November 8, 2020 - Nedelisce parishioners are seemingly universal in their understanding and forgiveness as their local pastor leaves the priesthood for an altogether different kind of calling

Not every job is undertaken just to pay the bills. The strong urge to take a specific career is often referred to as a calling. Occupations in which you help other people are usually those described in this way - doctors, teachers, nurses, nuns and priests.

Spoken of with admiration, those who receive 'a calling' are presumed to be on a path of life which is their true destiny. Be it supernatural, genetically implanted or influenced by God, it is considered unlikely that anything could turn their heads and make them veer off course. Such considerations are naïve in their ignorance of Cupid's arrow.

Both Vecernji List and 24 Sata this week reported on the recent resignation of popular parish priest Rev. Tihomir Ciglar (30). Although on his path to the priesthood since he attended Archbishop's Classical Gymnasium in Zagreb, Ciglar has recently departed from his chosen course in favour of an altogether different calling - he fell in love.

The parish church in Nedelišće © Župa Presvetog Trojstva - Nedelišće

“He was wonderful.,” one of Ciglar's former Nedelisce parishioners is quoted as saying in 24 Sata. Nedelišće is a small town near Varaždin. “He was mild-mannered, good, everyone's favourite. My whole family loved going to Mass and listening to the sermons because of him. And then what happened, happened. He just fell in love, that's how it was.”

“We don't blame him for anything,” the parishioner continued, her voice apparently representative of locals' general feeling on the affair of the popular priest. She also added that news was circulating about the imminent arrival of the couple's first child. “May God give them many more children!”

Tihomir Ciglar was first presented to Nedelisce parishioners in 2014 as a chaplain, and in 2018 he was appointed pastor of the church. His pull from the pulpit occurred after he met the woman who is now his girlfriend in service of the church – she donated her time in the form of a cook. Further speculation on the development of feelings between the woman and her roamin Catholic partner is perhaps best left for village gossip.

An older image of the church in Nedelišće © TZ Nedelišće

In a heartfelt letter Ciglar penned to his flock, which was read aloud at Mass last Sunday, he asked for their forgiveness. The Nedelisce parishioners seem uniform in their understanding of the situation.

“I wasn't surprised when the letter was read,” one is quoted as saying in 24 Sata. “We'd seen something happen between him and that girl before. That's no small thing with us. Still, we were all kind of rooting for their love story.”

The local diocese is in the process of assigning another young priest to the parish. It is unlikely that the new priest will be similarly tempted from his path, but, you never know. This is not the first time it has happened. A similar case was recorded in Nedelišće forty years ago when a priest left the service out of love for a woman.

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October 27, 2020 – The City of Varazdin is planting Croatia's first community orchard – the space will bring together residents of all ages, provide free fruits and play a role in educating about organic produce and cultivation

The first community orchard in this part of Europe is being built in Varazdin. The community orchard will be situated to the west of the city centre, in the Haller alley, just behind the city cemetery. In the first phase, some 250 trees will be planted and be accessible to the public.

Beautifully landscaped in the early 1900s by Herman Haller, the City of Varazdin cemetery is one of its best gardens. It contains works by internationally recognised Croatian sculptors Antun Augustinčić and Roberto Frangeš-Mihanović. Frangeš-Mihanović is responsible for the very famous statue of King Tomislav which faces the main train station in Zagreb. The Varazdin community orchard will be located in Haller's alley, just behind the cemetery © Parkovi d.d. Varaždin

A community orchard, sometimes known as a public orchard, is an increasingly popular use of public land in some areas of western Europe and North America. They are an asset shared by a community and not managed for personal or business profit.

A community orchard has many benefits - it increases community access to healthy, organic fruit, it teaches young people about food, organic produce, agriculture and cultivation and it allows ordinary people to develop cultivation skills. This is particularly useful to those who themselves own no land for growing. They also increase co-operation and inter-generational socialising within a community and can be made into focal points for community activities.

St Ann's Community orchard in Nottinghamshire, England  © Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent. (www.clemrutter.net)

However, community orchards are not always met with universal approval. Interest in community gardening and cultivation schemes can wane over time, especially if they are started without authorisation. The burden of taking care of such projects then falls on city authorities.

Thankfully, any objections to this brilliant idea in Varazdin have been removed – the Varazdin community orchard will be taken care of by the city's own parks authority. They will decide on which particular fruits and trees are to be planted. Anyone from the community can come and help themselves.

City of Varazdin cemetery, behind which the community orchard will be placed © Turistička zajednica grada Varaždina

Low-lying fruit trees and berries are often chosen for community orchards. Their height level means they are not out of reach for youngsters who are being educated in such areas, and harvest is made safer, easier and more accessible to all age ranges.

The community orchard in Varazdin will be arranged in expanding circles. The first planted trees are expected to bear their first fruits within just a few years. Some residents of Croatia might be of the opinion that their communities already have a community orchard. However, taking fruit from a neighbours trees, even if granted permission to do so, is something different to a community orchard, in which access to pick fruit is opened to the general public at any time, not just community members and with no prior agreement necessary. Stealing fruit from your neighbour's trees and bushes is certainly not comparable to a community orchard.

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October 26, 2020 - The 9th round of the Croatian First League was held from October 23 to 25, 2020. In this round, only two out of the five games were played, with wins for Dinamo and Slaven Belupo. 

Varazdin v. Slaven Belupo (1:2)

Varazdin and Belupo opened the 9th round in Varazdin on Friday, October 23, 2020.

Krstanovic scored in the 18th minute for Belupo to make the game 0:1 at the half. Bacelic-Grgic increased Belupo's lead in the 50th minute for 0:2. 

Petkovic was able to get one for Varazdin, making the final result of the match 1:2 

Varazdin is currently in 7th place with 7 points, while Belupo is in 5th with 10 points. 

Sibenik v. Dinamo (0:2)

Dinamo and Sibenik closed out the 9th round on Sunday, October 25, 2020. 

While the first half ended 0:0, Petkovic scored a penalty for Dinamo in the 54th minute for 0:1. Orsic increased Dinamo's lead in the 72nd minute for the final score of 0:2.

Sibenik is currently in 7th place with 7 points, while Dinamo is in 1st with 22 points. 

Recall, three 9th round Croatian First League matches meant to be played this weekend were postponed.

HNK Gorica announced on Friday that after testing the entire team and the professional staff of HNK Gorica, 13 players and three staff members are coronavirus-positive. Due to several infected players, the 9th round match against Rijeka was postponed. 

In addition to Gorica, Lokomotiva Zagreb announced they could not compete. After postponing the match against Osijek in the 8th round, the 9th round match against Hajduk, which was supposed to be played on October 24, at Kranjčevićeva, was also postponed. 

The same happened with the match between Istria and Osijek, as seven players of the Osijek Football Club tested positive. 

All matches will take place on the first possible date, which will be decided later.

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

October 7, 2020 - Varazdin Klipic yesterday became the 27th item of Croatian produce protected by the EU. The bread roll is designated a unique standing and protected name because of its distinct place of origin

Terrific news from the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture! As of Tuesday 6 October 2020, Varazdin Klipic became the 27th item of Croatian produce protected by the EU.

The process of protection of the bread snack's name began in February 2017, when the Chefs Association of Varaždin County submitted a request to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Varazdin Klipic is made according to a specific recipe - its thin dough is stretched, cut into strips and then rolled into 25 cm long sticks. A time-honoured tradition of Varazdin County, the breadsticks must have four folds on each side.


Varazdin Klipic, collected in a basket and pictured in front of the famous Old City of Varazdin © Croatian Ministry of Agriculture

The surface of the Varazdin Klipic is subsequently coated with egg and sprinkled with cumin seeds, which give them a distinct flavour. After baking, their outside is gold in colour with a smooth and firm consistency. Their insides are white, soft and fluffy. Varazdin Klipic is always handmade and the ingredients of its dough are wheat flour, milk, sunflower (or vegetable) oil, yeast, sugar and salt.

Varazdin Klipic is not the only protected product from Varazdin County - Varaždin cabbage is already protected at an EU-level, as is Meso ‘z tiblice from Međimurje.

The other Croatia produce currently protected at an EU-level are Paški sir, Paška janjetina and Paška sol (Pag cheese, Pag lamb and Pag salt), Bjelovarski kvargl cheese, Neretva mandarins, four different and distinct pršut (prosciutto) - from Dalmatia, Drniš, Krk island and Istria, Lička janjetina and Lički krumpir (lamb and potatoes from Lika), olive oils from the islands of Cres, Krk, Solta and Korčula, Poljički soparnik, sour cabbage (sauerkraut) from Ogulin, Kulen from Baranja and Slavonia, Slavonia honey, Međimursko meso ‘z tiblice, Zagorski puran and Zagorski mlinci (turkey and mlinci from Zagorje) and Brački varenik, a spicing made from grape juice which also won its designation recently.

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September 28, 2020 - The 6th round of the Croatian First League was held on September 26 and 27, 2020. In this round, Hajduk topped Varazdin at a very stormy Poljud, while Osijek was better than Gorica. The games between Dinamo and Rijeka, and Lokomotiva and Slaven Belupo were postponed due to obligations in the Europa League.

Istra 1961 v. Sibenik (1:0)

Istra and Sibenik opened the 6th round on Saturday, September 26, 2020, in Pula. 

The only goal of the match came in the 39th minute when Ivancic scored for 1:0 at the half. Grzan missed a penalty in the 70th minute and failed to increase Istra's lead. The game ended 1:0.

Istra is currently in 9th place with 4 points, while Sibenik is in 8th with 4 points. 

Osijek v. Gorica (2:1)

Osijek and Gorica met on Saturday, September 26, 2020, at City Garden Stadium. 

Mierez scored a penalty for Osijek in the 3rd minute of the ref's added time, just before the half. A Doka double-yellow saw Gorica play with a man down from the 72nd minute. Gorica, however, was able to equalize in the 84th minute thanks to a Lovric goal. Grgic put Osijek back in the lead in the 7th minute of added time for a final score of 2:1.

Osijek is currently in 4th place with 10 points, while Gorica is in 2nd place with 13 points. 

Hajduk v. Varazdin (2:0)

Hajduk and Varazdin closed out the 6th round on Sunday, September 27, 2020, at Poljud Stadium. 

Gyursco scored an early goal for Hajduk in the 5th minute to put them ahead 1:0. A Pellumbi red card for Varazdin in the 15th minute did not help them equal the score. 

A penalty was awarded to Hajduk in the 50th minute, which Caktas scored for 2:0. A vicious storm erupted in the game's final minutes, which you can see in the video below. 

Hajduk is currently in 3rd place with 10 points, while Varazdin is in 5th with 7. 

Dinamo and Rijeka, and Lokomotiva and Slaven Belupo, will play their 6th round matches in the first free term.

You can see the full HNL table here. 

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September 26, 2020 - The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a new list of countries by zones/colors according to the epidemiological situation. Istria and Varazdin are now on the green list.

HRTurizam reports that it is important to emphasize precisely the regional approach to travel restrictions, which in Croatia tourism entrepreneurs have been fighting for since the beginning of the COVID crisis, and the European Commission's proposal is on that path.

Thanks to this approach, although most of Croatia is still in the red zone, according to the newly updated list - Istria and Varazdin are on the "green" list, thus enabling Belgian tourists to travel to these two regions.

Namely, the European Commission presented a proposal for Recommendations on a coordinated approach to restrictions on free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the proposal identifies four main areas where close cooperation between the Member States is needed:

- common criteria and thresholds for the Member States to introduce travel restrictions
- mapping common criteria with an agreed color code
- a common framework for measures applicable to travelers from high-risk areas
- clearly and timely informing the public about all restrictions

Member States should provide data on new cases to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control on a weekly basis and should also provide data for the regional level to ensure that measures can be targeted only in areas where it is absolutely necessary. 

Recall, on Wednesday, Germany added regions from 11 European countries to the list of high-risk areas, including Lika-Senj County, rejecting the last hope of reviving tourism at a time when many countries are threatened by a second wave of coronavirus.

The Robert Koch Institute list includes major tourist destinations such as the French regions of Center-Val de Loire, Brittany and Normandy, Lika-Senj County in Croatia, and the Notranjsko-kraška region in Slovenia.

The list also includes the capitals of Ireland, Portugal, and Denmark, the Dutch province of Utrecht, the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, most of the Czech Republic, the county of Gyor in western Hungary, and Romania's Covasna.

The inclusion in the list of risk areas usually follows when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes recommendations against necessary trips to the region in question.

Germany warns against traveling to regions in the European Union where more than 50 are infected per 100,000 people per week.

Due to the spread of the epidemic, Germany has so far included Dubrovnik-Neretva, Požega-Slavonia, Šibenik-Knin, Split-Dalmatia, Brod-Posavina, Virovitica-Podravina, and Zadar counties on the list of epidemiologically risky areas in Croatia.

Declaring an area risky means that those returning from vacation must be tested for coronavirus and remain in self-isolation until they receive a negative test result.

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September 18, 2020 – Founded in 1971, Varazdin welcomes the 50th, most important musical and theatrical event of central Croatia - baroque evenings.

At this challenging time for the organizers, this festival of national significance will begin tonight in the Baroque city at 8 pm with a gala concert on the open stage near Varazdin's Old Town. During the 11 days of the festival, there will be concerts of Croatian musicians and accompanying programs united under the name "Total Baroque". An exhibition of photographs through the five decades of the festival has been set up on the Croatian National Theater building in Varazdin and the Ritz house. The international flower exhibition, which has been held for 25 years as a permanent accompanying program of the Varazdin Baroque Evenings (VBE) on the theme of music-baroque-flowers, will be held in Varazdin's historic center. The set of floral installations will undoubtedly serve as a backdrop for photographs from the city cultivating the Baroque festival for half a century.

“As organizers, we are extremely satisfied with the audience's interest in the Varazdin Baroque Evenings concerts, which is proof that many wanted to relax with timeless music. We have provided all the measures necessary for our visitors, musicians, and our logistics and production team to preserve their health and for the festival to run smoothly. Precisely because of the implementation of measures, there are fewer visitors to concerts. Still, the fact that Varazdin Baroque Evenings celebrate their half-century in a year when many festivals are canceled or postponed in the world is the greatest gift,” said the organizer of VBE and the director of the Varazdin Concert Office, Raymond Rojnik.

Tonight, after the opening concert, which will be broadcast live on the Third Program of Croatian Television and the Third Program of Croatian Radio, fireworks will follow from the Old Town walls at around 10 pm.

With about thirty concerts performed by several hundred musicians in front of tens of thousands of audience members worldwide, this two-week festival has established itself as a European and world-famous early music festival. Concerts are now held mainly in northwestern Croatia, but VBE has also been performed in many European countries. The European Festival Association (EFFE) commented on the Varazdin Baroque Evenings with the words: "The high cultural and national importance of the festival is unquestionable". They awarded them with the prestigious label, Label 2019-2020.

It is important to note that the Varazdin Baroque Evenings' focus is authenticity. Firstly, this is the authenticity of the space. Varazdin is one of the best-preserved Baroque cities, and the program is held in palaces, churches, and castles from that period. Secondly, the performance is authentic because the concerts are performed on baroque instruments. And lastly, the program is authentic because musicians performed music by Baroque composers.

You can read the whole program here: in Varazdin, outside Varazdin and Total Baroque.

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September the 18th, 2020 - Is there anything quite as bad as being riddled with the flu and having to stand in a pharmacy among others, coughing, sneezing and sweating as you wait for the pharmacist to get you your medicine from the somewhat mysterious back room? In the continental Croatian town of Varazdin, that soon won't be necessary. Meet the Croatian automatic pharmacy.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 17th of September, 2020, the Varazdin County Pharmacy is investing 1.7 million kuna in the automation of its work processes, meaning that the facility located on Kolodvorska Street in Varazdin will be the first county pharmacy in Croatia to introduce the automatic receipt, storage and dispensing of medicines.

The contract was signed by the director of the pharmacy, Zvezdana Petrovic, and the company Gama Futura from Zagreb, according to a report from Vecernji list.

The automated warehouse will have computer control, a robotic arm, and exit locations to which drugs will be delivered. The central pharmacy in Kolodvorska organises on-call duty, so the Croatian automatic pharmacy machine will provide its services 24 hours a day throughout the entire year.

''In practice, this means that the pharmacist will no longer have to go for medicines to various micro-locations in the pharmacy warehouse and bring them to the workplace for dispensing, but instead, the medicines will be delivered from the automated warehouse via connected software modules to an exit location near the dispensing site.

Thanks to this, the pharmacist, as a highly educated healthcare professional, will have more time to talk to the users of the services and for professional counselling for those who have questions about their medication. At the same time, service users will have the service delivered to them more quickly,'' said the pharmacy's director, Zvezdana Petrovic. The most common prescription drugs will be delivered by the automatic Croatian pharmacy, but direct sales and counselling will remain as they are.

''While in Europe such a concept is already common in pharmacies, in Croatia, the automated warehouse has so far been introduced only in one private pharmacy in Slavonia,'' they noted from Varazdin County. Completion of the automatic Croatian pharmacy is expected early next year, as Varazdin County's Deputy Prefect Robert Vugrin announced.

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September 3, 2020 - The Croatia U-21 national football team remained in the game for a spot at the 2021 European Championship after toppling Greece 5:0 in Varazdin, inflicting their first defeat in the group.

Goals for Croatia were scored by Nikola Moro (1), Lovro Majer (5, 24), and Petar Musa (14, 52).

After recording two defeats in the first four rounds, and two home defeats at that, the Croatia U-21 national team did not have the chance to take Greece lightly.

The young Vatreni started the qualifying cycle for the European Championship with home defeats to Scotland and the Czech Republic and away victories against San Marino and Lithuania. There was a several-month break due to the coronavirus epidemic, and the continuation of the qualifications brought perhaps two key matches. The first against Greece has been settled, and in four days, Croatia is expected to play against the leading Czech Republic.

After coach Igor Biscan tested positive for the coronavirus and the entire professional staff ended up in self-isolation, the team was led by the main instructor of the Croatian Football Federation, Petar Krpan, and the coach of the Croatia U-17 side Tomislav Rukavina. While Biscan was the brains behind the composition, Krpan and Rukavina executed flawlessly.

The match was essentially over already just 24 minutes in as Croatia went up by four goals.

Croatia took the lead in the 45th second of the game. Sosa pulled up the left side and pushed into the middle; the ball bounced to the edge of the penalty area where Moro scored fantastically for 1:0. Just four minutes later, it was 2:0. Moro curved the ball into the penalty area where Majer headed in for the second goal. In the 14th minute, Musa was among the scorers, assisted by Spikic. Majer completed an incredible 25 minutes with his second goal on Sosa's assist.

In the continuation of the match, the rhythm dropped as expected, and the only goal was in the 52nd minute. Erlic ideally found Musa, who went around the goalkeeper Antonios Stergiakis and scored in an empty net.

With this victory, Croatia broke through to the third place of the group with nine points from five matches. Greece has a point more, while the Czech Republic is in the lead with 14 points from six matches.

The winners of nine groups and the five best second-placed teams will qualify directly for the Euros.

Source:  HRT

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August 25, 2020 - After a moped accident, a young man needed emergency surgery. Since his life was in danger, the doctors couldn't spend much time waiting around for the results. Now he is stable, but positive for COVID-19, and the Varaždin hospital is short of 25 medical staff until September 7.

According to a police report, the young man crashed into a tree in Vinica at around 2.10 am. "The nature of the injuries required urgent and immediate surgery on the patient's head. Subsequent testing determined that the patient was positive for COVID-19," said Dr. Kudelić, a neurosurgeon who operated on the young man. The young man is now stable, and not in danger of death, reports Jutarnji.hr. Since he operated on the injured young man, Dr. Kudelić is also among those who will work from home for the next 14 days. In addition to his work as a neurosurgeon, Dr. Nenad Kudelić is also the director of the Varaždin General Hospital.

After the emergency care of a young man who was in a traffic accident on Saturday, August 22, medics had to self-isolate. Thus, the Varaždin hospital was left without two neurosurgeons, four anesthesiologists, two surgeons, and 17 nurses.

Now patients are worried and are asking if their scheduled surgeries will be delayed. Dr. Kudelić confirms that there will be a delay. He announced the need for a temporary reorganisation of the work of the Department of Anesthesiology and the Department of Surgical Diseases.

"Some of the operations, which were planned by doctors who are now in self-isolation, will be postponed for 14 days, and all emergencies will still be taken care of as before," said Dr. Kudelić, one of the most respected domestic neurosurgeons. Therefore, his temporary absence from the operating room is a great disappointment for the patients.

Varaždin Hospital, like the County itself, is strict when it comes to measures to combat coronavirus. For example, although they do not have to do so officially, in addition to patients coming for surgery, tests are performed on all patients admitted through the emergency service to that hospital. That turned out to be a very good move.

"Thanks to that, another patient with an asymptomatic COVID-19 infection was detected in a short time, due to which, unfortunately, a certain number of employees ended up in self-isolation. Due to such security measures, uncontrolled penetration of the virus among healthcare workers and patients was prevented," Dr. Kudelić emphasised, pointing out that the hospital has no infected employees. In addition to the hospital staff, one team from the Emergency Medical Service, and two primary care teams from Varaždin's medical circles are in self-isolation.

Varaždin County, due to, as they say, the disrupted situation regarding healthcare, is appealing to the population not to "take precautionary epidemiological measures lightly."

Controversial wedding

Varaždin County has so far coped well with the coronavirus crisis. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 117 registered cases, 15 of which are attributed to the county because of the reported place of residence of those individuals. Last weekend will sadly spoil this favourable statistic. At one wedding in the vicinity of Ivanec, four people were infected.

COVID-19 affected a newlywed, two members of the band and some guests from Switzerland. Since there were a large number of guests at the wedding, it is believed that there will be more confirmed infections in the days to come.

At the moment, there are 49 infected people in the county, nine of whom are being treated at the Varaždin General Hospital. There are 270 people in isolation, who were connected with the sick.

Dr. Nenad Kudelić and his colleagues should return to work on September 7 if the tests are negative.

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