February 14, 2020 - The Poljud Museum and Hajduk Interpretation Center projects were presented in Split on Hajduk's 109th birthday. 

Hajduk.hr reports that the Poljud Museum and the Hajduk Interpretation Center will be housed on approximately 2,500 square meters, located below the eastern stand of Poljud Stadium. Through a series of interactive interpretive elements, visitors will be told through three floors (basement, ground floor and first floor) the centuries-old story of Split sport and Hajduk and the unique architectural narrative of the stadium.

The biggest challenge for the project team was certainly to interpret and present the unique relationship between the Split club and Split and Hajduk fans in general, that specific, almost phenomenological connection that is created by birth and never breaks.

It is these topics that open Hajduk’s story. Through the first topics - 'Idea and Genesis' and 'A Brief Overview of the History of Split Sports', visitors will be introduced to Split's sporting beginnings, the development of the most important sports and sports clubs, trophies and historical moments and the most influential athletes throughout history. Fabjan Kaliterna, the initiator of the development of a series of sports in Split, is also represented within the whole. 

After exploring the rich sports history, visitors are presented with a series of the interactive content as a key theme of the setup - the relationship between the fans and the club through the ‘Outside View' theme. First, through the testimonies of numerous famous and celebrated Split athletes who talk first-hand about what it was like to take their first sports steps in Split and how the city rewarded and celebrated their greatest sports achievements. It will also tell the story of the city's specific attitude to sports in general. 

In addition to showing Split as a sports city through these stories, it will also give the visitor an insight into the special sports heart of Split, the habit of citizens to celebrate the greatest athlete achievements and organize grand receptions for their winning athletes. This element of interpretation is crucial to understanding the relationship between Split and Hajduk, which rests on the aforementioned mutual appreciation, but is far deeper and more specific. Visitors see this relationship and its features in the 'Inside View' theme, which will offer a series of testimonials from fans who will talk about why they love Hajduk and what role that club plays in their lives. It will be intimate confessions, personal perspectives, and emotions conveyed to a specific multimedia platform. The original stories conclude the first stage of the setup, which continues on the first floor.

The first floor is reserved entirely for Hajduk’s history. Through introductory stories in the theme 'Development of the club's coat of arms and kit over time', through presenting the most important facts from the club's past and interactive multimedia systems, visitors will uncover the club's centuries-old history, and the most valuable sports figures - from the founders to the players and coaches through 'Hajduk 1911 to today'. 

The emergence of the Torcida fan group, an integral part of Hajduk, is also interpreted in this topic. The interpretation will be placed on specific visual platforms that accompany the decades. Visual platforms are a kind of homage to the unique construction of the Poljud roof, built by the MERO technique. The same technique is applied in the implementation of the aforementioned visual platforms, which are also unique in the world (surface banners in combination with graphic maps from the rear and interpretation texts from the front, with integrated multimedia and product design solutions, all in harmony with the dominant glass floors of the floor first floor).

After learning about the club's history, visitors descend into the basement, which is a kind of showroom setup. In this section, the topic "The Museum of Poljud" presents the origin of the idea and the construction of the Poljud Stadium into its basic features. The entirety of 'Historic Retrospective', 'Hajduk and Torcida', 'Torcida First Hand' is replaced, and the latter offers a personal experience by showing the fans in the north stands and the most beautiful choreographies of Torcida. The space is equipped as a 9D cinema.

The basement also contains a corridor through which visitors can enter the eastern stand or take a tour of the stadium and club rooms with prior notice. It is important to note that visitors are allowed to continually update their lineups through booths where they will be able to record their testimony of the Hajduk and Split experience, or comment on a Hajduk match, and the content will then be played on one of the screens in the facility.

With accompanying facilities - a souvenir shop/fan shop, multifunctional halls for various exhibitions, lectures and games, a tasting room designed after the Prague beer pub 'U Flek' where the Hajduk story began - the Poljud Museum and the Hajduk Interpretation Center will be a place that is attractive and educational, and where interactive content presents the unique story of this Split club.

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

Despite the issues that still linger between Croatia and neighbouring Slovenia owing to the Croatian-Slovenian border dispute, cooperation in transport services with a coming together of Croatian and Slovenian railways.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of February, 2020, HZ PP and SZ Passenger Transport are collaborating on a European Union (EU) project to improve their services and expand their supply of international rail lines, worth 2.8 million euros.

HZ Passenger Transport and Slovenian Railways' SZ Passenger Transport signed an agreement on improving services on international trains between Croatia and Slovenia on Wednesday in Zagreb.

The aim is to improve transport on Croatian and Slovenian railways as part of the Connect2CE EU project, which is, as stated, worth a massive 2.8 million euros in total. The agreement was signed by the President of the Board of HZ Passenger Transport, Zeljko Ukic, and the Director of Slovenia's SZ Passenger Transport, Darja Kocjan.

The goal of the project, according to Ukic, is to improve the planning system and encourage the better coordination of regional public transport systems, in order to strengthen co-operation and improve connectivity.

"The rail passenger carriers are committed to promoting strategic partnerships and working to improve train service between Croatia and Slovenia, ie, Zagreb-Ljubljana, with the aim of increasing passenger numbers and revenues," he said.

About fourteen lines operate between Croatia and Slovenia, with just over 130,000 passengers having been transported last year. Ukic believes that with the cooperation between Croatian and Slovenian railways, new service offers will be introduced to increase the number of passengers and provide them with better quality.

The agreement defines measures that can be achieved through the sale of online tickets in international traffic, the introduction of catering services, the promotion of special offers and the introduction of special types of tickets.

Make sure to follow our dedicated travel and business pages for much more.

After HEP set up an ultra-fast charging station, Vukova Gorica has become one of the most important hubs for e-mobility in the whole of the Republic of Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 13th of February, 2020, HEP, in collaboration with INA, is the very first in Croatia to launch the fastest and most technologically advanced ultra-fast electric car charging station on Croatian motorways, located at Vukova Gorica.

The impressive 175 kW charging station allows a person to charge an electric car in a mere fifteen minutes. There are several similar charging stations located in various places across Croatia, but they aren't public in their nature, they instead serve the internal needs of corporate fleets, mainly rent-a-car and taxi companies.

At the same location, at the Vukova Gorica rest stop (odmoriste) along the A6 Zagreb-Rijeka highway, four HEP high-speed AC/DC charging stations with individual power of 50 kW have been operational since last year.

HEP's first ultra-fast charging station has been set up as part of an international NEXT-E project which is co-funded by European Union funds. It has two standardised DC ports (ChaDeMo and CCS) and can charge an electric vehicle at 175 kW. The charging speed of such a charger depends on the capabilities and characteristics of each vehicle's battery. Vehicles that can take full advantage of ultra-fast charging can on average charge their batteries in about fifteen minutes to a level that allows for 200 kilometres of onward travel.

"The ultra-fast charging station for electric car drivers, our fellow residents and our visitors, minimises the time spent at the rest stop and allows them to reach their destinations as quickly as possible. That's why we plan to install several more charging stations of this level of power or of an even greater level of power along the motorways. We're the first in Croatia to recognise the importance of traffic electrification, and to date, we've installed more than 120 public ELEN stations in Croatian cities, interurban roads and motorways,'' said Frane Barbaric, CEO of HEP.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for much more.

February 13, 2020 - While the carnival season lasts in Croatia until Shrove Tuesday, the highlight of this year's carnival celebrations in Opatija will take place this weekend, February 14 - 16.

Three of the main carnival events in Opatija will take place: a concert by numerous local klapa choirs will happen on Friday night (which is also Valentine's day evening, so it's obvious that love songs will be the focus of the evening). On Saturday a dance party will be held in the Gervais club, announced as the traditional old dance party for the carnival, and the organisers expect that the dance floor will be filled for the entire evening.

On Sunday, you're invited to visit Opatija and their traditional Balinjerada race. The name of the race comes from the local term for a ball bearing and can be translated as an "exhibition of ball bearings".

But, it's much more fun than what it sounds: it's a race in which only the vehicles built to run on ball bearings are allowed to participate! This year the costumed race will take place for the 37th time.

The Opatija Tourist Board have protected the trademark Balinjerada, so now Opatija is the only place in the world where such a race should take place. It's often said to be the craziest race in the world, and even visitors are invited to participate.

There's a part of the program called Taxi Balinjera, in which the visitors, helped by experienced riders, can take a spin on the ball bearings of the carts made for just that purpose on the course that runs from Paris Hotel all the way down to Slatina. The race itself of the "professionals" running the carts will take place at midday, and after that a procession of the masked groups and colorful carts will entertain the visitors.

With the race and all of the events taking place in the centre of town, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the traffic will be forbidden there on Sunday between 9am and 3pm.

ZAGREB, February 13, 2020 - NATO defence ministers, including Croatia's Damir Krstičević, in Brussels on Thursday reaffirmed their support for Iraq and strengthening NATO's mission to train Iraqi forces, in which Croatia will continue to take part.

Krstičević said that Croatia has seven soldiers in the mission, two of whom have already returned home while the remaining five will gradually return to Iraq from Kuwait.

After the conflict in Iraq escalated at the start of the year, following America's attack and the death of the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Qasem Soleimani, Croatia withdrew its troops to Kuwait.

"It was agreed that everything will return to the starting position as of 4 January which means that NATO's mission in Iraq will continue. A document arrived last night from the Iraqi government which supports and guarantees the safety of NATO personnel, hence a decision has been made for soldiers to gradually return," said Krstičević.

At the two-day meeting in Brussels, which ended on Thursday, the NATO defence ministers addressed key issues, including the alliance’s training mission in Iraq and the fight against international terrorism.

Croatia is currently participating with 438 troops in seven NATO peace missions and two Enhanced Forward Presence missions.

Krstičević underscored EU-NATO cooperation and announced a conference to be held in Split, Croatia on 9 June aimed at strengthening that cooperation, adding that senior officials from the EU and USA would be participating in the conference.

The ministers also discussed the Exercise DEFENDER-Europe 20, the largest European-US military exercise in the past 25 years. The exercise will involve the deployment of a division-size combat-credible force from the United States to Europe, with 37,000 troops expected to participate.

"American soldiers will leave from four European ports and be distributed to six countries to test the mobility of equipment and troops...Croatia will participate with its troops stationed in Poland and Lithuania," said Krstičević.

Krstičević held bilateral meetings with his Polish and Lithuanian counterparts, Mariusz Blaszczak and Raimundas Karoblis respectively. Krstičević said that he was pleased Minister Blaszczak confirmed that he would attend the first international CROIMAS air show that will be held in Zadar on 30 May, marking the 30th anniversary of Croatia's statehood.

So far, we have received confirmation from the French, Italians, Austrians, Swiss and Poles that they will be attending, he added.

More news about Croatian army can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 13, 2020 - The Pevec household hardware chain has changed its name to Pevex, the chairman of the chain's management board Jurica Lovrinčević told a press conference on Thursday.

The decision was made in order to distance the chain from the name of the previous owners, Lovrinčević explained. The founders and former owners, Zdravko and Višnja Pevec, were sentenced in 2015 for abuse of powers and financial wrongdoing.

Lovrinčević added that over the past four years the chain had undergone a huge business transformation and now had 2,000 employees compared to the previous 1,100 in more than 10 stores, and revenue had increased from €148 million to €283 million.

It is hoped that the name change and minor visible changes will be more attractive to younger consumers and that the new brand will mean a new beginning, Lovrinčević added and that the rebranding will cost about €1.35 million.

The chain plans to open smaller stores in towns with about 10,000 residents but currently there are no plans to expand outside of Croatia.

A new store is expected to be opened in the northern Adriatic city of Pula at the end of this year, which is an investment of €4.05 million and another store in Vinkovci in eastern Croatia valued at €5.4 million.

Lovrinčević underscores that the company is not experiencing a shortage of workers as the average net wage has been increased by 38% in the past three years. The average wage in Pevex today is HRK 6,800 (€918) while the minimum net wage is HRK 5,000 (€675) a month.

More business news can be found in the dedicated section.

February 13, 2020 - Cruise ship guests spend an average of 55 euro a day, and spend most of their money in Solana Nin - or 248 euro, according to a survey by the Tourism and Communication Sciences Department of the University of Zadar. The Department surveyed cruise ship tourists that sailed to Gaženica port in Zadar from July to October 2019.

HRTurizam reports that an interesting fact is that cruise ship guests on the Zadar peninsula spend, on average, 43.27 euro, and in the survey, also mentioned shortcomings whose solution would result in significantly higher consumption. The tourists complained about the insufficient number of exchange offices, the inability to pay by card and euros, and the insufficient number of sellers in stores that can serve a larger group of guests in a short time. Zadar now has an unmistakable indication of what to do to increase cruise ship spending, and can learn a lot from this data.

During their stay on land, respondents spent the most at cafes, on souvenirs and in restaurants, and given during their short stay in the destination, their average personal consumption was relatively high.

It is also interesting that cruisers guests made the most purchases in Solana in Nin, where they spent as much as 248 euro per person on average, which is a result of the fact that they had enough time to make purchases. However, they were also drawn to the attractive offer of Solana, which is adapted to the wishes of tourists.

This interesting research, which was presented in Zadar on Wednesday, was conducted with a semi-structured questionnaire and had the characteristics of a scouting survey. As the authors say, the results outline the profile, behavior and attitudes of cruise tourists included in the sample. A random sample of respondents included 1,315 respondents over the age of 18 who, when disembarking from the Zadar port, visited the old town of Zadar or made some of the excursions offered in Zadar County and other neighboring counties. Just over half of the surveyed visitors visited the Zadar Peninsula, and the most attractive destinations were the Plitvice Lakes and Krka National Parks, the town of Nin and the Zrmanja River.

"The respondents are from Germany, Great Britain and Spain, which is partly conditioned by the established cruise lines that land in the city of Zadar. The respondents are mostly older, which is in line with typical tourists traveling with this kind of transportation. Also, these are mostly experienced cruise passengers who are first-time visitors to Croatia and Zadar, so it can be concluded that they prefer this form of tourist travel and choose routes on which they have not sailed during their cruises so far, said Prof. dr. sc. Bozena Krce Miocic.

Visiting the old town or other tourist locations around Zadar was most often motivated by new experiences and experiences, attractions primarily the Sea Organ and Greetings to the Sun, but also cultural and natural heritage and the desire to feel and experience the atmosphere of the destination.

The overall satisfaction and impression of the surveyed tourists are at a very high level, from which it follows that they would recommend a visited destination to their friends and relatives. Most guests would love to revisit Zadar and other destinations, primarily for enjoying the peace and the preserved environment, gastronomy and cultural heritage. However, despite the positive impression of the cruise tourists surveyed, it should be emphasized that there are still supply elements that need to be continuously improved in order to meet this specific segment of tourist demand, concluded the research authors at the University of Zadar's Department of Tourism and Communication Sciences.

This research is important to consider when 124 cruisers with as many as 182,682 passengers sailed to Gaženica, Zadar's passenger port, which was named the world's best cruise ship last year.

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

ZAGREB, February 13, 2020 - The European Commission on Thursday stated that Croatia's real GDP growth "is estimated to have risen to 3.0% in 2019", as against the previous forecasts of 2.9%, assessing that in 2020, the economy will grow at a rate of 2.6% and in 2021 at 2.3%.

"After a weak 2018, real GDP growth in Croatia is estimated to have risen to 3.0% in 2019," the EC says in its latest Winter 2020 Economic Forecast.

"Domestic demand strengthened, driven by a noticeable pick-up in investment and government consumption expenditure, while continued improvements in the labour market and low inflation underpinned private consumption," reads the report issued on Thursday.

"Even though exports rebounded sharply, their growth was outpaced by imports.

"Economic growth is expected to moderate as GDP is forecast to expand by 2.6% and 2.3% in 2020 and 2021, respectively," reads the latest report and while the previous economic forecast by the EC, issued on 7 November 2019, estimated that Croatia's economy is likely to expand at the same rate of 2.6% in 2020 and at the rate of 2.4% in 2021.

The EC expects domestic demand to remain the main driver of growth in both years.

"Household consumption growth is expected to inch down but remain supported by rising real disposable incomes as unemployment, already at record low levels, is expected to further decline," says the EC.

"Investment growth is expected to remain strong, supported by a growing volume of maturing EU-funded projects from the 2014-2020 programming period.

"Export growth is set to moderate, in line with lower growth in Croatia’s main trading partners, trade uncertainties and the limited scope for further growth in the tourism sector. Import growth should be underpinned by still strong domestic demand but is Expected to decline in both 2020 and 2021.

"After improving in 2019, the contribution of net exports to growth is expected to deteriorate in 2020 before stabilising in 2021,” reads the Croatia report from the latest Economic Forecast.

"The HICP inflation rate halved in 2019 compared to 2018, due to negative inflation for unprocessed food price, resulting from changes in the applicable VAT rate. With the VAT change effect dissipating, wage pressures in the labour market and strong domestic demand are expected to fuel a pick-up in inflation in both 2020 and 2021, despite the assumed decline in energy prices Core inflation is thus expected to increase even more. Inflation is forecast at 1.5% and 1.7% in 2020 and 2021 respectively," the EC concluded.

More economy news can be found in the Business section.