August 6, 2022 - Traditional Emigrants Day was held on the island of Susak last weekend.

This special day has been held since 1985 on the last weekend in July, when the people from Susak living all over the world return to visit their native island. Šima Strikoman took a wonderful millennium photo while the rich cultural and entertainment programs included workshops and animation for children, sports meetings, the ceremonial opening of the "Sujščanica" statue, and the performance of Susak folklore and the SuperCover Band. 

Susak, which is only around 3km long and 1.5km wide, is renowned for the large number of people who have emigrated from there (mainly to the USA, especially in Hoboken, New Jersey). The name Susak (Italian: Sansego) comes from the Greek word Sansegus meaning oregano which grows in abundance on the island Only a small percentage of natives still reside on the island, but the population of only around 80 booms during the summer as many islanders currently living in America return. 

You can watch the HRT video about this event here. 

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

January 2, 2021 - A World War II mine on Susak was discovered by Velimir Vrzić in the shallow part of the island.

Deep-sea explorer and Morski.hr collaborator Velimir Vrzić found another mine from the Second World War. This mine has been cocooned in the shallows of Susak Island for the last 80 years.

"It is most likely a German underwater mine left over from the Second World War. Namely, the German navy was poorly developed during the war, and due to the great indentation of the Adriatic coast, it was protected by minefields.

This mine is located on the north side of Susak Island, where one of the marked minefields was located, so it is probably one of them.

Whether it is a fishing boat that hooked the mine and dragged it into the shallows of the bay on Susak, or whether it prevented the possible landing of Allied ships on the island, will be determined by the investigation of incompetent institutions," says Velimir Vrzić.

This is the fourth mine Vrzić has found in the last two years.

All three so far (one in front of Rijeka and two on Pag island) have been destroyed by ATJ Lučko special police officers from Zagreb.

Namely, around the holidays two years ago, Vrzić discovered a naval mine of extreme destructive power. Eight decades after the Second World War, the mine was found in Pećina, at a depth of 25 meters and only a few meters from the shore, near Villa Olga, which was once the command post of the German military forces.

Last year, Vrzić discovered two naval mines in one dive on Pag Island. 

"It's true. I can confirm the finding. A few days ago, I received an inquiry from my friend Petar Smojver, who is one of the most famous Croatian sailors, who noticed a strange object in a small bay on the island of Pag. I was nearby, so I headed to the position and had something to see," Vrzić told Morski then. 

"With an underwater scooter at a depth of 5 meters, I found a metal object that resembles the German naval mine model EMC in its shape and appearance," said Vrzić then. 

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

As is the case with many Mediterranean countries, the relationship between olives and the Croatian coast runs deep, it is a story that would take all the time in the world to tell and it boasts a plethora of different personal meanings for many individuals and their families.

Olives and the coast go hand in hand and the entire practice of olive picking has well and truly withstood the test of time and the various winds of change that time has brought with it over the many centuries that have passed. Skills and knowledge are passed down through generations, and traditions are upheld through time.

Despite the modern world in which we're increasingly being dragged feet first into, many families along the Croatian coast, from the extreme south of Dalmatia to the Kvarner region, bring things to a standstill when ''olive time'' comes along. During that special time of year, families are bonded again and again through the picking of the olives, and the work that follows.

As Morski writes on the 22nd of March, 2019, the northern Adriatic islands of Cres and Susak were presented at the fourth International Congress on the revitalisation of terraced landscapes in the Canaries.

Dr. Goran Andlar from the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb and Tanja Kremenić from Cres who is currently doing her PhD in Padua discussed the terraced landscape of the Croatian island of Cres, which embodies a kind of olive and sheep cooperation, writes the portal Otoci.net.

''The olive-sheep model was a very interesting component of the presentation to the public, and we take it for granted, it's natural to us. Sheep are natural fertilisers, they're natural cleansers of excess vegetation and they're bred extensively so they does not represent any sort of big extra effort for humans. Why is it so important that we preserve terraced landscapes?

If they're not used, there is a risk of erosion and a loss of fertile anthropogenic soil. They are also very important today because they represent an alternative to mechanised high-intensive agriculture and are an example of the implementation of pertinent concepts of development such as "sustainable development" or the "circular economy" in reality, but here on the ground,'' stated Tanja Kremenić.

At one congress back in 2016, which was held in Padua, the beautiful island of Cres presented this charming sheep-inspired theme with a poster, and then a one-day trip to the island of Cres was organised for the participants of the congress.

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Click here for the original article by Otoci.net

A rare look at the city of Rijeka in history, on April 16, 2018

TCN is launching a new series dedicated to Croatian cities, villages and islands that experienced notable emigration in the 20th century. We kick off with Susak, a small island in Kvarner bay which saw a massive exodus in the 60s, leading to a thriving community in New Jersey, US

The Guardian’s Kathryn Tomasetti chooses the 10 best small islands in Croatia.