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The promotional film «Advent in Zagreb» made by the Tourist Board of Zagreb, has recieved its first award in the category for best tourism video, at the 46th International festival of tourism films in the Italian city Lecce, in the province Apulia.

300 films from 60 countries from every continent competed in ten categories. Croatia participated in every category with 14 films, and the prize was only won by Zagreb.

Tourfilm festival was founded in 1962., and its founder and president (now honorary) to this day is the respected journalist Antonio Conte from Rome. The festival is held in the organization of the European federation of tourism journalists and European tourism club of the province and city Lecce, under the sponsorship of ENIT, the National Tourist Organisation of Italy.
Source: Croatia.hr

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It is believed that a few centuries ago the Paulines brought lace to the Croatian area. Recognizing its beauty, village folk accapted the knitting of lace as their own tradition, cherished to this day. It was most accepted by the inhabitants of the town Lepoglava, where the Pauline monestary was located. Proud of their lacing skills, the people of Lepoglava, every year in September organize an International festival of lace, where they promote lace as part of their ethnographical treasure. At the festival, which will be held from the 16th to the 19th September this year, exibited will be rich lace works from other European countries but visitors often find most interesting the domestic lace works from Croatian lace centres, which are next to Lepoglava, Pag, Sv. Marija and Hvar. Lepoglava lace had its boom at the end of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century, when production was encouraged, courses, workshops and lacing schools were opened.

The skill of making lace became the source of extra income because lace was sold at fairs and exibitions in Zagreb, but also accross western Europe.

Lepoglava lace has won medals in many competitions. In Paris in1937. It was awarded a gold medal, and in Berlin in 1939. a bronze one. This period was the most flourishing for Lepoglava lace.

Lepoglava is a town located in the spectacular landscape of Zagorje, beneath Ivanščica, not far from two European motorways Zagreb – Vienna and Zagreb –Budapest. Here, after 1683. the first secondary school and the first university in Croatia was founded, with the right to give academic titles. The parish church, convent and chapel in the area were decorated with frescoes by the famous Pauline Ivan Ranger and are well known monuments of baroque artistry.
Source: Croatia.hr

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Zagreb and the Sports park Mladost will this year also, on the 1st September accommodate many top athletes, Olympic medal winners, world champions and record breakers. The Zagreb athletic meeting, former Memorial to Boris Hanžeković, from this year is a part of the IAAF World Challenge series. This is a meeting with a 60 year tradition and is highly rated in the world of athletics.

This year's meeting has gotten the honor of hosting the final competition of the male Hammer Challenge, which means the world's best hammer throwers will come together in Zagreb.

This athlete story was born more than half a century ago with the duel of Zagreb's strongest clubs – Mladost and Dinamo, and in 1958. with the participation of top althletes the meeting became international. The 110m Memorial hurdle race, that has been organized as part of the meeting since the very beginning, carries the name of a pre war athlete and representative from Zagreb, Boris Hanžeković, who became famous by beating the well known Greek Hristos Mantikas, at Balkanijada in 1938. Already in the 1960's and 1970's the meeting was attended by respected athletes but a real influx of world stars to Zagreb began in 1997. and has been increasing with every new meeting. In 1998. the popular «Hanžek», as this competition is usually called, climbed to first place on the meeting chart of the EAA (European Athletic Association), and in 1999. was listed on a higher rank – under meetings of the IAAF.
Proof that the Zagreb meeting is highly respected in the world's athlete family is that the IAAF included «Hanžek» among 14 cities which have kept the Grand Prix status in the new system of the World Athletics Tour. Only the Golden league is above it (6 meetings) and the Super Grand Prix (5).

The trademark of the meeting is Croatian athlete, the world champion in high jumping, Blanka Vlašić.

The night atmosphere, fantastic results and excellent organisation, give this top sporting event its charm.
Source: Croatia.hr

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Zagreb and its history can recently be experienced by its many visitors by riding a tour bus through the city streets. Instead of having the usual tour guide with a microphone, tourists can use the headphones provided, through which they can experience the tour of the city with the routes and specific landmarks explained in seven languages.

The open top bus offers a shorter and a longer route. The ride on the shorter 'red route' lasts one hour, through the Upper and Lower town, while the longer 'green route' lasts two hours and includes two of the famous Zagreb lakes, Bundek and Jarun.

The ride on the tour bus enables guests to get to know, through the one or two hour tour, the rich 900 year old history of the city and many interesting facts connected to it, for example: that the first written document mentioning Zagreb dates back to 1094., that Radio Zagreb, as the first radio station in this part of Europe first started broadcasting in 1926. and that the first motorised vehicle first drove through the streets of Zagreb in1901.
Source: Croatia.hr

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The Croatian light calvary within the French Royal Army was known for great heroism and military skills throughout the thirty year war in the 17th century (1618-48) , but also stood out with a 'fashion' detail– a picturesque scarf tied around their necks. This scarf ties in a knot was named after the ethnic name of the Croats (old German Krabatten or old French Cravattes) – cravat. In 1664. a Croatian regiment called Royal Cravattes was formed in the units of the French Royal Army. Almost four centuries later, in the old part of Zagreb, tourists can witness the changing of the guards of the Royal Cravattes, a unit inspired by the famous Croatian historical regiment.

Every changing of the guards starts with an attractive ceremony of preparation of the guards and arms inspection. 12 soldiers participate in the ceremony and display their scarfs, later known as cravats worn four hundred years ago. The guards are located at three attractive tourist locations – at St. Mark's Square, Ban Josip Jelačić Square and at the statue of Our Lady at Kaptol. With this project Zagreb aims to promote itself as the capital of the cravat, with the wish that this extraordinary cultural and historical value becomes an attraction for all visitors of the Croatian capital, the homeland of the cravat. Apartments Zagreb
Source: Croatia.hr

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Readers of the prestigious magazine Conde Nast Traveler have chosen, for the second year in a row, the eminent Zagreb hotel Regent Esplanade Zagreb to be part of the guide of the world's best tourist facilities, the so-called Golden List. Almost 33 thousand readers were polled, assessing the accommodation, location, design, quality of service, food and drinks, ranking the Regent Esplanade Zagreb 33rd out of 100 hotels in southern Europe. Hotel Esplanade, operating today under the international Regent hotel chain, was originally built in 1925 for the travellers of the legendary Orient Express, travelling from Istanbul to Paris. This five-star hotel is one of the symbols of the Zagreb hotel industry and is well known for the high quality of service that it provides. Many famous figures have stayed here, such as Josephine Baker, Charles Lindbergh, Orson Wells, Liv Ulman, Louis Armstrong, Woody Allen and many others.
Source: Croatia.hr

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The eco/ethno village of Stara Kapela is situated at the foot of Dilj gora, at the border between Brod-Posavina and Požega Slavonia County. Unique for its traditional architecture and the quiet of the old rural lifestyle, the village leaves each guest with the impression of returning a hundred year back to the past. Without cars and mobile phone signal, Stara Kapela offers a different story, free of any rush and stress, in coexistence with nature and traditional values. The village was fully reconstructed in the traditional style and with local materials, elaborated to the tiniest detail. Each house was provided with its former appearance, and the entire road is illuminated with lanterns on wooden poles with wooden plates presenting the words of the greatest Croatian poets.

Thanks to the Eco/Ethno Village Association that initiated the reconstruction of Stara Kapela, most of the old furniture, old tools and various household aids have been purchased, so everyone can evoke the former lifestyle. The village was also provided with 13 kilometers of hiking/biking tracks with six rest stops, while replicas of old ?ardaks are available in four locations. As the area has 120 registered plant species and over 80 bird species, plates with the relevant Croatian and Latin names were mounted across the entire track. The village presently has only 19 residents, but they will soon be accompanied with some new ones because a certain number of abandoned estates have been purchased by artists who will present some of their work in Stara Kapela. The plans for further development of the village provide for an old trade park and a traditional village garden with autochthonous flowers. Stara Kapela strives to become a model hotel village with only eight tourist beds by 2009. 14 beds are currently available for guests in Stara Kapela, and the number should rise to around forty by the end of the year. A souvenir shop has recently been opened, and they will soon start mounting wooden fences around the houses. Such reconstruction requires plenty of time and effort because the aim is to fully restore the village’s appearance of over a hundred years ago, which makes Stara Kapela a true tourist pearl, only 170 kilometers from Zagreb.

Source: press.croatia.hr

Here are some useful links for you:

• slavonia24.com
• all about Požega
• Videos from Slavonia
  
• Vacation in Croatia

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If you wish to get to know the interior of the country on your way to the seaside or on your way back, we recommend you visit Krapina-Zagorje County, a region in the northwestern part of the country.

The area has amazing natural beauties, castles, cultural and historical landmarks, as well as excellent gastronomy and wines. This county is a separate geographic whole in the north, surrounded by the peaks of Macelj and Ivancica in the north, and Medvednica in the southeast. It shares borders with the Republic of Slovenia, Varaždin County and the capital city of Zagreb and Zagreb County. Its area makes it one of the smallest Croatian counties, but it has an above-average population density. Although primarily known as a Mediterranean destination, Croatia also has numerous tourist attractions in its continental part, interesting to an increasing number of guests. In addition to the thermal sources used in the spas in Krapinske Toplice, Stubi?ke Toplice and Tuhelj, equally attractive for health and recreational tourism, the popular hilly area attracts more and more guests with its beauty and playfulness – its roads and pathways are suitable for hiking, biking, visiting vineyards or country estates offering original food and homemade wine, and acquainting the guests with the traditional customs of the region. Krapina-Zagorje County also has numerous castles associated with many historical customs, important events and persons significant for Croatian history, as well as the history of the broader region. Many guests also come to the shrine in Krapina-Zagorje County – the most popular one is the national shrine of Marija Bistrica, but the churches of Mary of the Mountain in Lobor, Mary of the Snow in Belce and Mary of Jerusalem on Trški Vrh are also interesting. This area offers plenty of events throughout the year. For example, the Tabor Film Festival held 11 – 19 July in Veliki Tabor castle in Desini?. This event is among the most significant short film festivals in the region. Every Sunday in August, an event called The Summer with Krapina Neanderthal is held in the town of Krapina, the center of the county. As it happens, one of the richest paleoanthropological finding sites in the world is located right here, and there is a reconstructed Krapina Neanderthal and his family and some animals from the era on Hušnjakovo brdo. On 30 August, a presentation of a traditional Zagorje wedding, including the traditional music, dancing, food and beverage, is held in the Staro Selo Museum in Kumrovec, known as the birthplace of the president of former Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito.

Source: press.croatia.hr

 Here are some useful links for you:

• zagreb24.com
• travel guide for Krapina-Zagorje Conty
  
• all about Krapina
• Videos from Zagreb
• Vacation in Krapina-Zagorje County

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The Regent Esplanade Zagreb – one of the symbols of the hotel tradition and quality of the Croatian capital – recently received two valuable recognitions for quality: the Superbrands status and logo and the International 5 Star Diamond Award.

The Superbrands status – whereby the international organization of the same name recognizes brands that achieve a higher quality than its competition – has given the Regent Esplanade the right to use the Superbrands logo in marketing campaigns and promotions.

The other international recognition – the International 5 Star Diamond Award, was awarded to the Esplanade by the members of the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, part of an exclusive network of professionals in the luxury hospitality industry sector.

They base their evaluation of top quality on marks for complete service, offered luxury, the quality of the surroundings, the relationship towards the guest, the culinary experience, cleanliness and the most important criteria – hospitality.

The Esplanade was constructed in 1925 to provide top class accommodations to passengers on the renowned Orient Express running on the Paris-Istanbul line. After a complete reconstruction in 2004 this 209 luxury room and suite hotel has operated as the Regent Esplanade Zagreb.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

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A total of 1,400 Japanese tourists arrived in Croatia in August and September on direct charter flights from Tokyo. Of that number a total of 1,050 Japanese tourists landed in the capital city of Zagreb, while one group of 350 Japanese landed in Dubrovnik.

These are, namely, the first direct charter flights from Tokyo‘s Narita airport, organized by JTB, the leading Japanese tourist agency, in collaboration with Japanese Airlines. For its regional partner JTB chose the Dubrovnik-based Atlas Travel Agency, a member of the Adriatica.net Group.

The Japanese tourists were in Croatia on eight-day stints, and besides Zagreb they visited the Plitvice Lakes, Split and Dubrovnik and neighbouring countries – Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro.

According to statistical data, Croatia is every year visited by a growing number of Japanese tourists, so that these direct flights linking Tokyo and Zagreb or Dubrovnik, were received with mutual satisfaction. It is, namely, known that Japanese tourists are great fans of the beauties of culture, history and nature on which account Croatia has become for them, after the large scale promotional activities organised in that country, an increasingly attractive tourism destinations.

Source: ?Croatia Tourist Board?

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