July 18, 2022 - The new Croatian football season opened on July 15 after a month of preparations. A look at the SuperSport HNL round 1 results. 

Dinamo v. Lokomotiva (3:2)

Dinamo and Lokomotiva opened the first round on Friday, July 15, at Maksimir Stadium in front of 4,320 fans. 

Kulenovic and Ibrahim put Lokomotiva ahead by two goals by the 22nd minute, though it didn't last long. Dinamo subbed on Drmic, who scored two goals in the next 10 minutes for 2:2 at the half. Maric was shown a red card in the 78th minute, forcing Lokomotiva to play with a man down for the remainder of the match. Menalo scored in the 91st minute for the final 3:2 Dinamo. 

Dinamo is currently in 2nd place with 3 points, while Lokomotiva is in 6th with 0. 

Osijek v. Gorica (2:1)

Osijek and Gorica met on Saturday, July 16, at City Garden Stadium in front of 3,590 fans. 

While the first half went without goals, Beljo scored for 1:0 Osijek in the 62nd minute. A Loncar own goal made it 1:1 four minutes later. Beljo put Osijek back in the lead for 2:1 with a penalty in the 74th minute. Lokomotiva's Julardzija was shown a red card in the 86th minute.

Osijek is currently in 3rd place with 3 points, while Gorica is in 7th with 0. 

Sibenik v. Rijeka (0:1)

Sibenik and Rijeka met in Sibenik on Saturday, July 16, in front of 1,678 fans. 

The first half went without goals, and the match's only goal came in the 74th minute when Obregon scored for 0:1. 

Sibenik is currently in 8th place with 0 points, while Rijeka is in 4th with 3. 

Varazdin v. Slaven Belupo (0:1)

Varazdin and Slaven Belupo met in Varazdin on Sunday, July 17. 

The match's only goal came in the 49th minute when Kocijan scored for 0:1 Belupo. 

Varazdin is currently in 9th place with 0 points, while Belupo is in 5th with 3. 

Istra 1961 v. Hajduk (0:2)

Istra and Hajduk closed out the first round in Pula on Sunday, July 17. 

Interestingly, it was announced before the match that the VAR system was out of order because there was no electricity in the VAR room, meaning the match would go on without using VAR. 

Melnjak scored Hajduk's first goal for 0:1 in the 43rd minute. Livaja increased Hajduk's lead to 0:2 off a header in the 60th minute. 

Istra is currently in last place with 0 points, while Hajduk is in first place with 3 points. 

*Rijeka and Hajduk will not play in the 2nd round next weekend as Rijeka asked that the match be postponed due to Conference League obligations. 

You can see the standings HERE.

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

June 10, 2022 - In June 2021, the revitalization of the Varteks textile industry premises was declared a strategic investment project of the Republic of Croatia called "VARTEKS district - urban regeneration".

As part of the project of great economic importance for the City of Varaždin and all its residents, through cooperation between the City of Varaždin, Varteks, and Austrian investor SES Spar European Shopping Centers, the northeastern part of the old factory will become S-PARK Varaždin, the central part of the revitalized VARTEKS district, today's press conference at the City Hall concluded, where the partners signed a contract to construct a roundabout on Zagrebačka Street. This will be the first step of the new project, and an agreement on cooperation for the strategic investment project "VARTEKS district - urban regeneration".

"The city of Varaždin welcomes the arrival of S-PARK in Varaždin as part of the project "VARTEKS district - urban regeneration" which the Government of the Republic of Croatia has declared a strategic investment project. This will not only be another shopping center in the city, but it will revitalize valuable space that has lost its original economic purpose. It is important to us residents of the city of Varaždin that the architectural solution is fully respectable and our industrial heritage and brand that is a kind of symbol of the city. It was created for years from the former Tivar to today's Varteks. We consider it necessary and support the regeneration of this valuable space because it preserves jobs and keeps production Varteks. At the same time, S-PARK means creating new jobs in the store and providing better supply and new facilities to all citizens", concluded Neven Bosilj, mayor of Varaždin.

"S-PARK Varaždin will be the first and unique retail park in Croatia to be developed in a historically important industrial site. I am very proud that we as SES have the opportunity to develop a quality, new meeting place with retail, gastronomic, and service facilities for people in Varaždin and its surroundings. In doing so, we will be guided by the important historical heritage of this place, which will be our inspiration for the design of the new S-PARK," said Christoph Andexlinger, Chief Operating Officer of SES Spar European Centers.

SES Croatia representative and project manager Boštjan Brantuša revealed that in the northeastern part of Varteks there will be a complex of commercial, gastronomic, and service facilities, and the first Interspar in Varaždin, which will significantly raise the standard of available content to citizens.

The Chairman of the Board of Varteks, Tomislav Babić, expressed his satisfaction that the City of Varaždin also recognizes the value and quality of the project and advocates to preserve buildings important in the industrialization of Varaždin, as well as expressing interest in revitalizing the central part of the complex with facilities important for citizens.

"Since the start of the restructuring in 2019, Varteks has worked on the sale of unused assets that generate additional costs as unused capital.  By activating this capital, Varteks plans to settle its debts, modernize its business and expand its retail network. Varteks does not intend to engage in real estate but in the basic business, which is fashion, while we believe that the Varteks complex should definitely get facilities adapted to modern life, with a lot of greenery and functional roads and all other facilities that will ensure a higher standard of living. We are glad that SES, a sister company of SPAR has an identical vision and that as a buyer of a significant part of the complex it will build modern, beautiful, and functional contents that will fit perfectly into the characteristic architecture of the city of Varaždin, nurturing its historical heritage", concluded Babić.

The Zagrebačka street roundabout project financed by the Austrian investor will, upon completion, contribute to better traffic regulation for greater safety of citizens and its smooth running with new facilities in the city.

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

May 28, 2022 - Last night, a major storm in northern Croatia affected the areas of Varaždin, Čakovec, and Koprivnica, tearing down trees, public lighting, and flooding streets. The inhabitants of Varaždin, informed in advance, parked their cars in underground garages.

A new storm in the north of the country, the wind in Bukovac uprooted a tree

A strong wind accompanied by heavy rain and pea-sized hail hit the north of Croatia last night after 10 pm, reports Index.hr.

From the field, the worst was in the area of ​​Štrigova, Ludbreg, and again Veliki Bukovac, where a strong wind knocked down a tree near the NK Bukovčan playground. The hail was small, but it was pouring heavily, and the wind was strong and took some parts off the roofs of people trying to protect their homes from the damage caused by hail the size of tennis balls on Wednesday afternoon.

Varaždin residents hid cars in underground garages

In Ludbreg, citizens report that it looked as if "heaven and earth had merged", but so far there is no information about the damage. There was also a hailstorm in Gornji Međimurje, but it is not yet known if anything was damaged.

The people of Varaždin frantically hid their cars in underground garages last night for fear of hail and new damage that many suffered on Wednesday. However, apart from heavy thunder and showers, there are no reports of damage in Varaždin, and fortunately, there was no hail.

Storm in Podravina: Felled trees and lighting, flooded underpasses

The storm hit Koprivnica and the surrounding areas. At around 11:30 pm, a stormy wind and heavy rain, which in some places turned into hail and thunder, ravaged Podravina. The stormy wind destroyed trees all over the city of Koprivnica, and the heavy rain made the road impassable, reports Glas Podravine.

The aforementioned local portal states that the wind not only destroyed the trees, but also public lighting infrastructure. Underpasses, roads, and pavements were also flooded. Emergency services quickly went to the scene and cleared the roads.

The wind broke off parts of many trees and part of the roads were temporarily rendered unusable. Firefighters are still removing fallen trees from the roads. Traffic was suspended until further notice over the Koprivnica underpass, which was also totally flooded. 

In Koprivnica, 16 liters of rain per square meter fell, and in some villages, such as Torčec, even more. Emergency services are on the ground to enable the smooth flow of traffic.

For more news about Croatia, click here.

May 23, 2022 - Varaždin secures their Croatian First League promotion after beating Dugopolje 2:1 on Sunday!

One round before the end of the Croatian Second League (HNL), Varaždin secured their return to the highest rank of Croatian football. Thanks to a 2:1 victory against Dugopolje, Varaždin escaped second-placed Rudeš with unattainable four points with one round to go.

In a wonderful atmosphere in front of more than 5,000 fans, Varaždin took 3 points and secured their spot in the Croatian First League next season.

In the 15th minute, Varaždin took the lead thanks to a phenomenal goal scored by Itsuki Urata. The Japanese left-back received the ball and hit the bottom left corner from more than 30 meters out. It was a goal that will surely be included in the narrow competition for the best goal of this Second League this season.

The start of the second half saw Varaždin increase its advantage. Namely, in the 55th minute, Fran Brodić found the back of the net, who had previously missed four great opportunities in the match. Then, in the 66th minute, Urata made a mistake, and Ćubelić took advantage of his clumsiness to bring the score to 2:1.

Dugopolje did not give up, but several changes led to a drop in the game's intensity. Before the end of the match, Varaždin again had two great opportunities in the 83rd and 88th minutes, and the ball moved from one end of the penalty area to the other, and no one managed to shoot on target.

At the end of the match, excited fans rushed onto the pitch and celebrated with Varaždin for winning the Second HNL title and promotion to the First HNL.

Dugopolje will fight for its status in the Second League until the very end. Namely, five clubs are dropping out of the Second HNL since the league will be reduced to 12 clubs next season, and there will undoubtedly be other Dinamo and Osijek teams included. Furthermore, it is already known that Sesvete and Opatija will be relegated, and we will find out the remaining passengers for the Third HNL on Saturday, May 28, when the last round is scheduled.

Source: Gol.hr

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

ZAGREB, 14 May 2022 - More than a thousand young Europeans will attend the Ø BORDERS youth programme in Varaždin in November, comprising workshops on democratic processes as well as various concerts,  the European Parliament Liaison Office in Zagreb has recently reported.

The two-day programme, known as  Ø BORDERS will be held on 25 and 26 November and will focus on youth, their knowledge, curiosity and innovativeness, the organisers said. 

The programme includes workshops on democratic processes and public policy as well as concerts.

The event is being organised in Croatia by the V.U.K. association of Varaždin youth and the P4 Centre. The organisers have been issued a grant from the European Parliament for this purpose.

"We have followed and always follow the events in Europe and the rest of the world so we created a programme that will address topics related to democracy and the importance of election processes, migration, green policies and geopolitics in general," one of the programme leaders, Nino Preložnjak said.

The event is being organised in partnership with the Network of Croatian Youth and the Croatian Scouts Association with full support from Varaždin city authorities, said Preložnjak.

The European Youth Event (EYE) is an event initiated and hosted by the European Parliament with the aim of stimulating active citizenship amongst young Europeans.

The Varaždin version will also provide a series of activities and debates, interactive workshops, plays, entertainment and educational programmes.

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

ZAGREB, 7 May 2022 - Two civil society demonstrations were held in the northern city of Varaždin on Saturday - a Walk for Life and a counter-demonstration called Saturday for Freedom.

At the same time, a Walk for Life was also held in the eastern cities of Vinkovci and Slavonski Brod, and the head of the In the Name of Family NGO, Željka Markić, joined the Varaždin march.

"I think it is important that we convey the message that it has been scientifically confirmed that human life begins at conception, that an unborn child's heart starts beating on the 18th day, that a child in the womb feels pain, smiles and swallows. These are all important scientific facts," Markić said. "We should build a society of tolerance and life," she added.

Silvija Svoren, coordinator of the Walk for Life in Varaždin, said that they support life from birth to natural death. "That means that we are always for life. That is our focus. We fight for the unborn child and its mother, for the family."

The Saturday for Freedom gathering was organised by the local youth association V.U.K., whose president Lea Labaš said they had gathered to protect women's and human rights.

"We believe that every woman has the right to her own body and the right to choose," Labaš said. "We, of course, must also think about the future because some of us may find themselves in that awful situation when they will need empathy and we want everyone to be able to exercise this right."

The Walk for Life was joined by Ladislav Ilčić, a Croatian member of the European Parliament, who said that Croatia needs young people and children for economic growth.

"If we want higher pensions, we need young people who will pay into pension funds. If we want personal happiness, children can help a lot in that regard. I think all politicians should support this," Ilčić said.

MP Natalija Martinčević supported the Saturday for Freedom rally, criticising doctors who invoked conscientious objection in the case of Mirela Čavajda, a pregnant woman who has applied for a termination of the pregnancy because of the poor condition of her baby.

"I respect their right to conscientious objection, but in their own time in their own private clinics. When they are paid with government money, they should respect the laws of Croatia," Martinčević said.

Between 500 and 1,000 people are estimated to have participated in the Walk for Life, while the Saturday for Freedom attracted far fewer demonstrators.

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

April 27, 2022 - About 10 tons of humanitarian aid, food, and hygiene supplies were delivered to the residents of the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine, with which Varaždin County has friendly relations.

Varaždin County said that on the eve of Easter, according to the Julian calendar, humanitarian aid was delivered through the border crossing at the Romanian-Ukrainian border, to the Olimpia humanitarian aid depot in the city of Chernivtsi, reports HRT News.

Groceries and supplies were delivered thanks to citizens, local governments, and companies that, after the appeal of Varaždin County Prefect Anđelko Stričak, in just a few days, donated ten tons of groceries with a longer shelf life and hygiene supplies.

In addition to Varaždin County, aid was collected by: Varaždin, Varaždinske Toplice and Lepoglava and the municipalities of Petrijanec, Trnovec Bartolovečki, Cestica, Sračinec, Beretinec, Gornji Kneginec, Breznica, Breznički Hum, Mali Bukovec and Veliki Bukovec. The companies Ivančica, Hudek-Trgotrans, Siga, Krešimir Futura, Helcom Trade, Trgograd - BP Šilec and Nika konstrukcije also joined the initiative.

The city of Chernivtsi is the capital and largest city in the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine, the region with which Varaždin County signed a Cooperation Agreement in 2013.

Prefect Anđelko Stričak thanked everyone who responded to brighten up the Easter holidays to friends in Ukraine.

- As the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Croatia Vasil Kirilich informed us, who asked for help, today the region is a temporary residence of many Ukrainians from war parts of that country, so they urgently needed help, primarily in the form of long-term food duration, stressed Uncle.

As the devastation of the war in Ukraine does not stop, the Varaždin prefect announced that he would organize the collection of humanitarian aid for a friendly region in Ukraine in cooperation with cities and municipalities, and companies in the coming months.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

March 29, 2022 - The young Croatia national team recorded their first defeat in the U21 Euro qualifiers on Tuesday, losing 2-3 to Finland in Varaždin. 

The U21 Croatia national football team recorded its first defeat in Group A of the Euro qualifiers. Finland celebrated 3-2 in Varaždin. 

Already after the first half, Finland shocked Croatia with three goals, with their hero being Naatan Skyttae. Finland took the lead in the 11th minute when Croatia goalkeeper Kotarski made a mistake, and Skyttae scored for 1-0.

The same player increased Finland's lead to 2-0 in the 29th minute, while he also assisted during stoppage time for Ablade to make it 3-0 for Finland at the half.

Croatia showed almost nothing in the first 45 minutes, while they played visibly better in the second half. In the 68th minute, Roko Šimić failed to score a penalty which was saved by the Finland goalkeeper Sinisalo, though not all hope was lost. Only two minutes later, Josip Šutalo scored a close-range header for 1-3.

The young Croatia side pressed until the end and found new hope in the 87th minute when Toni Fruk shot from the top of the penalty area and reduced the score to 2-3. But by the end, the result had not changed. Thus, after six victories, the Croatia U21 side recorded a draw (Austria 0-0) and a defeat (Finland 2-3) in the last week during the U21 Euro qualifiers. 

Fortunately, Igor Bišćan's team received good news from the Austria-Norway match, with Austria winning 2-1. Croatia thus kept a four-point advantage over Norway, while Austria has three points more than Norway in second place, but also a game less.

Croatia will still play against Norway (June 3) and Estonia (June 8). Only the winner of the group will qualify directly for the 2023 Euros.

European Championship Qualifiers, U21 (Group A):

Standings

1. Croatia 8 6 1 1 19-7 19
2. Austria 9 5 1 3 20-10 16
3. Norway 7 5 0 2 19-7 15
4. Finland 7 4 1 2 12-9 13
5. Azerbaijan 7 1 1 5 6-19 4
6. Estonia 8 0 0 8 0-23 0

Source: HRT

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

ZAGREB, 27 March 2022 - This year's Walk for Life will be held in ten cities across Croatia on Sundays in May and June, a news conference heard in Osijek on Sunday.

Representatives of the civic group "Walk for Life, Family and Croatia" told reporters that marches would be held in Vinkovci, Varaždin and Slavonski Brod on 7 May, in Zagreb on 14 May, in Split and Imotski on 21 May, in Zadar and Ploče on 28 May, and in Osijek and Sisak on 11 June.

Lidija Blagojević of the civic group said that the Walk for Life was a peaceful walk for every human life from conception to natural death, for the protection of unborn children and their mothers, and for the protection of every family.

The national coordinator of the Walk for Life, Željka Markić, said this year's campaign was taking place in the context of a horrible war in Ukraine, noting that many volunteers of the Walk for Life initiative were involved in collecting aid and providing accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.

"The killing of people we have been witnessing every day makes us particularly sensitive to the need to build the culture of life and fight for every human life, from its beginning to its end", Markić said.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

March the 18th, 2022 - A dose of expertise from the Varazdin FOI has found its place in the distant Maldives as the Varazdin Faculty of Organisation and Informatics (FOI) has implemented an e-learning system with project partners called AMED - Advancing Higher Education in the Maldives Through E-learning Development.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, this is a project in which Varazdin's FOI has been providing expertise for the last three years to introduce an e-learning model to the National University of the Indian Ocean Islands, which really needed such a system due to its poor traffic and network connectivity over more than 200 islands.

The project started back in 2019, is fully funded by the Erasmus + programme of the European Commission in the amount of 720,592 euros, and its main goal is to strengthen capacities and dissemination of knowledge in higher education. So far, almost all of the project activities have been carried out involving more than 50 participants from the University of the Maldives (MNU).

They participated in various fields of education there through a developed study programme with the aim of capacity building and training for the application of online teaching. A study programme in four modules has been developed and will be accredited to be made available for the future training of teachers and other staff at MNU and after the completion of the AMED project.

This week, project partners from the Maldives, the Open University of Catalonia and the Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNET) are in Varazdin to present examples of good practice in implementing e-learning and applying new technologies and distance learning models.

"Within the project, we worked on raising the strategic approach to the introduction of e-learning and developed a unique strategic document that will enable the University of the Maldives to further develop its e-learning," said the project manager and vice dean at the Varazdin FOI, Prof.Dr. Igor Balaban.

Experts from FOI Varazdin and CARNET organised so-called job shadowing that enables the transfer of good practice in the organisation and implementation of e-education/learning to the Maldivian education system.

"A total of sixteen of our representatives from various sectors of the Maldives National University are participating in the presentations and workshops in the field of e-learning to improve the existing processes in our institution," explained the project manager at MNU, Shimna Shakeeb. The equipment for the implementation and further development of e-learning in the Maldives worth 200,000 euros was also procured and installed.

"Many of our teachers weren't familiar with this type of technology and we're glad that after this project, our university will be making even more progress in terms of technological development," said Vice-Rector of the National University of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Shareef.

Today, the Varazdin FOI will also host the final conference of the DIP2Future project, which aims to develop educational programmes, qualification standards and occupational standards in the field of ICT, and which brings with it four new study programmes: Data Technology and Artificial Intelligence, Systems Management Information Security and Privacy, Distributed and Interactive Systems and Business Systems Transformation and Innovation Management.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.