Velika Gorica locals aren't happy as as yet unofficial information that ZET could charge them more to use public transport that connects them to the capital has leaked to the media.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 22nd of January, 2019, Every year, Velika Gorica ZET subsidises about ten million kuna for the Zagreb-based company to be able to connect the Croatian capital city with other nearby areas around Velika Gorica, such as Mraclin, Poljana Čička, Strmec Bukevski, Kozjača... ZET is in charge of all sixteen lines which travel to these areas, and the contract whch was initially signed is now about to expire, which is why negotiations on extensions have begun.

But the subsidy that Velika Gorica pays to ZET could, according to the first calculations which have been discussed unofficially from that company, be even higher in the coming period. The news quickly spread to local media, leading concerned Velika Gorica residents to rightfully ask: Does this mean more expensive public transport?

''That's just what we're missing! God forbid that we get new buses for the residents in the neighbourhood. They're cold inside, the wind blows from all sides, they're old and they all shake,'' reads just one of the irritated comments caused by the news about possible price increases. Those who have been using bus number 268, which they have referred to as the "line from hell" connecting Velika Gorica to Zagreb don't sound much happier, either.

"We should negotiate more convenient transportation with regard to the condition they're in - there are often defective vehicles, unpleasant drivers, constant delays or skipping departures,'' added one Velike Gorica resident, adding that the monthly workers card costs as much as 610 kuna. Still, there is no official confirmation of the ticket price increase as yet, and Velika Gorica's administration have said that they will do anything to make sure their residents don't need to pay more.

''Negotiations are in progress and we can't say anything more specifically until they're over. The expiration contract lasted for ten years, it was signed in 2009, and the signing of the next one is a matter of agreement,'' they say from Velika Gorica. This is very similar to what they are saying from ZET, and details about the contract are still as yet unknown.

''However, as of now, the quality of service and passenger satisfaction are our imperatives, and Velika Gorica and ZET are socially sensitive partners and take care of the needs of all public transport users,'' they say from ZET.

The concession contract extension, or the possibility for a new one to be signed without the announcement of a public tender was made possible by a decision by Mayor Dražen Barišić back in 2017, and the majority of that was adopted by the City Council, but only if the contract is signed under the exact same conditions as previously, so it is not yet clear how these proposed price hikes could potentially fit into a new contract.

For news and everything you need to know as and when it happens, stay up to date by following our dedicated news page. If it's just the capital and the surrounding areas you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow.

Every January, we summarize the money, new tourists, taxi and Uber-rides and joy Advent in Zagreb has brought. But this year, there's something else to count as well: the number of new restaurants opening this year in Zagreb, that first made their mark as stands on Fuliranje, the most creative part of Zagreb Advent festivities. 

Telegram.hr brings the story of the people opening those restaurants, written by Josipa Lenić. All of them are creative people, with amazing food prepared and sold by them during Advent, who have decided that they need to find a way to offer their delicacies to people of Zagreb and evergrowing number of tourists during the other 11 months of the year as well. 

Ante Ždero is listed first in the article, and his stand at Fuliranje offered traditional, homemade food that belongs to the category of your grandma would've made while you were a kid: Pasta Fagioli, "zlevanka" and other delicacies. For the restoran he and his partners decided to create a schnitzel bar, which will be called Mime's (after Ždero's grandfather), and where a family friend Teo Miš, who decided to become a profesional cook only in his fifties, will be the chef. 

Ivan Zidar is a well-known name of the Croatian culinary scene in the past several years, as he is the man behind the Mason's burgers. Those are winning awards and accolades wherever they appear, so the time has come for a restaurant to open in Zagreb, offering them year-round. In March he will open his Mason's burgers showroom in Dobri Dol in Zagreb, where all of his burgers will be available in one place - until now he's had many franchises in Croatia and Europe, but none of those had the entire gammut. 

Marta Ušljebrka is a young chef, who got her education partly in Copenhagen's Amass restaurant, and her stand at Fuliranje offered, not surprisingly, some of the traditional meals of danish cuisine. The stand was called Atelier Køkken (kitchen, translated from Danish), and that will be the name of the restaurant, when it opens in Tkalčićeva street in October. She also plans to prepare the staples of Danish cuisine, including sourdough bread she'll make herself, and famous danish smørrebrød. She plans for the restaurant to be fully sustainable and mostly organic. 

Vid Nikolić and Tena Majetić were responsible for another hit-stand on Fuliranje this year, Kansui ramen bar. There isn't much (if any) chance to have a decent ramen, creative traditional chinese soupy dish in Zagreb, but during this year's Advent several stands offered it. Among those, Vid Nikolić's was probably most talked about, and that gave him the motivation he needed to open a ramen place in Zagreb. It won't be his first restaurant in Zagreb, he was already a partner at a renowned Time restaurant. They plan to open the restaurant in April, but are still not ready to say where exactly. 

Fran Ćurković had a comfortable future lined up, with a prosperous career in banking. Then he decided to make his "sarma to go" and offer that on an Advent stand last year. It became an instant hit, his sarma sold in a bun, and there was no way for him to make as many as people wanted to buy, so for this year he decided to make something simpler - buncek (in English that's called ham hock. Things you learn, right?) and pašticada (a special Dalmatian type of beef stew). He has less defined plans for the restaurant at this point, but he wants it to be in the strict center of Zagreb, and he plans to open the restaurant within the next few months. 

Anamarija Palić and Zrinka Zajec are two sisters behind the Bread Club, and the Bread Club has been making amazing bread which is currently being served in some of the best restaurants in Zagreb. They decided to open a bistro so they used Fuliranje to test the meals they will offer in their bistro - several versions of soups in buns, various sandwiches and other delicacies, and they became an instant hit of Advent. Bread Club bistro will be opened in early February in Trakošćanska street in the Trešnjevka neighborhood in Zagreb, and it will be a bakery and a bistro in one.

There's lot of novelites to look forward on Zagreb restaurant scene this year! 

Ivan Zidar, Vid Nikolić, Ante Ždero, Marta Ušljebrka, Fran Ćurković te sestre Anamarija Palić i Zrinka Zajec

Although ZET's fifteen kuna ticket that can be purchased in vehicles has hardly been a celebrated move, the four kuna ticket is still very much a hit among public transport users.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of January, 2019, from the first day of next month, it will be possible to buy a new ticket at a lower price on ZET's buses and trams. Currently only the somewhat unpopular fifteen kuna ticket is currently available.

From February onwards, passengers on ZET's public buses and trams will be able to purchase tickets costing six and ten kuna, and the cheapest ones, standing at a price of four kuna, will still be available but only at kiosks, as opposed to on the vehicle itself.

"The tickets are currently being made because they will be different from those that can be bought from outside the vehicle and will have ''bought from the driver'' written on them,'' stated ZET's Anto Jelić.

He told Vecernji list that he believed that the six and ten kuna tickets would fully extinguish those currenty costing fifteen kuna, which have proved rather unpopular. As he explained, the new one that will be able to be bought for six kuna will be worth half an hour of travel, just like the one that one can currently buy outside of the tram or bus for four kuna.

In kiosks and sales points which are able to sell ZET tickets, you will be able to purchase a half an hour ticket costing four kuna, a one hour ticket of seven kuna and a one hour and thirty minute ticket of ten kuna. Tickets costing six and ten kuna will also be available for purchase in ZET's buses and trams themselves.

"This will now be a relief for both drivers and passengers, which is what we ultimately wanted," added Jelić.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated news page. If it's just the Croatian capital you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow.

Owing to the current influenza epidemic, the Zagreb Clinic for Infectious Diseases "Fran Mihaljević" is currently experiencing an extrarodinary state of affairs, with patients needing respirators and oxygen, and even some dying.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 17th of January, 2019, over the last 24 hours alone, four people with severe lung inflammation have been received and a total of eighteen are needing to be treated with respirators. There are hundreds of people arriving from all over Croatia, and the flu season hasn't yet reached its peak.

According to the Croatian Institute of Health, five people have died of flu, and 8,460 are currently sick enough to need treatment with this common yet potentially deadly infectious viral illness.

The Zagreb city office for emergency situations has called a media conference of the Dr. Fran Mihaljević Clinic for Infectious Diseases, at which journalists will have their questions answered and be further informed about the depth of the current situation.

The aforementioned Zagreb clinic's press conference will be held on Saturday, the 19th of January, 2019, at 10:30 in the meeting room of the administration building of the clinic in Zagreb. The topic of the conference will be the significant increase in the number of patients with severe influenza and lung inflammation hospitalised at the Dr. Fran Mihaljević Clinic for Infectious Diseases.

The head of the Institute for Intensive Medicine confirmed to Index that the situation at the Zagreb clinic has become overwhelming.

"People suffering from all over Croatia are coming to us. They're all on mechanical ventilation, there are currently eighteen patients,'' Kutleša said.

"From December the 30th until today, 26 patients with severe lung inflammation have been admitted to the clinic, except one who had bacterial meningitis. These were also complications caused by influenza. All of them either were or are still on mechanical ventilation, or on respirators,'' Kutleša explained.

As many as ten patients needed to be given oxygen when a respirator was insufficient, there were also deaths that followed.

"A patient who had lung inflammation passed away. All of the patients, including her, are between the ages of 40 and 60. Our ECMO team even went all the way to Mostar to deal with one patient who was about 40 years old. We'd especially like to thank the ministry that has provided us with eight additional respirators and two ECMO devices,'' stated Kutleša for Index.

"This situation is dramatic. We haven't had an epidemic like this since 2009. When H1N1 prevails, to the degree it has this year, it's always awful. We had another difficult year between 2009 and 2019, but it wasn't this hard,'' Kutleša says, adding that people can still get vaccinated against flu.

"It's too late for those who have already caught flu," Kutleša added.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated news page. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow.

Photos of a mysterious “rocket system,” which can be seen on the streets of Zagreb, have been making rounds on the social networks for days. The photos show what appears to be a rocket (or a missile model) pulled by a van on a special trailer. The missile, the trailer and the van are all painted in the distinctive military olive-green colour, although neither the trailer nor the van have military license plates, reports Jutarnji List on January 17, 2019.

Citizens are confused and concerned, and no one seems to know why a rocket would be driven around Zagreb.

The unusual sight was reported from numerous locations in the city. It was first seen six days ago, and last time yesterday at Vukovar Street, near the city centre.

After the news reports and worried calls from the concerned citizens, the Zagreb Police Department has issued a statement on its website, explaining that the rocket is actually a tin model owned by a 46-year-old man from Zagreb.

"Following numerous inquiries by members of the public, concerning the van with a ‘missile’ on a trailer, the Zagreb Police Department has launched an investigation and determined that the vehicle in question is a Peugeot Boxer van, with Zagreb licence plates and a trailer. The vehicle and the trailer were found today, on January 17, at about 9 am in Sveta Nedjelja, near Zagreb. It has been established that the rocket is a tin model, owned by a 46-year-old man from Zagreb. During a conversation with the owner, it was determined that he himself made the model from a sheet of tin metal. The rocket is about 10 metres long and weighs about 200 kilograms. The goal of the project is to attract the attention of potential business partners who might want to use it for promotional purposes. No elements of any misdemeanours or crimes have been established,” announced the Zagreb Police Department in the statement.

For more news on Zagreb, visit our special section.

Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Damjan Raknić). 

“The Grič Club Cinema has ceased its operations after 75 years. Thank you for your loyalty and for your visits.” This is a message posted on the building at 6 Jurišićeva Street in Zagreb, where the Grič art cinema was operating until just last week. The news has saddened numerous fans of films, but also other citizens of Zagreb who mourn the loss of one of the last old cinemas in the city, reports Večernji List on January 16, 2019.

"We could not do anything, because the building in which the cinema is located was denationalized several years ago and returned to the descendants of the owners who have now sold it. The new owner does not want to have a cinema in this space,” says art cinema director Ina Čavlina. In order to continue with the film programme, they are looking for a new venue.

“The cinema requires a large venue that is difficult to find in the city centre. But we are determined to continue with the screenings,” says Čavlina, adding that the primary source of revenue, which enabled them to operate, were grants they received from the Europa Cinemas association.

The cinema could not have operated just with the ticket proceeds, as the entrance fee they charged was only 15 kuna. The building is in bad condition, says Čavlina, and requires a thorough restoration effort.

What will happen with the building constructed in 1940 is still unknown, but the art-cinema representatives say that there is unofficial information that the building will house a small hotel, as well as an outlet for the Burger King fast-food chain. Many citizens believe that would be a shame since it would completely destroy one of the symbols of the capital city. The building was designed by famous architects Drago Ibler and Stjepan Planić, and the cinema changed many names in its history, from Rex and Kleka to Kosmaj.

In 1990, it was renamed Grič, while in 2012 it was taken over by the Culture Club association, with Ina Čavlina as director. It initially screened independent films from the whole world, while in recent years it focused more on European films.

More film news from Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Petra Balija).

As Marta Duic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 14th of January, 2019, at the end of last year, IMG Zagreb marked thirty years of hard work, this Croatian company is otherwise the only specialised manufacturer and servicer of shut-off armature, and producers of stainless steel products and other materials for the oil, gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and food industries in the country.

IMG Zagreb was founded way back in 1988 as a private company specialising in the production and service of pipe fittings, high pressure valves, and various other stainless steel products, as well as other materials for the petrochemical, pharmaceutical and food industries. Initially, they had only two employees, namely Čupić's, father and son, and they had just one machine. Today however, the story is quite different indeed, and their activities are divided into production and service management by the engineering department of this successful Croatian company.

"When we got a second machine, way back in 1992, we also got our first big order from INA for gas pumps and that's what really started the company's rise. Back then, we had three employees and we did our first big job with them, and soon we grew to six and later to nine employees. Thanks to our successful business, we also started doing business with other partners from the oil and petrochemical industries such as Siemens, Plinacro, Underground gas storage (Podzemno skladište plina), Crosco petroleum services, Pliva, Janaf, Petrokemija Kutina...'' stated Joško Čupić, the owner of IMG Zagreb.

By 2010, the number of purchased machines had risen, and the number of employees rose to 28. Today, this Croatian company has 26 machines and employs as many as 42 employees. "Our only true competition are imports, because in Croatia, besides us, there really isn't a single manufacturer of such equipment," noted Čupić. The expertise and the real specialisation of IMG Zagreb is readily recognised by their partners on foreign markets.

IMG Zagreb successfully operates on the markets of the former Yugoslavia, France, Germany, Belarus and over in the USA, where IMG Zagreb has delivered high pressure manometric valves on several occasions, while IMG Zagreb's largest turnover on the foreign market is realised in France.

"In America, we work with Alternate Energy Systems, Inc. for which we've already delivered high pressure manometric valves on several occasions. We have the largest turnover in France owing to our partner Siemens SAS, for which we have delivered goods over the last three years, with a total turnover of 561,000, 00 euro, which averages at around 187,000 euro annually.

''It's a newer fact that because of his business satisfaction with us, that partner recommended us to his partners over in Germany, so we've already received inquiries and are now working on getting work,'' said Čupić, who has the long-term goal of this Croatian company working to strengthen Croatian production in the field of pipe fittings and stainless steel products.

"The improvement of production, production facilities and the recruitment of new employees are all activities that we undertake for the purpose of the final quality and quantity of products, which is aimed at the expansion of the market,'' said Čupić.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for more on Croatian companies, products and services, as well as doing business in Croatia and the overall investment and business climate.

Click here for the original article by Marta Duic for Poslovni Dnevnik

The bids sent to the public tender were opened in early November. That is, the only bid which has been received. Tigra and Vodotehnika companies were the only ones to apply to perform the construction works on the Monument to the Homeland, which is supposed to be located between the City Hall and the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall. But they said they could do the job for 27.4 million kuna (excluding VAT), or almost six million kuna more than what the City of Zagreb initially estimated the project would cost. This prompted the city authorities to analyse the estimated cost of 21.5 million kuna (excluding VAT) for months. And finally, they have made a decision ؘ– the tender will be cancelled, and a new one announced, reports Večernji List on January 14, 2019.

This will happen, according to Dinko Bilić, the head of the City Construction Office, in early February, while the current tender, announced in August 2018, will be annulled, based on the findings and analysis of the costs by an authorised expert witness. Asked when the construction will start on the monument that should be completed by the spring of 2020 at the latest, he did not provide an answer.

Still, the monument’s author, architect Nenad Fabijanić, says that the annulment of the tender should not affect the previously planned deadlines. “The problem appeared because the cost of the works was determined two years ago, based on the main project plans, when the cost of materials and workforce in the construction sector was lower," Fabijanić says. Now the price should be corrected upwards. “If the works begin in the spring, everything would be done by late autumn. Each segment of the monument demands time, and the works should not be rushed,” adds Fabijanić.

The high price of the monument, which was particularly criticised by the opposition at the City Assembly, was explained by Mayor Milan Bandić by the complexity of the project. The oversized glass bricks will be specially produced in a Czech master workshop, following the designs of sculptor Jeronim Tišljar. The second part of the monument, a three-metre stone monolith where foreign delegations will lay wreaths, will be made from a unique Croatian stone called Adriatic Green. The third element, a 30-metre portal, will be made of particular fibre-reinforced polymer, which is resistant to most acids and corrosion, so the maintenance costs should be lower.

The new Monument to the Homeland is supposed to take over the commemorative duties from the current Altar of the Homeland at Medvedgrad, while the portal will be, according to Fabijanić, a new city gate connecting the Trnje district with the old city centre in the Lower Town. The greenery will frame the whole composition and eliminate the street noise.

More news about Zagreb can be found in our special section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Petra Balija).

The Viadukt construction company announced the sale of its stake in the concessionaire of Zagreb Airport at a starting price of seven million euro. However, according to the company’s bankruptcy manager Milorad Zajkovski, there were no interested buyers. Therefore, the company will soon announce a new call, with the same initial price, reports Večernji List on January 12, 2019.

Viadukt owns a share of 5.11 percent in the ZAIC-A Limited company, which is registered in the United Kingdom and which won the Zagreb Airport concession tender. The rest of the shares are owned by French companies Aeroports de Paris Management (ADPM) and Bouygues Batiment International (BBI), each with a stake of 20.77 percent. The same proportion of shares is owned by the Marguerite fund, while IFC, the World Bank fund, holds 17.58 percent of ZAIC. Turkish TAV Airports has a share of 15 percent.

In order to construct the new passenger terminal of Zagreb Airport and manage it, ZAIC-A established the Međunarodna Zračna Luka Zagreb (MZLZ) company, to which the rights and obligations from the concession contract have been transferred. On December 5, 2013, MZLZ took over the management of the Zagreb Airport for the next 30 years.

Zajkovski admitted that he was surprised that he did not receive a single bid for Viadukt's stake in ZAIC-A, adding that he expected other co-owners of the company to come forward and that everything would be finished quickly. However, he said that the price would remain the same in the second call.

Potential buyers must submit their annual financial reports for 2017, which will provide the basis for evaluation of whether they meet the required condition, which is that the potential buyers must have a net asset value of at least 50 million euro.

The share capital of MZLZ amounts to 543,427,700 kuna. The total investment in the new Zagreb Airport terminal is worth 331 million euro. Viadukt was one of the subcontractors in the construction of the new terminal and received jobs worth 650 million kuna.

The bankruptcy proceedings for the company, once one of the largest Croatian construction companies, were opened in October 2017. According to the latest bankruptcy administrator's report, the value of Viadukt's property is 251.7 million kuna, while movable assets amount to 395.1 million kuna.

After a court hearing, claims for liabilities amounted to 1.06 billion kuna. Given that the company's long-term and short-term assets are estimated at 596.5 million kuna, this means that liabilities are double the amount of the company’s assets, according to a report by Zajkovski published in late November.

More news on the Zagreb Airport can be found in the Travel section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Josip Bohutinski).

A monumental Serbian Orthodox church in medieval style built between 1931 and 1940 – this is how the St. Mark’s church in Zagreb’s the Upper Town, the oldest church in Zagreb and one of the symbols of the Croatian capital, is described by Google Maps, a digital network of maps used by virtually all Internet users, including many of the tourists who visit Zagreb, reports Večernji List on January 10, 2019.

Not surprisingly, many of those who decide to look for St. Mark's church have been angered by this somewhat inaccurate sentence. Some of them have left their comments, accusing Google of provocation and ignorance. Some have reported the problem, others wrote to the company’s headquarters, and some even concluded that this is someone’s joke.

However, despite numerous critical comments, Google has not yet corrected the misinformation. Comments show that it is at least several months old, and the number of angry users is getting larger. Almost not a day passes without someone writing a comment. “You can clearly see the Croatian coat of arms on the roof of the church which has great significance for the Croatian people. It is strange that Google did not check this claim, and they say they check and remove fake reviews,” says one of the comments.

Google knows about the problem and is working on it, says Grayling, a PR agency which provides services to Google in Croatia. Its employees have also reported inaccurate information.

“Different types of data found on Google Maps come from different sources. Our basic map data, such as site names, boundaries and road networks, are a combination of information obtained from third parties, public sources and users themselves. All in all, this allows for very comprehensive and updated maps, but we realise that occasional irregularities may occur. While we regularly update the map, the time it takes to update can vary,” says Google, adding that users can also edit the content. But this is not the case with the sentence related to the St. Mark’s church.

Many have attempted to correct the inaccurate information, but when they clicked on the suggestion option, they could change the location, category, object name, contact and Web address associated with St. Mark's church, but not the description of the building.

“This is an option that must have been set up by someone who has placed this information on Google Maps. But Google knows who wrote it since they trace IP addresses from which the information is written,” said IT expert Nikola Protrka.

The description is accompanied by the correct Zagreb Archdiocese website, which said that they had contacted customer support in London and started solving the problem. The Zagreb Tourist Board agrees that the inaccurate information should be corrected as soon as possible, especially since St. Mark's church is one of the most popular attractions that tourists always visit during the Upper Town tours. They are fascinated that the church has been standing there since the 13th century. It received its well-known roof in the 19th century.

More news on Zagreb can be found in our special section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Petra Balija).