ZAGREB, 16 March 2022 - A temporary injunction prohibiting the use and departure of three yachts from Croatian ports has been issued on suspicion that they are connected with persons on the sanctions list released after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Croatia's Sea Transport and Infrastructure Ministry stated on Wednesday.

The yachts are moored in the marina of Betina, the ACI marina in Skradin, and the port of Rijeka.

The injunction is in compliance with the restrictions adopted by the European Union in response to the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and extended to include certain individuals.

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June 15, 2021 - Smart LED lighting in Skradin can now be found throughout the entire city! 

The City of Skradin has wholly replaced the 20-year-old city lighting with innovative LED solutions. This project, worth 300,000 euros, was implemented in cooperation with the Hungarian company Tungsram and the Croatian company Luma Energy. The most important result is the annual energy savings of 70% and a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, reports Dalmacija Danas. 

With this extremely valuable investment, as many as 366 units of smart LED lighting have been installed in Skradin, of which 200 units have been installed on roads and streets, 100 units in the city center, and 66 units in the Skradin Elementary School system. In addition, as part of this project, the City of Skradin received an innovative bench that offers citizens free wireless internet and the possibility of charging via a USB port by providing electricity through its solar panels.

In addition to the new LED lighting being a more sustainable solution for people and the environment, this project also sets an excellent example of good practice. It brings the City of Skradin one step closer to the title of the first smart city in the region.

"Thanks to this commendable project, the City of Skradin shines much brighter, smarter, cheaper, and most importantly, more environmentally friendly. These are the key reasons why we decided to achieve this wonderful cooperation and a significant project between the City of Skradin and the companies Tungsram Group and Luma Energy," said Antonijo Brajković, Mayor of Skradin.

Due to increasing CO2 emissions and high energy costs, which significantly burden urban infrastructure and budgets, we are increasingly confronted with the idea of smart cities. At the same time, such initiatives are almost always associated with urban and technologically developed metropolises. However, the City of Skradin, as the Croatian pearl of cultural heritage, convinces us just the opposite. With tremendous energy savings, this project has resulted in a highly positive impact for people and the environment, ranging from better lit and safer roads to school modernization.

"Tungsram had an office in Zagreb in the first half of the last century, which represents our commitment to Croatia, which we see as one of the critical parts of our home region. So it is natural that we provide our latest and most modern solutions here. We are happy to enrich the natural beauties of these Croatian cities with beautiful lights, which also offer entry points for Tungsram's intelligent solutions that are useful for both villages and larger towns.

We are also delighted to be partners with Luma Energy, and we are pleased to have indicators of our work in addition to such a wonderful national park," said Joerg Bauer, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Tungsram Group.

Tungsram Group and Luma Energy also applied their knowledge and innovations in the Municipality of Jarmina, where they installed a total of 300 LED devices on the roads and in the school. This project, worth 200,000 euros, contributes to sustainable development through environmentally friendly, smart solutions with numerous benefits such as significant energy savings.

"This project has provided exceptional benefits for the City of Skradin and the local community, primarily in the form of significant energy savings and a large reduction in maintenance costs. Furthermore, Skradin has received a smart and sustainable solution, which with high energy efficiency, offers better and more uniform lighting in traffic and public places, which greatly raises the overall quality of life in the city. In addition, a smart bench has been set up as part of this project, and how important this innovation is for the citizens of Skradin is shown by the fact that in the last year, the bench has been used by over 9,000 users, for which it provided 1.3 TB of data and produced 129, 5 kWh of electricity," said Toni Vlaic, Executive Director of Luma Energy.

Ultimately, a smart city is not a status but a process that allows cities to respond more quickly to environmental and technical challenges, such as creating a more comfortable living environment for citizens. In this process, smart lighting is the first step because the innovative LED device platform allows installing many other smart applications in the future. LED devices with sensors and smart controls can be connected to smart applications and used for various purposes, from parking facilitation, through traffic monitoring to emergency signals. Therefore, there is no doubt that future similar investments will significantly contribute to raising the quality of life of many communities worldwide.

The recognized name Tungsram returned to the global market in 2018 as an innovative, top European brand by acquiring general lighting business for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey by GE Lighting and a global presence in the automotive industry. Tungsram wants to help tackle the crucial challenges of our time, such as food security, lower energy and cost living environments, safe and rehabilitated environments - or, in short, “human well-being.” Therefore, Tungsram has decided to systematically enhance its heritage of innovation, knowledge, and technology, and materials, taking advantage of our state-of-the-art teams and infrastructure in the heart of Europe. Therefore, the company is moving from analog products to data-based solutions - providing turnkey solutions, often including alternative financing models for our customers.

Tungsram is reviving a 125-year-old tradition of leadership in manufacturing technology and service solutions. Its highly productive supply chain is focused on its five factories in Hungary, working to the highest quality standards with its 3,700 employees and a network of 1,600 suppliers and partners worldwide. In addition, Tungsram Group invests in technologies that are safe for the future and ready for dynamic and growing global markets, such as smart solutions, smart cities, indoor farming, and healthcare, while strengthening the lighting core of its business.

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January 12, 2021 - Through a project that will last five months, the Skradin port will be enhanced by four new piers to accommodate up to eight tourist boats.  

HRTurizam reports that the ancient port of Scardona is today a modern marina for boats arriving across Lake Prokljan and enjoys a reputation as a safe haven. From this summer, it will be enhanced by a well-maintained pier and main water entrance to Skradinski Buk, the most famous and most visited waterfall on the Krka River.

In order to protect and preserve the recognizable and authentic view of Skradin, the most modern construction techniques will be used to build a new pier, fully integrated into the environment. The project is funded by the Public Institution "Krka National Park".

Namely, the pier is being readied for tourist boats in Skradin, and the works will last for five months. Landscaping the port on the maritime domain, managed by the Public Institution "Krka National Park", will begin on January 15, 2021, within which four new piers will be implemented to accommodate up to eight tourist boats. Furthermore, 145 meters of shoreline will be built, which will ensure additional stability of the city waterfront and significantly improve the current conditions of the coast.

It is an important infrastructure project that will reduce the creation of crowds when boarding and disembarking the entrance to NP Krka.

"Constructing the port in Skradin is one of the significant projects for the Public Institution 'Krka National Park' which will reduce the creation of crowds when boarding and disembarking the entrance to Krka. Visitors will be scheduled so that the time spent thus far waiting in line can be used for a quality tour of Skradin," pointed out the director of the Public Institution "Krka National Park" Nella Slavica.

In addition to the possibility of buying park tickets online, visitors will be able to book a departure date from Skradin and return from Skradinski Buk, adds Slavica, and emphasizes that this will increase the quality of service and customer satisfaction and thus directly affect the time spent in Skradin and Šibenik-Knin County.

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August 22, 2019 - That Croatia can be interpreted and reinterpreted with music, presented by gastronomy and enjoyed in so many ways, was clearly shown on 17th of August in Skradin, at the Ambasada Bibich, actually a winery, but also much more. This was the official launch of the third album by the dynamic duo Tomec&Grabber (Krešimir Tomec and Marco Grabber). It is actually a music project that started nine years ago with ''Dalmatian Dub'' and ''Dalmatian Lounge'' as a concept to reinterpret Croatian tradition in a modern, contemporary way. The new album combines modern downtempo/Ethno/house music with traditional sounds from Croatia, so the evening of the launch was dedicated not only to music, but also to great Croatian gastronomy and wine.

The terrace of the Ambasada Bibich, overlooking the yacht-filled marina, welcomed the guests in minimalistic design adorned solely with tens of wine barrels, from which more than just one welcome drink was offered. Wines from the Bibich winery were served all evening long, including the fresh and crisp rosé, the aromatic and spicy white wine Debit and the full-bodied, rounded Babić. The wines were in absolute tune with the whole idea of the evening, since Alen Bibić in his Bibich wines notoriously and famously combines the respect of the traditional ways of blending varieties and the most modern technologies in his wine production. The „black&white story“ of the evening, with whites and reds in wine (red wines in Croatia are actually called black), and the matching surroundings just as the food – were all consistent.  

The musical part of the evening was opened by Stipe Širinić, who made a great intro and created an upbeat setting, giving it away to klapa Skradinski Buk. The members of the klapa gave everyone in the marina a taste of traditional acapella Dalamtian sounds, so not only did the guests enjoy their marvelous voices, but anyone passing by had the chance to hear them and enjoy - just as the guests in the comfort of their boats or yachts did. The musical intro led to the official beginning of the evening, where Hana Čičić, one of the initiators of this event,  welcomed all personally, and on behalf of the whole team.

The gastronomic part of the evening was pure joy. The man in charge was chef Mate Janković who prepared the first two courses. The traditional Dalmatian platter of cheese and prosciutto was recreated in a fritter, while the ''brudet'' was reinterpreted in a one-bite canapé. Even more interesting food was prepared by Alen Bibić's wife, chef extraordinaire, Vesna, who created four courses, all black, all of them a sort of „return to squid“ or squid revisited, winemaker Alen Bibić's favourite childhood food. A cone of squid with squid cream and so-called squid caviar, black sage tempura, black squid cracker with garlic creme, and a squid roll with smoked chicken. 

Music critic and promoter Dubravko Jagatić held a short interview with Tomec and Grabber, about the whole idea and the concept of keeping the tradition in a contemporary form. Jagatić expressed the importance of good promotion of the album, but also emphasized how crucial it is to hold the high standard in all areas – music, gastronomy, art and enology. Marco Grabber played music from all three albums and afterwards, the new album was signed by the authors. The promotion of the new album ''Deep Into Croatia'' showed the importance of combining great food with good music, and the importance of a musical setting for any form of food – whether you are having a meal at home, on the street or in a restaurant. 

Good beats and good vibes were not in short supply - and good flavours neither. NinaGina Pastries prepared very impressive sweet bites, all based on what we know traditional, local and ''old'', but made in a very contemporary manner. A reinterpretation of the traditional fig cake with almonds, hazelnuts and truffle honey, Creamy cubes with lemons from the island of Brač, Mini walnut tarts, the traditional sweet fritter Fritula made from choux pastry and served with homemade fig jam - small and sweet, were all a great success. And while many thought that the cherry on the top was already served, out came cheese and olive oil. And not just any oil: it was the best olive oil in Croatia, from the region that was repeatedly named the best for the olive oil in the whole world – Istrian Vodnjan. Four extra virgin olive oils from the Chiavalon brothers – Romano, Mlado (meaning ''young''), Organic and finally Ex Ablis were served.

The post-desert was completed with the very best of Dalmatian cheese, the one from the island of Pag. Martina Pernar from Paška Sirana brought aged cheeses from 2019 and 2018 which were perfectly paired with the oils and home-baked bread. The celebration of the best food, wine and music continued until the first rays of sunlight. The Slovenian pianist Boštjan Golinar also performed bringing back memories by playing piano classics. No doubt, it was an exceptional evening, beginning with the tradition but expressing the importance of remembering what it is we have in Croatia, and from what can grow from further. The conclusion was unanimous: we have to stick to true values in food, music, wine -  and it is of utmost importance for a successful future to acknowledge the past adequately represent it in the present. 

Photos by Davor Ergo (additional photos by Richard Gruica)

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