October 3, 2020 - With charter airlines in a state of flux and Croatia Railways beginning a renewal of their fleet in Slavonia, are continental Croatia trains the eco-friendly and best way to unlock the inland's amazing potential?

Everything changes. Nothing stays the same. Even before 2020 arrived, lifestyles and trends were headed in new directions. Eco-tourism and agro-tourism were two of the fastest-growing areas within the travel sector, this behaviour change a response to concerns about the environment. And nowhere in the country stands better poised to take advantage of this interest than continental Croatia.

Impossibly pretty Zagorje - the region lies just north of Zagreb and is accessible by continental Croatia trains © Ivo Biocina / Croatia National Tourist Board

From the impossibly pretty hills of Zagorje, the peaceful rivers of Karlovac county and the hidden vineyards that surround the capital Zagreb to the vast Pannonian flatlands that stretch to Slavonia, Baranya, Vukovar-Srijem and beyond, the varied topography of continental Croatia is wild, exciting and - by many - wholly undiscovered.

This is land where agriculture and nature thrive side by side, where the stresses of modern-day existence ebb away as you readjust to a way of life that would look mostly familiar to the people who lived here centuries ago. These are places where you can truly be at one with yourself and with your surroundings. In continental Croatia, you often find yourself in an environment that is both timeless and traditional, yet wholly contemporary in regards to its ecological aspirations. And you're never far away from an exciting city environment that you can dip into on a whim – not just Zagreb, but Osijek, Slavonski Brod, Karlovac, Sisak and Varaždin too.

To those who really know and love Croatia, Osijek is simply unmissable. It is both the capital of and the doorway to Slavonia and Baranya and should be more accessible by continental Croatia trains. Sadly, international transportation links to the city by air are also quite poor. Improvements in accessibility to Slavonia and Baranya by rail and road are imminent © Romulić & Stojčić

Unlocking the incredible potential of continental Croatia relies on getting the message out there and facilitating travel to these regions

In recent TCN features we have detailed that motorways within Croatia are among the best in Europe - once you're inside Croatia, travelling by car (or bus) between the regions couldn't be easier. We have also seen evidence of the huge interest in travelling here by rail and using continental Croatia trains.

Of all the modern methods of long-distance travel, rail is by far the most eco-friendly. What better way to begin an environmentally friendly holiday than by arriving on continental Croatia trains? When the country wisely decided to prioritise its internal motorway system, a modern and fast inter-regional rail network was put on the back burner. Nowhere suffers greater from this decision than continental Croatia.

The Croatian rail network © Croatian Official Document uploaded to Wikipedia by Epepe

The only high-speed line that currently exists in Croatia links Rijeka to Budapest, via Zagreb and Koprivnica. Planned improvements hope to cut journey times between Zagreb and its nearest coastal city to an hour. Same as it ever was - Rijeka was the first Croatian city to be connected internationally by rail. That line also ran into the heart of Austro-Hungary and facilitated upper-class travel to places like Opatija. But does it best benefit the country to invest in more links to the coast or in continental Croatia trains? Well, the inland is not being ignored. Upgrades are being made to continental Croatia trains.

This impressive beast actually services the country's coast. But would more investment in the continental Croatia trains network better service more people and help unlock the inland to tourists? Around 70% of the country's inhabitants live in continental Croatia © HŽPP

The rail link between Zagreb and Slavonski Brod is so historic that it was once part of the four routes of the Orient Express. It has been maintained to a standard where you can make a relatively quick journey from the capital to Vinkovci via Slavonski Brod. The same cannot be said for rail travel to Osijek, the access point to Baranya and much more. So slow is the connection between Osijek and Zagreb that it has been possible over recent times to reach the Slavonian capital quicker by taking the train to Vinkovci, then the bus to Osijek, rather than travelling direct by rail.

Osijek train station. A renovation to the building is planned for the near future © Romulić & Stojčić

However, in February this year, Croatian Railways introduced four direct daily lines between Slavonski Brod and Osijek. And there will be a new tilting train line that will run between Zagreb to Osijek on Friday afternoon and from Osijek to Zagreb on Sunday afternoon, facilitating student travel. On October 15, the first low-floor train will run between Osijek and Vinkovci as an additional part of the renewal of their continental Croatia trains fleet in Slavonia. The welcome return of Croatia's second-oldest international rail line - linking Osijek to Pécs in Hungary, via Beli Manastir and Baranya - was introduced in late 2018.

A motorway stretch between Metković and Dubrovnik, integrating the Pelješac bridge and the Croatian segment of the European corridor are the final big remaining projects in a three-decade-long undertaking to give Croatia one of the best motorway networks in Europe. Should Croatia's rail network be next? © Hrvatske Autoceste

Access to Slavonia and Baranya will also be massively facilitated upon completion of the European corridor, which will connect North Europe to the Adriatic. Starting in Budapest, it necessitates the building of a bridge near Beli Manastir. Thereafter the motorway will pass by Osijek, connect to the Zagreb-Slavonia motorway near Lipovac, then pass through Bosnia and its capital Sarajevo and on to Ploče.

The removal of budget airline flights to the airport in Osijek remains a hindrance to attracting many international visitors to Slavonia and Baranya. However, with charter airlines facing the greatest uncertainty of all modes of transport at the current time, though their return is a must, it is perhaps now an ambition that should remain more long term. For the immediate future, improvements to rail travel look to be a brilliant way of opening up not only Slavonia, Baranya and Vukovar-Srijem, but also an eco-friendly access point capable of serving the whole of untapped continental Croatia.

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ZAGREB, Sept 10, 2020 - A state-of-the-art kindergarten built in Croatian-US partnership was inaugurated in Sisak on Thursday by Ambassador Robert Kohorst and Mayor Kristina Ikic Banicek.

The Sunce kindergarten is worth HRK 8.5 million and the US government co-financed it with HRK 4. million, which was used to build the structure, while the town paid for its equipment and a playground.

Eighty-five preschool children are attending kindergarten.

Present at the inauguration, among others, were high US army envoys in Croatia and representatives of Croatia's Defence Ministry and Armed Forces General Staff.

Ambassador Kohorst said he was glad to be in Sisak today to witness such a beautiful event.

He said the US was proud that its military recognized the need to build a kindergarten in Sisak and that the US government concluded the deal with local contractors, who built the structure.

Kohorst said he was glad the US military had a humanitarian aid program within its portfolio and that it initiated the construction of the kindergarten with $710,000.

He added that the kindergarten was a symbol of Croatian-US friendship which was and would be very important for both countries.

The mayor thanked him for the donation and underlined the importance of the new building, saying the previous premises were inadequate.

"Two years passed since the first contact with the Embassy, i.e. the US government, and the opening of the kindergarten. I believe this isn't the only one, that there will be more projects like this. Now we have a modern building and happy children, parents, and teachers."

Headmistress Sandra Kramaric also thanked the Americans. "We had been waiting for a new kindergarten for 20 years. Today we are proud of the new building."

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ZAGREB, August 28, 2020 - The Workers Front (RF) party on Friday called for support to workers of the Sisak Oil Refinery, which is part of the INA oil company, stressing that they were being intimidated.

The party said that the workers had turned to RF MP Katarina Peovic, warning that they were being intimidated by the company management after the RF earlier published a list with the names of the workers to be laid off, which it had received from the workers.

The party said that the workers had gone public with an authentic document with the names of redundant workers, which the management considers disclosure of a trade secret.

It said that "the owners of INA are the ones who have violated agreements and and laws and who disrespect previous agreements with the Croatian government, under which the Sisak refinery should not be closed down, but which, judging by all accounts, will happen sooner or later."

It was the workers' duty to expose that fraud, the RF said, accusing the government of allowing the layoffs and threats to Sisak refinery workers.

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ZAGREB, June 23, 2020 - INA has submitted a request to the Ministry of Economy for the Sisak biorefinery project to be awarded strategic investment status, the oil company said in a press release on Tuesday.

The investment is worth €250 million, and part of that is expected to be covered from the EU Innovations Funds.

INA said that despite the challenging business climate, it is continuing strategic projects and the transformation of the Sisak refinery complex into an industrial centre. One of the activities in Sisak would be to develop a biorefinery thanks to which the company could produce second-generation bioethanol from biomass along with producing green energy.

In February, INA signed an agreement with the French AXENS group related to Futurol technology. At the end of last year, it also signed an agreement with the Belgian De Smet Engineers & Contractors to design the relevant base facility and its integration in the existing refinery structure.

INA has conducted testing of a mix of biomass as part of the EU GRACE (Growing Advanced Industrial Crops on Marginal Lands for Biorefineries), which has produced good results for the production of second-generation bioethanol.

The president of INA's management board, Sandor Fasimon, said that the project of developing a biorefinery is in accordance with the company's business plans and proof of INA's dedication to its "New Direction" programme.

The Sisak complex is important to INA's business and all the activities we are taking are a precondition for making a final investment decision. Support from the EU and the Croatian government is a key precondition to finally realise this significant project for Croatia and INA which entirely fits into Europe's Green Deal energy strategy, Fasimon underscored.

INA's New Direction 2023 programme foresees concentrating oil production at the Rijeka Refinery and transforming the Sisak complex into an industrial center. In addition to the biorefinery component, other alternative locations in Sisak include the production of bitumen, which should be operational in the first half of 2021 and followed by the production of lubricants for which a feasibility study is being conducted.

INA also plans a logistics centre and currently a budget for the centre's construction is being prepared as well as applying for a building permit for a solar electricity plant, the company said.

INA recalled that works at the Rijeka Refinery are also underway for the construction of a heavy residue refining unit worth €533.3 million.

In June a test run for a propane-propylene unit valued at €73.3 million was conducted, which is a valuable product in the petrochemical industry, INA said.

Coronavirus is taking public health and the global economy by storm and spreading mercilessly, causing a previously unthinkable amount of problems for both people and businesses, and the costs will just keep on adding up for months to come, but it isn't all so bleak for one Sisak company.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 19th of March, 2020, although the extent of the damage this situation will cause to the economy can for the moment only be estimated, there are also companies that are unlikely to even feel the effects of the coronavirus crisis, but will actually experience growth during these harsh conditions. One of them is Mozon from Sisak, which deals with ozone technology, which, after fluoride, is the strongest known oxidizer and is widely used in disinfection.

As explained by Zdravko Medved, the director of this Sisak company, ozone breaks down chemicals to basic, naturally occurring particles and is now widely used in the air and water disinfection industry.

"Ozone technology offers many benefits - it's effective at room temperature, it leaves no chemical traces (ozone is converted into oxygen), and it provides greater guarantees against pathogenic bacteria and other micro-organisms such as viruses.

Furthermore, the regular use of ozone saves on the use of chemicals, energy and water. In medicine, it's used as a sterilising agent for operating rooms, hospitals, dispensaries and waiting rooms,'' says Medved, adding that other extremely important uses of ozone should also be mentioned - as a water and air steriliser, in cooling and heating systems, in industrial plants, in post-fire restoration, in chemical synthesis, in soil maintenance, in ecology, in wastewater disposal, etc.

Ozone deactivates the SARS virus extremely quickly and efficiently, and various studies in the world have proved that to be true. Back in 2011, Zdravko Medved began cooperation with an international team of experts who wanted to extend the application of ozone to the area of ​​Southeastern Europe

"Scientists who are actively researching coronavirus have learned that viral particles can be dangerous for up to nine days when remaining in a space outside of the human body. Ozone is generally superior to other disinfectants because it reacts with all particles in the area while other disinfectants cover their share of the ''pest'' spectrum.

''Most scientific efforts on the effects of ozone have focused on the propensity of ozone to separate lipid molecules. Indeed, once a virus's lipid envelope is fragmented, its DNA or RNA nucleus cannot survive,'' explains Medved.

From this Sisak company, they point out that research has shown that precisely where large numbers of people from different parts of the world fluctuate, and that these areas of frequent human movement are an ideal place for the spread of pathogens by harmful airborne microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi).

Therefore, they say, ozone is currently in high demand across the world and is very regularly used in the disinfection of various spaces where there is a great fluctuation of people - hospitals, ambulances and public transport, hotels, halls, convention centres, cafes, bus stations, trains, airports, schools, kindergartens, retirement homes, gyms, changing rooms, and so forth.

One of the world's busiest airports, more precisely the one in Dubai, has injected ozone into its very central air-conditioning system so that all buildings are enriched with this oxidant, while the airport in Shanghai is cleaned with ozone-enriched water.

This Sisak-based company came to ''life'' about ten years ago when Medved began collaborating with an international team of technology and innovation experts who wanted to expand the use of ozone into Southeastern Europe.

"Soon, the need to set up a company that would carry out all the activities in the region emerged, which is how Mozon came to be. We're continuing to cooperate with the world's top experts, but we also have our own laboratory and facilities in Sisak where we test and develop our products. We cover the whole region, and in addition to Croatia, we mostly work in Slovenia,'' Zdravko Medved stated.

Mozon states that they are able to partner with companies to offer ozone application solutions ranging from domestic use to use in large industrial plants.

Ozone is most widely used in Croatia for water disinfection since the water from water pumps is loaded with heavy metals and the chlorine doesn't help. Additionally, all water bottlers use ozone to disinfect their bottles and their other equipment. When it comes to space disinfection, this Sisak company mostly works alongside hotels, public transport companies and pharmacies.

Thus, in Croatia's southernmost city of Dubrovnik, they disinfected the entire public transport fleet which belongs to the company Libertas-Dubrovnik, just over the border in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Medjugorje, they dealt with accommodation and social facilities, and in Zagreb, they created the conditions for the transition from the old chlorinated pool water base to the new ozone disinfection base.

This current, ongoing situation with the coronavirus is also new to them, but they stress that they are fully prepared and have already offered their help to the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

"We've been getting a lot of inquiries over recent days about disinfecting all sorts of spaces, but part of our capacity has been made available to combat the spread of this virus. Just for comparison, the Italian region of Veneto has ordered the disinfection of all public transport vehicles including vessels in Venice, offices and other city premises are being ozonised, while in the city of Taranto in the Puglia region, all of the schools are being treated with ozone as part of a coronavirus prevention programme. Its wide-spread secret lies in the fact that it is the strongest natural disinfectant and no harmful by-products remain after it is used,'' concluded the director of this Sisak company.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Vecernji list writes on the 22nd of January, 2020, the Belgian company De Smet Engineers & Contractors (DSEC) has announced that they have begun work on a basic engineering contract for INA, which covers part of a project to build a second-generation bioethanol plant in the continental Croatian city of Sisak.

That being said, a statement claims that "DSEC will also integrate the selected process package into the project study and evaluate the associated capital and operating costs."

When completed, the project will enable INA to validate the planned construction of the Sisak plant, which INA promised as part of the compensation measures following the announcement of the closure of the basic refinery at the Sisak refinery. DSEC also noted something similar in their announcement, pointing out that the project aims to "establish sustainable industrial activity as an alternative to the Sisak oil refinery".

The value of the contract and work is not yet known and hasn't been publicly stated, but it is part of the activities kickstarted back in 2017 by INA in connection with the planned production of bioethanol in Sisak.

The plan is for the biorefinery to have an annual capacity of 55,000 tonnes of second-generation (2G) bioethanol, and will use locally grown miscanthus and lignocellulosic biomass, such as cereals and oilseeds, for the raw material.

According to the Environmental Impact Study of the Future Bioethanol Plant of 2017, the production of electricity for use from renewable sources (residues of biomass from production and, if necessary, wood chips) and the production of carbon dioxide produced in bioethanol production, are considered to be an increase in oil recovery.

For the planned production capacity, the annual quantity of raw material needed is estimated at 370,000 tonnes in total, which INA intends to secure by collecting agricultural residue directly from the fields and growing energy plants 75 kilometres in diameter around the city of Sisak.

Several months ago, INA completed miscanthus testing for biofuel production, saying that the test results were optimistic because they showed that sunliquid technology could successfully process miscanthus into lignocellulosic sugar and ethanol.

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ZAGREB, August 20, 2019 - A new archaeological site has been discovered in the centre of Sisak during digging work for a block of flats in that Croatian town 50 kilometres southeast of Zagreb.

The site is rich of archaeological finds from the ancient Roman period when the settlement was named Siscia in Latin.

Preliminary excavation at the newly discovered site indicates that there had been a an ancient dwelling for wealthy inhabitants, and that this structure had been rebuilt and refurbished through the past, a local archaeological expert, Rosana Škrgulja, told Hina on Tuesday..

She said that all the finds and artefacts would be prepared by experts to be put on display.

The centre of Sisak is abundant in archaeological sites, which is actually "nightmare" for new projects and builders.

More Sisak news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, June 22, 2019 - A ceremony was held in the Brezovica Forest Memorial Park near Sisak, about 60 kilometres southeast of Zagreb, on Saturday to commemorate Anti-Fascist Struggle Day.

The ceremony, organised by national, regional and local anti-fascist organisations, started with the playing of the Croatian and European anthems and a minute of silence was observed for those killed in World War II.

"Had it not been for the anti-fascist struggle, we would have had nothing to defend, and in the (1991-1995) Homeland War we successfully defended the Republic of Croatia," said the head of the Alliance of Anti-Fascist Fighters and Anti-Fascists of Croatia (SABA), Franjo Habulin.

Seventy-eight years ago, the First Partisan Detachment was formed in Brezovica which "fanned the flames of uprising," he said and added: "We must not close our eyes to what is happening around us."

Habulin expressed concern about "little progress" made in Croatia regarding the perception of anti-fascism.

This year's ceremony was held without the presence of top state officials, who sent their envoys. Among those attending were former presidents Ivo Josipovic and Stjepan Mesić and former SDP prime minister and leader Zoran Milanović, who were all greeted with loud applause.

The First Sisak Partisan Detachment was formed on June 22, 1941 as the first anti-Hitler unit in Nazi-occupied Europe and it marked the beginning of the armed struggle for national liberation in Croatia. It was established by Communist Party members in Sisak on the day Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union and initially had 77 fighters.

Croatia has observed Anti-Fascist Struggle Day on June 22 since it gained independence in the early 1990s.

President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović has extended her best wishes for Anti-Fascist Struggle Day. "A large part of the Croatian people and citizens of other nationalities sided with the anti-fascist resistance against the occupation by the Axis Powers during World War II.

"By the decisions of the State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH), the Federal State of Croatia established within the former federal community of States was the expression of the continuity and the aspirations of Croatian anti-fascists to preserve Croatian Statehood, becoming a State legal basis for the proclamation and international recognition of the independent Republic of Croatia, which we defended and liberated in the Homeland War as a historical expression of the Croatian people’s lasting aspiration for an independent State," Grabar-Kitarović said in her message on Saturday.

More news about Second World War and Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

The Sisak bakery and pastry shop “Mlin i pekare" successfully baked a strudel that was 1,762.45 meters long, which is almost 300 meters longer than the longest strudel in the world, reports 24 Sata on June 21, 2019.

The entire process of preparing, baking and measuring the strudel was carried out according to the strict rules of the Guinness Book of World Records. The idea for such a venture came from Auto Promet Sisak, who wanted to thank their faithful travelers with a big strudel. However, “Mlin i pekare” went a step further and used the task at hand to tackle something much bigger - a Guinness World Record. 

Namely, if they wanted to exceed the current world record, they needed to create a traditional apple strudel that was 1,479.38 meters long. Instead, this Sisak bakery successfully baked a strudel that was 1,762.45 meters long!

As the production manager Snježana Kožić said, about 1,000 kilograms of apples, 500 kilograms of T-400 flour, 200 kilograms of sugar, 200 kilograms of margarine, 50 kilograms of powdered sugar, and a considerable amount of cinnamon, lemon and salt were used for the strudel. The filling weighed about 1,200 kilograms, and the dough about 800 kilograms. Producing this monster strudel, which included its baking in a rotating oven, lasted about 300 working hours.

After the strudel was finished baking, it was sprawled out across ten long tables in six rows at the Caprag City Pool, making it the biggest attraction of the City Games.

Screenshot

After the assessment of independent experts at the Culinary Institute KulIn and the announcements by geodetic survey experts, to the joy of everyone involved in the project and those who had the chance to witness it, the world record has been broken! All verified information will be sent to the Guinness Office to be officially published and included in the book.

After the results were announced, “Mlin i pekare" workers sliced the strudel and offered to visitors and City Games contestants.

You can watch the video here. 

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ZAGREB, June 12, 2019 - Sisak-Moslavina County Day was celebrated in Sisak on Tuesday with emphasis on numerous projects, some that are already being implemented and others that are yet to start, and both President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković welcomed the application of new know-how and technologies, particularly in the ICT sector.

Addressing the county's Assembly, President Grabar-Kitarović underscored that that county is the "geographical centre of our state" and that Croatia's history is concentrated there too. She recalled Stjepan Radić who, "with his martyrdom, became a symbol of the Croatian people's struggle for freedom," and places like Gvozd, Dubica, Gvozdansko, Sisak and Petrinja, which represent "the sites of our tragedies and victories since the Middle Ages through to the Homeland War."

She in particular made reference to the town of Zrin, saying it had been the seat of the Croatian aristocratic family Zrinski, but also the place of the murder and expulsion of hundreds of Croatians in September 1943, only for the Yugoslav communist authorities to deprive survivors and their descendants of all civil rights, assets, banning their return after the war. "We still not have amended that injustice. It is time for the relevant institutions to embark on amending what can be amended, she said.

She expressed her satisfaction that the county was directed toward industries that strongly include the use of digital technology, and said that it was encouraging that, compared to 2014, workers in the ICT sector a less likely to emigrate.

Investing in the education of young people, in their projects and dreams is a true investment in the future of Croatia as a country made to the measure of man, she underscored and added that that is why she launched the branding Croatia project. In that regard, counties need to be the main pillars in investing energy and know-how in developing Croatia. Subsidies and state aid to counties has to continue, primarily through concrete development investments she added.

The president spoke about the Sisak refinery and assessed that it needs to be upgraded and given new business opportunities. Let's not delude ourselves, without industry there is no desired progress, and that is why we have to create competitive conditions for investors who will bring modern technological industrial projects to Croatia, she said.

She added that in her capacity as president, she promotes other energy projects like the LNG terminal on Krk island, which is regularly connected to a series of other investments that she advocates during visits to other countries, in particular within the Three Seas Initiative, which she said strongly separates Croatia from everything that is negatively connected to the Balkans and the so-called region, and firmly positions Croatia where it belongs, along the belt between the Mediterranean and Central Europe.

In her address, the president said that the main source for any responsible policy is to listen to the people and respect the will of the people.

Because the trust of the people can only be gained by trusting the people. That is the foundation of unity which I have been emphasising for four and a half years as the focal point of my policy. Unity is the denominator of Croatia's development and progress. Unity combines our energy, work and creativity, it raises our optimism and self-confidence, it is the key to success at the municipal, city and county and state level, she said.

Prime Minister Plenković recalled that 50,000 people from the county fled their homes during the Homeland War and that the damage done to the infrastructure and factories at that time was close to 1 billion euro.

He said more than 821 million kuna was invested from 1998 to 2018 in demining the county and that another 9.4 square kilometres was expected to be cleared by the end of the year.

Plenković said his government held a meeting in Sisak in February 2017, "aware that this county needed incentive and support. Therefore, we adopted a score of concrete decisions to stimulate regional development and the projects adopted then were worth 250 million kuna."

He said the county was important because of oil and natural gas, thermal springs, the development of agriculture, fruit growing and cattle breeding, and its tourism potential. He added that 8% more arrivals and 40% more nights were recorded in the first five and a half months of the year.

Plenković said huge progress was made in the county with regard to the absorption of EU funds, with 255.8 million euro contracted to date, most of which are to upgrade the water infrastructure. He said 24 projects worth 120 million kuna were approved for the development of the local infrastructure, and that 75 projects worth 216 million kuna were signed for energy-efficient buildings, including 117 million kuna in grants.

Plenković said some of the European money would be used for new business opportunities, and that the county was becoming a gaming industry centre. He added that the government would continue to support all projects that benefited the county.

The prime minister said he was pleased the government and the president were making complementary efforts towards cooperation between the central and local governments. "We are in non-stop intensive dialogue and cooperation," he said, adding that that was the best way to achieve synergy regarding projects, funds, and the realisation of common development goals.

Prefect Ivo Žinić said the projects that were currently being implemented in the county were worth 400 million kuna. "These projects confirm our desire for progress. Our job is to work for better living standards for all citizens in the county."

More news about Sisak-Moslavina County can be found in the Lifestyle section.