March 15, 2022 - The Croatia handball team has gathered in Varaždin to prepare for the upcoming 2023 World Championship qualifiers against Finland.

In the week when European national teams will play the first round of qualifications for the 2023 World Championships hosted by Sweden and Poland, the Croatia men's senior handball team will train in Varaždin. The national team gathered on Monday at 11:00 am at the Westin Hotel and, after antigen testing, extended their trip to the Turist Hotel in Varaždin, where they will stay until Sunday, March 20.

Coach Hrvoje Horvat invited 22 players to this gathering. But, due to injuries, Marin Šipić, Ivan Martinović, and Marko Mamić dropped out of the lineup, so there will be 19 players in Varaždin. The coach has not invited anyone from the list of reserves, which includes ten players.

Several players on this list missed the European Championships in Hungary for various reasons. There are also many young talented players, some of whom we saw in significant roles at the last big competition and some that will get the opportunity to prove themselves to the coach for a potential spot on the next list before the 2023 World Championship qualifiers against Finland 

In addition to the coach and his first associate Ivan Balić, there are several new professional staff members. Ivan Stevanović, or "Stivi," is the new goalkeeper coach. Šime Tomašević has been appointed fitness trainer. The new/old physiotherapists are Željko Kercel and Filip Šimunović. Along with psychologist Sivia Juratovac, who has been working with the A national team for some time, the new doctor with Krešimir Rotim is Domagoj Gajski, who has been with the women's team for years.

Croatia player list 

1. MARIN ŠEGO – MONTPELLIER HB
2. MATEJ MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
3. DOMINIK KUZMANOVIĆ – RK NEXE
4. DAVID MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
5. MARIN JELINIĆ – RK NEXE
6. IVAN ĆUPIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
7. VLADO MATANOVIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
8. FILIP PERIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
9. ŽELJKO MUSA – RK PPD ZAGREB
10. MARINO MARIĆ – MT MELSUNGEN
11. VERON NAČINOVIĆ – MONTPELLIER HB
12. DOMAGOJ DUVNJAK – THW KIEL
13. LUKA CINDRIĆ – BARCA
14. IGOR KARAČIĆ – LOMZA VIVE KIELCE
15. HALIL JAGANJAC – RK NEXE
16. TIN LUČIN – ORLEN WISLA PLOCK
17. LUKA ŠEBETIĆ – HC MOTOR
18. MATEO MARAŠ – HC EUROFARM PELISTER
19. LUKA LOVRE KLARICA – RK PPD ZAGREB

Reserve players 

1. LEON ŠUŠNJA – ORLEN WISLA PLOCK
2. FILIP VISTOROP – RK PPD ZAGREB
3. DAVOR ĆAVAR – RK PPD ZAGREB
4. JOSIP BOŽIĆ PAVLETIĆ – HC EUROFARM PELISTER
5. LOVRO MIHIĆ – ORLEN WISLA PLOCK
6. JAKOV GOJUN – RK PPD ZAGREB
7. IVAN PEŠIĆ – TVB 1898 STUTTGART
8. MATE ŠUNJIĆ – US IVRY HANDBALL
9. KRISTIAN PILIPOVIĆ – KADETTEN SCHAUFFHAUSEN
10. JOSIP ŠARAC – FRISCH AUF GöPPINGEN

Coaching staff 

1. HRVOJE HORVAT, COACH
2. IVANO BALIĆ, TRAINER
3. IVAN STEVANOVIĆ, GOALKEEPER COACH
4. ŠIME TOMAŠEVIĆ, CONDITIONING TRAINER
5. ŽELJKO KERCEL, PHYSIO
6. FILIP ŠIMUNOVIĆ, PHYSIO
7. SILVIA JURATOVAC, MT THERAPIST
8. KREŠIMIR ROTIM, DOCTOR
9. DOMAGOJ GAJSKI, DOCTOR
10. IVICA UDOVIČIĆ, NATIONAL TEAM DIRECTOR
11. IVICA MARAŠ, SPOKESPERSON AND TEAM MANAGER
12. ZDRAVKO MIRILOVIĆ, TECHNICAL

Source: HRS

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

ZAGREB, 10 March 2022 - The Varaždin Faculty of Organisation and Informatics said on Thursday it had joined the #ScienceForUkraine initiative due to the catastrophic consequences of the Ukraine war on its academic community.

As part of the University of Zagreb, the Faculty joined the international scientific community's social media initiative to collect information about universities, scientific institutions, and other organizations within the system that can be of help to Ukrainian students and researchers.

The Faculty, present in four northwestern Croatian cities - Varaždin, Sisak, Zabok, and Križevci - is offering help to all Ukrainian students, teachers, and researchers with whom the University of Zagreb has bilateral cooperation.

The help envisages free continuation of education in Croatian or English, the possibility of completing part of the studies at the Faculty (student exchange programme), performing professional practice, involvement in teaching and research projects, and psychological counseling.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

January 13, 2022 - So where was the most beautiful Advent in Croatia in 2021? The results are in, and a celebration of Slavonia, Full of Life. 

I am still smiling from my 6-day trip to Slavonia and eastern Croatia back in November. Such an incredible, action-packed trip, and I genuinely think it was my most enjoyable week exploring of my 18 years in Croatia. 

In Slavonia.

In November. 

Osijek in particular opened my eyes to a truth that they are not telling you in Zagreb - that Slavonia is actually VERY Full of Life. Or perhaps they don't know. This is entirely possible when the Croatian National Tourist Board publishes 'promotional' articles on inflight magazines and cannot even find the right river that flows through Osijek. Read more in A Slavonian Geography Lesson for the Croatian National Tourist Board.

You can read about the magic of eastern Croatia and our 6-day trip in Time to Tell the Truth about Slavonia Full of Life. I encourage the Kings to read it as well - they might learn a few things about Croatian tourism in the east. 

Thankfully, Slavonia does not have to rely solely on the Croatian National Tourist Board to get its message across, and a very nice bit of PR, powered by the voice of the people, as Osijek has been voted the Most Beautiful Advent in Croatia 2021.

The vote, organised by the website Gradonacelnik.hr (the Croatian word for Mayor) held a 9-day poll of Advent in Croatia in 44 cities and towns, but there was only one winner with the most likes - Osijek. 

Closely followed by another continental Advent in Croatia - Varazdin. I visited both last month, and both were very impressive. 

And with Vinkovci in third and Slavonski Brod in fourth, it was a strong showing for continental and eastern Croatia. Having travelled a lot around Croatia, I can honestly say that the Advents away from the coast in general have a lot more soul, and apart from Zagreb, no other city comes close for winter living and life than Osijek. 

There is a LOT of ignorance about what can be found in eastern Croatia, both in Zagreb and the rest of the county. There is SO much more to the east than war, Vukovar, and emigration. It is time that that story was told in full. Small little awards like this are one tiny step in that direction. Congrats to all concerned. 

To learn more about Osijek, check out the Total Croatia Osijek in a Page guide. 

December the 31st, 2021 - Croatia is certainly no stranger to international film crews, with Game of Thrones (GoT) placing the City of Dubrovnik very firmly on the global filming map, and the likes of Star Wars doing the same. What about continental Croatia, however? The Fiddler on the Roof had scenes filmed there, but that was a long time ago. The Indians now have their eyes on possibly filming Varazdin for various scenes.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes, this charming Northern Croatian city, which has the Trash Film Festival and Vafi - an international festival of animated films for children and youth, definitely has a friendly relationship with the world of film, and with the founding of the Varazdin Film Office, its goal is to promote the city as being film friendly.

In addition, Varazdin aims to become a desirable location for filming movies, series, commercials, videos and other such productions. Lana Velimirovic Vukalovic, the director of the Varazdin Public Open University, which founded the Office back in 2017 with the support of the City of Varazdin, recently had an online meeting with the Indian company Europa Media & Entertainment at the Focus 2021 international event in London. This company usually represents film locations in Mumbai (Bombay). How did it turn out?

"Indian producers are showing great interest in filming in Croatia. Through the exchange of emails, we'll present Varazdin and its surroundings in more detail as potential film backdrops,'' pointed out Velimirovic Vukalovic. In February 2022, a producer from Mumbai is due to arrive to look into potentially filming Varazdin.

"What I expect from this visit is the promotion of the city of Varazdin and the entire county, not only in terms of potential locations for filming, but also in terms of tourism. We talked about the possibility of bringing Instagrammers from India here who would document and photograph our region on their profiles.

We want to launch a series of activities related to the creative industries in POU, so I suggested a guest from India to give lectures in Varazdin on the topic of Bollywood and to show his two feature films in the Gaj city cinema,'' revealed the director.

The Varazdin Film Office takes on a dual role, the first being to be a contact point for all film crews in the city, along with the Tourist Board and the City, and the second to help teams find suitable locations for filming Varazdin and elsewhere, to connect them with site owners and so on… The office can ''direct'' economic opportunities as well, especially for local SMEs.

"In the case of larger production projects, they can be involved in providing their services, for example through the accommodation of camera crews, catering and hospitality, hairdressing, make-up artists, and so forth,'' explained Velimirovic Vukalovic. Currently, the Office is supporting one Croatian production company in its search for a place for a film with scenes from the middle of the nineteenth century.

"The goal is to attract filmmakers from Croatia, the region and the rest of the world. In this sense, we'll be able to explore the possibilities of designing incentive models for production companies with support provided by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre. Therefore, in the future, we want to connect the Varazdin Film Office with the Centre for Creative Industries, which we plan to develop in cooperation with the City of Varazdin.

The plan is to map the creative industries across the entire county and we've already started forming a working group. We'll see to what extent we can include activities related to the film industry in this domain, but a holistic approach would certainly make sense. It's crucial that in 2022 we implement the annual plan - drafting regulations on the Office, updating the website with information on services throughout the city, and additional networking with important stakeholders in the film industry at home and abroad,'' she concluded.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 12 Dec 2021 - The HRK 4.4 billion (€586 million) project of the Lepoglava Rail Junction aimed at improving the railway connectivity of three northern counties -- Međimurje, Varaždin, and Krapina-Zagorje -- with the City of Zagreb has recently been presented in the city of Varaždin.

The purpose of the project is to boost the railway connections between key railway stations in central Europe and Zagreb, provide passengers with the shortest railway routes in the region, and offer fast and eco-friendly travel by rail.

Marko Car, an engineer of the Croatian Railways' HŽ Infrastruktura, said that the project envisaged the upgrade of 70 kilometers of the existing rail lines and the construction of an additional 20 kilometers of lines for the junction.

The implementation of the EU-funded project can take 20 years.

The selected 92-kilometer-long route, which includes nine railway stations and 17 train stops, and two tunnels, will make it possible for trains to develop a speed up to 120 kilometers per hour. 

The preparation of the necessary documentation will cost HRK 6.7 million (€890,000).

As much as 85% of the total project is being financed from the 2014-2020 Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion.

The study documentation has been drawn up by the consortium comprising ŽPD, Granova, Institut IGH, and Rijekaprojekt.

 For more, check out our dedicated politics section.

October 8, 2021 - In the third round of the Euro 2023 qualifiers, the Croatia U21 side topped Norway 3:2 in Varaždin, recording their third win in 3 rounds! 

In its third appearance in Group A of the 2023 European Championship qualifications, the Croatia U21 football team met Norway in Varaždin.

After two rounds, the Croatia side collected all six points, just like Norway. The young Croatia team thus achieved its third victory, defeating Norway 3-2 (2-0) in Varaždin on Friday. 

Lineups: 
Croatia: Pandur, B.Šutalo, Soldo, Vušković, Čolina, Palaversa, Sučić, J.Šutalo, Marin, Šimić, Kačavenda

Norway: Klaesson, Sebulonsen, Heggheim, Daland, Ostrom, Larsen, Askildsen, Hove, Evjen, Botheim, Holm

Croatia led 1:0 already in the 2nd minute with a goal by Roko Simic after a free kick taken by Luka Sučić. 

Croatia increased their lead to 2:0 thanks to Luka Sučić, assisted by Ante Palaversa. 

Norway looked powerless and without opportunities for most of the first half, without real chances until just before the halftime whistle. 

The second half started with changes in Norway's lineup - coach Leif Gunnar Smerud sent Emil Konradsen Ceide and Tobias Christensen on for Robin Dahl Ostrom and Hakon Evjen.

Norway scored for 2:1 in the 55th minute, before Vušković made it 3:1 two minutes later!

And the madness didn't stop there - Norway came back for 3:2 in the 58th minute, making it three goals in 3 minutes! 

Norway increased their pressure on Croatia's defense, especially in the final minute of the match. Three minutes of injury time were added by the referee, in which Norway was unable to equalize. 

Croatia thus recorded their 3rd win in 3 games in this qualification cycle! Croatia currently leads the group with a maximum of nine points, Norway and Austria have six, followed by Finland with three points, and Azerbaijan and Estonia without points.

In four days, Croatia will play away against Azerbaijan in Sumgayit.

All nine group winners and the best runners-up will qualify, while the remaining eight runners-up will advance to additional qualifications.

The 2023 European Championship will be played in Georgia and Romania. 

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

September 28, 2021 - The CRO Race 1st stage finished on Tuesday on a 237-kilometers-long route from Osijek to Varaždin. On Wednesday, cyclists will ride from Slunj to Otočac.

The first and longest stage of the sixth edition of the CRO Race has been completed. The 237-kilometer stage started from Osijek with the finish line in Varaždin, reports HRT.

German Phil Bauhaus, a member of the Bahrain Victorious team, justified his status as one of the favorites to win and was faster than Dutchman Olav Kooi (Jumbo-Vism) in second and Norwegian Kristoffer Halvorsen (Uno-X) in third.

In the second stage, which will take place on Wednesday from Slunj to Otočac, Bauhaus will take the red shirt of the leader in the overall standings. This is his ninth victory in 2021.

"I positioned myself well before the finish. My team did a great job because it was a windy stage. I expect that the stage winner will be decided by the sprint on Wednesday, although there will be many more climbs ahead of us," said Bauhaus.

The longest stage of this year's race started as expected. Very soon after the start, a group of five drivers was formed, which stood out from the peloton and created a significant advantage. Among them was Croatian cyclist Fran Miholjevic (Team Friuli), accompanied by Poles Pawel Franczak (Voster ATS Team) and Marceli Boguslawski (HRE Mazowsze Serce Polski), Italian Mattia Viel (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), and German Tim Oelke (Metalltechnik).

At the first passing goal to Slatina after 84 kilometers, the Frenchman was first ahead of Viel and Boguslawski.

But the four "World Tour" teams competing in the race did not allow the advantage to grow too much, and the maximum difference was 4:45 minutes.

Fifty kilometers before the finish line, Boguslawski stood out from the leading group, who had a minute advantage before the only ascent in the stage in Ludbreški Vinogradi. By the top of the climb, Boguslawski had a 15-second lead over second-placed Miholjevic and third-placed Franczak and became the first green jersey holder at this year's CRO Race.

On the descent towards Ludbreg, Miholjević overtook Boguslawski and was the first to cross the passing goal in Ludbreg. As expected, soon after the second passing goal, 28 kilometers before the finish in Varaždin, the peloton caught the last two cyclists who spent more than 200 kilometers at the head of the race.

"The team plan for this stage was to try to get into an escape. I was the first to try, and that escape immediately succeeded," said 19-year-old Miholjević, who has never mastered such a long section as he had on Tuesday.

After the original escape, two Euskaltel drivers, Xabier Azparren and Luis Angel Mate, stood out from the leading group. They managed to hold out in front of the peloton up to eight kilometers before the finish line.

The best-placed Croatian cyclist was Josip Rumac, who finished the stage in 14th place. The young Fran Miholjević drove an excellent first stage and was first in the bonus sprint and second in the mountain passing goal. He finished the stage in 54th place. 

On Wednesday, the second stage will run from Slunj to Otočac in the length of 187 kilometers.

CRO Race 1st stage results:

1. Phil BAUHAUS TBV 5h52'06''

2. Olav KOOIJ* TJV

3. Kristoffer HALVORSEN UXT

4. Antonio ANGULO SAMPEDRO ANTONIO EUS

5. Mick VAN DIJKE* TJV

6. Itamar EINHORN ISN

7. Michel ASCHENBRENNER* PUS

8. Sanz Gotzon MARTIN EUS

9. Milan MENTEN BWB

10. David PER ADR 

TOTAL:

1. Phil BAUHAUS TBV 5h51'56''

2. Olav KOOIJ* TJV +4''

3. Kristoffer HALVORSEN UXT +5''

4. Markus HOELGAARD UXT +7''

5. Fran MIHOLJEVIĆ* CTF

6. Marceli BOGUSLAWSKI MSP

7. Pawel FRANCZAK VOS

8. Anders SKAARSETH UXT +8''

9. Stephen WILLIAMS TBV +9''

10. Antonio ANGULO SAMPEDRO ANTONIO EUS +10''

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 25 Sept, 2021 - The 30th anniversary of the liberation of Varaždin was marked on Saturday with a parade of veterans, soldiers, police and fire-fighters, and President Zoran Milanović saying that fighting for the rights and living standards of all citizens was the only way for Croatia to succeed.

Varaždin was liberated with the surrender of the Yugoslav People's Army's 32nd Corps on 22 September 1991. The seized weaponry increased the Croatian defenders' firepower seven times, marking a watershed in the Homeland War.

President Milanović said Croatia's task now was to ensure a decent life for every person and to make the most of its EU membership. "That's what we owe Croatian boys and girls, Croatian defenders... They would be happy if they saw that living here is safer, better, freer."

Varaždin Mayor Neven Bosilj said the liberation of the town in 1991 marked a watershed in the Homeland War, creating the prerequisites for the creation of the independent and free Croatia.

Varaždin County head Anđelko Stričak said Varaždin's war days in 1991 were as important for the Homeland War as the 1995 Operation Storm. He recalled that the first free area in Croatia was on the territory of present-day Međimurje and Varaždin counties and that 175 defenders from there were killed in the war.

The parliament speaker's envoy, MP Damir Habijan of the ruling HDZ, said Croatian defenders fought for an independent and free state and that now was the time to fight for a successful Croatia and for the Croatian future.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

September 25, 2021 - The 2021 European Languages Day was celebrated at the Franciscan square in Varaždin. Pupils presented souvenirs honoring Germany and the German language.

'Gore gore gore gore' (hills burn worse up there) is one of those sentences that show how weird but cool the Croatian language can be. Add interesting phrases to the equation, and you can understand why Croatians are proud and want to preserve their language.

But Croatians also respect other languages too.

As reported by the Varaždinske Vijesti website, September 25 marked the European Day of Languages.

Under the motto "Deutsch ist Nah!" Varaždin's Franciscan square saw five Varaždin elementary schools, the Varaždin high school, and ten schools from Varaždin County celebrate the event with a suitable program.

„Given that we as teachers recognized the importance of multilingual education, we decided to shed light on the German language, which is important for Varaždin County, both because of geography but also for the economy. In teaching, we address communicative approach and active, vocal communication and active usage of the German language which is very significant in our area“, Vidovec Elementary school German language teacher Lea Lesar Dolenc told for Varaždinske Vijesti.

Dolenc is the initiator of the project that is run along with the European Culture Circle EKULT Association for the popularisation of the German language. The program that lasted from 10 AM to 1 PM saw the presentation of souvenirs with symbols of the Federal Republic of Germany made by the pupils from participating schools.

Apart from German, as former British Ambassador Andrew Dalgleish noted for TCN, Croatians speak English very well too.

When it comes to language learning in Croatia, apart from various courses and private schools, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FFZG), part of the University of Zagreb, is the most pristine high-education facility that educates its students to be translators. As well as understand various languages and cultures that tag along with lingual expressions. Additionally, FFZG is the home to Croaticum.

„Croaticum – Centre for Croatian as a Second and Foreign Language is the oldest and largest institution engaged in teaching, research, and description of Croatian as a second and foreign language. It is part of the Department of Croatian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, the largest Croatian academic institution specializing in social studies and humanities. Croaticum is renowned for its tradition, expertise, and knowledge“, says the Croaticum website, an institution founded back in 1962.

Commemorating the learning of second languages by celebrating the European Day of Languages is now a twenty-year-long tradition, as it was founded in 2001.

„Throughout Europe, 800 million Europeans are represented in the Council of Europe's 47 member states, and all are encouraged to discover more languages at any age, as part of or alongside their studies. This stems from the Council of Europe’s conviction that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent. Therefore, the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, promotes plurilingualism in the whole of Europe“, explains the European Language Day website.

Learn more about Varaždin in our TC guide.

For more about culture in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 13 Sept 2021 - Enterprises from Zagreb, Osijek, and Varaždin top the ranking considering the 2020 consolidated net profit broken down by cities, shows an analysis of data provided by the Financial Agency (FINA).

The remaining seven cities that make the top ten list in this survey are Karlovac, Sveta Nedelja, Rijeka, Čakovec, Solin, Vukovar, and Kutina.

Businesses in the top 10 cities make up 4/5 of total net profit of all businesses in Croatia

The consolidated net profit of the businesses registered in all those ten cities in 2020 was HRK 16.6 billion, and the consolidated net profit of all the businesses in the whole of Croatia totaled 20.97 billion last year.

There were 62,365 businesses registered in those ten cities, and they employed 493,716 people or 52.1% of all the workers on the payrolls of all the businesses across Croatia.

In Zagreb alone, there were 46,347 registered businesses with 369,080 employees on their payrolls, and they made a net profit of 12.2 billion kuna or 73.5% of the total net profit of all the businesses in Croatia in 2020. The business performance of the Croatian power company HEP pushes the capital city to the top of the ranking.

Osijek ranks second with its businesses making a net profit of HRK 669.6 million. The biggest eastern city ranks second owing to the business performance of the Žito food company.

Varaždin comes in as third, with the net profit of the businesses registered in this northern city totaling HRK 571.6 million. The largest share of this success is contributed by the Zagorje-Tehnobeton construction company.

Karlovac follows with HRK 509.4 million, and Sveta Nedelja, a town west of Zagreb, registered HRK 490.1 million in the net profit of the businesses in that area.

The list also includes Rijeka (HRK 489.6M), Čakovec (HRK 476.1M), Solin (HRK 438.2M) Vukovar (HRK 404.2M) and Kutina (HRK 353.3M)

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

For more, follow our business section.