February 13, 2022 - The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) and Croatian Sports Museum in Zagreb will work together to preserve Croatian sports heritage.

The Croatian Football Federation has decided to cooperate with the Croatian Sports Museum to bring awareness to the importance of preserving sports memories and athletes who contribute to Croatian sports heritage daily. As a result, the two organizations have concluded an Agreement on Cooperation in Preserving Sports Heritage. This agreement, which will serve as a basis for future cooperation, ensures the preservation of Croatian sports heritage in the Museum today and for all future generations, reports HNS.

With this Agreement, the Croatian Sports Museum will be richer for a part of the valuable legacy of Croatian football. With its glorious history and significant achievements, it is inscribed in golden letters in the history of Croatian sport. In this context, the Museum in the near future will be able to boast of valuable exhibitions of the Croatian Football Federation, such as historical medals of the A national team, essential publications, books, brochures, tickets, calendars, jerseys, photographs, and souvenirs.

The Croatian Sports Museum bases its activities on the educational and cohesive potentials of sports and strives to present the history and social significance of sports in Croatian society to the general public in a modern, educational, and scientifically based way.

The Croatian Sports Museum idea was born between 1952 and 1959 when the first sports and physical exercise items were collected. In 1965, the Initiative to establish a Museum of Physical Culture of Croatia was established. Ten years later, the Croatian Museum Council entered the Museum of Physical Culture of Croatia into the list of museum institutions of Croatia. However, establishing the Croatian Sports Museum was not adopted by the Croatian Government until 2003, after which the Croatian Sports Museum became a national museum.

Today, the Croatian Sports Museum is located on Illica 13 in Zagreb. Danira Nakić Bilić was named the new director of the museum in 2017.

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

ZAGREB, 12 Feb 2022 -  "Dizionario geografico portatile" by Swiss geographer and cartographer Isaak Bruckner, royal geographer of the French king Louis XV, a valuable book stolen in 1987, was returned on Friday to the National and University Library (NSK) in Zagreb, the Culture and Media Ministry said.

The book was handed over to NSK director Ivanka Stričević by Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek and Croatia's Ambassador to Italy, Jasen Mesić, who reported on the process of locating and returning the book.

The book was stolen together with a large number of other valuable library items in the 1980s by a three-member group, led by Aleksandar Milles.

Some of the stolen books have been returned and some are still being searched for.

The return of the work by Isaak Bruckner is a result of long-lasting cooperation between the NSK, the Culture and Media Ministry and the ministries of the interior and foreign affairs, that is, the Croatian Embassy in Italy.

Among the publications that have been returned so far is a rare copy of "Trinum magicum sive secretorum magicorum opus continens" by Caesar Longinus from 1614, returned to the NSK in November 2020, and "Selenographia sive Lunae descriptio atque accurata tam macularum eius, quam motuum diversorum… delineati" by Johannes Hevelius, returned in July 2019.

February 11, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Croatia Airlines international Zagreb flights could resume by this summer, if all goes to plan. 

Croatia Airlines flights from Zagreb may be restored to a number of international markets this summer after they were discontinued in 2020 due to the pandemic, reports Ex Yu Aviation. Recall, Croatia Airlines stopped operations to Barcelona, Bucharest, Helsinki, Lisbon, Milan, Mostar, Oslo, Prague, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, and Tel Aviv, and never launched flights to Sofia and Podgorica as planned. The Croatian national carrier has announced that it would resume flights to Barcelona in June (originally planned for March) and hopes to restore operations to these other destinations by the 2022 summer season.

“Traffic will continue to be contingent on external factors, beyond the company’s control, such as restrictions, bans, and other measures, which directly impact on people’s ability to travel both domestically and internationally. Accordingly, we will focus on the flexible planning of our network. Our goal is to achieve optimal load factors with average fares in existing conditions of reduced capacity. Therefore, in 2022 our focus will be on greater rationalization of costs and the implementation of the company’s defined post-Covid strategy," Croatia Airlines’ CEO Jasmin Bajić said about maintaining flexibility for its summer network while basing operations on demand. 

Ex Yu Aviation adds that many international airlines have taken advantage of Croatia Airlines' absence from Zagreb, launching their own flights from many of these destinations. For example, TAP Portugal will run 4-weekly flights between Zagreb and Lisbon from next month and has maintained this seasonal line since last summer. Finnair's Helsinki-Zagreb flights will begin on May 1, with three flights a week until September. Aeroflot and Rossiya Airlines operate on the St Petersburg-Zagreb route, and Ryanair offers services to both Podgorica and Sofia.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

February the 11th, 2022 - Zagreb tourism numbers appear to be on the rise as the world slowly begins to emerge from the global coronavirus pandemic. 2022's maiden month of January has shown some encouraging growth in terms of overnight stays for the Croatian capital.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, according to the Zagreb Tourist Board (TZGZ), the Croatian capital recorded an extremely impressive 174 percent more arrivals and 133 percent more overnight stays during the month of January than it did back in January 2021, which was heavily dominated by a poor epidemiological situation across Europe owing to the emergence of the Delta variant, as well as by lockdowns and harsh restrictions across the continent as a result.

A total of 42,456 arrivals and 106,093 overnight stays were registered, and, in addition to domestic guests, most overnight stays which have contributed to these promising Zagreb tourism numbers were realised by guests from Russia, Italy, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States of America.

On that occasion, Martina Bienenfeld, the director of the Zagreb Tourist Board, said: "We're pleased with the statistics that we're closely monitoring because they show the trend of recovery of Zagreb tourism. Regarding the arrival of Russian guests who were the most numerous foreign guests in Zagreb in November and December last year and, now, in January, there is very good feedback from the field. Namely, by the airline Aeroflot and the travel agency Atlantis, which mostly bring Russian guests as part of arrangements related to coronavirus vaccination, everyone is very pleased with our hospitality, they have great first impressions and plans to come again in the summer. We're additionally pleased with the fact that, compared to January 2019, we are at 90 percent of that year's overnight stays, and the average stay has been extended to 2.5 nights. If the situation with the pandemic continues the current trend of gradual calming down, I expect a further increase in Zagreb tourism numbers in the coming months.''

It's also worth pointing out that in January there were 32,702 overnight stays realised by Croatian tourists from other part of the country, which is an increase of 62 percent when compared to January last year, and foreign guests realised 73,391 overnight stays, marking a very significant increase of 190 percent. Out of the total number of arrivals, domestic tourists made up 14,972 (79 percent growth) and foreign guests made up 27,484 (286 percent growth).

For more, check out our travel page.

Fancy bumping up the Zagreb tourism numbers yourself? See what you can do here in the bustling Croatian capital with Zagreb in a Page.

February 10, 2022 - After more than one year of absence due to the earthquake, a beloved tradition in Zagreb marks its return this Monday as the Grič cannon will be fired again to announce noon in a resounding way.

According to tportal.hr, the Zagreb Holding announced today that the Grič cannon, one of the most famous Zagreb sights and important tourist attractions with a tradition of more than 140 years, will be fired again on February 14th, after a long period of silence.

The first time the cannon was fired to announce noon in the city of Zagreb was in 1877, as part of an initiative promoted by the writer, publicist, and city councilor, Đuro Deželić.

The cannon has been the pride and joy of the citizens of Zagreb for over a century, and according to legend, it even saved the city from an invasion by the Ottoman Empire. If you want to know more about the legend, click here.

It was originally located in the building of the Hydrometeorological Institute, and today it is located in the Lotrščak tower on Grič. It is a mountain cannon type Howitzer M116, caliber 76mm, and its range is 7929 meters, and the volume of the shot is 140 decibels.

The cannon stopped during the First World War and resumed its activity, not until 1928. Since then it has not stopped announcing noon in Zagreb, until almost two years ago during the earthquake that hit the Croatian capital in March 2020.

It took two months for the cannon to restart, and it has been firing at noon between May 11, 2020, and December 29 of that same year. It last fired just 20 minutes before the earthquake that affected the Sisak-Moslavina region, with the epicenter in Petrinja, and which was also strongly felt in Zagreb. The cannon, which will finally return to work on Monday, had been inactive since then.

If you are looking for the most complete information to enjoy Zagreb, be sure to check out Total Croatia, Zagreb in a Page guide HERE. Available in nine languages!

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

February 8, 2022 - The Zagreb and Zagreb County Gault & Millau guide has been released for the first time at the initiative of the Zagreb Tourist Board and in cooperation with the Zagreb County Tourist Board.

At the initiative of the Zagreb Tourist Board (TZGZ) and in cooperation with the Zagreb County Tourist Board (TZZŽ), Zagreb and its surroundings received their own edition of one of the most relevant gastronomic guides in the world - Gault & Millau (GM). Thus, for the first time in history, a bilingual (Croatian / English) edition of the guide was published, containing reviews and photos of 100 restaurants, taverns, snack bars, POP bars, and patisseries in Zagreb and the surrounding area, reports Novi List.

The guide was promoted with an awards ceremony for the chefs of the best restaurants in Zagreb. As a result, the Atrium by Filho, Le Bistro, Baltazar, Balon, Tač, Dubravkin put, Bistro Apetit by Marin Rendić, Noel, ManO2, and ManO can be proud of three characteristic chef's hats which suggest they run a high-quality kitchen.

Four caps, or a very high-quality kitchen, was awarded to Zinfandel’s at Esplanade, receiving a 17 out of a possible 20, while at the very top with a respectable 17.5 points is NAV and chef Tvrtko Šakota.

This is the assessment of GM inspectors who visit restaurants undercover, pay for their meals properly and evaluate everything according to GM rules. Šokota of NAV also thanked everyone, primarily colleagues, because, as he said, this is a job that must be loved to do, even at a high level.

"Congratulations to all our caterers who are deservedly included in the first edition of Zagreb, which further valorizes the gastronomic offer of our city. Special congratulations to the 11 award-winning Zagreb chefs, and I believe that their GM ratings and awards will incentivize them to continue striving for excellence in creating the overall gastronomic experience.

Namely, this type of experience is one of the most important motives for the arrival of our guests in Zagreb and its surroundings and the reason for choosing an individual restaurant," said Martina Bienenfeld, director of the Tourist Board.

The Deputy Mayor of the City of Zagreb, Luka Korleat, pointed out that this small but large book shows the Zagreb gastronomic scene in all its diversity.

GM's director for Croatia, Ingrid Badurina Danielsson, pointed out that there are certainly more restaurants that deserve a place in the guide. Still, due to the limited number, they could not be included in this year's selection of the print edition.

"However, they will be presented on the GM website, where the content of the guide for the whole of Croatia is available, and annually records as many as 2.5 million users and six million views," said Badurina Danielsson, noting that the print edition of Gault & Millau Croatia 2022 for the whole Croatia will be published on April 5, 2022.

Gault & Millau was launched in 1965 in France, and today the guide is published in about twenty countries. The yellow labels guarantee quality as GM's motto is "luxury is in quality, not price".

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

February 6th, 2022 - The Klovićevi Dvori Gallery announced the second exhibition in the series dedicated to Croatian artist Vlaho Bukovac. It covers the period after Bukovac returned to Zagreb, where he created some of his best known masterpieces and influenced a whole new generation of artists

There are some artists whose work you’ll go and fawn over no matter how many times you’ve seen it in the past. One such artist is Vlaho Bukovac, a superb Croatian painter who created his best work at the turn of the 20th century.

In 2018, the Klovićevi Dvori gallery in Zagreb launched the ambitious project ‘Vlaho Bukovac in Europe’, an exhibition series dedicated to the great artist, split into several distinctive stages of his life and work.

The first exhibition in the series, titled Vlaho Bukovac in Paris, 1878-1892 and held in 2018, featured the early work of Bukovac, from his amateur beginnings in North America, art school in Paris, occasional work stays in England, as well as short but fruitful stays in the homeland, until he finally returned home for a longer period of time.

The gallery in Zagreb has now announced the second exhibition in the series, titled Roots and Wings: Vlaho Bukovac in Zagreb, Cavtat and Vienna, 1893-1903. The long-awaited exhibition is opening in February 2022 and will thus also mark the hundredth anniversary of Bukovac's death.

The exhibition is covering the period after Bukovac returned to Zagreb, where he soon became a central figure of the cultural scene and a great mentor to the young generation of artists. His seductive colorism influenced a whole new generation of painters in Zagreb, so much so they became known as the Zagreb School of Colour.

Owing to Bukovac, Zagreb became the region’s leading hotspot for artistic events. It was also the period when the artist was most prolific in terms of his work, as it was Zagreb where, driven by creative enthusiasm, he created some of his best known masterpieces.

Vlaho Bukovac, Gundulic's Dream (1894)

As a prominent figure on the social scene in Zagreb who often socialised with the intellectual elite, Bukovac portrayed members of distinguished families such as the Vranyczany, Pongrač, Nossan, Miletić, Farkaš, Crnadak and Berger.

The exhibition will also feature an opus created in his native Cavtat between 1899 and 1902. In terms of style, Bukovac reached his creative peak in his hometown, creating some of the most beautiful works of plein-air painting.

He stayed in Cavtat for four years, and later moved to Vienna with his family. His stay in Vienna and the success of his solo exhibition will be crucial for his later move to Prague.

The exhibition will present the life and work of Bukovac in chronological order, providing an in-depth look into numerous events in his life and the role they played in his work.

The works for the exhibition were borrowed from numerous museums and galleries in Croatia and neighbouring countries. We’ll have an opportunity to see paintings that were thus far completely unknown to the public, on loan by private collectors.

Authors of the exhibition: Petra Vugrinec and Lucija Vuković
Co-authors: Iskra Iveljić, Irena Kraševac, Dragan Damjanović i Petar Petrović
Curator: Iva Sudec Andreis

Klovićevi dvori gallery, Zagreb
February 18th - May 22nd, 2022

February 6, 2022 - From May 13 to 15, Zagreb's Jarun will host the first Future Scope festival on four stages, with over 30 performers from the electronic, hip hop, rock, and pop music scene.

Last year, one of Zagreb's most famous club programs, Future Scope, marked its 20th anniversary. This year it is celebrating in style - with a three-day festival on Lake Jarun, which will take place on four different but quality stages. This birthday is celebrated from May 13 to 15, 2022, and the protagonists of the celebration are some of the most famous local and international musicians.

The impressive line-up is led by one of the most famous techno DJs Sven Väth, nicknamed Papa Sven due to his exceptional contribution to the genre.

He is followed by Stacey Pullen (who comes to Zagreb from Detroit, the city where techno originated), trance veterans Mauro Picotto and Paul Van Dyk, Sam Paganini, responsible for the timeless anthem "Rave," Rush, an American DJ and producer who boasts dozens of records and releases, Nicole Moudaber, one of the most successful women in electronic music, and Faithless, the electronic band that released "Insomnia" is coming to Zagreb to play a DJ set. Fans of the British Wiggle tech-house sound are thrilled because Terry Francis and Nathan Coles, very well known to the Zagreb audience, are on the line-up, and the program will be complemented on all days by well-known names of the Croatian electronic scene, including Future Scope residents; Petar Dundov, Felver, Shipe, DJ Jock, Mr. DJ Dario, Marina Karamarko, E-base, and others.

Rundek and Ekipa, TBF, Elemental, Detour, ABOP, Boris Štok, and many other names will perform on the Live Stage, announced by the festival organizers soon!

The Future Scope team is preparing a serious festival that can compete alongside the world's best festivals, such as the regional Exit. For 20 years, they have organized over 700 parties and concerts and didn't stop even during the pandemic. 

"We look at music as a broad term, which is why we decided to create a festival that combines different genres and even different audiences. As a result, this will be an interesting blend of subcultural and mainstream musical directions. But, although the two directions in which we are going are stylistically different, they have some things in common - urban flair, quality, and an audience eager for good fun," said the organizers.

Although the first Future Scope party was technically held in April 2001, the team behind the brand points out that in 2002 they started with big foreign tours, which have remained their trademark and strongest asset, so they consider that the year the brand was born. In those 20 years, they explored numerous locations, from Murter's Čigrađa to The Best and the former OTV, for the program to find its permanent home in Boogaloo and Jarun.

They are most proud of their audience.

"They kept us on guard, and because of them, we always invested maximum effort and patience. Without them, we would not be so consistent and ultimately long-lived. If we have to single out projects that keep a special place in our hearts, they are Fatboy Slim at the 2020 Fair and Boris Brejcha at Jarun in the same year. These were two large parties that we managed to do despite the complicated COVID-19 measures. We also remember Amelie Lens at the Fair with 3,000 visitors and the party with Jeff Mills in Boogaloo, which is the most visited event in the history of that club," concluded the organizers.

The organizers have prepared early bird festival tickets that can be purchased until February 15 at a promotional price of 199 kn through on Entrio. More information about the festival can be found on their social networks.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

February 4, 2022 - The Croatian capital Zagreb is abundant in graffiti ranging from quickly scrawled tags to large, colourful murals. Here is a look into the cultural significance of graffiti in Zagreb, including notable street artists, street art destinations, and its impact on the city's culture. 

 Zagreb is home to a few notable graffiti artists, recognized both nationally and internationally for their work, including OKO, Lonac, Lunar, Chez 186, Bare & Modul, and more. These artists all work under pseudonyms and display a signature style amongst their artwork.

Bare & Modul: Fakin, painted for the Medvedgrad brewery. Photo: Bare & Modul

A fascinating characteristic shared by these artists is their chosen pseudonyms and how they symbolically represent themselves as artists as well as their work. For example, OKO (Croatian for “eye”) symbolically stands for one’s view of the world. The artist’s signature drawn eye, has visually represented the “inner eye” the artist believes we shall all use to look at the “depth behind everything and everybody”, rather than the “shallow image on the first glance,” ever since its debut appearances on Zagreb facades back in 2005.

In 2015, OKO’s 90 metre-long mural, Open My Eyes That I May See, was made as the adornment for the west-facing wall of Zagreb’s Museum of Contemporary Art. The artist has stated that: “Fluidity of street art is an excellent exercise in letting go. It cures you from having to own either material goods or spiritual achievements. It keeps you fresh because you have to keep creating”.

OKO: Open My Eyes That I May See, Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo: Kristijan Smok

Aside from the elaborate murals of the street artists, there is an abundance of textual graffiti, taking the form of mostly name-tags or sentences quickly scrawled onto walls. It would seem that amongst every public building in the city, there can be at least one of such phrases found on its walls, usually relating to themes of society, philosophy, politics, sport, relationships, money and work - to the mockery of writing on walls itself:

“I came to leave a trace” Indeed you have! Photo: ZAGREBAČKI GRAFITI/Instagram

All in all, they are communicated in a similar dry, sarcastic sense of humour, a display of Zagreb witticism. They have been acclaimed as a captivating and amusing way of expressing statements about society and other common themes, in such a way that it has become an element of youth culture. 

Graffiti in Zagreb takes place mostly on privately or publicly owned property. However, many graffiti artists are given the chance to express their art in so-called “street art museums”. Namely, the Branimirova Graffiti Hall of Fame, established in 1999 on Branimirova Street and renovated in 2010 when 80 artists decorated the wall along Branimirova between the main railway station and the main bus station. Or the Zagreb Student Centre, with its endless blank walls for artists to showcase their work - it has received praise as a great open-space showroom of street art murals.

Inside the pathways of the Zagreb Student Centre. Photo: Vivi Albert

Yet, in midst of the praise, graffiti in Zagreb is still met with controversy over aspects such as its bold, striking appearance and the notion that it should not belong in public areas with historic significance, let alone privately owned buildings, as well as the belief that graffiti is an act of delinquency and a reason for youth to spread messages of disorder and provocation - which gives prominence to the boundary between art and vandalism that seems to exist within the art form. Graffiti in Zagreb has also faced controversy for its contribution to spreading messages of hate and antagonism, particularly fascism and xenophobia. But above all, graffiti has also been under fire of intolerant opinion of it not belonging on public display at all, regardless of whether it has been consented to, which boils down to merely an act of close-mindedness towards the art form as a whole. Regardless of where one stands concerning the polarising opinions surrounding the graffiti of any city, one can’t argue with the fact that it leaves an impact on its culture and is thus of significance to the city to some degree.

Graffiti in Zagreb has received praise not only for its artistic merit, but for being a major part of the city’s culture, from natives and tourists alike. Travel blogs such as Time Out are recommending Zagreb street art as a must-see in the city. There is even a street art tour, Meet Street Art(ist), the first and only street art tour in Zagreb, guided by street artists and other people involved in the street art scene in which one can learn about street art culture, meet street artists, visit galleries, and the unique Art Park, conjured by street artists as a space to display their murals and host workshops and events in a now popular “hang out” spot.

Wall in Zagreb Art Park. Photo: Fred Romero/Flickr

And for street artists, graffiti acts as personal guidance. To Chez 186, graffiti provides “financial safety and personal satisfaction, peace, and happiness above all”. To Šumski, each of his works is “one step towards something that doesn’t end. Each of these steps makes me who I am”. To Lonac, it’s a personal grounding: “For me, street art is a creation on the street. The work which you do belongs to you, everyone, and to no one. You can not sell it. It is a piece of the facade and that’s it”. To OKO, her art is a way of freedom and self-expression and, as she humorously puts it, “no meeting with curators or media, or anyone you need to explain your brain [to], except maybe cops if they catch you”. 

To read more about Croatian arts and culture, check out TCN’s dedicated lifestyle page.

February 3, 2022 - One Zagreb park is paying tribute to Laika, the first living creature to orbit the earth. Introducing the Laika Dog Park. 

This is how we pay tribute to the first earthly being in space, reminding us of all animals that lost their lives for science.

As Jutarnji/VauMijau writes, the meadow behind the popular buildings in Zagreb called Rakete (Rockets), located in Vrbnik, has always been used by dog owners and their shaggy family members for various activities. Last year, the trail was upgraded with the addition of benches and tables that made the meadow suitable for social activities. However, the meadow, never really got a name.

Location of the park, Screenshot: Google Maps

That will soon change. The Cvjetnica local committee voted and concluded that the meadow is finally being named. While it was not an easy decision, it will be named after the Soviet space dog, Laika.

On November 3rd, 1957, Laika became the first living creature launched into orbit. Laika’s fate as a space dog was short-lived and sad. Picked up from the street, it was first named Kudrjavka (Curly). It was chosen among ten candidates because it showed exceptional calmness during the examination. The Sputnik passenger cabin allowed it to lie down and stand.

We do not know if another park, street, or public area in Zagreb and Croatia is named after an animal but in this way, we pay tribute to the first earthly being sent to space, while reminding us of all animals that lost their lives because of science.

The location of the park is suitable and symbolic as it is located along Slavonian Avenue behind the skyscrapers called Rakete (Rockets), as a symbol of going to space, and leans on Gagarin’s Way, named after the first cosmonaut in space Yuri Gagarin.

Bravo for MO Cvjetnica! Woof - woof - members of “Trnje je naše” initiative wrote on Facebook.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.