One of the oldest shopping centres in Zagreb, Kaptol Centar, located very near the centre of the town on Tkalčićeva and Nova Ves streets, is about to be closed for renovation. Some of the stores will need to be closed down before the autumn, which is why they have decided to have sales at significant discounts, with up to 70 percent off.

The facility's owner, the Austrian Supernova Group which has recently taken over the centre, along with several others (as we've already reported), wants to refresh its appearance and announces that in the future it will be even more rich in terms of the content and what the centre will offer to its visitors.

Luka Filipović writes for tportal about the rumours that started spreading about the centre being permanently closed, not just renovated, but the sources from Supernova Group refuted that. The construction works in the centre are scheduled to start in September of this year, and the projected completion of the works is foreseen for late 2020. It will include only the work on the interior of the centre, without any interventions to the exterior and the facades of the building.

Kaptol Centre was opened to the public in February 2000, and it was one of the first major shopping centres in Zagreb - and remains to this day the closest one to the city centre.

Some of the stores and/or services present in the centre will not close down during the renovation (some will be closed just briefly or will have to change location within the centre), and those are: Kaptol Boutique Cinema, Et Cetera, kindergartens Maleni Talenti and Educarena, OrlandoFit Fitness Kaptol, Bilić Vision, Husar & Tomčić škola pjevanja (singing school), Opium Hair salon & Opium Pets, Bonkulović Delicatessen, Svijet Medija, Konzum and bars: Beer Bar, Khala restaurant & bar, Barbieri’s restaurant and the Jimmy Woo cafe bar.

The garage, a popular place to leave your car if you want to drive to the centre of the city, will remain open, as will any of the offices located in the centre. 

ZAGREB, July 13, 2019 - When comparing a state of affairs in Zagreb's social policy in Zagreb in 2018 and 2017, it is evident that unemployment was reduced by more than one-fifth, the number of social welfare beneficiaries dropped by about 8% and the number of beneficiaries receiving benefits from the City of Zagreb fell as well.

The City of Zagreb's Welfare Council and the CERANEO - Centre for the Development of Non-Profit Organisations, on Friday presented a comparative social picture of the City of Zagreb.

The head of the city department for social welfare, Romana Galić, said that the document presented indicators of the quality of life in Zagreb which serve as the basis for taking necessary actions and implement social policies.

This is the first time we compared the situation from year to year and this comparison indicates that there are fewer beneficiaries in the social welfare system in 2018 compared to 2017, said Galić.

Presenting some key welfare trends, CERANEO's Iva Mrdeža underscored that according to some estimates, the city population increased by 1.61% in 2017 compared to 2011 however the population is also ageing.

In 2017, 56.2% of city's population was aged between 25 and 64, 18% were in the age cohort above 65 and the age cohort between 15 to 24 is smallest.

An analysis of households indicates a decrease in the divorce rate and a slight growth in the number of marriages. In 2017 the number of marriages was 4.9 per 1,000 inhabitants

The net average wage of those employed in the city amounted to 6,962 kuna in 2017, or 15.32% higher than the national average. Unemployment was reduced by 20.5% in 2017, whereas in 2018 it was cut by 22.3%.

CERANEO introduces itself as "a think tank organization that collects, analyses and investigates problems in the area of social policy, promoting innovative approaches in addressing these issues, explores and advocates for greater role of civil society."

More Zagreb news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

July 11, 2019 - Help Teodora Lazovic, a fantastic asset for Croatian-Korean tourism, win this language contest and a trip to Korea. 

Firstly, congratulations, Korea - what a great idea and way to promote your language. Something that Croatia could imitate, perhaps. Invite Korean-speaking foreigners around the world to send in a video about themselves and their connection to Korea - in Korean. The winner receives a trip to the country they have fallen in love with.

And a young lady from Zagreb is in pole position to win - and you can help Teodora Lazovic over the line by liking and commenting on her video below. Even though I don't speak a word of Korean, her self-taught Korean sounds incredible. Read on!

This year has been a great year for Croatian – Korean relations, starting with Korean Air’s establishment of the first direct line from Incheon to Zagreb, to opening both the Croatian tourism board office and the Croatian Consulate in Seoul. The tourism board must be doing something right with Koreans being by far the most numerous tourist group in Zagreb and topping the tourist charts in Split and Dubrovnik as well. This has all resulted in a joint Korean-Croatian police force cooperation from July to September in these three cities as part of the Safe Tourism Season project.

Croatia has yet another surprise for Korea this season and it’s a Croatian girl who speaks fluent Korean. You might think you read it wrong, but if you don’t believe me, go and see it for yourself. Just 2 days before the deadline, Teodora entered the 4th KBS World Radio Korean language contest and managed to jump from last to first place in less than 24 hours. The competition is international, and she is so far the only representative of the Ex-Yu region. The only three other European countries represented are Turkey, Germany and France.

With no certified Korean language course in Croatia, learning from her own room is an accomplishment that we slowly begin to see globally with millennials learning everything online from their homes. A good reason to support her in this competition is not just the effort she put in learning such an unrepresented and exotic language in Croatia but also her passion for promoting Croatia in Korea. The only evaluation criteria for the preliminary round are views and likes on the YouTube video, and if you still haven’t clicked on the link up there, here are some other great reasons to think about streaming it instead.

Her first encounter with Korean culture was taekwondo that she learnt from the only Korean trainer in Croatia, Mr. Hong in Taekwondo club Dubrava. Her love for Korea was further ignited by the phenomenon that is globally known as Korean Wave, a strategically planned promotion of Korean culture through Korean entertainment industry, mainly K-pop and Korean dramas. From just fun and games, she went straight business and made her dreams come true by visiting Korea, working with Korean embassy on various occasions and for a while for Uniline, the best DMC company in Croatia in 2019.

Last year in February she was the youngest tour leader to ever lead Croatian Olympic Committee on their trip, this time around to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Last July, she started Korea Croatia Events, a student event management organization focused on Korea-Croatia related events, from K-pop parties, educational workshops and film screenings filling up Cineplexx Cinemas in their full capacity in both Zagreb and Split as well as Kino Valli in Pula (more than 3000 sold tickets) to numerous other successful events in less than a year of their establishment. With a wish of becoming a representative of Croatia in Korea and a through guide for Koreans in Croatia, we think she has a bright and busy future ahead.

Good luck!

Check out Teodora's video entry below and show your support by liking and commenting.

For more news about Croatian-Korean links, check out the dedicated TCN section.

ZAGREB, July 10, 2019 - President of the Zagreb City Assembly Drago Prgomet of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) on Wednesday said that HDZ councillors do not wish to see amendments to the city's town planning that would envisage building a high rise complex where the Zagreb Trade Fair and racecourse are located.

He said that the HDZ will demand that whatever is to be built in that locality is appropriate for a city that is a central European metropolis. "We don't want to build a New York here, nor do we want to build a Belgrade on the Sava River," he underscored.

Reporters asked Progmet what HDZ's attitude would be toward the project dubbed "Zagreb's Manhattan" if the people were against it, and he said that HDZ would respect the will of the people.

"If citizens say they agree or don't agree with something at a referendum, then that is literally binding for us. Until there is a referendum, the City Assembly will make decisions, including regarding town planning, which only sets out prerequisites for certain changes regarding construction in Zagreb," he said.

He asserted that HDZ was very responsible in the process of adopting the city's town plan and that it is generally for adopting a new one, provided procedure is respected.

In March this year, the city authorities said that Eagle Hills, a group of investors from Abu Dhabi, was the likely strategic investor in a possible development project colloquially called Manhattan.

More Zagreb news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

July 10, 2019 - For Croatians, July 16, 2018, is a date that is saved in our memory bank for a lifetime. One year later, the unity, pride, and happiness experienced in Croatia then will be recreated. 

Like yesterday, we remember Croatia’s outstanding World Cup in Russia, which secured them a spot in history books after they came home with the silver medal. 

“There is no better feeling than being a Croat. This is a historic match for us, not just for the 22 of us here, but for the whole country. Tomorrow, we will have 4.5 million on the pitch,” said Ivan Rakitić before the big final last year to 24 Sata. 

But even before that last game in Russia, Croatia already won the hearts of football fans around the world, whether they had Croatian blood or not. Win or lose, the only way the fans could show their appreciation was with a spectacular welcome on July 16, 2018,after an incredible World Cup campaign in Russia. More than half a million people ran to the streets of Zagreb and waited more than five hours for the team bus to make it from the airport to Ban Jelačić square, which was followed by a series of ‘welcome home’ parties across the country in the weeks after. 

But it has been one year since the summer of a lifetime; one year since Zlatko Dalić and his team met France in the final on July 15th, and one year since Croatians near and far pushed to the streets to show their pride. 

Thus, Ivan Rakitić is urging Croatians to remember the summer of a lifetime, awaken the red and white checkers in their heart, and get out on the streets of Croatia once again to remember this pertinent date in Croatian history. 

“On July 16, everyone put on your checkers and head out to the streets. Let’s celebrate the day of unity, pride, and happiness. Croatia is full of life, let's show it,” Rakitić said in a video he posted on his Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

Obucite kockice i izađite na ulice, obilježimo 16.7. Dan zajedništva, ponosa i sreće....Hrvatska puna života ???? #iznadsvihhrvatska #vatreni #kockice

A post shared by Ivan Rakitic (@ivanrakitic) on Jul 9, 2019 at 5:28am PDT

Zlatko Dalić and Lovre Kalinić also invited Croatians to take part in the new celebration. 

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

ZAGREB, July 9, 2019 - International university professors and experts for urban planning have sent an appeal to members of the Zagreb City Council urging them to reject the proposed amendments to the city's general spatial plan that envisage the implementation of the so-called "Zagreb Manhattan" project on the banks of the Sava River.

INURA presents itself as "a network of people involved in action and research in localities and cities" and the network "consists of activists and researchers from community and environmental groups, universities, and local administrations, who wish to share experiences and to participate in common research". INURA, founded in 1991 in Salecina, Switzerland is a network with a self-organizing, non-hierarchical, decentralized structure.

The network expresses concern over the information that Zagreb may follow the example of cities that have privatised and partly damaged their belts along coasts or river banks.

They also warn that the project was being agreed to behind closed doors and that the general public has not been provided with sufficient information.

In March this year, the city authorities said that Eagle Hills, a group of investors from Abu Dhabi, was the likely strategic investor in a possible development project colloquially called Zagreb's Manhattan.

More Zagreb news can be found in the Politics section.

July 8, 2019 - Zagreb joined the European Pesticide Free Town network last year. Will Varazdin be next?

One of the things I have appreciated most about moving from the island of Hvar to Varazdin in northern Croatia has been the diversity of people I come into contact with. I love Hvar (and am currently enjoying that endless sunshine) but with an economy so focused on tourism, it is not exactly representative of daily life in the rest of Croatia. And as TCN moves away from a main focus on tourism to other aspects of life, it has been fascinating to learn of various initiatives around the country, and to meet people whose passions are far away from tourism. 

I have a friend who lives in Varazdin and commutes to Zagreb each day, and we have a nice chat as we drive in together on the days when I have business in Zagreb. He has introduced me to various people and ideas, including Natlija Svrtan of Earth Trek (Zemljane Staze in Croatian), an environmental group which is working on - among other things - getting rid of the use of pesticides in public places in the towns and cities of Croatia. I asked Natlija to write a piece for TCN on the subject. Here it is. Will Varazdin and other Croatian towns and cities follow Zagreb's lead?  

Pesticide Free Zagreb – safe for citizens, excellent for biodiversity

Zagreb is Pesticide Free Town – will other towns in Croatia follow the example?

Since February 2018, Zagreb has been a Pesticide Free Town – which means that Zagreb does not use pesticides in public places.

The Mayor of Zagreb, Mr. Milan Bandić has recognized this initiative as a valuable contribution to improving the living conditions of citizens of Zagreb. Therefore, Mr. Bandić signed the Pledge with which he commits to phase out pesticides in public places.  With this step, the citizens of Zagreb can enjoy lying on the grass without worrying if they are inhaling dangerous toxins, and their pets can run around without having allergies and acute poisoning from chewing the grass.

By signing this Pledge, Zagreb has become a member of European Pesticide Free Towns Network, a network of European towns who replaced pesticides with sustainable, non-hazardous alternatives. This Network is established by PAN Europe, together with its member organizations. Pesticide-free towns have teamed up within this Network with the aim of creating a platform for linking and sharing experiences, and effectively supporting cities in transition.

The use of pesticides in public places is considered to be unnecessary. While gardeners in Pesticide Free Towns use mechanical technics such as hand weeding, or machine treatment with hot water or steam, biologists and city leaders are trying to promote the “return of Nature back to the towns”, by convincing people that, for example, plants on the pavements are not “an ugly scene”, and that native wildflowers are as beautiful as those cultivated. With accepting native plants, and by accepting so-called weeds on lawns, we are contributing to biodiversity and to the return of pollinators, besides sparing the animals of direct poisoning.

Pesticides have multiple negative effects: 

 - Pesticides have a direct impact on human health, and although the effects of pesticide use do not show directly and at the moment of consumption, pesticides certainly have a significant impact on human health. They are carcinogenic, cause non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, affect reproductive health - conceiving problems, cause abdominal pain, obesity, diabetes, allergies, neurological problems, agitation, asthma, Parkinson's disease, and many other diseases and disorders. 

- The application of pesticides is never limited to the area for which the pesticide application is intended, but the effects of pesticides are spread far beyond the scope of application. Pesticides spread with air and water after being washed out by irrigation or after rain. Unfortunately, in almost all tested water samples (in Western European countries) residues of pesticides were found.

- Pesticide cause direct harm to animals and insects that inhale or digest pesticides, or eat animals and bugs that are intoxicated by pesticides; this causes the imbalance in nature by killing bugs which are, or predators, or the food for other animals; direct harm applies especially to amphibians and fish which have permeable skin and therefore absorb toxins with their whole body surface. By choosing alternatives to pesticides, the impact on soil, air and water pollution, especially the groundwater that is a source of potable water is eliminated. Animals and plants are not affected by these toxins, and the biodiversity is improved.

In 2018. the Earth Trek association conducted a campaign urging all the cities in the Republic of Croatia to follow the examples of cities in Western Europe countries. Zagreb and Ozalj are those who committed to phasing out pesticides.

In the Town of Varaždin the use of pesticides is not banned. 

Varaždin has beautiful parks and green areas which are probably treated with pesticides. An especially endangered group are children – who run around grass, roll on it and expose themselves directly to pesticides.

Since the use of pesticides is not limited only to the application spot (which was proven by taking the soil samples of children’s playgrounds), children are exposed to dangerous toxins, even if those were not applied in kindergartens, or on the playgrounds. Especially worrying is the fact that most of these toxins are endocrine disruptors and have long-term effects on health.

The town of Varaždin hasn’t responded to our request to sign the Pledge. 

We haven’t received the explanation on cancelled meeting in September last year, accusations of writing inaccurate allegations on our web page, nor the promised notification after planning to ask the Town’s Utility Company for an explanation of pictures we took in May 2018.

Earth Trek wishes the best for the citizens of Varaždin. Besides the elimination of toxic substances from public areas, air, soil and ground water, the transition to a pesticide free concept would open new job positions, and would also promote the Town of Varaždin trough Pesticide Free Towns marketing tools.  

We believe the health of the citizens should be everyone’s first concern, and even though it seems that the use of pesticides is the cheapest way of green areas maintenance, the externalities show that the costs of the treatment of the illness caused by the use of pesticide cost the society and the government even more. 

It takes time for the pesticides to decompose, particularly for those persistent, and it takes time for nature the re-establish its balance – that’s why we need to act immediately and start applying sustainable systems, in order to leave a healthy world to our children.

For more information about Earth Trek in Croatia, visit the official website.

ZAGREB, July 7, 2019 - The Zagreb Philharmonic and the Music Youth of Novi Sad cultural institution have launched a joint, EU-funded project of cross-border cooperation during which the Zagreb Philharmonic will stage 24 concerts in the eastern Croatian towns of Ilok and Vukovar and in Novi Sad and Subotica, in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, performing music from Charlie Chaplin's films The Kid and The Circus.

Speaking at the launch of the project in Ilok on Friday, Zagreb Philharmonic director Mirko Boch said that this was one of the most important events in the history of the Zagreb Philharmonic, organised in cooperation with the Music Youth of Novi Sad with which the Zagreb Philharmonic had already successfully cooperated.

"Even though they are old, The Kid, made in 1921, and The Circus, made in 1928, are actually timeless movies as is the music composed for them. The original score will be performed by our 50 musicians under the baton of Maestro Krešimir Batinić," said Boch, adding that he hoped the project would contribute to what the region could offer in terms of cultural tourism.

The project will start in Novi Sad, with two concerts a day to be staged on September 3, 4 and 5, followed by concerts in Ilok on September 9, 10 and 11, while concerts in Subotica and Vukovar will be staged in May and July 2020.

The head of the Music Youth of Novi Sad, Milan Radulović, said that Novi Sad, this year's European Youth Capital which in two years' time will hold the title of European Capital of Culture, was eagerly awaiting the concerts by the Zagreb Philharmonic.

Zagreb Philharmonic conductor Batinić said that the project would be a challenge as well as a great experience because the orchestra would be performing music from the two Chaplin films while they were screened, which, he said, would require great concentration on the part of the conductor.

More culture news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

July 5, 2019 - It’s another busy year for Croatian airports, which saw the busiest June in history. 

Rijeka Airport continues to grow each year and saw a record increase in passengers and operations compared to June 2018, reports Novi List. 

"After the successful 2018, when Rijeka Airport broke all records, achieving a total turnover of 183,606 passengers and a growth in traffic of almost 30%, this summer season also opened with great news.

Namely, Rijeka Airport can boast the busiest June to date and has increased passenger traffic by 37% as compared to June 2018, while traffic operations accounted for 40% higher turnover compared to the previous year,” the airport said. 

These excellent achievements are an excellent introduction to the season, in which they expect 200,000 passengers. 

The reason for the increase is the introduction of new lines for Belgrade, Munich, and Marseille, but also an increase in the number of existing carriers, in particular, Transavia for Eindhoven, which increased by 350% compared to last season's number of operations,” they added.

Avio Radar reports that Dubrovnik Airport also recorded a stellar June, which saw 415,876 passengers, which is 50,528 more passengers than last year. Thus, Dubrovnik Airport welcomed a passenger growth of 13.83% last month. 

The first direct line from the United States to Croatia operated by American Airlines has significantly contributed to Dubrovnik’s success. 

Dubrovnik Airport has recorded an increase in traffic in each month this year. In the first half of the year, 1,059,564 passengers traveled through the airport, which is 157,184 more passengers than last year, or a growth of 17.42%. 

Split Airport welcomed 513,706 passengers or an increase of 8.2% for a record June, and in the first six months of 2019, they welcomed 1,102,118 passengers, which is up 8%. 

Ex Yu Aviation reports that Zagreb Airport saw 336,618 passengers in June, which is an increase of 1.5% compared to last year. In the first half of the year, Zagreb Airport handled 1,534,105 passengers, which is up 4.2%, or an additional 62,477 compared to 2018.

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

In spite of the extremely high temperatures in June and now in early July, the streets of Zagreb are filled with tourists, zagreb.info writes, who are breaking the tourism records of the capital.

While the most oft-repeated cliche about the shortcoming of Croatian tourism is just selling "the sun and the sea", Zagreb is successful, and it doesn't have the sea as the selling point. Without the sea around, the sun can be more of a liability when it gets really hot!

So, what has Zagreb done to make up for its obvious lack of the seaside? They've created a bunch of events taking place during the summer, that the tourist agencies can use to attract the tourists. And while Advent in Zagreb still remains the biggest tourist event for the Croatian capital, other events have helped Zagreb outgrow many other towns in Croatia, some of them located on the seaside and with a much longer tourist tradition. Zagreb has managed to find its position on the long list of the European city-break destinations, in all seasons.

The recently reported numbers prove that trend: in April of 2019 more than 10.000 more arrivals have been recorded in Zagreb, compared to April 2018. In the same period, more than 24.000 more overnight stays have also been recorded! Most tourists come to Zagreb from Korea, which is not surprising if you've recently taken a walk around the city centre. In April alone this year, they accounted for more than ten thousand arrivals. Almost seven thousand tourists came to Zagreb from Italy this April, and Germany and China follow.

The number of arrivals is continuously growing in 2019, as well as the total yearly number of arrivals since 2014! It is to be expected that the trend will continue in the really hot months of the year, as last year over 160.000 arrivals were recorded in Zagreb. A lot of those tourists do make their way to the seaside, but the tourist workers of Zagreb have found the way to keep them in the city for a few days, which is what makes those numbers so impressive.

Once the hot days of summer are over, we'll start getting ready for the craziness of Advent in Zagreb in December, which can be expected to break more tourism records.

Read more about Zagreb on our dedicated Zagreb page!