The town of the Picoks – A European Destination of Excellence
The Podravina town of Durdevac and its legend of the Picoks have been included in the tourist network of 20 European destinations of excellence cultivating intangible cultural heritage, for which the delegation from Durdevac received a plaque and an Eden crystal statue at the European Tourism Forum. As they said at the ceremony, this award is presented to leading tourist destinations and will be a basis for mutual exchange of good practice examples.
Situated in Northwest Croatia in the region of Podravina, Durdevac happens to be a winner of the European Destination of Tourist Excellence award. This town in Koprivnica-Križevci County has a whole series of tourist attractions and events, the most popular among them being the Picokijada that was held for the 40th time this June. The event that includes a number cultural/ entertainment, gastro and other events, is based on the Legend of the Picoks. The legend tells of the bravery and with of the residents of Durdevac who came to the idea of how to outwit the Turkish army after a long siege of the town. As the army of Ulam Beg failed to conquer the Durdevac Fort with its fierce attacks, he decided to siege the town patiently and drive the surrounded residents to hunger. When the Turkish commander started to believe he was close to success, along came a surprise. As advised by an old lady, the residents fired a rooster out of a cannon at the Turkish army, the last one they had. The army of Ulam Beg thought such splurging meant that the residents of the surrounded town had enough food and decided to retreat, putting a curse on the locals and calling them the Picoks. Thanks to the residents of Durdevac, the legend lives on…
Source: press.croatia.hr
