My beautiful Croatia! ( Part 8 )

Day 1,529, 08:51 • Published in Croatia Croatia • by dRobi1990


Hi there, dear readers.

My goal is to make 50 articles about our small country and show the world all the beauty Croatia has. I`ll do my best to show you Croatia most honestly and with great honour.

! Notice: These article is only made to promote Croatia and Croatian nature, culture, cities, heritage, history, art, cuisine, sports and people (either born in Croatia or others) and is not made to usurp, tease or start any sort of controversy, so please have this on your mind when you post comment.

If you are interested in some places and have any question about them, please send PM or comment and I`ll answer you as soon as I can.

Part 9 will be published on February 1st, 2012.

Enjoy!













Lonjsko Polje - A wetland area in Posavina with forests of common oak, birds and fish reserves.



According to the criteria of the Birds Directive of the European Union, the park is an important habitat for birds (Important Birds Area - IBA).



Herds of autochthonous "Croatian posavac" horses on wide areas of grazing land. (*Tip: Select English language after page loads, to see text.)



The Turopolje pig - woodland regions of Lonjsko polje proved to be especially suitable for breeding this pig



A pair of swans in Lonjsko polje Nature Park

Lonjsko Polje Nature Park (English: Lonja Field Nature Park) is the largest protected wetland in both Croatia and the entire Danube basin.

It covers an area of 505 square kilometres (195.2 sq mi), extending along the river Sava from the areas east of Sisak, the lower course of the river Lonja for which it is named, to the areas west of Nova Gradiška, along the course of the river Veliki Strug.

The area of Lonjsko Polje is designated a nature park (Croatian: Park prirode), a kind of protected area in Croatia. The institution was established in 1998, and it is based in the village of Jasenovac.

! Video: Lonjsko Polje Nature Park
! More info on: Lonjsko polje - UNESCO website
! Tourist info: Lonjsko polje - unique bird reserve











The valley is completely free of pollution; it is clean, glittering in its natural glow. This is nowadays, without any doubt an unrevokable comparative privilege that not many places on the mainland can take pride in.



The Lika is a river in Croatia which gives its name to the Lika region. It is 77 kilometres (48 mi) long and it has a basin with an area of 1,014 square kilometres (392 sq mi).



Kosinj Bridge is a stone bridge, 70 meters long. The bridge is unique by the openings in the arches, which have the function of relieving water wave on impact with the bridge.
On the photo: Bridge reflection on the surface of Lika river.

The Kosinj valley is in many ways an interesting, even unique area that captures every passenger with its true beauty.

The historical circumstances wanted to remain valley untouched by industrialization and big roads.

Kosinj is for Croatian culture and history certainly the most important as a possible place of publication of the first Croatian book, Kosinj Missale Romanum Glagolitice, in 1483, which was printed in the mobile printing house of noblemen Anž Frankopan.

To date, only ten copies of the valuable Glagolitic book are preserved.

The Kosinj valley is full of beautiful caves (Cave park Grabovača), pot-holes and other karst forms.

This truly preserved and interesting natural environment is inhabited by a great number of plant and animal species.

! Video: Beauties of the Kosinj valley
! Tourist info: Kosinj District of Perušić Tourist Board











Spa & Sport Resort Sveti Martin is a unique destination located in continental Croatia designed to offer relaxation, wellness, sport, active vacation, conference and team building comfort in combination with the finest gourmet wine & dine offer and beautiful nature.



The total water area of the Spa & Sport Resort Sveti Martin is 1050 square meters and can be enjoyed all year round. Thermal waters account for one fourth of the total water area. The exceptionally rich high mineralization thermal water was discovered in 1911.



The golf courses are located immediately next to the Spa Golfer Hotel on a naturally terraced terrain, surrounded by green forests, vineyard hills, a hotel and a complex of golf villas with a golf club.

Sveti Martin na Muri (Saint Martin on the River Mura) is a municipality in Međimurje County, Croatia.

This northernmost Croatian municipality (2,509 inhabitants) consists of the protected landscape of the river Mura.

Amongst the forests and vineyard hills of the Međimurje region, wellness oases are hidden: the modern thermal bathing resort Sveti Martin na Muri and the recently opened Spa Golf Hotel.

This makes it a place ideal for hunting, fishing, horseback riding, cycling and tasting Međimurje County cuisine on rural estates.

Did you know?

In 2006, the municipality of Sveti Martin na Muri (Saint Martin on the River Mura) was declared a European destination of excellence in the rural segment and it also won the European award for the best rural destination, which it shared with a few smaller towns from several European countries.

Municipality of Sveti Martin na Muri won the Golden Flower of Europe in 2010., and is included among the finest and best kept tourist destinations in Europe.

! Video: Spa & Golf Resort Sveti Martin
! More info on: Spa & Sport Resort Sveti Martin
! Tourist info: Sveti Martin na Muri
! Tourist info: Međimurje County Tourist Board











Historical illustration: Palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, around which the Croatian city of Split emerged.



The core of the Diocletian`s palace is the Peristyle and four temples which were not built just as an imperial mausoleum but also as the centre of the new cult of the divine emperor – while he was still alive.



Peristyle (360° view) is one of the most monumental architectural components of Diocletian`s Palace. A monumental court formed the northern access to the imperial apartments.



The Cathedral of St. Domnius, on of the oldest Cathedrals in world, is a complex of a church, formed from an Imperial Roman mausoleum, with a bell tower. (The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and the bell tower to Saint Domnius - together they form the Cathedral of St. Domnius.)

Diocletian's Palace (Croatian: Dioklecijanova palača) is a building in Split, Croatia, that was built by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD.

It is generally considered that the Diocletian had the palace built in order to retire to it at the time of his prearranged abdication in favour of the caesar who was his deputy.

It lies in a bay on the south side of a short peninsula running out from the Dalmatian coast, four miles from Salona, the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia.

! Video: Diocletian's Palace
! More info on: Diocletian`s Palace
! Tourist info: Split on Croatian National Tourist Board
! Tourist info: Split Tourist board









Pag lace is made by needle-point and consists of spider web pattern embellishments and numerous geometrical motifs. The finished product is very firm, and unlike other Croatian laces, can be washed.



The skill of making the Hvar aloe lace is the youngest of all traditional lacemaking skills in Croatia. Aloe lace is made only by nuns of the Benedictine convent in the town of Hvar.



It is generally believed that the art of making bobbin lace was brought to Lepoglava 1400s and was also supported by local aristocracy. The lacemaking craft was eventually adopted by peasant women, who made narrow strips from coarse linen thread used as trimming on white linen costumes.

Lacemaking in Croatia (Croatian: Čipkarstvo u Hrvatskoj) is a tradition dating back to the Renaissance when lacemaking began spreading throughout the Mediterranean and continental Europe.

Throughout the years, Croatian lace has become notable for its unique patterns and designs.

In 2009 UNESCO recognised lacemaking in Croatia as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Today in Croatia there are three centres of lacemaking tradition: the Adriatic islands of Pag and Hvar and the northern town of Lepoglava.

! Video: Lacemaking in Croatia
! More info on: Lacemaking in Croatia on Wikipedia
! More info on: History of Lacemaking Pag - Hvar - Lepoglava











Croatia national handball team, 9th January 2010.
From left to right: Čupić, Čarapina, Balic, Vuković, Lacković, Mataija, Buntić, Štrlek, Valčić, Marić, Kopljar, Gojun, Zrnić, Alilović, Duvnjak and Vori.



Croatia team celebrating victory in the 2009 World Mens Handball Championship semifinal match against Poland.

The Croatian national handball team is a handball team that represents Croatia in the international matches and has been playing since the country's independence in the early 1990s. The team is controlled by the Croatian Handball Federation.

Results at international tournaments

Despite of its relatively short history, the Croatian team has already made some significant results at the international tournaments. During the 1990s they placed third at the 1994 European Championship and second at the 1995 World Championship before eventually winning the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

After these successes, team has been going through the time without such good results, until they eventually made their comeback by winning the gold medal at 2003 World Championship.

The new generation was led by Ivano Balic, worlds best handball player ever.

In 2004 team won second gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In the Olympic tournament they didn't lose any single game.

In 2005 World Championship Croaatia won silver medal; lost to Spain in the final match.

In 2008 European Championship Croatia won the silver medal losing the final against Denmark.

In 2009 World Mens Handball Championship held in Croatia, Croatia won the silver medal losing the final against France.

In 2012 Croatia won third place at 2012 European Men's Handball Championship in Serbia.

! Video: Ivano Balić best goals and assists
! Video: Croatia national handball team
! More info on: Croatia national handball team











On the left: Vrančić envisioned windmills with both vertical and horizontal axes, with different wing constructions to improve their efficiency.
On the right: One of the illustrations in Machinae Novae is a sketch of a parachute dubbed Homo Volans ("The Flying Man").



On the left: The construction method of building metal bridges and the mechanics of the forces in the area of statics were also part of his research. He drew proposals which predated the actual construction of modern suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges by over two centuries.
On the right: Mills were one of his main point of research, where he created 18 different designs.

Faust Vraničić (or Fausto Veranzio) (circa 1551 – 1617) was a polymath and bishop from the Venetian Republic (today Šibenik in Croatia)

The first Croatian technical discoveries are related to the name of Faust Vrančić.

He is best known for his book of inventions Machinae Novae (Venice, 1595.), which contained 49 large pictures depicting 56 different machines, devices, and technical concepts.

Among his numerous inventions the most famous is the further development of parachute, which he tested in Venice.

Vrančić also constructed a mill driven by tides, ropeway, gave a new construction of metal bridges (suspended by iron chains, i.e. suspension bridges).

Did you know?

Vrančić is considered the first man to build and test a parachute: in 1617, now over sixty-five years old, he implemented his design and tested the parachute by jumping from St Mark's Campanile in Venice. This event was documented some 30 years after it happened in a book written by John Wilkins, the secretary of the Royal Society in London.

! Video: Vrančić`s Water mill animation
! More info on: Faust Vrančić on Wikipedia











Young bears which are in sanctuary escaped a sure death in wilderness. On the photo: Young Brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Kuterevo.



Unique project in the world, situated on the border with a National Park Sjeverni Velebit. On the photo: Two bear cubs playing in bounded Kuterevo Refuge.

Kuterevo Bear Sanctuary is situated on the slopes of northern Velebit, in the small mountain village of Kuterevo, 14 miles (22 km) southwest of Otočac, Lika region.

Kuterevo Bear Sanctuary was founded in 2002. for orphaned young bears whose mothers have died in traffic accidents or in illegal hunting.

Bear Sanctuary is currently running as an international volunteer camp for young people. They come from all over the world and every summer there are people from Holland, France, Italy, England, Korea and many other countries.

Tourist info!

You can visit Kuterevo through the whole year, but since the bears are hibernating from November to February it is better to save the trip for a spring, summer or early autumn.

Did you know?

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is an endangered species in Croatia.

Croatia, according to the scientists, has approximately 800 to 1000 bears on its territory.

! Video: Kuterevo Bear Sanctuary
! More info on: More interesting facts about Kuterevo Bear Sanctuary.
! Tourist info: Kuterevo on Croatian National Tourist Board











Kažuni - legacy of the wild architectural culture of ancient civilizations in Istria region, they were used for housing, and later to accommodate agricultural tools, and the shepherds as a shelter during storms.



Apart from offering shelter Kažun was also used for checking fields and vineyards before the harvest.



Kažuni are round shelters, built in the technique of dry stone walls, natural stone, without windows. It is usually round in shape, with conical or stepped tip.

Kažuni - Dry stone field huts

Kažuni (Italian casita, Casoni) are single room small stone buildings mostly circular, but can be square-shaped.

Symbol of Istria region, but also of other parts of the Croatian coast and other countries of the Mediterranean.

! Video: Kažuni (Croatian language)
! More info on: Istria Kažun
! Tourist info: Official tourist website of Istria











There are two types of štrukli; one are called kuhani štrukli (boiled štrukli) and the other are called pečeni štrukli (baked štrukli). On picture: Pečeni štrukli (Baked štrukli)



Pečeni štrukli (baked štrukli) served and ready for consumption.

Štrukli (or Štruklji or Zagorski štrukli) is a traditional Croatian dish served in most household across Zagorje region and Zagreb.

Making Štrukli

Either way štrukli is cook or baked, the preparations is the same. A pastry is rolled out flat and very thin to cover a tables top. A mixture of cottage cheese with eggs, sour cream and salt are spread thinly across the pastry. Then the pastry is rolled lengthways from both sides into two joined rolls, and finally cut into 10–20 cm lengths.

For pečeni štrukli (baked štrukli) these lengths are placed into a baking tray, generously covered in clotted cream and baked for roughly 45 minutes until slightly brown on top.

For kuhani štrukli (boiled štrukli) water is boiled and the štrukli pieces are placed into the pot. Onion and parsley are fried until slightly brown and poured into the kuhani štrukli. The štrukli are then boiled for roughly 20 minutes.

! Video: Zagorski strukli recipe - Croatian cheese puff pastry recipe
! More info on: Zagorski Štrukli
! Tourist info: Tourist board of Krapina-Zagorje County





PART 1 * PART 2 * PART 3 * PART 4 * PART 5 * PART 6 * PART 7



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