June 22, 2021 - The Zagreb Tourist Board and the Zagreb County Tourist Board are again cooperating in promoting Zagreb and its surroundings through a unique destination campaign - Near the city, Near the heart / Around Zagreb. 

Near the City, Near the Heart is a joint promotional campaign created to develop a year-round platform to promote the rich offer of the capital and its surroundings, reports HRTurizam.

In this sense, as a destination campaign, it addresses key markets, promoting the outdoors, greenery, and nature with a focus on health and sustainability, and raising awareness of Zagreb and its surroundings as a desirable environment and tourist destination.

This year's edition of the campaign introduces certain novelties, and they are presented in more detail by the director of the Tourist Board, Martina Bienenfeld: “The success of the campaign so far has prompted us to improve our platform and present it to key markets. So - with a refreshed visual and itineraries - we created a new section, 'Did you know?' which presents interesting things from our environment. We are now launching the campaign in the markets of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Germany, and we will soon expand it through cooperation with Krapina-Zagorje County."

"The campaign will be conducted online through advertorials and banners for a month. Advertorials will be adapted linguistically for each individual market and will present a rich cultural offer, with a focus on living in greenery, recreation, and sustainable tourism, all through interesting stories that present the current offer of Zagreb and its ring," explains Darja Dragoje from TZGZ.

In the last two years, the cooperation between these two tourist boards has grown into a whole series of campaigns and concrete tourist products that the guests of the capital can enjoy. The profession also recognized the partnership cooperation of these tourist boards as an example of cooperation in the field that brings very concrete results to all stakeholders.

The Zagreb County Tourist Board director, Ivana Alilović, says: "Domestic and foreign tourists do not think about administrative borders, but about the content. Precisely for this reason, the cooperation between the tourist boards of Zagreb and Zagreb County was logical. I am delighted that the director of Binenfield recognized the great potential of Zagreb County because Zagreb and the ring together are stronger. We have combined urban and rural, and with health and cultural tourism, rich outdoor content, and authentic enogastro offer, we have made this destination even more attractive. The enogastro service will focus on the new campaign, which with new visuals tells a new story of a metropolis and its surroundings, which complement each other with quality and rounded tourist products. With such facilities, we extend the stay of guests in both destinations."

The entire offer is united on aroundzagreb.hr, and information is currently available in Croatian, English, German and Slovenian.

For more, follow our travel section.

June the 17th, 2021 - Following more than one entire year of obstacles, difficulties and for some time entire impossibilities, Zagreb tourism is making a cautious but definite return to life, with June 2021 seeing more foreign visitors arriving for a long awaited city break in the bustling Croatian capital.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, after a break of over a year in tourist traffic, which in addition to the pandemic was largely due to the Zagreb and Sisak earthquakes and their obvious consequences, Zagreb tourism is slowly returning to "shape", with an increase in overnight stays and reservations noted, especially for late summer and going into autumn.

Individual guests still predominate when it comes to this current trend in tourist traffic, but leisure and business groups are slowly returning too, and it is interesting that in some hotels most of the guests are Americans.

Those working in the sector have noted their cautious optimism and that their positive feelings increased significantly about one month ago, when the vaccination programme against the novel coronavirus both outside of Croatia and within the country intensified, bringing with it a much more favourable epidemiological picture and a slow easing of anti-epidemic measures.

Croatia's eVisitor statistics

The statistics are so far still modest, but growth is already visible. According to eVisitor, from the beginning of the year to June the 9th, the number of registered overnight stays in Zagreb amounted to almost 363 thousand, which is an increase of 3 percent when compared to last year's tourist traffic. Most overnight stays were realised from other parts of Croatia, followed by Italy, the USA, Germany and neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At the same time, out of the total number of realised overnight stays, foreign tourists realised the majority, ie 62 percent of overnight stays on the Zagreb tourism scene. The average number of days of stay is also increasing and amounted to 2.65 overnight stays, the Tourist Board of the City of Zagreb revealed.

As for the share of specific locations, 49 percent of all overnight stays in Zagreb tourism were realised in hotels, 42 percent in private/family accommodation, and the rest in hostels and other types of accommodation.

Compared to the same period back in record, pre-pandemic 2019, the results are currently at the level of 37 percent in overnight stays. Zagreb is also the destination with the highest number of overnight stays realised in the first five months of 2021 compared to other destinations in Croatia.

The statistics for the month of June so far are significantly better than they were back during the same comparable period last year, with an increase in the number of overnight stays of 124 percent being realised during the first 13 days of June, although so far these are low numbers of barely 41 thousand overnight stays. In June, we had about 3,200 guests a day in Zagreb, mostly staying in hotels.

As noted above, so far in June this year, most overnight stays were from other parts of Croatia, followed by the USA, Italy, Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Of foreign visitors, guests from the US took first place in overnight stays in both May and June, which shows a positive recovery trend and the interest of guests from that market, the Tourist Board pointed out.

Representatives of the Zagreb Tourist Board participated in last week's conference of the American Association of Travel Advisers ASTA in Dubrovnik, and noted the great interest American tourists have for Zagreb, which will host about fifty American agents this weekend as part of a study trip to Croatia. The guests from the USA are the most numerous in the Esplanade Hotel, whose numbers are significantly better than the average, revealed the hotel's director Ivica Max Krizmanic.

"There's a growing sense of optimism when it comes to our reservations as well. We expect to end June with an average occupancy rate of 45 percent (just this week we're at 85 percent), and July and August will be at 50 percent occupancy. We expect higher growth in overnight stays in September and October.

As for restaurants and events, we're mostly full, events are returning, there are some business groups here and there. Most of the guests are individual guests, but this is a trend that started even before the pandemic struck and is desirable because these are guests who tend to spend more,'' explained the director of the much loved Esplanade Hotel. Current predictions are that Zagreb's beautiful Hotel Esplanade will end 2021 with 50 percent of the revenue it generated back in 2019.

Josipa Jutt Ferlan, the director of Zagreb City Hotels and the cluster general manager for Hilton in Zagreb, who is also the president of the Hotel Association of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that there is a positive atmosphere in the sector.

''Aside from that short period last spring, despite the low traffic, Canopy (Hilton) remained open all the time for restaurant guests who settled in and came to us regularly for breakfast and coffee, and we introduced delivery at a time when hotels had to be closed to guests. The decision to stay open proved to be the right one, and we're glad that we didn't take away the habits that were important to our fellow citizens,'' pointed out Jutt Ferlan.

In addition to the increased interest of individuals in the leisure and business segment, since the vaccination programme was intensified, including mass vaccinations in companies, interest in various events has increased in Hilton's hotels in Zagreb, adding to the spring put back in the step of the Zagreb tourism sector.

"People are hungry for a bit of everything, especially socialising in person again, and we can see this in the increased number of inquiries for conferences and business events, and the decline in interest in hybrid events. Although technology allows us to do this, and we've accelerated the development and use of digital platforms during the pandemic, we mustn't forget that humans are social beings and that rallies have survived much greater crises than this pandemic, including wars.

It turned out that nothing could replace live meetings, and that when it comes to online events, a large proportion of participants get involved only technically, and actually do something else. Therefore, I believe that the event segment of our business will return very soon,'' concluded Jutt Ferlan.

For more on Zagreb tourism and all you need to know about the Croatian capital in 2021, check out Zagreb in a Page.

ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - Foreign tourists who generate at least one bed night in Zagreb can be tested for COVID-19 at 50% of the price and about 20 have already been tested over the weekend, the director of the Zagreb Tourist Board (TZGZ), Martina Bienenfeld, said on Tuesday.

TZGZ is the first regional tourist board in Croatia that has opened a testing station for foreign tourists as had previously been proposed by Tourism and Sports Minister Nikolina Brnjac.

Testing to be co-financed

In addition to opening the testing station, TZGZ has decided to cofinance testing that is conducted during weekends and public holidays, Bienenfeld told Hina.

TZGZ will cover half the cost of testing for tourists, she said, estimating that the greatest demand will be in the coming period and that that will depend on the percentage of inoculated tourists from the countries they are coming from, but also of employees in tourism and citizens themselves, and finally on the introduction of Digital Green Certificates at the EU level.

Testing during weekdays will be at the normal price and already about ten Zagreb hotels are providing testing services. Testing can also be conducted at Zagreb's airport.

Providing opportunity for tourists to extend their stay

"One of the important reasons why we decided to co-finance testing in the days noted is that this provides the opportunity for tourists to extend their stay in Zagreb, because they do not have to worry where and when they can be tested when returning to their countries and they can avoid quarantine," said Bienefeld.

All the necessary information regarding testing is available at www.infozagreb.hr/korona-virus in various languages, she said and added that the first tourists tested this way last weekend (10 and 11 April) were from Italy, Denmark, Germany and Albania.

Bienefeld said that since the beginning of the year until 11 April, almost 65,000 tourists had visited Zagreb and they generated 177,500 bed nights, which is about 47% of arrivals and 58% of bed nights generated in the comparable period in 2020.

Compared to the record 2019 year, that is about 27% and 37% of arrivals and bed nights respectively. 

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

April 10, 2021 - The Ministry of Tourism's campaign to promote safe tourism in Croatia is off to a good start with the announcement of more than 350 Zagreb establishments in the tourism sector with the ''Safe stay in Croatia'' label.

As turistickeprice.hr reports, the prominent ''Safe stay in Croatia'' label, which proves the growing number of Zagreb tourist facilities every day, is a guarantee that they are organized and operate according to the current recommendations of the World Travel and Tourism Council and the Croatian Institute of Public Health. It also confirms that tourism workers have put the safety and health of guests first, thus enabling them to enjoy the tourist offer in a safe way.

The campaign was officially announced last February and included a promotional video showing the concept of safe travel to Croatia in times of health crisis. The idea behind the project is to get establishments dedicated to tourism, such as restaurants, accommodation, museums, agencies, transportation, marinas, attractions, and many more, to join the initiative.

Credit: Zagreb Tourist Board

One of the main revolutions that will take place in the sector is the idea that this season tourists will seek accommodation and other places that comply with international epidemiological protocols and standards to fight the pandemic. That is why the Ministry of Tourism launched the project and now seeks to generate greater interest among tourist establishments and catering facilities. So far, the general reception has met the expectations, and the goal is to increase the number of affiliated locations in the coming months and not only in Zagreb but throughout the country.

After the request for the Safe stay in Croatia label has been approved, tourist and other facilities in Zagreb can pick up the label in a physical form at the Visitor Center at Trg bana Josipa Jelačića 11 or at the Tourist Office of the Zagreb Tourist Board and use it for promotional purposes.

Credit: Zagreb Tourist Board

The promotional campaign is the responsibility of the Croatian Tourist Board, which aims to act informatively and educationally around the concept of safe tourism, introducing guests to protocol and epidemiological measures that require the responsibility of tourism workers, and also, of course, imply individual responsibility.

The only condition for obtaining the free ''Safe stay in Croatia'' label is adherence to the prescribed health protocols. Their compliance is monitored and constantly adjusted through the system of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, professional associations in tourism, and from users who can leave their comments and observations via the website.

The list of facilities that acquire the ''Safe Stay in Croatia'' label will be available and constantly updated on the official website. There is also a range of other current information and advice in the same place, and it gives guests the opportunity to share their impressions, which directly helps everyone in the chain to continuously enrich and improve their service in accordance with current international health and tourism protocols.

Follow the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

January 23, 2021 – According to user ratings of the most important platforms for booking accommodation, Booking.com, Airbnb, and Tripadvisor, Zagreb is among the three best European destinations with the cleanest tourist accommodation.

Namely, with the onset of the pandemic, the requirements for travel hygiene have further increased. Therefore, a survey on the European metropolises with the cleanest accommodation was recently conducted. Zagreb Tourist Board reports that some guests described their stay in the Croatian capital as "brilliantly clean" and "spotlessly clean."

The survey was published by the British portal ShowersToYou.co.uk and is based on the average ratings of accommodation's cleanliness in famous European capitals.

In the overall ranking of the 20 cleanest destinations in Europe, Zagreb took a high third place with an average rating of 4,74. Only Lisbon, with an average rating of 4,792, and Prague, with an almost identical rating as Zagreb - 4,741, are ahead of the Croatian capital.

Considering only the ratings of Booking.com and Airbnb users, Zagreb takes first place, ahead of Moscow, Lisbon, Prague, Vienna, and other capitals. In case only Tripadvisor users' ratings are taken into account, Zagreb is in 14th place, but this does not diminish its overall ranking given the average ratings on all three platforms, where Zagreb is in third place.

"We are extremely pleased with this result. Hygiene has become especially important, and the health aspects of staying in a destination have become one of the main backbones when promoting in the foreign tourism market. We are pleased with Airbnb, Booking.com, and Tripadvisor platforms' user ratings. They give additional value to Zagreb as a safe and clean destination," said the Zagreb Tourist Board director, Martina Bienenfeld, congratulating Zagreb accommodation providers.

In addition to the mentioned survey, Zagreb won a valuable award at the online BH Tourism Film Festival 2020 in Sarajevo. Namely, Zagreb Tourist Board won the award for "The Best Culture and Heritage" for the film "Zagreb Loves You."

This film is an unusual tourist promotional film because it was made in March last year when two misfortunes hit Zagreb at once – a pandemic and an earthquake. The film has become the backbone of the comprehensive #ZagrebLovesYou campaign, and this is Zagreb Tourist Board's fifth award for it in a little over half a year.

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January 21, 2021 – What will be welcome news to Zagreb's increasing number of transitory summertime visitors, may be more difficult for permanent residents (and their children) to deal with, as it's revealed the hot Zagreb summer has been extended by a considerable 45 days since the 1960s

Over recent years, the Croatian capital's rising popularity with visitors has made it the fastest-growing tourist destination in the country. But, its increasing footfall from those on holiday is not the only similarity the city now shares with the sun-drenched coast; their climates, once separate and distinct, are now closer than ever before. In fact, Zagreb summer now has on average 45 more days to its duration than it did during 1960s.

While summertime tourists don't seem to mind basking in the sunny streets while catching the city sights in t-shirts and shorts, many residents are only too aware of how stifling an entire season can be if spent solely in the capital. Zagreb summer is traditionally a time when many try to get away, to go cool off on the coast. And yet, despite this being a time-honoured tradition, the extent of the rapid and recent extension of Zagreb summer will still come as a shock to many.

The surprising details were revealed in a rather long article in yesterday's Vecernji List. Within the sprawling text, Doctor of Science Ivana Herceg Bulić, a professor at the Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb and the head of the newly established Centre for Climatological Research said “Based on previous measurements, our analysis shows that every ten years the number of Zagreb summer days - the number of days with a maximum temperature above 25 degrees Celsius - on Grič increases by eight days. In Maksimir, on the other hand, located in a less developed part of town, measurements indicate an increase of seven additional summer days in ten years. Only when we approach the end of the city like Pleso do we reach the number of six summer days more. Zagreb today has 45 more summer days than we had in the middle of the last century."

The centre of Zagreb is the area of the capital which has experienced the most sustained rise in temperatures

The reason for the increase in Zagreb summer is less welcome than the hot days it provides; global warming and climate change are the cause, compounded by inadequate urban planning. As TCN has recently reported, the population of Zagreb continues to rise. As it does so, the demand for new buildings increases and the city boundaries extend. This creates an island of heat whose concrete retains the warmth of the day, long after the sun has set, resulting in sustained high temperatures. Studies show that such conditions are disadvantageous to health.

The information given by Dr Herceg Bulić comes from a new report by the Centre for Climatological Research. Coming just days after Zagreb residents were informed that they had just breathed the worst quality air in the whole of the European Union, you could forgive anyone considering to make their Zagreb summer exodus a more permanent move. But, the news isn't all that bad.

Less built-up areas of the city, those with extensive parkland and who have kept the trees that line their avenues, record a much less harsh summer temperature. In Croatian cities like Osijek and Karlovac, where parkland and trees within the city are cherished, the summers are far from stifling. Though climate change requires a global response, Zagreb can easily address its own summer burden with better urban planning, the preservation of grasslands, parklands and trees, plus the planting of more. Such foresight is necessary to embrace now if we are to ensure that Zagreb summer in the future will be as welcoming to visitors and as wonderful for residents as it is today.

November 22, 2020 – One of the most iconic modern monuments of city centre Zagreb, Ivan Kožarić's Grounded Sun, has returned to Bogoviceva following eight months of restoration. We visited to bask in its brilliant glow

Grand remnants of the Austro-Hungarian empire surround on both sides of Bogoviceva, lower town Zagreb. These buildings are several storeys high. This is the heart of the city. At this time of year, the sun doesn't even pass directly overhead at midday. That Bogoviceva lies in shadow for most of autumn's days does not halt the effervescence of life on the street. This is the edge of the promenade for Špica - the beloved Zagreb ritual of coming to this particular stretch, looking at your best, for coffee, while taking in everyone else looking at their best.

Following several weeks of cloudy skies overhead, the boldest blue has blessed Zagreb for all of this late November weekend. In daylight hours, the strong rays banish the chill of the air for those sat in cafes on open squares or in the upper town. On shaded Bogoviceva, we have to rely on the rays of an artificial sun to bring brilliance to the street.

Following an absence of eight months, that brilliance shines once again on Bogoviceva with the return of Ivan Kožarić's Grounded Sun monument. Removed immediately after the 2020 Zagreb earthquake (for fear that masonry would fall on it), its leave was extended in order that it be restored. One of the most iconic monuments in downtown Zagreb, it is admired by all city residents. Only some have a different way of expressing their appreciation.

© City of Zagreb Tourist Board

Over several years, the monument acquired significant scars. Stickers, graffiti and deep gouges, cut by keys or other implements, covered its surface. Such additions were perhaps the easiest way for the least remarkable people to actually leave a mark in the city – a sad admission of underachievement expressed in a desperate act to create permanence.

Damir Ujević, the restorer of the piece, has appealed to city residents to allow Ivan Kožarić's Grounded Sun to remain unscathed now the monument has come back. Although the original artist, the sadly deceased Ivan Kožarić, said he didn't mind the interaction with his work, it's easy to appreciate Ujević's plea. Grounded Sun looks glorious upon its return. Its golden glow now draws lingering glances from all who pass. People stop to take photos. Children can't help but want to touch it.

Josip Kozarić's Grounded Sun was first introduced to Zagreb city centre back in 1971. Its first home was on the Republic of Croatia Square (back then known as Maršal Tito square). Over the course of three decades, and several changes of address, it became a much-loved fixture of Zagreb centre. So much so, that it was decided that an entire solar system be built to accompany it.

Using the scale of Kozarić's Grounded Sun as a base, artist Davor Preis created monuments of each other planet in our solar system. Kozarić's Grounded Sun's had been moved to the heart of the city centre in 1994. In his accompanying Nine Views installation from 2004, Preis placed each other planet around it to scale. Mercury sits in nearby Margaretska, Venus on Ban Josip Jelačić square, Earth lies on Varšavska, Mars can be found on Tkalčićeva 21 and the furthest neighbour, Neptune, is way out of the city centre, in the south-east Kozari suburb.

You easily can visit all of the Zagreb planet monuments in one day. It's perhaps the quickest way to journey around our solar system. But, none of the other planets resonates with the same glow as Kozarić's Grounded Sun on Bogoviceva. Its welcome return adds an extra highlight to Špica. Maybe this winter now won't feel so cold in the shadows of Bogoviceva with the restoration of the sun.

All uncredited photos © Marc Rowlands

A map of where to find all of the planets of our solar system on the streets of Zagreb

November 8, 2020 – Although Zagreb has been shrouded in fog on Sunday morning, it has been a sunny autumn day on Sljeme and its forest.

Standing 1000 meters above Zagreb, the highest peak of Mount Medvednica, Sljeme, is the perfect and most favourite weekend excursion site for many Zagreb residents, as well as people from the surrounding area.

Although the fog did not look promising on Sunday morning, many Zagreb recreationists and excursionists still decided to head to the highest peak of Zagreb. And they did not regret it, as the sun appeared just after the first hills. Climbing to an increasing elevation, the fog slowly but surely disappeared, and the late autumn sun shone through the already half-bare branches of the Medvednica forest.

Sljeme (1033m), the highest peak of Medvednica or Zagrebačka Gora, as it is also called, can be reached on foot and by bike on hiking trails, or by road. From 1963 to 2007, the Sljeme cable car was in operation, and a new one is currently under construction, and should have its first test run of only 16 minutes very soon.

The area of Medvednica is also a nature park of the same name, and along the walk or ride through the beautiful forest, it is possible to get to know more than 1000 plant species. You can find your peace on as many as 70 hiking trails, and listen to the murmur of water from 70 streams. Exactly because of that, but also because of the immediate vicinity of the Croatian metropolis, the interest in visiting Medvednica and Sljeme is great throughout the whole year, and mostly on weekends.

Apart from the beautiful untouched nature, there are other tourist attractions in the Medvednica Nature Park, such as the old medieval fortress Medvedgrad. The Veternica Cave, the sixth-largest in Croatia, and the Zrinski Mine, cultural heritage of the Republic of Croatia, are also an indispensable part of a visit to the park.

Since 2005, Sljeme has been the host of the Snow Queen Trophy ("Snježna kraljica"), women's slalom race of the World Ski Cup. The original name of the race was the Golden Bear ("Zlatni medvjed"), but it was changed in honor of Janica Kostelić, legendary Croatian skier, without whose sporting success the race would not have been given to Croatia and Zagreb to organize. Apart from that, Sljeme is also well-known for its television tower, visible from every part of Zagreb, and the Restaurant Vidikovac.

After a few hours of climbing, depending on the chosen route, hikers most look forward to eating homemade beans or baked “štrukli” and sweeten with strudels in the famous Mountain Lodge Puntijarka (947m).

The descent, due to fallen brown leaves and swept stones, is as challenging as the ascent to Sljeme, but the pleasure of observing the stems and treetops is even greater.

All photos © Donatella Pauković

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September 29, 2020 - People often come up with original ideas, but this one certainly steals the show: you can now return to the past with Zagreb Vintage Photo Souvenir.

As 24sata.hr reports, their idea started primarily as a tourist offer for visitors to the city of Zagreb, who wanted to offer a touch of old Zagreb from the time of Marija Juric Zagorka.

In Tkalciceva 7, time returns without any problems. There is a small but cute vintage studio, Vintage Photo Souvenir, where the owners, Dino and Andrea Gulic, and their lovely worker Marija, transform and photograph you in the style of the last century.

"Vintage photo souvenir is a combination of love for Zagreb, history and, above all, authentic costumes with which you can dive into the past and create a dear memory with family or dear friends," said Dino and Andrea.

The studio opened in June last year, and when you walk inside, you feel like you’ve stepped into the past. From antique dresses, hats, and gloves to fans, umbrellas, and music that completes your experience. As Dino and Andrea say, the trips inspired them the most.

"While traveling, we had the opportunity to experience such a similar experience. Almost every European metropolis has one such photo studio where users can dive into the past and find themselves in a different time for a moment. We thought that our Zagreb deserves such an attraction," they said.

Their idea started primarily as a tourist offer for visitors to Zagreb, to whom they wanted to offer a touch of old Zagreb and from the time of Marija Juric Zagorka and characters from her novels.

"We are extremely pleased with the good response of locals who want to give themselves and others something different and unusual. All generations are coming - the youngest client was eight months old, and the oldest 85. There is great interest from young couples who give each other romance photography for a birthday or wedding anniversary, and there are more and more inquiries about bachelorette parties and collaborations for vintage-style wedding invitations, ” said Dino and Andrea.

Dino leads the technical side of things in the studio; the creative part that deals with decoration and costumes is organized by his wife Andrea, and on the first line in contact with clients is their worker, the always in a good mood Marija.

In the studio, you have the right to choose the desired dress, and if in the sea of beautiful costumes you do not know what to choose, they will be delighted to help and advise you.

"Every client who comes to Vintage Photo Studio first starts choosing clothes in which they want to be photographed. There are about 20 costumes from various historical periods and, of course, in various sizes. The clothes are simply tailored, with rubber bands or velcro, to wear them over your own clothes, so it is unnecessary to take them off. "All options are possible, clients choose themselves, but there is also Marija, who is very happy to help with her experience and advice so that clients can easily choose a costume that will meet their expectations," said Dino and Andrea.

Of course, it all depends on the wishes of the clients, and the scene sets up very quickly, within minutes. The whole process of dressing, posing and taking a photo takes about 30 minutes.

Most of the costumes were sewn by their friend, the designer Nikolina Ribarić, and some came from England and America. In some cases, the props were bought at antique fairs and were also gifts from satisfied customers.

"At the beginning, we focused primarily on the period of Marija Juric Zagorka, so the first dresses were made. There are also dresses with inserts in the form of a pillow placed on the back so that the dress protrudes. Since the girls were interested in other periods, we later expanded the range and started with crinolines and historical figures. We combined the costume of Francis Joseph and Empress Sisi. Some original details were added to his costume, such as original Austro-Hungarian medals," said Andrea.

“One of the more sought-after dresses is the dress we procured from the street closet, but since it’s an original from the old days, it’s size XS,” Andrea says.

The next dress sought is from America and is worn on a six-reel crinoline. She is more inspired by the American Civil War period as in the series ‘North and South’, the films ‘Gone with the Wind’ and similar.

You will receive the photos as a souvenir, and you can also get them by e-mail. Prices depend on the number of people who come for the photoshoot, and the cost of one photo with one A4 person in the passe-partout is 150 kuna, and up to 350 kuna for more people.

"Photo Session clients often give us as a surprise gift, so the most demanding person is the one who doesn't know what to expect and pleasantly surprise. We are happy that so far, all the reactions have been positive. We are no luckier than clients' satisfied faces when they see themselves in crinolines and costumes and finally enjoy their vintage photography," said Dino and Andrea.

For the future, they say, they continue on the path they set out on and hope to strengthen the tourist season in the city of Zagreb again.

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August 7, 2020 - Trg Bana Josipa Jelacica, Zrinjevac, Europski trg and Ul. Augusta Cesarca will bloom brightly with banners at the International Flag Festival next week

Zagreb will erupt with colour this August as the city welcomes its first International Flag Festival. Ban Jelačić Square, Zrinjevac park, Europe Square and Ulica Augusta Cesarca will be covered in eye-catching banners made by artists from Argentina, Uruguay, Finland, Russia, India, Italy, Canada, USA, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia.


© Međunarodni festival umjetničkih zastavica / 

Trial runs for the International Flag Festival have taken place in previous years as part of the popular Cest Is d’Best Festival. However, the adornments have proved such a popular addition to city parks and streets that the run of flags has been expanded and given its own dedicated event.

Artists from over 20 countries will take part in this year’s inaugural event. The theme for the 2020 edition is European Identity and Europe Intimately. Each artist will deliver their own vision of what Europe means to them.


© Međunarodni festival umjetničkih zastavica / International Flag Festival

Keep an eye out for the festival of flags in the Croatian capital from Monday. It’s doubtful you’ll be able to miss the wonderful display! The International Flag Festival runs from 10th August to 20th August.