March the 24th, 2023 - Has a the long-awaited (and much talked about) Zagreb mega project of the construction of a brand new Jarun bridge been kicked into the long grass?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the would-be Jarun bridge would solve some traffic issues here in the capital by connecting western Zagreb with Novi Zagreb, but it seems as if things are stalling beyond the point of no return.

"I think that the first point we need to start with is strengthening the city's existing bridges before building any sort of new bridge, and this is something that may not be seen as desirable politically as much as a totally new bridge might be, but I'll still sleep peacefully because I know that I've done absolutely everything necessary for this city to be safer if there's another earthquake,'' said Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic.

This is nothing more than a very small consolation for Milica Sparavalo, whose house was damaged back during the earthquake of March 2020, and she's not allowed to rebuild any of it because it is located on the future road route that would one day lead to this as yet somewhat mythical Jarun bridge. Because of all this, her life has been turned into total chaos, and she isn't even allowed to sell the land, as reported by HRT.

"For us, waiting no longer makes sense. Just let us be able to dispose of our property," pleaded Milica Sparavalo, whose house is just one of the 150 buildings situated along the route awaiting demolition. Experts say that the Jarun bridge is a classic example of the violation of various laws that ultimately put the City of Zagreb into a deeply unfavourable situation.

"Construction permits were issued for corridors that were defined by the GUP and some other documents, and there lies the problem. The problem is that the state has legalised some things, and some things only," said Marko Sevrovic from the Faculty of Transport Sciences in Zagreb.

The potential Jarun bridge would, as stated above, finally connect the western part of the city and Novi Zagreb, and 15,000 vehicles would travel along it daily, and a tram line is also planned. The continuation of the Jarun bridge project was also supported by part of the opposition, and they even proposed an amendment to break the deadlock.

"With that amendment, we provided two million euros for the creation of the project documentation, it was flatly rejected, that is, not reduced, but totally and utterly rejected, and it could clearly already be seen that this project wasn't a focal point for them,'' said Kristijan Jelic, a city representative of HSLS.

For more, check out our news section.

February the 17th, 2023 - As many as 87 Zagreb streets are set to lose electricity for a few hours today, here's a full list. If you live here in Zagreb, it might be worth checking if yours is on it.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, here's a full list of Zagreb streets and households/numbers where the electricity supply interruption has been announced for today (the 17th of February 2023) due to ongoing HEP works.

HEP teams are monitoring the current electricity works on a daily basis, and they're busy repairing and maintaining the electric power network throughout the Republic of Croatia, including right here in the City of Zagreb. As a result, there are unfortunately frequent outages being experienced. Numerous temporary electricity shutdowns have been announced for today in the area covered by Elektra Zagreb. During the morning, households, companies and other buildings in as many as 87 Zagreb streets will be without electricity, writes Vecernji list.

Let's get to the point - from 09:00 to 13:00, there will be no electricity at many of the following addresses located on Zagreb streets:

• Ulica Dubrava 120-144 par., 148, 154-156 par.,
• Bakaračka 4, 1-5 nep.,
• Barbatska,
• Beketinečka,
• Belišćanska,
• Belišćanski odvojak I. i II.,
• Beljska,
• Bogdanovačka,
• Cerička,
• Čagljinska,
• Čikatska,
• Diljska 2-38 par., 1-29 nep., 29/A,
• Dragozetička,
• Đurđevečka,
• Garćinska,
• Glavotočka,
• Gračačka 2-6 par., 6/A, 1-3 nep.,
• Gračački odvojak,
• Gradinska,
• Gradiška,
• Hlebinska,
• Hlebinski odvojak 2-4 par., 8-10 par., 18-do kraja par., 1-do kraja nep.,
• Ivankovačka,
• Ivanjska 2-26 par., 26/A, 1-27 nep.,
• Jadarska,
• Jarminska,
• Javorinska,
• Jurandvorska,
• Kajkavska 2,
• Kanarinska 62/A, 64-do kraja par., 59-do kraja nep.,
• Kapuncinska 34-42 par., 46-48 par., 52-do kraja par., 47-do kraja nep.,
• Kijevska 7,
• Kloštarska,
• Kobaška,
• Košljunska,
• Kurilovečka,
• Kutjevačka,
• Ulica Sjtepana Lacka 2-20 par., 1-19 nep.,
• Legradska,
• Limska 2-do kraja par., 1-17 nep., 17/A, 21-do kraja nep.,
• Lipovljanska,
• Medvejska,
• Mejska,
• Mikanovečka,
• Mrzlopoljska,
• Nemetinska,
• Okućanska,
• Opatovečka,
• Osječka 2-8 par., 12-28 par., 34-36 par., 50-114 par., 1-47 nep., 51-89 nep.,
• Osorska,
• Otočačka,
• Pitomačka,
• Pivska,
• Pleternička,
• Podgoračka,
• Podvežićka,
• Povljanska,
• Prugovečka,
• Rajička 2-26 par., 1-23 nep.,
• Rudopoljska 2-16 par., 1-do kraja nep.,
• Sevnička,
• Sibinjska,
• Slavonska 2-36 par., 40-72 par., 1-47 nep., 61,
• Slavonska-odvojak,
• Sokolovečka,
• Sopnička 2-24 par., 24/A, 1-13 nep., 13/A, 19-21 nep.,
• Sotinska,
• Suhajska,
• Šatorska 2-16 par, 1-19 nep,
• Šljivoševečka,
• Štefanovečka 54-80 par, 81-97 nep,
• Tarska,
• Tovarnička,
• Valpovačka,
• Vardarska 2-20 par, 24-54 par, 1-31  nep, 37/A, 37/B,
• Vinodolska 8-68 par, 68/A, 7-15 nep, 15/A, 17-23 nep, 37-71 nep,
• Virovitička,
• Voćinska 6-18 par, 18/A-18/C par, 20-50 par, 1-11 nep, 23-49 nep,
• Vratnička,
• Vrhovinska,
• Vrpoljska,
• Vukovarska 2-10 par, 14-28 par, 32-26 par, 36/A, 9-21 nep, 27-29 nep, 29/A, 31-35 nep,
• Zametska,
• Zlobinski odvojak

From 10:00 to 12:00, there will be no electricity available at the following addresses/in the following areas:

• Omedini
• Jačkovečki Klanec
• Brežanska

''On the topic of electricity, it's worth noting that however irritating this is to deal with, no drastic disruptions are expected in terms of prices. The Republic of Croatia and the rest of Europe are more experienced than last winter and will welcome the next one much more prepared,'' said energy expert Daniel Srb. He analysed the trends in the electricity and gas price market a little more than a month before the expiration of the government's measures for the protection of households and the domestic economy, which, among other things, set a fixed price for electricity and gas, which will remain valid until March the 31st of this year. In the spring, when the measures do expire, the figures expressed on our energy bills aren't going to come as a shock to us,'' concluded Srb.

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

February the 10th, 2023 - The old Zagreb waste disposal issues and the endless problems surrounding getting people to use the blue ''ZG vrecice'' (rubbish bags allocated for mixed waste as of October 2022) are continuing. Threats of fines seem to have fallen on deaf ears for many and now promises of not only fines but proving who is dumping what with recorded footage are now on the cards.

As Suzana Varosanec/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the now not-quite-so-new model of Zagreb waste disposal which came in the form of ZG vrecice/bags introduced just a few months ago in order to comply with the "polluter pays more" principle and to encourage high-quality recycling is showing its first results: there is almost 30% less mixed municipal waste here in the capital, and the amount of recycled material is increasing - there's been 50% more plastic, 30% more biowaste and 9% more paper.

However, in the application of this particular Zagreb waste disposal model, it has also been shown that the effects are not unambiguous because they actually depend on the existence of the infrastructure conditions that are necessary for this model. For example, boxes placed in public areas that are under the supervision of building owners and tenants when it comes to multi-apartment buildings are an issue.

Namely, even at the level of around 90%, the model showed its efficiency when family houses are in the middle, the same is allegedly true for the very heart of Zagreb, however, problems of a different nature have manifested in the segment of multi-apartment buildings. This is actually where the biggest impact of the full application of the previously announced contractual penalty on bills for February is expected because of various errors in the sorting and disposal of the waste.

It can be considered that the ''getting used to it'' period of the new Zagreb waste disposal model has now ended and that it is moving into full implementation, which means also through the procedures for issuing the foreseen individual contractual fines for violators who don't dispose of their municipal waste in the proper blue ZG bags.

Critics of the entire thing have claimed that it will be difficult to implement these fines in a legally sustainable form in a situation where the issue of proper disposal facilities for ZG bags hasn't been solved infrastructurally, and there are still no underground containers which were initially promised.

A professor of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, Aleksandra Maganic, believes that, if the emphasis is now on individual punishments, then it would mean that they don't dare to apply collective punishments. In her opinion, people must also make an effort of their own if the blue bags are insisted on.

"The shift from collective to individual punishment is an interesting one, but the question remains as to how it will be determined," said Maganic. If they start by checking the contents of the bags, she says, it can't be said that it isn't a legitimate way, so if they manage to find something so that the guilt is individualised, then that can be evidence. It also raises the question of whether video surveillance must be highlighted as a means of catching those evading these blue bags.

"If it were a civil law sphere of responsibility, the courts could now also use evidence that was conducted in an illegal way, for example that such videos weren't obtained with the consent of the person who was recorded, but even in that case the court can use it if there is no other evidence. At the same time, the so-called the test of proportionality between the violation of the rights of the person who was filmed and didn't give consent, and the court's position that it has been done in the interest of a higher goal (justice) must be balanced out. You've got to prove that there's a balance there to show that the evidence should be used," said Professor Maganic, adding that municipal wardens do have the right to control the contents of these waste bags.

Thus, the emphasis on individual punishment in the first steps clearly proves to be a good incentive to move away from the concept of collective punishment, to which the legal profession had some serious objections from the point of view of constitutionality.

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

January the 19th, 2023 - The Indian unicorn Amagi has chosen the Republic of Croatia, more specifically Zagreb, for the opening up of its very first development centre outside of Indian borders. This is excellent news for the country and job opportunities are set to open up.

As Josipa Ban/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, while a fairly decent number of Croatian technology companies are moving their headquarters outside of this country's borders, we're also seeing the opposite, which is very important news for all of Croatia. The Indian unicorn Amagi has decided to open its very first research and development centre outside of India right here in Zagreb.

The office has only just opened, and hiring should begin soon, according to the media technology company founded back in 2008, which provides "cloud" content broadcasting services and targeted advertising solutions for broadcasting on TV and streaming platforms.

The Indian unicorn Amagi is, therefore, a global SaaS leader that provides video solutions "in the cloud". It isn't yet exactly known how many people will be employed by this company here in Croatia and just how much will be invested. However, the company has stated that they decided on Croatia because they had already cooperated with local experts, so they decided to use that cooperation for further development.

"The high level of productivity of Croatian experts, along with a good balance between private and business life, makes Croatia an excellent location for a successful high-tech company like Amagi. We plan to expand and we will do so both in and outside of Croatia," said Sanjay Kirimanjeshwar, the vice president of the Indian unicorn Amagi, who is also in charge of marketing.

As for the development centre here in Zagreb, he says that it is difficult to go into details about product development. "But what we can confirm is that their work will be instrumental in accelerating the growth of streaming TV and FAST, especially in technologies that include big data, UHD Graphics, Dolby Vision, JPEG-XS, machine learning and personalisation," revealed Kirimanjeshwar.

The brand new centre here in Zagreb will be led by Igor Marinic, Marko Horvat and Danijel Peric, and it should enable this successful Indian company to expand more into the European market.

"Thanks to the research and development centre in Croatia, we'll be closer to our users and will be able to offer them the technological support they need in real time," said Baskar Subramanian, the CEO and co-founder of the Indian unicorn Amagi, a company that sells its solutions across more than 40 countries of the world, whose client list includes the likes of ABS-CBN, AccuWeather, A+E Networks UK, Cinedigm, Cox Media Group, Crackle Plus, Fremantle and numerous other impressive names.

The arrival of Amagi here in Croatia was actually not publicly known, but preparations had been underway for some time now, according to an inspection of the Court Register, which shows that the company in Zagreb (Amagi Eastern Europe d.o.o.) was founded in April last year.

Besides the fact that the Indian unicorn Amagi certainly has its own calculations when it comes to the opening their first foreign development centre in Zagreb, it's clear that this is a great thing economically for Croatia and its experts who will now get the opportunity to work on the development of some of the most advanced video and communication technologies. This was also confirmed by a statement from Igor Marinic, the general director of Amagi Eastern Europe.

"Croatia has successfully established itself on the global technological map as a country which creates the best talent, therefore we're confident that the newly opened Amagi development centre will be one of the key drivers of further growth and success," he pointed out. The company also received an investment of slightly more than 100 million US dollars just two months ago (in November 2022) from the American investment company General Atlantic.

With the capital raised, the value of the company increased from 1 billion dollars, which was what they were worth back in March 2022, when they received an investment of 95 million dollars, to a whopping 1.4 billion dollars. They achieve 100% annual revenue growth and employ more than 800 people worldwide. Part of the investment will obviously also be invested in the newly opened development centre here in Croatia, but the exact amount is currently unknown.

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

December the 18th, 2022 - The Croatian team welcome party in the very heart of Zagreb (Ban Jelacic square) is set to take place this afternoon when the team lands back home from an incredible performance in 2022's World Cup in Qatar. Here's what you need to know.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after returning from Qatar, the members of the Croatian national football team will land at Zagreb's Franjo Tudjman International Airport shortly after 17:00, after which they will head to Ban Jelacic square along the same route they took four years ago when they returned from Russia as runners-up in the 2018 World Cup.

The Ministry of the Interior (MUP), in cooperation with HNS, has published numerous tips on its official website, in addition to maps with the route that the vehicles carrying the members of the national team and professional staff will take as they make their way towards the very heart of the city.

You can see official and detailed photos of the route from the airport to Ban Jelacic square by clicking here.

From the airport, the buses will run along Ulica Rudolfa Fizira, turn onto Zagrebacka Ulica towards Buzin and then head along SR Njemacka Ulica onto Avenija Dubrovnik. Then, they'll travel along Ulica Hrvatske bratske zajednice until they reach Vukovarska Ulica, from which they will turn onto Savska, extend to Frankopanska and then onto Ilica, and end their journey at the main stage, which this time will be located on the west side of Ban Jelacic square, more precisely in front of the Zagrebacka banka branch office located there.

For more, make sure to keep up with our dedicated Croatian news section.

December the 14th, 2022 - Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic has stated that he thinks that more than enough time has passed since the introduction of the new Zagreb waste disposal system and the much talked about ''ZG bags (vrecice)'', and that it's time to come down harder on those still bypassing the new rules.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Tomasevic recently said that he really things we've had enough time to adjust to the new way of doing things here in the capital, that there are enough blue ZG bags for communal (mixed) waste being sold in stores, and that it doesn't make sense that some are still refusing to stick to the new Zagreb waste disposal rules and use the blue bags for that.

''It really doesn't make any sense that only 60 or 70 percent of people are correctly using the blue bags and the rest don't bother and thus don't pay for the variable part of the waste collection service,'' he said.

With these words, Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic announced that from this week onwards, municipal wardens and Cistoca employees will intensify their control of the use of blue ZG bags for mixed municipal waste across the capital.

They will, he added, check whether people are actually using the blue ZG bags for the disposal of mixed municipal waste. To just go back quickly for those who might not be aware, as of October the 1st, 2023, a new collection system and a new Zagreb waste removal system was introduced, whereby a variable part of the service price is paid through the purchase or use of blue ZG bags, while the fixed part is paid through Cistoca or Zagreb Holding.

Tomasevic also announced that in January 2023, wardens and Cistoca employees will start checking waste containers that are located still on public areas, especially those where the co-owners of the buildings haven't checked with Cistoca about whether they can be removed from public areas or if they should be put elsewhere out of sight.

He didn't mention the fact that many people never received a decision from Cistoca about their waste containers remaining on public areas or the specification of an alternative location for their relocation.

For more, check out our dedicated news section.

November the 10th, 2022 - Canary Black, a film which stars Kate Beckinsale, is still being filmed in different locations across the City of Zagreb. Owing to that continued filming, Zagreb trams won't be running through the very centre of the city during the evening hours for several days.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, ZET reported on Thursday that due to the filming of Canary Black in the city, Zagreb trams will not run along Frankopanska ulica (street), Ilica, through Ban Jelacic Square, Franjo Racki street or through Zrinjevac during the night from Saturday, November the 12th into Sunday, November the 13th, and this will last until Thursday, the November 17th.

To be more specific, on Saturday, November the 12th, from 21:15 until Sunday, November the 13th, at 18:00, tram traffic will be suspended entirely along Frankopanska and llica (from Republic of Austria street to Ban Jelacic Square). This will encompass Ban Jelacic Square, Jurisiceva, Franjo Racki street and Zrinjevac due to ongoing filming.

In addition to the above, Zagreb trams in the same locations will not run from Sunday, November the 13th, to Thursday, November the 17th, from 19:15 to 05:30.

At the same time, tram lines 1, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 17 will operate along modified routes in both directions, and bus substitutions of night lines 31, 32 and 34 will drive through the Central Station instead of going through Ban Jelacic Square.

For the same reason, from Monday, November the 14th, to Thursday, November the 17th, from 19:00 to 22:15, bus line 150 will not operate either, ZET announced.

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

October the 22nd, 2022 - Croatia is often the backdrop of a variety of films, hit series and commercials, and filming in Zagreb is once again causing problems for those of us who live here, especially road users who are growing a bit tired of important roads being blocked off.

Owing to the filming of the likes of high speed car chase scenes, some roads are going to be off limits once again, with problems beginning for the capital's drivers as soon as today.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, filming in Zagreb currently involves famous actress Kate Beckinsale who plays the main role in the upcoming film, according to a report from Dnevnik.

The action thriller "Canary Black" was supposed to be filmed in the Czech capital city of Prague, but since that failed, the most similar locations were searched for. "There weren't many options, we considered Greece, Turkey, Serbia... but we chose Croatia," said producer Carsten H.W. Lorenz, who revealed that parts of this film will also be shot in Rovinj, which will "play" Tokyo.

Lorenz apologized in advance that he would have to block traffic for certain scenes being filmed in Zagreb, such as car chases.

"A lot of preparation and safety measures are necessary when shooting action scenes, we have to take care of every detail, not even a dog is allowed to run onto the set because it is too dangerous," he said.

Judging by the permit that the City of Zagreb gave the production company for the use of several of the city's often busy public areas, filming will last until the end of January 2023. Until then, residents of the capital can once again expect occasional road closures and problems with transportation on a number of important city roads.

As of today (Saturday, October the 22nd), there will be a change for the 150 bus like, ZET reported. "From 07:00 until 19:00, that bus line will run along the Tuskanac Garage - Ilirski trg route, due to the filming in Zagreb and the current ban on traffic in Radiceva street". Bus users were asked for their understanding of the change.

You can see the entire list of Zagreb city streets and public areas where the film will be shot until January the 31st, 2023, by clicking here.

The City of Zagreb will receive compensation in the amount of 103,000.00 kuna, or 13,670.45 euros, for the service of assigning filming locations across the city, it was announced.

For more, make sure to keep up with our dedicated news section.

October the 10th, 2022 - A busy Zagreb road, more precisely King Zvonimir street (Ulica kralja Zvonimira, or just Zvonimirova) was flooded this morning because of a burst pipe.

The bursting of pipes has been somewhat of a regular occurrence in the City of Zagreb for some time now, with the Tresnjevka neighbourhood in particular being prone to ending up at least to some extent underwater. This time, a central and usually very Zagreb road has fallen victim to the curse of the burst pipe.

As Index vijesti writes, at the time of writing this, Zagreb holding (Zagrebacki) holding hadn't announced the situation with this burst pipe, but they did announce that another pipe had also burst in nearby Sesvete on Zagreb street (Zagrebacka ulica).

Despite the fact that burst pipes in Zagreb seems to be a frequent issue, Zagreb holding claims that this amount of issues with burst pipes doesn't actually exceed the average.

"The frequency of pipe bursts and other types of failures doesn't differ from the multi-year average. Our services are making efforts to enable the normalisation of water supply to our citizens as soon as possible. We'd like to ask the citizens of the aforementioned area for their understanding and patience," they announced.

For more, make sure to keep up with our dedicated news section.

April the 23rd, 2022 - The old part of Zagreb's Vlaska Street is set to become an exclusively pedestrian zone. This move comes as more and more plans are in the works to expand the heart of the capital's pedestrian zones and to gradually eliminate traffic in certain areas.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the old part of Vlaska Street, between Draskoviceva and Palmoticeva, is set to become an exclusively pedestrian zone, which will be welcome news to some, and a source of irritation to others. The profession is worried that the move will create traffic jams on other roads in the centre, while the City of Zagreb says that this is just the beginning of the expansion of pedestrian zones in the very centre of the city.

The project of adapting that part of Stara Vlaska (the old part of Vlaska Street) into a zone intended only for pedestrians starts on May the 28th and has been conceived in different phases:

"In the first phase, road traffic will be closed and the installation of planters with trees will begin, which will also be benches. The terraces of the cafes will remain as they are now, and we will bring some stands in for craftsmen. We'll mark the opening of the pedestrian zone with a concert and children from three nearby schools will draw on the pavements, with the help of some local street artists,'' said Deputy Mayor Luka Korlaet.

He added, according to a report from HRT, that about 10 parking spaces on that stretch of Vlaska Street will be abolished. Assistant professor Marko Sevrovic from the Institute for Traffic Planning pointed out two problems of such an intervention when it comes to traffic:

“What will happen to the vehicles that use that street to head to the east? If you're going from the north and want to go east, you'll have to go all the way down to Djordjiceva. Now the question is how this will affect the traffic there. Traffic is very similar to liquid - if you close it off somewhere, it will just go somewhere else. In addition to that, there's the issue of the pedestrian crossing on Palmoticeva. There will be two separate pedestrian zones with a very busy Palmoticeva between them in this case,'' he said.

A traffic light is offered as a solution for crossing what will then be a very busy Palmoticeva.

This is just the beginning of work on expanding the pedestrian zones in Zagreb's bustling and always busy city centre, and Korlaet concluded the following:

"The plan is also to turn Masarykova Street, so the entire promenade stretching to the Croatian National Theatre, into a pedestrian zone."

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