ZAGREB, 23 Feb 2022 - Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević inaugurated the Sljeme Cable Car on Wednesday, and citizens who have been waiting for the new cable car since 2007 can use it as of tomorrow.

"I am confident that the numerous citizens who will use this cable car will see that the ride is both safe and comfortable," Tomašević said, adding that the main task now is to enhance and increase the attractions and infrastructure on Mount Sljeme, overlooking the capital.

The old cable car was inaugurated in 1963 for the transport of athletes, recreationists and mountaineers, and its route was 4 km, 1 km shorter than the current one. It was one of the longest in Europe and the ride took some 20 minutes. It stopped operating in summer 2007 due to an engine fault, it was also decided that building a new cable car route was going to be more cost-efficient. A ticket cost HRK 11.

The construction of the new cable car was announced by the late mayor Milan Bandić in July 2016. HRK 30 million was earmarked in the city budget for the following year for the construction. A building permit was issued in summer 2018, and works began the following 25 January.

The new cable car was to have been inaugurated on 3 January 2021, but this was delayed until the final papers were ready and for some reconstruction works to be finished in April. However, there was a problem with noise and the final permit was obtained on Monday.

Tomašević said this was "an inherited, megalomaniacal project" worth HRK 537 million without VAT. The city would repay HRK 45 million annually over the next 12 years.

That amount refers to the cable car's capital expense, while an additional amount will be set aside from the city budget to cover 50% of its operating expenses.

"The investment in the cable car will never be returned and its big capacity to transport passengers to Sljeme will never be used to that extent," the mayor said.

The ride lasts 22 minutes. The cable car's maximum capacity is 1,500 passengers per hour, carried in 84 cabins with ten seats each.

The Sljeme Cable Car will operate from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays and from 8 am to 6 pm on weekends. The first month will be a promotional period and then the cable car will be closed for additional noise-reduction works, after which it will be put into regular operation.

During the promotional month, a one-way ticket will be HRK 30 for adults and HRK 20 for persons aged 15-24 and those over 60, while a return ticket will be HRK 50 for adults and HRK 30 for the other group. Children under 14 and persons will disabilities can use the cable car for free.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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ZAGREB, 10 Feb 2022 - Public health inspectors from the State Inspectorate have granted consent for the issue of an operating licence for the Žičara Sljeme cable car system on Mount Sljeme overlooking Zagreb, following the implementation of the necessary noise protection measures, the Inspectorate said on Thursday.

The cable car system was to have been opened in the first half of 2021, but the licence was denied because it was too noisy. The city administration has in the meantime announced investment of an additional HRK 1.7 million to further reduce the noise.

After a technical inspection of the cable car was carried out last Friday, Mayor Tomislav Tomašević said on Tuesday he expected the State Inspectorate to issue a positive opinion on the cable car, after which the operating licence is to be issued by the Transport Ministry.

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January 6, 2022 - The men's slalom Snow Queen Trophy on Sljeme has been canceled for the second consecutive day.

The first run started at 1 pm, but after 19 skiers and several interruptions due to track repairs, the race was ultimately canceled, reports HRT.

Only 19 of the 61 skiers went down the track on Thursday, and the International Ski Federation (FIS) decided to cancel the race. Representatives of the Croatian Ski Federation and the Croatian national ski team agreed that fighting against unfavorable weather conditions was not possible.

Unlike Wednesday, when there was not enough snow due to the south wind, the Wednesday to Thursday evening was attacked by more than enough snow, which created holes in certain parts of the track. All of this led to four interruptions in the space of an hour during the first run.

Norwegian Sebastian Foss-Solevaag, the leading slalom skier in the World Cup, opened today's race and took the lead. In second was Swiss Ramon Zenhäsern 49 hundredths of a second behind Foss-Solevaag, and in third Frenchman Clement Noel who was 58 hundredths of a second behind.

After 14 skiers started, the race was briefly interrupted to fix the track. Swede Kristoffer Jakobsen then went down the track, holding the leading position in the slalom standings with Foss-Solevaag (140 points), but reached the finish line only tenth (+2.22). A new break followed before the best Croatian skier Filip Zubčić started, who reached the finish line after a big mistake and a lag of 4.93 seconds.

Several more interruptions followed, and ultimately the final cancellation of the race.

The Sljeme slalom is the third race in this discipline for skiers. Sebastian Foss-Solevaag and Kristoffer Jakobsen led with 140 points each. Zubčić came fifth with 75 points.

In the first slalom of the season in Val d'Isere, Clement Noel won ahead of Jakobsen and Zubčić, while in Madonna di Campiglio, Foss-Solevaag won, and Zubčić took 16th place.

After Zagreb, the caravan of skiers moves to Adelboden, where the giant slalom and slalom will be held on Saturday and Sunday.

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January 4, 2022 - Day one of the Snow Queen Trophy was held on Tuesday for the women's World Cup slalom, in which Slovak skier Petra Vlhova celebrated!

Slovak skier Petra Vlhova celebrated the Snow Queen Trophy World Cup slalom on Sljeme in Zagreb on Tuesday. Croatia's best skier Leona Popović finished seventh for the best result in her career, reports HRT.

Leona Popović was 14th in the first run and reached the first top 10 in her career in the second run, 3.05 seconds behind first. The 24-year-old from Mrkopalj placed 14th in Levi as the best result of her career until now. 

The leading slalom skier in the world, Vlhova, took advantage of the number one start and was the fastest to cross the first run of the Sljeme Red Slope in harsh conditions on a trail covered with leaves, high temperatures, and strong southern winds. In the second run, the Slovak skier kept the advantage and celebrated for the third consecutive time on Sljeme.

The second place was won by the four-time Sljeme winner, American Mikaela Shifrin, who just returned to the World Cup competition in Zagreb, eight days after testing positive for coronavirus. In third was Austrian Katharina Liensberger (+2.11)

Zrinka Ljutić started as the 40th in the first run, and after a very good first pass, she made a mistake and gave up, while Andrea Komšić's lag of 4.78 seconds was still too big to enter the second run. As a result, she was 32nd, only 31 hundredths of a second behind 30th. 

Vlhova leads with 480 points ahead of Shiffrin (340) in the slalom standings, while Popović came in twelfth place with 95 points. Shiffrin leads the overall standings with 830 points, 115 more than Vlhova, while Leona is 39th.

Due to epidemiological reasons, there are no spectators on Sljeme this year. 

The men's slalom will take place in Zagreb on Wednesday.

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