June 7, 2020 - Mato Ilkić and Mate Parica from the Department of Archeology at the University of Zadar recently discovered a much older port in the western part of the Novigrad Sea, 22 kilometers northeast of Zadar.

Zadarski List writes that numerous ports from the Roman Empire have long been located and partly explored on the northern Dalmatian Coast. They are distributed along the main maritime route of the time, which, among other things, includes navigation on the Vir Sea, Zadar and Pašman Channels. But Mato Ilkić and Mate Parica from the Department of Archeology at the University of Zadar recently discovered a much older port.

It is located on a hitherto unknown route that was very navigable in the period before the Roman conquests. The archeological remains of this port lay in the western part of the Novigrad Sea, opposite Posedarje, 22 kilometers northeast of Zadar. It was built by the Liburnians, and, for now, it is their only port for which the exact location is known.

"Examining aerial photographs, we noticed that along the west coast of the Novigrad Sea not far from Posedarje, and directly next to the huge prehistoric hillfort Budim, there are some dark rectilinear outlines. We went there to dive and on the seabed, we immediately spotted a structure pointing to an ancient harbor whose archaeological remains are approximately 3 meters deep. For now, it is the oldest port in Liburnia, and perhaps in the entire Croatian part of the Adriatic. This is evidenced by the radiocarbon analysis of wood from the port structure, a sample of which we sent to Miami for testing. We recently got a result from Florida that made us quite happy, because it indicates an older time than we had assumed. Namely, the so-called C 14 date indicates that the port was built between 371 and 199 BC. Thus, it belongs to the period of the late classical phase and early Hellenism," Ilkić reveals.

The port is quite large and is not layered with later interventions. It is built partly of large stone blocks and wooden beams. This very demanding and complex construction undertaking at the time could only be carried out by the well-organized and economically very powerful Liburnian community, which was obviously oriented towards maritime and trade, directly or indirectly with very remote overseas regions. This included North Africa, that is, Carthage, Numidia, and Hellenistic Egypt, from which a great deal of money reached Liburnia through Japodia.

For now, it cannot be argued how the Liburnians and Japodes were enriched, but it is possible to reconstruct the sea routes and land routes that ended up in their hands. The topography of the finds of numerous and diverse numismatic materials originating from very distant monetary centers suggests that merchant ships sailed into Liburnian waters near Molat. From that island, a route led to the Vir Sea and the Velebit Channel and further through Novsko ždrilo to the Novigrad Sea, where the newly discovered and for now the only Liburnian port from the period before the Roman conquests is located.

The Liburnians developed a trade network that included the Trans-Velebit hinterland. Namely, after the money reached the southern Liburnian coast by sea, its further land flow can be followed even easier. They found their way in the direction of southern Velebit, where they descended to Lika along its edge and over mountain passes. Here the traffic branched off into two main directions. The northern one led towards the Una river basin and deeper inland towards southwestern Pannonia. The second traffic route is directed to the northwest and led to the pre-Alpine area. But this trade, in which the Japodes also profited, would not have been possible if the Liburnians had not turned to seafaring, as is now witnessed by their spacious port next to the huge fort of Budim near Posedarje.

It is an extremely important and complex archeological site, which is indicated by the finds of very early amphorae, Liburnian pottery, but also those painted that originated in Italy. In fact, the port near Buda sheds a whole new light on the maritime role of Liburnia.

Archaeologists from the Department of Archeology at the University of Zadar have just begun researching this unique northern Dalmatian underwater site from the pre-Roman period, thanks to donated money from Alan Mandić from Turanj and logistical support from the Municipality of Posedarje. Their goal, for now, is to get to know the only Liburnian port, and perhaps the oldest on the Croatian coast, as well as possible, and document and protect it for future generations. The money invested in the research would be returned many times over, because by presenting fascinating and valuable archeological remains of the ancient port of Liburnia, the tourist offer could be enriched.

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

June 6, 2020 — Hotels on Zadar's historic peninsula are slowly starting to open their doors, but unfortunately, few guests are walking through them.

The Dalmatian town relies on small groups such as families or classmates, travelers from farther-flung corners of the world, or "city hopping" guests galavanting up and down the coast. There are none so far.

The small groups have suffered because of epidemiological measures limiting . Travelers making long trips have limited flight options. While "city hopping" has become a taboo issue, with isolation and social distancing remaining keys to staying healthy.

In short, Zadar's usual guests can't reach the city, or don't want to, according to Zadarski List.

The Boutique Hostel Forum started welcoming guests on May 15, making it among the first to open. Its occupancy has been about 10 guests per day.

"The number of guests in the hostel fluctuates greatly from day to day and depends on the day of the week, so it is difficult to draw a parallel with last year's figures, but from the opening on May 15 until today is about a dozen nights a day," said Frane Sklobar, the hostel's head of marketing. He added hostel guests often don't book well in advance, making it difficult to forecast the rest of the year. But if the planes don't start flying soon, things won't improve.

"Without air travel, there will certainly be no significant shift," Sklobar said. "Nevertheless, we believe that with the normalization of the overall situation and the introduction of air corridors, things will improve."

Bastion and Art Hotel Kalelarga have not yet opened, although they are ready and will likely  June 15 and July 1.

"We will open the Bastion when the works on [the city's walls next to the hotel] near completion, when the access to the hotel is more or less decent, and the noise from the works is reduced," said Mladenka Štura, who runs Bastion and Art Hotel Kalelarga. "As far as reservations are concerned, it is very bad and at the moment there are no indications that there will be any positive shift."

Previous reservations have been canceled, by and large, she said, with guests from the United States and Brazil and other countries harder-hit pulling out the most. But Štura said she won't give up.

"Although the hotels do not work, we work constantly," she said. The hotels are promoting destinations and facilities, as well as sales. They've also put a premium on their epidemiological protection measures.

"We are only upgrading the standards, all in order to protect our workers and guests," she said. "Nothing is a problem, we are ready, but there are simply no bookings."

The situation doesn't merit too many price drops or sales, Štura added.

"I don't think prices play a role at the moment, but whether the borders are open, whether tests are needed, self-isolation upon returning home and so on. If we were to lower prices, we would have to lower the level of service, starting with the groceries for breakfast and so on in each segment onwards."

Vjekoslav Bobić from the Almayer Hotel sees a similar dire situation unfolding.

"We opened, we are ready, and the guests ... that's another story," he said. "A very large number of reservations have been canceled. Our guests are mostly from distant lands where epidemiological measures and travel restrictions are still in place."

The hotel's making adjustments, trying to reorient itself to other guests, locals and those to whom the borders are open and have the opportunity to travel.

"We need to fight, stay in the market, maintain the level of service," Bobić said. "We really don’t have some too much ambition for this season."

But Bobic's motivations go beyond a profit.

"There are our employees. They are more than workers, we are a collective of a dozen people on whom as many families depend," he said. "The hotel is a large system and has high costs even when it is not working. But we can't shut up for a year now, keep quiet until it's all over."

June 4, 2020 - Organized by Novak Djokovic, the Adria Tour will be held in Zadar from June 20-21, 2020.

HRT HRT reports that for the first time in his prosperous career, Croatian tennis legend Goran Ivanisevic found himself in the role of a tournament director. Namely, Ivanisevic will help direct the Adria Tour, which will be held on June 20 and 21 in Zadar. The tournament is organized by the world's best tennis player Novak Djokovic, in cooperation with the Croatian Tennis Federation, and will bring together some of the biggest names in international tennis.

"The tournament will be played on clay, we were ready for concrete, but Novak's team still decided on clay. We are waiting for the final confirmation of the number of fans that will be allowed. It will be a stadium for nine thousand people that will be installed this week, and I hope that it will allow us half of that capacity for the audience to see these best players in the world," Ivanisevic pointed out and added:

"This is a world opportunity to show Zadar and Croatia in a beautiful light, as a corona-free country and we invite tourists. Zadar proved to be not only a basketball city but also a tennis city with the two Davis Cup matches that it organized incredibly. I do not doubt that this organization will go well and that all our guests and tennis players who come from abroad will be extremely satisfied."

Ivanisevic will also participate in the tournament as Djokovic's coach, a position he has held since last year.

Adria Tour was created on the initiative of the Serbian tennis star in order to promote sports, positive values and fair play, but also to raise funds for those who need it. The Adria Tour will be held in several countries, with Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov playing alongside Djokovic, and the two best Croatian tennis players, Marin Cilic and Borna Coric, will also play in Zadar.

"Novak already had the idea to organize a 'tour' or a couple of exhibition matches in Belgrade, Sarajevo, and Croatia. It’s hard to organize, especially with the usual schedule of tennis players. This corona, no matter how much evil and misfortune it brought, made the 'Adria Tour' possible. Novak asked me how Croatia could get involved, I checked with the Croatian Tennis Federation and with their help we chose Zadar. Novak's wish has come true and with this team coming, I can say that this will be a tennis spectacle in the Balkans," said Ivanisevic about Djokovic's initiative.

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

May 27, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb and Zadar.

On May 25, Croatia Airlines launched regular flights from Zagreb to Amsterdam, which is currently the only EU destination the national carrier is flying to, along with Frankfurt, which was maintained during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Flight OU450 to Amsterdam from Zagreb departs every day at 8:20, while the departure from Amsterdam to Zagreb OU451 is scheduled for 11:35.

Avio Radar announced that from June 1, Croatia Airlines would also start flying to Copenhagen with five flights per week, after which it will operate daily (from June 8).

Flight OU480 to Copenhagen from Zagreb departs every day at 8:10, while the departure from Copenhagen to Zagreb OU481 is scheduled for 11:20. 

The A319/320 and DASH 8-Q400 aircraft will be exchanged on this route, depending on the demand. 

With the planned opening of borders, announced for June 15, we should expect more direct flights to other destinations. The airline will also resume nonstop flights from Split to Frankfurt on May 29.

Ex Yu Aviation reports that SAS Scandinavian Airlines has canceled its new seasonal service from Copenhagen to Zadar because of the coronavirus pandemic. The new flight was meant to begin on June 30 and was meant to run twice a week. 

Recall, we recently reported that Ukrainian airline Windrose announced a new planned start of operations on the Kyiv-Zagreb route.

The line has not existed so far, so this summer season was supposed to be the first in which there would be a direct connection between the capitals of Ukraine and Croatia, and it was originally supposed to start operating in May.

Due to the pandemic and the crisis it caused, the company initially postponed the start of operations to the end of May, then to June, but after Monday's changes, the company decided to further postpone the planned start of operations to July 21.

Windrose kept three weeks of flights on this route in the reservation system, with a small capacity aircraft (48 seats), ERJ-145.

Additional delays are also likely, as well as the complete cancellation of the line for this summer season and the start of traffic only in the summer flight schedule in 2021.

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

In addition to EU cash for the Zadar business zone and an intelligent transport system, the University of Zadar also received a grant for the project of renovating the old Technical School.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of May, 2020 on Monday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković presented the mayor of Zadar, Branko Dukić, with four contracts for European Union projects worth a massive 135 million kuna in total, and pointed out that the City of Zadar has proven to be one of the most efficient in terms of using EU funds.

This is a grant for the project of building the infrastructure of the Zadar business zone (to be called Black/Crno) in its first phase, and for the projection, development and implementation of an intelligent transport system and reconstruction of the road in the city. As touched on above, the University of Zadar also received a grant.

Plenković mentioned that during the mandate of this Government, 2.6 billion kuna in EU projects have been agreed for Zadar and the wider Zadar County. He added that ITU mechanisms have provided as much as 345 million euros at the Croatian level, and pointed out that the City of Zadar has shown the highest degree of efficiency in its subsequent use of European Union funds.

"With these four projects we've signed, we have covered all of the most important areas, transport, which raises the quality of life of residents, education, because the City of Zadar, in addition to being an important trade and tourism giant, is also an important university and education centre," said the Prime Minister.

He added that the agreements also cover the field of culture, which is especially important, since Zadar is one of Croatia's most important historical cities, and entrepreneurship with the Zadar business zone has also been covered by the funds.

"Through all of these four aspects, these contracts worth 135 million kuna, of which 106 million are non-refundable, will contribute to the development of the city and the county," he said.

For more, follow our business section.

Zadar Port's coverage is set to cover a wider maritime area as a new high-speed line which will transport passengers along the Zadar-Preko (Ugljan) route is prepared for introduction.

You might look at the idea of life on a quiet, idyllic Croatian island as the absolute epitome of bliss. With a daily view of the sparkling Adriatic sea and stunning scenery at your fingertips, it's hard to think of it in any other way from afar.

You'd be right in some aspects, but every rose has its thorn and when it comes to these little pieces of paradise dotted along the Croatian mainland, the issue of secure, regular maritime transport has become a common bone of contention for their permanent inhabitants.

As Morski writes on the 23rd of May, 2020, the Croatian Government has adopted a proposal for a decision to expand the coverage of the Zadar Port basin by as much as 114,936 square metres in order to create new traffic areas and introduce a high-speed line intended for maritime passenger traffic on the Zadar-Preko route.

The aforementioned Zadar-Preko line is the busiest line connecting the island community with Zadar on the mainland, but currently, in the area of the City Port, the line is suffering from traffic restrictions due to other high-speed shipping lines to the surrounding islands.

Due to the traffic and a larger number of tourist boats operating during the summer season in the area, there is an obvious need to increase the level of general maritime traffic safety in the entire basin covered by Zadar Port, which will be achieved by arranging and expanding the defined coastal zone.

The pool of Zadar Port is being expanded in accordance with the Spatial Development Plan of the City of Zadar.

For more on maritime connections and links between Croatian islands, follow our dedicated travel page.

May 23, 2020 - At the initiative of Novak Djokovic, and in cooperation with the Croatian Tennis Federation, tennis stars will flock to Zadar in June to kick off summer in Croatia.

Gol.hrGol.hr reports that the most beautiful postcard will be sent to the world from Zadar next month, officially kicking off the summer tourist season in Croatia! Namely, some of the best tennis players in the world will play in a series of tournaments from June 13 to July 5, called the Adria Tour, and one of the host cities will be Zadar, it was confirmed on Friday.

The organizer of the tournament is the best tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, who gathered some of the leading players of today, including Croatian tennis players. The first tournament will be played on the courts of TC Novak in Belgrade on June 13 and 14, followed by Zadar's Višnjik (June 20 and 21), before the tournament moves to Montenegro (June 27 and 28), and Banja Port (July 3 and 4).

Among others, participation in at least one of the competitions, apart from the organizer Novak Djokovic, was confirmed by leading Croatian tennis players, led by Borna Coric and Marin Cilic, and Austrian Dominic Thiem and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, to name a few.

It is a humanitarian competition, from which, among other things, the proceeds will be directed to programs for the development and education of children, and in sports terms, will be a great opportunity for matches at the highest level at a time when there is a break in official competitions due to the coronavirus.

They will be played in groups so that each tennis player will have two matches on Saturday, and one on Sunday, when the finals between the two best will be scheduled. It is planned to be played on two won sets on four games.

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

May 21, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Zadar, and Split.

Croatian Aviation reports that Brussels Airlines announced on Tuesday that in its current summer flight schedule, it would not fly to two destinations in Croatia - Zagreb and Zadar.

The company decided to cancel all unprofitable lines, as well as those bordering on profitability (in Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, Greece), which led to the cancellation of two lines to Croatia.

For now, Brussels Airlines will keep the Brussels-Split and Brussels-Dubrovnik routes on sale, while the routes to Zadar and Zagreb have been withdrawn from sale.

The Brussels-Zadar line was introduced in May 2018 as a seasonal line, while the line between Brussels and Zagreb was introduced in 2015.

On the route between Zagreb and Brussels, there will still be the option of a direct flight, as Croatia Airlines operates between these two cities twice a day in the conditions of normal air traffic.

Furthermore, Ex Yu Aviation announced that Eurowings would grow its presence in Croatia, but at reduced frequencies.

Namely, Eurowings will add services to the Croatian coast by resuming flights from Stuttgart, Hamburg and Dusseldorf to Split.

Its Cologne-Zagreb service, which has been maintained throughout most of the coronavirus pandemic, will be reduced from two to one per week in June. The lines from Hamburg and Dusseldorf to Rijeka, Dusseldorf to Pula and Cologne to Zadar will resume once per week on June 20.

“We can feel the growing desire of people to travel again and relax and enjoy their holidays after a long period of travel bans. This is exactly what we are now making possible with our extended summer schedule – reliably, safely and with all due caution. Travelling, whether private or professional, will be possible again," said Eurowings’ CEO, Jens Bischo.

Ex Yu Aviation adds that Eurowings’ parent company Lufthansa will not resume any of its destinations in the former Yugoslavia before June 15. You can read more about that on Ex Yu Aviation.

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

May 15, 2020 — Croatia has grown well-acquainted with its medical professionals and public health institutes. But what about their ancestors?

The National Archives in Zadar created a virtual exhibit of the town’s former Bacteriological Institute, a predecessor to the modern epidemiologists and public health apparatus. The slideshow and text is part of the joins the seventh festival of history - Kliofest.

Taken together, it chronicles the institute's creation then nearly instant battles with a cholera outbreak. Many of its practices — of informing the public, communicating strategies — exist today.

Archivist Edi Modrinić organized the exhibition, bringing photographs and newspaper articles from the institute’s founding in the late 19th century to the end of World War II. 

The photos show sparse labs and researchers working in a sterile white environment.

The Bacteriological Institute was located within a military hospital, in the former monastery St. Nikola. It’s now the International Center for Underwater Archeology in Zadar.

The 19th century bred many scientific discoveries, especially in the fields of physiology, pathology, and microbiology. The changes eventually bred a sea change in health care. A chemical-bacteriological laboratory was founded in Zadar at the end of the 19th century to exploit these advances. It was led by a young doctor, Alfons Boara. It dissolved quickly, but local medical professionals saw a need for such a facility.

Dr. Božo Peričić in 1905, encouraged by a local cholera outbreak, publish a translation of a scholarly article about the need for public medical facilities and institutes in local paper Narodni List. Peričić — well known in local circles — "considered it worthwhile to translate it, because even in our circumstances, reading will be useful to everyone, and it may encourage our leaders to think and act more vividly in regard to some of the issues raised here.”

Looking out for the public good (and perhaps some more stable employment), Peričić asked the institute be revived to protect against typhus, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and cholera. The diseases hit Zadar in waves throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, along with the plague, making the Adriatic hub one of the world’s foremost authorities on mass quarantine.

“About ten years ago, such a laboratory was established on the Dalmatian governorate,” Peričić wrote. “Sure it was a start but definitely a good start. Envy and negligence quickly found themselves at work to destroy everything. The view of epidemics (dangers to which Dalmatia as a country by the sea is more exposed than others) and the view of the antimalarial struggle, the lack of a well-organized laboratory is a shame and damage from which other provinces do not suffer.”

The Bacteriological Institute’s second iteration opened in 1912, the first institution of its kind in Dalmatia.

They aimed to improve scientific efforts and control in the fight against epidemics and infections, and at the same time to educate future doctors. 

The institute was equipped with modern devices, materials, and resources, which can be seen in the photos. Among other things, it had ten study rooms that housed a hygiene department, a bacteriology department, an animal research room. In it, various diseases could be diagnosed by biochemical and microbiological methods, such as malaria. 

The institute turned into a hub of medical and serological innovation, including the first case of brucellosis or undulant fever.

The Dalmatian Governorate invested substantial sums of Vienna’s money into the institute to fund its research. 

After the First World War, the Institute continued to operate as the Laboratory of Hygiene and Bacteriology (Laboratorio di vigilanza igienica e batteriologica). About 600 bacteriological, chemical and bromatological tests were performed that year. 

The laboratory was led by bacteriologist Dr. Giovanni Venturelli, who led a lavish and well-equipped institute — in danger of closing due to lack of work. In 1923, the Ministry decided to close the laboratory only to be reopened again in 1934.

During the Allied bombing in World War II, the laboratory building was severely damaged, yet some laboratory equipment was preserved. A new chemical-bacteriological laboratory was opened on October 6, 1944 — the fourth version — in a small villa housing the naval command ambulance was located at the time. It remained underutilized until Zadar’s hospital opened. This final iteration of the laboratory is considered a parent to the Croatian Institute of Public Health — currently leading the charge against the coronavirus by Krunoslav Capak.

May 13, 2020 - Bad news for those depending on the Ryanair Zadar connection from the UK and Ireland, explains CEO Eddie Wilson in a podcast interview.

It was the route which started budget airline travel back in 2007, with the Ryanair Zadar to London Stansted route. The Ryanair Zadar love affair continued for over a decade, and at one point the Irish airline opened its 54th base in the Dalmatian coastal destination. 

And then something happened, and perhaps the story will come out at some point. 

I have lost count of the number of emails I have received from tourists asking about Ryanair Zadar flights from the UK and Ireland. When the flight ban came in initially, all flights from the UK and Ireland for 2020 disappeared, apart from flights around the Hideout Festival. 

And as we reported yesterday, when Ryanair announced yesterday that it planned to resume 40% of its schedule, that included services to all its Croatian partner airports. 

Except in the case of Zadar, the only reinstated connections were to mainland European cities such as Milan and Berlin. Nothing at all from the UK and Ireland. 

A regular TCN reader sent me a link to a podcast from Ireland, which interviewed Eddie Wilson. The 12-minute interview, which you can listen to here is a wide-ranging and open overview of Ryanair's plans to fly again. At the end, among the questions, was this:

Alan from Wicklow - What about flights to Zadar? They seem to have completely vanished for 2020 and 2021. Is the Ryanair Zadar connection finished? We now have to fly to Split instead.

I think what happened was the Zadar flights were operated by another airline in the Ryanair group, Lauda Air. My understanding is that that base is not going ahead.

We will bring you more news on this story as we get it after contacting Zadar Airport. 

For the latest information about flights to Croatia, check out the dedicated TCN section.