailing Club Val, are also important, without which the realisation of this great sporting event wouldn't be possible,'' said Zlatko Taritaš, president of the Croatian Sailing Association.

The official opening of the regatta begins today, on Sunday, June the 2nd, on the Šibenik square between the cathedral of St. Jacob and the City Hall.

All those interested will have a chance to see the sailing boats close up because they will be tied to the Šibenik waterfront (riva), as well as at the D-Marin Mandalina marina. The sporting part of the competition will last for six days.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more. If it's just sailing in Croatia you're interested in, give Total Croatia Sailing a follow.

The city of Šibenik is one of the few towns in the world with two cultural monuments listed on UNESCO's cultural heritage list - the St. James Cathedral and the St. Nicholas Fortress, reports HRTurizam on June 1, 2019.

The St. Nicholas Fortress will again welcome visitors from June 15, after nearly two years of being closed to the public.

During this off period, construction works were carried out to clean the building, with necessary restoration and measures for the safety of visitors. The boat dock at the main entrance was restored and provided secure and organized access to the site. These were the necessary preconditions for reopening of the fort, though the real job of its restoration lies ahead. 

"Our ultimate goal is to completely revitalize, decorate and renew the St. Nicholas Fortress, which will be open to visitors during the season. This requires tremendous efforts, painstaking work, and continued efforts in securing financial resources. But once we complete this lifelong project, we will leave a restored, originally preserved and magnificent UNESCO monument for future generations whereby the city of Šibenik and Šibenik-Knin County will be recognizable throughout the world,” said Goran Pauk, Prefect of Šibenik-Knin County.

Opening the St. Nicholas Fortress in the St. Anthony Channel is the result of a series of projects funded by the European Union, the Šibenik-Knin County and the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The first significant step was made in 2013 when, through the valorization project of the St. Anthony Channel, they organized the promenade and access road to the fortress. In May last year, the second phase of this project was contracted, which saw a value of 26 million kuna, and which envisions a visitor center and supporting infrastructure. In cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and the Conservation Department in Šibenik, a great deal was done, which resulted in a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage list. After that, an additional 2.6 million kuna was provided for the project documentation to complete the reconstruction of the facility, and the State Property Ministry allocated the area of the former barracks in the Minerska cove for 50 years.

“We are happy that the fortress, which has a special significance for all of us, will open its doors. I thank our fellow citizens who have recognized the complexity of the project and have shown great patience all this time. I can now be pleased to announce that during the first working day we will provide free tickets for all visitors and from June 17 to June 25, we will provide free tickets for half of the capacity of the ships for the inhabitants of Šibenik-Knin County to get acquainted with the offer but also experience the fortress in a whole new way. Also, I would like to thank the Ministry of Culture, the Conservation Department in Sibenik, the employees of Šibenik-Knin County and everyone who helped open the doors of this proud guard of Šibenik,” said Anita Babačić Ajduk, Director of the Public Institution of Nature in Šibenik-Knin County, which manages the fortress.

This season, you can visit the fortress only by the official boats departing from Šibenik.

A two-hour visit will include an attractive boat ride through the Šibenik channel and tour of the fort, accompanied by expert staff and the use of a multimedia guide. The maximum daily visit capacity is limited due to the limited number of places on board, the security conditions, and the protection of the monuments, as well as the quality of the visitors' experience.

Tickets will be available at a sales outlet on the Šibenik Riva and online.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Ante Gotovina is much more than just a household name like that of an actor or a singer. This hero of the Homeland War was proclaimed innocent at The Hague and released back in 2012. He returned to Croatia and embarked on a normal life before becoming somewhat of an entrepreneur. Thesedays, Gotovina no longer dons a general's uniform, but instead deals in the raising of tuna through his own company.

As Gotovina enjoys the quiet life now, the stories of his heroic past in the face of war have never faded, and a film about him is set to be filmed with Šibenik-Knin County's very welcome financial support.

As Morski writes on the 28th of May, 2019, Šibenik-Knin County Prefect Goran Pauk has signed a co-financing contract for a feature film and the "General" TV series.

"This contract stipulates that Šibenik-Knin County is obliged to provide financial support in the amount of 100,000 kuna to the project of a feature-length film and drama television series called "General'', by the screenwriter and director Antun Vrdoljak in the production of Kiklop filma d.o.o. and Croatian Television,'' reads a quote from Šibenik-Knin County.

In the explanation, it is argued that the theme of the film and TV series is the Homeland War, to which Croatian cinematography still owes a lot, given the historical achievement of the creation of the democratic and independent Republic of Croatia, the fulfillment of a centuries-old dream of the Croatian people.

The film and TV series covers the the war and the life of General Ante Gotovina and his generation of Croatian defenders, detailing both the good times and the extremely bad ones.

"Most of all, because of those who have given us and all future generations the liberty that we've inherited today, the Croatian Defense Forces," they argue in their clarification of their decision to fund the film on Gotovina's life and deeds.

To briefly recall, filming was completed in Šibenik on January the 30th this year, and Šibenik native Goran Višnjić plays General Ante Gotovina.

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

The Croatian Travel Festival is a project started by the Croatian Traveller's Club in 2012, which aims to bring many of the travellers and travel writers in Croatia to one place, to talk about their travels to among themselves, but also to share their experiences of their adventures with the audience. This year, the festival will last for a full week, from May the 20th until the 26th, in four different locations in Šibenik.

33 lecturers will hold 23 lectures about their travels, there will be a food workshop, an eco-workshop, a travel book fair, a screening of a well-liked travel documentary, a travel pub quiz and a concert by a famous Croatian band Pavel - and many other activities will be organised during the week of the festival.

On the first day of the festival, on Monday, it all got started with the beginning of group action of cleaning the seabed in the bay around Šibenik, which will go on for two weeks - longer than the Croatian Travel Festival itself, and an evening discussion of how to protect the world's seas and oceans from microplastic. On Tuesday, the lectures were about diving and global heating.

For the first time, Domagoj Jakopović Ribafish will present his RokOtok project (which we've already written about) on Friday evening, and on Saturday, the highlight of the festival is taking place: one of the most famous Croatian journalists and travellers, Goran Milić, will interview the star guest of the festival, British writer and documentarian, best known for his documentary Walking the Himalayas, Levison Wood.

That will happen on one of the most impressive stages in the world, at the Fortress of St. Mihovil. Tickets for the evening can be purchased here. On Sunday, you'll be able to hear from a Croatian couple who travelled to North Korea, as well as take a free guided tour of Šibenik.

Šibenik is an example of excellent practice when it comes to withdrawing the European Union funds made available to it, and while the rest of Croatia rather unsurprisingly lags in that particular field (among others), it seems that this Dalmatian city is quite easily outshining the rest.

As Novac/Matea Grbac writes on the 21st of May, 2019, although tourism is one of the major economic branches of Croatia, accounting for a significant nineteen percent of the national GDP, it seems that the country's leading individuals in Croatian tourism will have to work a little harder to make sure Croatia's numerous destinations, which were visited by just over 19.4 million tourists last year, manage to really remain competitive in the face of competition.

In order to successfully keep up with increasingly popular European destinations like Greece, an old ''king'' of tourism, and not to mention Turkey, which is returning from a rather tumultuous period, much more than sea and sunshine needs to be placed on offer to would-be tourists and visitors to Croatia. Packed with a wealth of possibilities, is the country really using everything as it could, and should?

For the development of a much more varies tourist offer, Croatia has had a number of different forms of EU funds available to it for almost six years now, more specifically since the country joined the bloc. They're mostly related to the development of rural, regional tourism and OPGs, the reconstruction or building of more private accommodation, the development of domestic entrepreneurship, health, ethno and gastro tourism, as well as what is arguably the most important thing of all - the proper restoration of Croatia's countless pieces of cultural heritage.

Despite having EU funds readily available to it for a variety of purposes, according to increasingly numerous sources in the media, Croatia continues to be rather insufficient in taking proper advantage of that support. However, it seems that we can still find examples of good practice among the tourist destinations of the country and one of them is the historic Dalmatian City of Šibenik.

This beautiful coastal Dalmatian city, one of the few world cities to have been listed on UNESCO's prestigious list with two protected facilities, is an example of just how things should be being done when it comes to EU fund withdrawal in Croatia.

Although Šibenik has been being visited more and more in recent years, it still isn't one of the most visited Croatian destinations, and by the end of October last year, it counted only 287,872 visitors, Šibenik is certainly a pioneer in withdrawing funds made available to it by the EU when it comes to restoring its cultural heritage.

For the reconstruction of its famed fortification system consisting of three land and one sea fortress, Šibenik has withdrawn approximately 56 million kuna from EU funds over the last several years.

Financed by the European Regional Development Fund, totalling more than 1.6 million euro, of which the EU co-financed almost a million euro, the Fortress of St. Mihovil became an imposing open-air amphitheatrical stage with 1,077 seats. Thus, this ancient historical fortress which once used to serve as the defensive wall of the city, plays its current role for Šibenik of an urban and dynamic gathering place for both the local population as well as visitors to this stunning city.

The second in the series comes Šubićevac Fortress, or Barone, which has been transformed into the gastronomic centre of Šibenik. The reconstruction of this facility stood at slightly more than 1.3 million euro, and just like the fortress of St. Mihovil, it received most of these funds from EU funds, more specifically, 993,000 euro.

Although still unfinished, the farthest fortress from the city, Sv. Ivan, is also part of the ''Fortess of Culture of Šibenik'' and is financed with European Union money. The entire project was worth 49 million kuna, and as much as 41 million kuna came from the Regional Development Fund.

The fact that the entire project proved to be successful is the fact that more than 200,000 tourists visited last year alone, while revenues in 2018 amounting to a more than impressive 6.7 million kuna.

With the synergy of natural resources, culture and domestic products, Šibenik has proved that with planning and smart investment, every Croatian tourist destination can turn into a rounded whole that will meet the needs of even the most demanding tourists.

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

Click here for the original article by Matea Grbac for Novac/Jutarnji