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With the aim of renewing traditional heritage and putting it in the function of tourism, across all of Baranja, a region situated in the far north-east of the country, this year will see the launch of the renewal of ten new tourism projects.

One of the more fascinating of these projects is certainly the Ethno Street of Forgotten Times were intensive works are already under way. The street is located in the village of Karanac, in the very heart of Baranja, already known to the world of tourism on account of its attractive offer of rural tourism. This is the popular Baranja House, a rural homestead behind which the mentioned “street of memories” is being built. The owner of the Baranja House has decided to broaden the offer so that soon the street will feature traditional Slavonian “ambar” (corn storage sheds) with construction to start soon on a smith’s house of mud, and ice-house, a potter’s and carpenter’s workshop and a number of other “forgotten” things. Besides this project another old smithy will be opened in Karanac, which will certainly earn the village the epithet of a real Slavonian ethno village.

Standing out among the other tourism projects is the renewal of traditional wine cellars in the village of Gajic planina.

The most funds, however, will be invested into the renovation of the landing dock at the Kopacki rit Nature Park. Along with the landing dock an awning with a belvedere will be built on the site of the old Komarac restaurant, which will widen the existing tourism offer at Kopacki rit.

There will also be building going on in the well known Baranja rural tourism destination – the village of Bilje where there are plans to build a local style Baranja home, and the city of Beli Manastir will also “get” its first real Baranja ethno house.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

Mystic stories, fairy tale settings, indigenous food and fascinating events that along with thematic happenings offer excellent possibilities to meet with the local inhabitants – this is all just a small part of the interesting story of tourism in continental Croatia – the country’s central region presented in the latest image brochure from the Croatian National Tourist Board.

The Palace With a View brochure – featuring an offer based on tradition, natural beauty and new tourism trends – features the tourism value of several of Croatia’s continental counties: Bjelovar-Bilogorje County, Karlovac County, Sisak-Moslavina County, Varazdin County, Medimurje County, Krapina-Zagorje County, Koprivnica-Krizevci County and Zagreb County and is a synthesis of their rich natural and cultural heritage.

Under the moniker “A Walk Through the Year” – today’s reader and tomorrow’s guest – will get to know this truly fascinating region in all seasons of the year and also through mythology, customs, beauty and attraction.

Spring, summer, autumn and winter – each season is coloured with “its own colours”, to which is added the specific ways of life, customs and myths – in short, a real wellspring of experiences that are a real draw for tourist visits.

Are you interested in a tale of a miner’s garden, a witch’s dance, the imaginative depiction of Croatian fairy tales, do you want to literally live the ancient stories of Croatian legends or enjoy a wealth of scents and flavours? Do you want to experience the unexplored regions near Zagreb, get to know the wealth of the fertile Moslavina valley, give your eyes a rest in the stunning scenes of green Zagorje, Prigorje and Medimurje, enjoy the baroque image of the city of Varazdin or the mystical legends that still “live” in the environs of Karlovac and Ogulin – all this is but a small part of what Central Croatia offers by way of tourist attractions. The experience would not be complete if the tourist offer did not include the rich offer of wines and cuisine – along with the quality wines of this area there is also ecologically produced health food the flavour of which will – just like this entire region – take you back to a somewhat already forgotten time. The hospitality is, of course, also evident in the wealth of accommodation on offer in hotels and private estates, always in the right measure of professionalism and sincere welcome.

If you want to head out into this, to many tourists still unknown, part of Croatia take some time to read Palace With a View. The 120-page brochure has been printed in 120,000 copies and in eight languages – Croatian, English, German, Italian, French, Hungarian, Slovene and Czech.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

Unique by its embroidery, cathedral, Lipizzaners and Eucharist wines, Dakovo is the tourism jewel of eastern Slavonia. The basilica of St. Peter dominates the town‘s landscape with its two 84 metrehigh belfries, built in 1882. The cathedral was erected in the time of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, who by initiating the construction of numerous church and commercial buildings launched the development of the Dakovo episcopate. Throughout its 760-year history, namely, many bishops have left traces of their activities in Dakovo. In 1806, in the time of Bishop Antun Mandic, the first institution of higher education in Slavonia was opened – the School of Theology.

In the direct vicinity of the cathedral is the wine cellar with its renowned Eucharist wines, served as an exceptional treat at special occasions. It will always be found on the table at state visits to Croatia or at presentations the Croatian National Tourist Board organises around the world for tourism representatives and professionals and journalists.

The historicist and Secession style old town core today draws the attention of a growing number of tourists, who come to Croatia on the cruisers that ply the waters of the Danube River from Budapest. And that is why a tour of the town must include a not-to-bemissed
visit to the National Lipizzaner Stud Farm, founded in or around the year 1506. Their beauty and grace was remarked upon by British Queen Elizabeth, who visited the stud farm in 1972.

Every year the Lipizzaners are a part of the traditional culture and tourism event known as the Dakovacki vezovi (Embroideries of Dakovo), held for its 41st time in July of this year. This function has long ago become a national event and this year drew performers from five continents and ten of thousands of visitors from around the world. With its tradition and far and wide renowned embroidery in gold thread, preserved trades and old skills, Dakovo offers tourists a cornucopia of possibilities for a quality vacation in an indigenous milieu.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

Just under the heights of Papuk in Požega-Slavonia County, in the heart of the Vale of Kutjevo, is the village Vetovo and near it a farmstead that has been drawing tourists for almost two decades now. A large number of visitors have come to the Schon Blick estate over these many years, many of which return on a regular basis because the homey atmosphere, the gentle landscape and the hospitable hosts are an excellent formula for a relaxing vacation.

Once there was only a single pond on the grounds, and the estate now boasts a large log house with a rich culinary offer of local meat and fish specialities, in front of which ponies move about freely.

Accommodations are offered in bungalows; five of them, and the estate is now surrounded by three ponds, giving it the appearance of an island in the midst of waters.

There is also no lack of facilities for fun – two tennis courts with night time lighting, a beach volleyball court, a children‘s playground and, what the kids love most – a small zoo where peacocks, rabbits, chickens and other small wild animals are free to roam, and deer often happen by.

Another reason to go is that fact that the estate is located close to the vineyards of Ivan Enjingi, Vlado Krauthker, Petar Majetic, the Kutjevo estates and other lauded Croatian vintners.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

Besides the events in Varaždin itself, during this year‘s Varaždin Baroque Evenings concerts have also been organised in Castle Trakošcan, in Ludbreg, Lepoglav, Varaždinske toplice, Krapina, Prelog, Zacretje, Križevci, Stubicki Golubovec, Osijek and Vukovar.

This year Croatian musicians have been for the first time been joined by artists from six European countries – Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia, which has also been the partner country to this year‘s Varaždin Baroque Evenings – also staging concerts in their countries. In this fashion the Varaždin Baroque Evenings, which have been held for almost four decades and have long ago been recognised outside of Croatia as a significant cultural event, have united several European nations in a single cultural undertaking.

Varaždin has always been a centre of the urban cultural scene. Music has always been at the heart of this baroque town, once the Croatian capital, and its citizens delighted to the sounds of musical virtuosos, dances and walks on the stunning town streets… In the colour of the town‘s streets, where hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world delight in the Špancirfest, held in late August and early September, or during the Baroque Evenings, held every September, the tradition and way of life in old Varaždin is reflected. Through its Baroque evening Varaždin did not only attract the world‘s greatest names in music, it also promoted its own tourism through culture. So it is that in the dominant edifice of the Old Town and in the Baroque churches and palaces, open to many cultural happenings, it again wrote new pages of its rich history, preserving its traditional way of life that tourists also recognise through the realisation of quality cultural projects.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

In the search for interesting indigenous souvenirs from Medimurje County our trail has lead to a family farmstead in Kotoriba where they make a very practical and attractive edible souvenir.

The souvenir, namely, is the very healthy oil extracted from the seeds of the pumpkin. The bottles are decorated with motifs of the Medimurje region.

Pumpkin oil made from naturally cultivated pumpkins are rich in substances that reduce cholesterol in the bloodstream, while the braver have dubbed it an aphrodisiac.

Pumpkin oil contains unsaturated fatty acids, a great quantity of beta-carotene, vitamin E and potassium. The lecithin in this oil helps prevent atherosclerosis (gathering harmful plaques on the walls of blood vessels which lead to heart disease), and contributes to reducing the level of cholesterol in the blood.

100 grams of pumpkin oil has 900 calories. If you are calorie wary, remember that only a small spoon of this oil is enough to impart its wonderful flavour to salads. And just like with olive oil, the best quality is extracted when using the cold pressing method of production.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

As of recently a cycling tour of the Vukovar Veterans‘ Way is an integral part of the tourism offer in Vukovar and its environs Over the past few years Vukovar has recorded an increasing number of tourists who most often come to the town individually or on the cruisers that ply the waters of the Danube River, or by bicycle on the Danube Tour. And that is precisely why a cycling tour has been conceived that covers all of the key points in the town and its environs. It is 38 kilometres long and starts in the town centre, from where you head out by bicycle to Eltz palace.

In this way tourists can best get acquainted with the wartime story of the people of Vukovar, but also of life in the city and its surroundings as it is lived by the people of Vukovar today.

Given that the tour is quite long, the best places for a break have been indicated in the route, where tourists can refresh themselves with the local brandy, or in nearby souvenir shops where they can see for themselves the manufacture of souvenirs – the Dove of Vukovar, the well-known Vukovar water tower and the cross on the Danube River.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

At the very border with Bosnia & Herzegovina, on the banks of the Una River, is Hrvatska Kostajnica – a small town that derives its name from the surrounding forests, rich in chestnuts. It is precisely the chestnuts that play the lead role in the traditional October event in Kostajnica – the Chestnut Fair at which the many lovers of nature, strolls, chestnuts and the traditional culinary specialities of the region gather.

The Chestnut Fair of Kostajnica has been held for seven years in the first weekend in October. As a part of the Kestenijada – the chestnut harvest on the surrounding hills and forests, the local populace from year to year does its best to entertain tourists who traditionally come to the chestnut harvest.

And so, besides the relaxing and entertaining harvest, a lavish culinary offer is also organised during the Chestnut Fair – all of the specialities are, naturally, made of chestnuts – visitors can sample cooked and baked chestnuts and many chestnut sweetmeats. Visitors can also participate in the harvest and in the traditional bicycle tour and other kinds of fun.

Hrvatska Kostajnica is a small town nestled on the left bank of the Una River. Historical documents dating from the year 1240 attest to its 762 years. The Croatian noble family of Zrinski left their mark in this town‘s history – they fought the Turks for Kostajnica, from which time the large fortress on the Una River dates.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

In 1962 the first “Ilocka berba grozda” (Ilok grape picking) was held. It resulted from a old Srijem- Slavonian custom of gathering the people together at the beginning of the picking period with the aim of looking after the vineyards - working as a vineryardist, celebrating a good year and crop and unavoidable socializing, primarily the young who have not had much experience for free socializing in one place in vineyards.

For years significant ethno-wine-tourist manifestations have been created, some lasting a number of days and attracting a greater number of guests of varying programmes. The main part of the programme usual takes place in the first weekend of the month of September with daily and nightly cultural-entertainment content.

A total of about 500 participants participate in the programme with about 6,000 spectators. Due to the close proximity of the border and attractiveness, some of the guests come form neighbouring Vojvodina.

Source: Croatian National Tourist Board

“Jesen u Baranji” (Autumn in Baranja), is held in the first weekend in September in the town of Beli Manastir. It is a cultural, economic and tourist manifestation which unites the work of all association in our town, exhibition of handicrafts, exhibition of paintings, concerts for the young, tradesman fair, folklore review, competition in cooking “fiš paprikaša” (a traditional spicy fish stew).

Source: Croatian National Tourist Board