Excellent news for one Zagreb company as its success leads to the opening up of yet another office abroad, this time across the Atlantic in no less than the Big Apple - New York, USA.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of February, 2019, the key person and the manager of the Zagreb company's brand new American office is Mick de Meijer, a former executive director of several marketing agencies and a person with very strong experience in two key areas - project management and business development.

Zagreb's Q IT software company, which is one of the fastest growing IT companies in Europe according to Deloitte, has been operating at a new location since the beginning of this year. Their sixth global office was opened in New York, the digital hub of the eastern coast of the United States. The office is located in the very centre of New York, more precisely in Manhattan, and in addition to this location, this Croatian company still continues to operate from Zurich, Oslo, Belfast, Los Angeles, and of course from Zagreb, where the company's headquarters are located.

In his twelve years of hard work in the field, Mick de Meijer has successfully consulted more than 100 companies and worked directly with a variety of enormous and highly respected brands such as Victoria's Secret, Trojan, and Heinz.

So far, this Zagreb company has successfully helped a number of American companies with their technology development, of which, companies such as the United States Postal Services, Facebook, Walmart and Coca-Cola should definitely be mentioned. They have worked in different manners for these gigantic American companies, ranging from genialising their employment process to dealing with the system that employees use in their daily work.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for much more on Croatian companies, products and services, as well as information on doing business and the overall investment climate in Croatia. If it's just the capital you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow.

In recent business circles, unofficial information has emerged that Starbucks, one of the world's most famous coffee chains, is finally coming to Croatia. More specifically, the chain is said to be coming to the shopping center in the popular Cvjetni Trg in Zagreb, which the Austrian Supernova company took over from the entrepreneur Tomislav Horvatinčić, reports Novac.hr on February 19, 2019. 

Although Horvatinčić, or his company Hoto, sold the complex in the center to the Austrian company, he kept the underground garages at the location and remained as a leaseholder for the My Way restaurant, which opened in 2016.

Allegedly, the My Way restaurant in the center is due to close in March and is precisely where the new Starbucks could settle. 

Blažena Lokin, a spokesperson for Supernova, confirmed at least that much. 

“At this point, we are not able to confirm, nor reject the possibility of the arrival of that particular or any other tenant in that space. I can officially confirm that the Supernova Group and the Hoto Cvjetni company have terminated the Lease Agreement in connection with the restaurant My Way,” said Lokin.

Lokin added that Supernova is currently talking with major foreign brands for the space and that they desire to bring Croatia “something that we still do not have, something different."

The unofficial news about the arrival of Starbucks in Croatia began to circulate after it was announced that one would open in Serbia as well, at the Rajićeva Shopping Center, in the first half of this year. 

Since AmRest is the Starbucks representative in Serbia and has opened around 300 Starbucks cafes across Europe, they were consulted for information about the potential of a Zagreb branch.

“The arrival of Starbucks in Serbia was confirmed in November, but as far as our representation in Croatia is concerned, we can only comment at this point that we cannot comment,” said Krunoslav Stančić from the AmRest marketing department, who also represents the American fast-food chain KFC.

Aleksandar Erceg, head of the Center for Franchise at the Center for Entrepreneurship in Osijek, revealed that a group of Croatians interested in bringing Starbucks tried this less than a year ago.

“There are only a handful of people in Croatia who can finance such a large company as Starbucks,” Erceg said, adding that Starbucks is interesting for Zagreb, but that only one location for them is not marketable.

Denis Ćupić, chairman of the Westgate shopping center's property management department, agrees.

“I’m not optimistic. External franchises work, but not with us. See Burger King or KFC. If you do not have at least ten outlets, do not waste your time,” said Ćupić, citing Borislav Škegra's example and failed attempts to establish Subway, an American sandwich bar that had to close the doors of all six outlets in 2009.

To confirm the unofficial news, Novac.hr also contacted Starbucks Austria, which is in charge of Central Europe, though they were unable to get an immediate answer.

Otherwise, the first announcements of Starbucks coming to Croatia circulated back in 2010, and then, the first cafe was to open at Arena Center. However, the plans were suddenly withdrawn because Croatians, known for taking their time while drinking coffee, were not ready to accept the "coffee-to-go" culture. 

This culture also encouraged the British coffee franchise Costa Coffee, which opened its first cafe in Split in 2008, followed by two more in Zagreb, though all of them closed a few months later.

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

February 18, 2019 - Croatian media is reporting that Croatian tourism organisations have been defrauded of 45,000 euro, but the real story is a lot more interesting.

(Editor's note - a big thank you to Goran Rihelj from HR Turizam, who first alerted us to the story several days ago. A lot of Goran's research is included, and Croatian language readers can find his text on the subject here - his story will appear tomorrow and the link added). 

It is not the first time in the history of conferences that an organiser has cancelled or disappeared with the money. 

But could it be the first time that an organiser has managed to persuade a tourist board to host an event in Croatia after they already proved their unreliability by cancelling several major international conferences where the most prominent Croatian names were due to attend? 

The Croatian media is today awash with stories of how a British couple organising a tourism conference, CETS Summit (Central European Tourism Summit in Zagreb) have disappeared without trace, taking with them at least 45,000 euro of tourist board money with them. 

After Goran mentioned the fact that the event website had disappeared and exhibitors had been contacting him asking if they knew anything about the conference or how they could get their money back, I decided to take a closer look into the event and its British organisers, Andy and Lu Buchanan. 

The relationship between Andy Buchanan and Croatia goes back a little beyond this failed CETS Summit. Indeed, here is Zlatan Muftic from the Zagreb Convention Bureau speaking in Abu Dhabi at the first (and only) World Halal Travel Summit back in 2015. A successful event organised by Andy Buchanan's company, the same organiser at the proposed CETS Summit in Zagreb.

So far, so good. 

And then things started to go a little wrong. The 2016 World Halal Travel Summit and the inaugural International Travel Week Abu Dhabi (ITW), organised by Buchanan, were both postponed due to regional tensions until 2017 and merged into one.

The confirmed 2017 Croatian attendance for ITW Abu Dhabi 2017 was strong. 

"For now, participation at ITW Abu Dhabi is confirmed by 12 Croatian representatives: Bagatin Clinic, Specialty Hospital Arithera, Specialty Hospital Akromion, Croatian Tourism Board, Zagreb Tourism Board, Kvarner Tourism County Board, Kvarner Health Cluster, Međimurje Tourism Board, Municipality Krapina-Zagorje, Confutura agency, Terme Sv. Martin, IQ Cure resort, organized by Arabco Projects - official representative of ITW Abu Dhabi for Croatia and Adria region."

The conference was cancelled two weeks before it was due to take place.

And so, after two years of postponed and cancelled conferences, official Croatian confidence in the company to deliver was so high that it was agreed to engage Buchanan's company to hold a VERY ambitious tourism conference in Zagreb called CETS Summit (Central European Tourism Summit). Diamond sponsors of the event were the Croatian National Tourist Board, Zagreb Tourist Board, City of Zagreb and Croatia Airlines. Both tourist boards were well aware of the cancelled events in Abu Dhabi in 2016 and 2017. 

(Andy Buchanan, photo source www.4seasonscroatia.com) 

Buchanan was convincing after the success of the 2015 halal summit, even having ITB Berlin announce a partnership with ITW Abu Dhabi in October 2017.  The partnership lasted just a month until ITW Abu Dhabi 2017 was cancelled, as was confirmed in an email to TCN last week by ITB Berlin PR Manager for Corporate Communication, Julia Sonnemann.

"With regard to ITW Abu Dhabi, ITB Berlin occupied the role of marketing and alliance partner, but was not responsible in any way either for planning or staging the event. Over the years medical and halal travel have become increasingly important segments at ITB Berlin. Networking with ITW in Abu Dhabi as marketing partner therefore made sense in order to exploit the synergies of the two fairs. Thus, only the organisers of ITW can comment on the reason it has been cancelled. The partnership ended by the time ITW cancelled the event. So we are not cooperating with them anymore."

As quickly as ITB Berlin distanced itself from Buchanan's company, so Zagreb seemingly embraced it. After two years of non-delivery in Abu Dhabi, Buchanan's Cacti Expo was engaged to deliver "Central Europe's largest travel trade event."

In December. 

During Advent in Zagreb. 

When Zagreb is not exactly empty. 

Or businesses focused on business.

When I questioned the timing with the organisers, I was told that it was a deliberate decision from the tourist boards to hold it at the beginning of Advent to show that Croatia was 'Full of Life' all year round. 

It seemed that the genius idea to hold the inaugural largest travel trade event in December when Zagreb was going to be full did not seem that appealing to conference participants, and Lu Buchanan explained to the media that it had been decided to reschedule the event for May 2019.

Industry experts I have spoken to have expressed their surprise at the size of the project for a first-time exhibition in a new location in December - 12,000m2 is a lot of space to fill. Too much, as it turned out. 

"We believe that there will be more available rooms in the hotels in May, and spring offers opportunities for more sightseeing in both Zagreb and in its surroundings, as well as in other parts of Croatia, which are also in the CETS Zagreb program," Buchanan explained.

It is always reassuring when you have both the Zagreb and national tourist boards involved that nobody is quite sure when might be the best month for available beds for a major international conference. 

And so the event was rescheduled for May 7-8, 2019, with a welcome photo of Zagreb snow to get the delegates into that warm Spring feeling. 

The company behind Cacti is based in Malaga, Spain. While Lu Buchanan stated to the media that Cent Euro Fairs SL has been trading for 25 years, this would appear to be news to the Spanish tax authorities, According to online records, the company is allegedly just one year old (formed on 25 January, 2018, a few days after the CETS team first contacted me), with a start-up capital of 3,000 euro and is yet to file any taxes.

The CETS Summit is due to take place in May. The website has disappeared (it is not totally offline - there was some recent activity after we started looking into the story, as permissions for documents available on the site suddenly changed), the organisers are not contactable, and the tourist boards and other partners have quietly removed all mention of the conference from their websites.

Is it necessary to let people know that the conference has been cancelled? Apparently not. 

News of the failed conference broke in the Croatian media last night, with some 45,000 euro apparently lost. A number which I suspect is the tip of the iceberg, as several other exhibitors have contacted us for information in recent days. 

The 45,000 euro cited in the Croatian media refers only to 16,500 paid by the Croatian National Tourist Board for a 50m2 and 29,100 euro by the Zagreb Tourist Board. There were many other tourist boards, both local and regional, taking part in this event. My understanding is that the Kvarner region was particularly interested in preparation for Rijeka becoming the European City of Culture in 2020. And let's not forget the many non-tourist board businesses taking part. 

Or that it was not just a Croatian event, but a regional one. HINA reports that the national tourist boards of Slovenia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Hercegovina were also taking part, as well as presumably some other businesses and tourist boards from those countries. Many will have paid their fees, but will they see them again? It is hardly a glorious advert for Zagreb as a conference centre. Suing a one-year-old company with a start-up capital of 3,000 euro where the owners have disappeared will be a challenge. 

And it is not just the exhibitors who are out of pocket. International and local staff working for CETS Summit were laid off as far back as June last year - they are all owed money. I spoke to one of them today - lots of promises of money coming. Even the expenses of their sales trips were not paid. A feature story on this will be on TCN next week. 

While efforts will no doubt continue to recover the money from a Spanish company with start-up capital of 3,000 euro and uncontactable owners, the larger question remains as to how the biggest official names in Croatian tourism could have proceeded with a conference which made little sense (as was evidenced by the lack of take-up) and with seemingly no due diligence or care that previous conferences by the same organisers had been cancelled. 

There is one more link to the story which has yet to be explained. Arabco Projects, a company based in Zagreb, has been actively trying to engage Croatian businesses in the Middle East since at least January 2015. It is still advertising itself as the certified partner of ITW Abu Dhabi. Perhaps they will have some answers. We have reached out to Arabco Projects and owner Petar Galovic, who has promised an official response to the situation with CETS, an event 'with which he has no connection.' As official partner of ITW Abu Dhabi, however, I understand that he was involved in dealing with and handling payments from Croatian participants for that cancelled event. 

One thing is for sure - this is the latest chapter in the less than glorious chapter of Croatian tourism promotion, with more wasted money. The Kings of Accidental Tourism are back.

Have you registered for CETS Summit and paid money? Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In the Zagreb hotel Panorama, the Croatia basketball team gathered to continue their qualifications for the World Cup. Croatia will play against Poland in Varaždin on February 22, while three days later, Croatia will play against Hungary, reports Index.hr on February 18, 2019. 

The team immediately hit the road to Sveti Martin for their quick preparations, for which Dražen Anzulović called up 16 players.

Two rounds before the end of the qualifications, Croatia is in an almost hopeless position. Croatia currently holds the fifth place in the group with 14 points, though only the first three teams advance to the 2019 World Cup in China. Croatia can qualify for the competition only if they win both of their games and if Poland loses to the Netherlands, the last placed team, in the final round.

"Everyone who is here, I'm sure, will give it their all, and that is how we will train and work to be ready for the games. As far as Poland is concerned, I've talked about it before, I know all the players, and I respect their quality, but I'm sure we will play much better than we did in Poland,” said Dražen Anzulovic. 

The new captain of the team, Hrvoje Perić, added: 

"It makes no sense to give some pompous statements. I'm glad to be here; I see the team is much younger than we would be otherwise and we are going to prepare with our maximum, give everything of ourselves, and hope for the best."

The match against Poland is scheduled on February 22 in Varaždin, after which the team will travel to Szombathely where they will play Hungary on February 25th at 18:30 for the last qualifying game for the World Cup. 

Lithuania is currently first place in the group with 19 points, followed by Italy with 17, Poland with 16, Hungary with 15, Croatia with 14, and the Netherlands with 13 points.

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

The first phase will include renovation of outdoor pools and outdoor terraces, technical facilities, poolside facilities, and the western and northern stands. The second phase will consist of everything else. This is how the chief of the City Economy Office Tatjana Opert explained the upcoming works on the upgrade of the Šalata swimming pool complex, reports Večernji List on February 18, 2019.

Šalata is expected to be the first major sports complex to be renovated after the establishment of the new city company called Sportski Objekti (Sports Facilities), which will be in charge of the reconstruction of depilated sports facilities in Zagreb. The new Šalata will cost between 350 and 400 million kuna, says Operta. Due to the amount of the investment, the project should be implemented in two phases, and the money will be raised from credit institutions or, in a better scenario, from European Union funds.

The project will ultimately be implemented by the project team of the new company if it is indeed set up next month. It is not expected that the works at Šalata will start this year, but tenders for construction works could be announced. The planning tender was completed in 2016.

At the time, the city authorities selected the Proarh Tri and Radionica Statike project. Two years earlier, the Faculty of Architecture and its Institute for Culture stipulated what the project solution must include and what should be taken into consideration when designing the new look of the sports complex that was initially constructed in the 1920s. The latest major reconstruction was done in the period from 1985 to 1987.

“At the time, the works included the reconstruction of the open pool, the existing tennis courts, wardrobes, boiler rooms and accompanying facilities, and other supporting infrastructure of the complex. An indoor pool was planned, but it was never built.

And now, 32 years later, the indoor pool represents the central element of the reconstruction project, that will enable swimmers to enjoy Šalata throughout the year, not just during the summer months. The plan is built an Olympic-size pool with ten lanes, and a separate smaller pool for training and diving.

The project will include the renovation of the entrance area and the cashier office, the staff rooms, the dressing rooms, the catering section, the gym, a work area for the media and, if possible, a sauna. The final design of the project has not yet been defined.

According to architect Davor Mateković, they have been working on the final designs since late last year. In addition to the swimming pool complex, which will be part of the first phase, the larger renovation project will include the skating rink and the tennis courts. The new Šalata could be finished by 2025.

More Zagreb news can be found in the dedicated section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Mateja Šobak).

February 18, 2019 - The 21st round of the Croatian First League featured the Adriatic Derby between Rijeka and Hajduk. 

The 21st round of the Croatia First League was played from February 15 to 17, 2019. While the most exciting part was the Adriatic Derby between Rijeka and Hajduk, the weekend did exhibit some surprises - like Osijek struggling to get past Istra, or Lokomotiva drawing with the last-placed team. 

Without further ado, here is our Croatian First League 21st round recap. 

Lokomotiva v. Rudeš (0:0)

Lokomotiva and Rudeš met at Kranjčevićeva street stadium to open the 21st round on February 15, 2019. 

It was a rather slow game which saw no goals and no real excitement. In front of 324 fans, Lokomotiva and Rudeš drew 0:0. 

Lokomotiva is currently in 4th place with 35 points, while Rudeš is in last with 4. 

Rijeka v. Hajduk (0:0)

Rijeka and Hajduk met for the highly anticipated Adriatic Derby on Saturday, February 16, 2019, at Rujevica stadium in front of 6,527 fans. 

While Rijeka was the favorite to win, Hajduk continued with their winning mentality and made it anything but easy for Rijeka. A Hajduk goal was called back in the first half, and the game ended in a goalless draw. 

Rijeka is currently in 3rd place with 38 points, while Hajduk is in 6th with 30. 

Gorica v. Inter Zaprešić (2:2)

Gorica and Inter met in front of 1,629 fans at Radnik stadium on Saturday, February 16, 2019. 

Inter was the first to take the lead with two goals in the first six minutes by Serderov and Rak. Gorica’s Lovrić came back with one in the 11th minute for 1:2, Zwolinski missed a penalty in the 47th, and Suk came back to equalize in the 84th for 2:2.

Gorica is currently in 5th place with 31 points, while Inter is in 8th with 18. 

Osijek v. Istra 1961 (1:0)

Osijek and Istra met on Sunday, February 18, 2019, at City Garden stadium in front of 2,252 fans. 

It was another mostly unexciting game between Osijek and Istra, which saw no goals in the first half. It wasn’t until the 68th minute that Abazaj scored for a 1:0 Osijek win. 

Osijek is currently in 2nd place with 40 points, while Istra is in 9th with 16. 

Dinamo v. Slaven Belupo (3:0)

Dinamo and Belupo closed out the 21st round of the Croatian First League at Maksimir on Sunday, February 17, 2019, in front of 2,383 fans. 

While the first half went without goals, Dinamo managed three in the second - by Hajrović in the 67th, Orsić in the 78th, and Musa in the 88th. Dinamo won 3:0. 

Dinamo is currently in 1st place with 54 points, while Belupo is in 7th with 21. 

You can check out next week's games here. 

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

For the next eight years, Zagreb and its Museum of Arts and Crafts (MUO) will be a unique destination for international art lovers. The MUO has become the temporary home of a Renaissance masterpiece made by great Croatian-Venetian painter Andrija Medulić Schiavone, "King Saul being greeted in triumph after David's defeat of Goliath”, reports Večernji List on February 17, 2019.

It is an oil on wood painting made in Venice in 1540 which has never been publicly presented. Even the Medulić's 1980 monograph says that the work had been seen only in photographs. The dimensions of the painting are 92.5 x 109.8 centimetres.

During its rich history, the painting has changed many owners, from the London antique dealer Martino Colnaghi, through Prince Paul of Karađorđević in the 20th century, who sold it in 1969 together with the furniture of his villa, to a private collector in Italy, from where it appeared after 50 years at Christie's in London.

This is when Andrija Kojaković, the Dubrovnik-born entrepreneur, ambassador and collector, bought the painting. After being hidden for centuries, he decided to lend it to the MUO so that art lovers would have an opportunity to enjoy the work of the great Croatian painter. “Others who have such artworks should give them to the museums too and present them to the general public because enjoying something alone is a bit selfish,” said Kojaković at the MUO where he was joined by art historian Flora Turner-Vučetić and MUO director Miroslav Gašparović.

“I never wanted to compete at an auction when a Croatian institution or museum would be involved because I thought it was not fair. If more similar paintings appear in the future, I will certainly continue with my efforts,” said Kojaković, adding that he was just a person who enjoys things connected with Dubrovnik; he also owns a collection of old Dubrovnik money. He is also interested in paintings by British artists who painted Dubrovnik and old maps depicting the Dubrovnik Republic. “While I worked as an ambassador, I had to prove that Prevlaka is part of Croatia, and on all the old maps that is shown very clearly. That is why they are so interesting to me,” Kojaković said.

The temporary donation is a great honour for the MUO since this painting is one of just 20 confirmed works by Andrija Medulić, two of which are already located in Zagreb. “This is really an act of charity, which is not common in our society, and therefore this sends a message of how we should all do good for the community," Gašparović pointed out.

The city authorities also thanked Kojaković. “With this generous act, the MUO permanent exhibition will be considerably enriched during the next eight years, and this will certainly help this museum to remain one of the most visited museums in Croatia,” said Jelena Pavičić Vukičević, the representative of the Zagreb Mayor.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Jelena Ružić).

More Zagreb news can be found in the dedicated section.

The monument of Franjo Tuđman, Croatia’s first president, in Zagreb is becoming a regular target of political protests. In January, the Communist hammer and sickle symbol was drawn on it, and just two days ago it was hit with eggs. This was only one of many attacks on what some consider politically controversial monuments in Croatia, reports Večernji List on February 16, 2019.

The hammer and sickle symbol was drawn by Filip Drača, a 24-year-old protester who was identified by the police and reported for a misdemeanour against public order and peace. He is one of few who has been fined for his vandalism since the police very rarely find the culprits, especially if the monuments being attacked are anti-fascist. For example, we still do not know who vandalised the monument to Partisan hero Ivo Lola Ribar twice in late 2017, after which the monument’s head was stolen. The Ustasha symbol U was drawn on the monument, which has not been attacked since.

“They have forgotten that it is here, which is normal because the people who write such things are not too clever,” said one Zagreb citizen. He believes that the same will happen with the Tuđman monument. “It is a new monument, so now there are some wise guys who do not like it. They will get used to it,” he said.

Ivo Lola Ribar is not the only antifascist whose monuments have been vandalised. Similar Ustasha signs appeared a year ago on the monument to the victims of fascism at Dotrščina, the location where several thousand people were killed during the Nazi occupation of Zagreb from 1941 to 1945. This is just one of the hundreds of antifascist monuments in Croatia which have been attacked and/or completely destroyed in recent years.

Still, not all attacks against monuments are intentional, like for example the one on famous inventor Nikola Tesla. It was hit accidentally by a delivery van, so it had to be temporarily removed from the intersection of Preradovićeva St. and Masarykova St. Before it was removed for repair, some of the more irresponsible citizens liked to use it to put garbage and cigarette butt ends in it. At least no one vandalised it with primitive symbols or had his head stolen.

Interestingly, the tradition of stealing heads of monuments began in antiquity, when people would take heads of statues of people they did not like. If you do something like that in Croatia and damage the property, you can get between six months and five years of prison. Unless of course, it is an antifascist monument, in which case you can be sure no one will ever find you.

More political news can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, February 15, 2019 - With 8.5 billion kuna (1.15 billion euro) worth of EU-funded projects agreed in 2017 and 2018, the City of Zagreb takes the lead among Croatian regions in absorbing EU funds, followed by Dubrovnik-Neretva County with 4.4 billion kuna (595 million euro), the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds said on Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that a considerable increase in the number of EU-funded projects had been recorded in the term of the present government, adding that the total amount of the contracts agreed had increased from 985 million euro at the end of October 2016 to 6.75 billion euro, which is an increase of 585 percent.

Among these projects are the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, the upgrade of the Vinkovci-Vukovar railway line, the reconstruction and construction of the Dugo Selo-Križevci railway line, the modernisation of the tram infrastructure in Osijek, equipment for day hospitals and surgery wards, and projects relating to the Croatian Scientific and Educational Cloud, the Centre for Advanced Laser Techniques, the Institute of Physics and the Vučedol Archaeological Park.

More news on the EU funding in Croatia and other EU-related issues can be found in the Business section.

February 15, 2019 - Zagreb's most famous museum has a new admirer, as Atlas Obscura discovers the Museum of Broken Relationships. 

It was a simple but brilliant idea which started a franchise of museums around the world, from North America to Shanghai, but with its epicentre in Zagreb. Atlas Obscura, the website which captures the weird and wonderful places in the world recently caught up with this brilliant idea, the Museum of Broken Relationships, with a great video overview. Here is how they described it:

When a relationship ends, what do you do with the things that meant something to the both of you? You could throw it away, hoard it, or you could donate it to the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia.When a relationship ends, what do you do with the things that meant something to the both of you? You could throw it away, hoard it, or you could donate it to the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia.

The permanent museum gets objects from all over the world, each item coming tagged with a story of why it was so special to the person who donated it. Watch as co-founder Dražen Grubišić walks us through the museum’s exhibits, which function as a poignant archive of memories. 

This video is part of Breakup Week, a series we’re running on Atlas Obscura from Feb. 11-15.

Atlas Obscura describes its mission as "to inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share."

So what other wondrous things are there to explore in Croatia?

Check out some of the more unusual places in Croatia via Atlas Obscura.