Croatia

Klapa Singing
In 2012, Klapa was listed in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. The term refers to groups that sing a specific repository of Dalmatian Klapa songs. The term klapa means “a group of friends (4-10 male singers). The highest voice – I. tenor, is the leader of the singing group. Several II. baritoni, tenori and basi voices follow the leader. Multipart singing, a capella homophonic singing, oral tradition and making simple music are the main features of authentic klapa singing. Another important component of the klapa is the ability to sing freely. It is sung without any notation of tunes and their harmonization. The main aim of the singers is to achieve the best possible mix of voices. Topics of klapa songs usually deal the surroundings where they live, love and known life situations. But love is the primary theme.

NijemoKolo
NijemoKolo (silent circle dance of the Dalmatian hinterland) is a dance performed exclusively without music. It is performed in an enclosed circle, with the men leading female partners (1 or 2) in dance, to be clearly seen by everyone, and then jumping alternately from one leg to another, simultaneously taking his female partners along, publicly testing the skill of his partner, without any set rules. Depending on his mood and desire, he joins the other dancers in a circle, into the Kolo with long strides.

The dance is performed spontaneously at carnivals, fairs, feast days and at weddings. Nowadays, village groups perform dance at local, regional as well as international folklore festivals and at local shows, carnivals or on the holy days of their parish church. These dance skills are passed on from the older to the younger generation mainly through cultural clubs.

St. Blaise Festival in Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik’s most loved saint and historical figure is St. Blaise. The Feast of St. Blaise is celebrated with fervor. February 2, the Virgin Mary Candlemas, marks the beginning of the celebrations. St. Blaise’s flag is raised on Orlando’s column and white doves are released in front of the Church of St Blaise. On 3rd February, the day of the feast, a morning mass is dedicated to the saint and then a procession of priests and churchgoers pile up Stradun (Street) bearing relics of the saint as well as banners before going back to the church. Intricate local technique is displayed at the church, as the banners are swirled and lowered. It’s also an occasion for everyone to show off the lavish traditional garments and jewellery. Believers are blessed by priests through the day using two intertwined candles around the throat. It is believed that this prevents throat problems. At dusk, the stained glass windows of St. Blaise church glows brightly with light. St. Blaise Feast Day in Dubrovnik was listed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Heritage in 2009.

Rijeka Carnival
Rijeka’s Carnival is essentially a Christian celebration that ends on Shrove Tuesday. It once attracted everyone from peasants to Russian counts and is rated as one of the largest Carnival parties. The Carnival commences on a Tuesday in mid January where the Carnival flag is first raised. On the Friday that follows, the Queen’s Pageant and the Handing over the City Keys to the master of festivities takes place. The following weekend is the Zvoncari, otherwise known as the Bell Ringers. It’s a long tradition where men dress up as ferocious animals and dance and ring bells loudly. This is followed by the Children’s Carnival Parade the week after, where thousands of children and pre-schoolers dance through the streets. The International Carnival Parade is the main event, with traditional masks, costumes and floats often linked with current events. About 8000 participants and 100 carnival groups are watched by 100,000 spectators. At the grand finale, the symbol for everything that went wrong in the past year—namely the “Pust” is put on trial and burned. The city keys are returned to the mayor on the last day of the Carnival and the Carnival flag is lowered as well. This takes place the Sunday before Shrove Tuesday.

Zagreb Dox
Held annually, Zagreb Dox is an international documentary film festival established in 2005. It is the biggest festival of its kind in South East Europe. Its goals are to showcase documentary films from the region as well as to provide a meeting point for authors from all over the world. It offers documentary features of high quality to local audiences and helps promote documentary films as one of the basic film genres. The festival helps authors develop their projects in addition to the screenings by participating in workshops, presentations and forums organized during this festival. Along with the official competition, the festival features reflections of well known authors and various national cinemas.

INmusic festival
INmusic festival is touted as Croatia’s largest international open-air festival and features in the top 20 European summer festivals since 2008 as listed by The Times. Spread over 2-3 days, the festival is held each year in June on Youth Island in the centre of Zagreb’s beautiful Lake Jarun. The festival commenced in 2006 and features several internationally renowned heavy metal, indie rock, and electronica artists in many genre-specific stages.

International Children’s Festival
Sibenik becomes a city which celebrates children’s imagination and creativity in June and July each year. Children from all over the world participate and its streets are taken over by their creations and are dedicated to the development of all the artistic forms of their creativity. For the past five decades, those who value this children’s world of fun and games, innocence and goodness come and visit. In spite of the rich tradition of this city, it is the children and the now International Children’s Festival that has become the trademark of Sibenik. The festival offers three basic programmes: an open workshop directly involving children in the act of creation, a festival of domestic and international children’s ensembles, and the educational segment, with a symposium that addresses the aesthetic education of children. During these two weeks, Sibenik should be an inevitable destination to those who still have a childish streak in them, and more so to those who have completely forgotten it.

Pula Arena
Pula Arena, or the Pula Amphitheatre, is a dramatic historic Roman amphitheatre in Croatia. Pula Arena was built during the rule of the Emperor Vespasian, who was also responsible for founding the Colosseum. Able to accommodate an audience of 20,000, Pula Arena must have hosted battles of the gladiators under the Romans and the tournaments of knights in the middle ages. It is now restored with a capacity of 5,000 people, Pula Arena’s now hosts shows that are far more docile in nature and are mostly operas and film festivals.

Diocletian’s Palace
Originally the home of the ancient Roman Emperor, it evolved over the years to become an entire town, known as Split. When it was ready, Diocletian’s Palace was lavish, and had several apartments, three temples and a ceremonial court called Peristil. It also housed an octagonal structure known as the Diocletian’s mausoleum, where the emperor was later buried. After this began the slow development of Diocletian’s Palace into a medieval town known as Spalato – now Split. Shops and homes were built and a city grew as a process of organic urbanization. Diocletian’s mausoleum no longer exist and it became St. Duje Cathedral in the 7th century. The location of Diocletian’s remains is unknown.

Today, one cannot tell where Diocletian’s Palace ends and the city begins. The two are closely entwined. The most impressive original ruins include the fortification gates, particularly the Silver Gate, the Temple of Jupiter, the Peristil and the underground passageways. It caters well for tourism with several walking tours of the historical sites. Diocletian’s Palace and Split has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979 and the city is a popular tourist destination.

Dubrovnik City Walls
The Dubrovnik city walls are iconic site and some of the best preserved medieval fortifications in the world. Completely surrounding the city by the 13th century, the Dubrovnik City Walls were strengthened and improved upon right up to the 16th century. Additions were made in the 15th century in order to defend against invasion by the Turks. The walls themselves are generally 6 metres thick and 24 metres in height.

An impressive 2 km in length, the Dubrovnik City Walls are lined with imposing forts and gates. The most impressive of these is the 1537 Pile Gate, which is a robust gothic construction and which is usually the starting point of a walk around the Dubrovnik City Walls. Today, walking along the Dubrovnik City Walls is a must do of one’s visit and gives a good insight into the city’s history. Dubrovnik is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Euphrasian Basilica
Located in Porec, this amazing Basilica is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Croatia’s top sights. Bishop Euphrasius built the Basilica between 543 and 554. It has beautiful sculpture, nine naves and marble columns imported from Constantinople. Yet, most visitors are awestruck by the glittering Byzantine mosaics in the apse. Christ on his throne presides over his twelve apostles at the very top and Mary is seated on a celestial globe surrounded by angels below. Bishop Euphrasius with a model of the Basilica in his hand is on the left. There is a spectacular representation of the Annunciation with a beatific Mary to the left of the windows.

Now a small museum next door, the Bishop’s Palace contains other mosaics and ancient stone fragments. The fish mosaic is thought to date from the 4th century. Part of the structure also includes remnants of the 4th century Basilica upon which this “newer” version was constructed. The rectangular floor plan, some walls and columns and an early mosaic partly remain.

At the Euphrasian basilica , you start with a visit to the Bishop’s Palace and museum and then progress to a climb to the bell tower and end with the mosaics. The climb up the bell tower offers a nice view of Porec, although the narrow wooden stairs can reach gridlock during the tourist season.

St. James Cathedral
The most significant architectural achievement in the 15th and 16th century on Croatian soil is the Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik. Because of its special value, this Gothic-Renaissance monument is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list since 2000.

The diocese was founded in Sibenik in 1298. The existing St. James Church was small and not suitable for the cathedral. So a decision was taken that the bishop and the city would provide resources for the building of a new cathedral in 1402. The actual work began only in 1431. The cathedral was built over 100 years, till 1535. Using unique construction techniques, three architects, namely Francesco di Giacomo, Georgius Mathei Dalmaticus and Niccolo di Giovanni Fiorentino, in succession, developed a structure built entirely from stone. There are beautiful elements of Gothic and Renaissance art inside the cathedral. The Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik is an evidence of the transition and fusion of the Gothic period to the Renaissance period in the church architecture.

Fan
Fan is an Indian thriller film released in 2016. Shah Rukh Khan played the lead double role in the film. ‘Fan’ tells the story of an obsessive fan of a star who looks just like him. In the film, Shah Rukh Khan is seen doing some daredevil stunts on the streets of Dubrovnik. FAN’s action sequences have been filmed extensively in Dubrovnik, a city in Croatia.

Star Wars: Episode VIII
An upcoming American epic space opera film, it will be the eighth installment in the main Star Wars saga, number ten in the entire film series, and second in the Star Wars sequel trilogy following Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). It stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and others. The shooting took place in Dubrovnik from 9th March to 16th March, 2016.

Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones Season 2, a famous television series based on the novel “A Song of Ice and Fire” was shot in the beautiful city of Dubrovnik. It was the main film location for the Kings Landing. The fortified or the walled city provided the perfect location for the production unit to screen the Kings Landing with minimal need for setting up outdoor scene sets.

Plitvice Lakes National Park
Croatia’s most popular tourist attraction was given UNESCO World Heritage status in 1979. The lakes are a definite must-see in Croatia and are located roughly halfway between its capital Zagreb and Zadar on the coast. Its sixteen lakes, inter-connected by several waterfalls, and set in deep woodland populated by deer, bears, wolves, boars and rare bird species is the beauty of the National Park. It covers a total area of 300 square kilometres, whilst the lakes join each other over a distance of eight kilometres. The lakes are at different heights and the largest waterfall, Veliki Slap, is 70 metres tall.

Krka National Park
This park lies about 10 km inland from Sibenik. Named after the Krka River, the Park covers a large area and two thirds of the river flowing through it. Its magnificent waterfalls, which include the famous Skradinski Buk falls is one of the most famous sights in Croatia. There’s a wide variety of both flora and fauna in the Park. Much of the animal life lives in and around the waters of the Krka River, home to different amphibian and reptile creatures. Also seen are many different bird species, and possibly 18 different species of bat who call the Park their home.

Lonjsko Polje Nature Park
This unique bird reserve is located along the River Sava in the Sisak-Moslavina County. Spread over an area larger than 50000 hectares, it constitutes the largest marshland of the entire Danube River basin. Due to its specific hydrological and geomorphologic characteristics, it is rich in a variety of fauna and flora.

The white stork, numerous heron species, the spoonbill, the white-tailed eagle, the lesser spotted eagle and many marsh and migratory bird species spawn the area. There are two ornithological reserves within the park: Krapjedol and Rakita.

In the Posavina regions, you will find villages that are more than 200 years old, with preserved traditional characteristics and wooden houses typical to that region. The villages Krapje and Cigoc attract the maximum number of visitors from around the world, especially from Japan, who come to see the white storks nesting on the rooftops. Many village households engaged in rural tourism offer a series of interesting recreational activities such as horse riding or riding horse carriages, boat trips, bicycling, fishing, and others, making it possible to have an active vacation.

Paklenica National Park
It is located about 47 km north (northeast) from Zadar and the nearest coastal town is Starigrad Paklenica. The Park lies to the south of the Velebit range of mountains, and has a mixture of high peaks with spectacular views, deep gorges and beech & pine forests. For the adventure loving people, it is an ideal place – offering climbing as well as several challenging hiking trails. For the laid-back, there are more gentle walks also available, with just as much to explore. Paklenica is famous for its two canyons, Velika (meaning Big) Paklenica and Mala (meaning Small) Paklenica.

The Park’s highest peak is Vaganskivrh, which is 1757 metres high. Caves of different sizes also exist in the National Park, one of which can be visited. The Park is famous for its many geological highlights, and contains a large range of plant and animal species. In the park various types of bird, deer, bears, foxes, wild cats and lynx can also be seen.

Kornati Island
This archipelago consists of 140 islands, most of it declared a National Park – and with its natural beauty, numerous coves and pristine blue waters. Nobody resides here permanently and most of the area belongs to the people of Murter Island who come to tend the olive groves, vineyards and orchards. They have cottages there, in which they stay during the agricultural season. It is best to visit the islands on a day trip from Zadar, Sibenik or Split. For a Robinson Crusoe type holiday, you can stay in a cottage with no electricity or running water. A boat from Murter brings you there and brings you back a week later.

Dolac Market
This is a farmers’ market located in Gornji Grad – Medvescak city district of Zagreb, Croatia and is the most frequented and famous farmer’s market in Zagreb. It is famous for its combination of a traditional open market with stalls and a sheltered market below and is located only a little away from Ban Jelacic Square (in the main city), between the oldest parts of Zagreb, Gradec and Kaptol. Dolac farmers’ market is enjoyable for all the right reasons: fresh and local produce, aromas, cacophony of voices. It reflects a local’s daily life and hours pass by just walking around.

Downstairs in the covered market are butchers, fishmongers and old ladies selling cheese and cream –which is the local specialty called “sir i vrhnje”. Flowers and lace are also widely available.

Cuisine
Each region of Croatia has its own distinct culinary tradition and thus the cuisine here is heterogeneous. The differences in the selection of foodstuffs and cooking style are seen between the mainland and the coastal regions. Mainland cuisine is more influenced by the earlier Slavic culture and the neighboring Hungarian and Turkish cultures, cooking with lard and spices such as black pepper, paprika and garlic.

The coastal region bears the influences of the Greek and Roman food and also of the later Mediterranean cuisine, in particular Italian (especially Venetian), using olive oil, and herbs & spices like rosemary, cinnamon, sage, bay leaf, nutmeg, oregano, marjoram, clove, lemon and orange rind.

Peasant cooking traditions are based on creative or imaginative variations of several basic ingredients (vegetables, cereals, dairy products, meat, fish,) and cooking procedures (stewing, grilling, roasting, baking). Bourgeois cuisine involves more complicated procedures and the use of selected herbs and spices.Charcuterie is part of Croatian tradition in all regions.

Croatian cuisine can be divided region wise like Istria, Dalmatia, Dubrovnik, Lika, Gorski Kotar, Zagorje, Medimurje, Podravina and Slavonia which all have their particular cooking traditions, typical of the area and not well known in the other parts of Croatia. Most dishes, however, can be found all across the country, with local variants.

Wine Roads
The wine roads in Croatia are always packed with people, especially during the autumn harvest time, looking to celebrate local festivals, such as San Martin and to enjoy every moment of it. Savour a unique experience by taking part in the christening of new wine called Must, or simply traverse the beautiful vineyards in Motovun in Istria, Kutjevo in Slavonia or Medimurje in Central Croatia.