My beautiful Croatia! (Part 9)

Day 1,534, 07:49 • 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 10 will be published on 20th February 2012.

Enjoy!













Renaissance star-shaped fortress in Karlovac, Croatia. Old plans of the city portray geometrically arranged streets and city blocks.



The most interesting feature of Karlovac is its star formation, which was designed around a typical Renaissance styled urban centre plan.



In the center of Karlovac Fortress (from left to right): Church of St. Nicholas, the central square with the well and the oldest non-military building - the church of the Holy Trinity.

Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia with a population of 56,000 inhabitants.

Karlovac was founded in 1579 as a Renaissance fortress in the shape of a si😜ointed star, with a central square and a regular network of buildings and streets.

Designed for purposes of defence in keeping out the Ottoman Empire, this si😜ointed star formed an interestingly different type of fortress, one based on ditches and a moat.

Walls were built up on the foundations of the star, and in each of the six corners a strong bastion was erected.

There are only two other towns in Europe that have similar urban plans: Palmanova in Italy and Nové Zámky in Slovakia.

Did you know?

Croatians know Karlovac as the city of parks and the town on four rivers, of which the Mrežnica, the Korana and the Kupa flow through built-up areas, and the Dobra is a few kilometers outside the city centre.

! More info on: Karlovac on Wikipedia
! More info on: Karlovac - 6 pointed Star Fortress and 4 Rivers
! More info on: Karlovac Star 360° view
! Tourist info: Karlovac on Croatian National Tourist Board











Lokve lake, although made by building dam in 1954 year, fits perfectly into the natural environment that surrounds it.



Lake Lokve with the highest peak of Risnjak mountain in the Risnjak National Park in the background.



Lokve lake offers a chance to cool down in the summer months as well as all sorts of sports and recreational facilities.



The lake of Lokve is rich of fishes and may satisfy even a choosy fisherman. Many international regates as well as the first World championship in underwater orientation were held here.

Lokve (Italian: Loque) is a Croatian municipality of Primorje – Gorski Kotar County.

Lake Lokve (Croatian: Lokvarsko jezero) was created by building dam in 1955. It is located in the mountainous region of Gorski kotar.

Lokve lake became a popular place for sportsmen but also for all who love to swim.

There are various competitions organized on the lake, one of which is World championship in underwater orientation.

Did you know?

The whole area surrounding Lokve is famous for the great number of frogs that also live in the natural forest-park Golubinjak.

! Video: Lokve Lake
! Tourist info: Lokve on Croatian National Tourist Board











Blue colours of the sea in Zavratnica Bay and the gray shades of Velebit cliffs stand in contrast to each other.



Zavratnica Bay is regarded as one of the major tourist attractions of the northern coastal area.



One-hundred out of 129 plant species that have been found in Zavratnica are autochthonous, while 29 are allochthonous.

Zavratnica Bay is a 900 m long narrow bay located at the foot of the Velebit Mountain, in the northern part of the Adriatic sea.

The upper trail with the lookout and the trail along the sea were built at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, Zavratnica became a popular summer destination for the Viennese and Prague elite.

Zavratnica Bay looks like a fjord, but its geological origin is very different from the formation of fjords.

Did you know?

It is no wonder that the famous Croatian author, Vjenceslav Novak, could not resist the beauty of Zavratnica. It was right here that he found inspiration for many of his books.

! Video: Zavratnica on YouTube
! More info on: Zavratnica - Velebit Nature Park website
! More info on: Zavratnica on Wikipedia











Franjo Tuđman with Pope John Paul II in 1994.



President of Croatia Franjo Tuđman celebreting Croatian War of Independence victory at the Knin Fortress in 1995.

Franjo Tuđman (1922 – 1999) was a Croatian politician. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia he became the first President of Croatia.

In his youth he fought during World War II as a member of the Yugoslav partisans, becoming later the youngest general in the Yugoslav army.

After his military career, he worked as a historian until coming into conflict with the regime.

He lived relatively anonymously in the following years until the end of communism, whereupon he began his political career by founding the Croatian Democratic Union (Croatian: HDZ) in 1989.

He became President in 1990, as the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won the first post-communist multi-party elections, and a year later he proclaimed Croatian independence. He was re-elected and remained in power until his death in 1999.

! Video: Franjo Tuđman - The first President of Croatia (Croatian language)
! More info on: Franjo Tuđman on Wikipedia











Blanka Vlašić ranks second in the all-time high jump rankings, behind Stefka Kostadinova.



Vlašić on 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin.

Blanka Vlašić (born 8 November 1983) is a Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump.

She is the current Croatian record holder in the event, and also the current indoor World Champion.

Vlašić attended her first Olympic Games in 2000 Sydney at the age of sixteen.

She won the World Junior Championships in Athletics in both 2000 and 2002.

Vlašić won her first world senior medal (bronze) at the World Indoor Championships in 2004.

In 2006 Vlašić won the silver at the World Indoor Championships.

The 2007 season signalled a strong run of form: she won at the 2007 World Championships, became the indoor world champion in 2008 and her winning streak came to an end with a narrow loss at the Beijing Olympics, where she took silver.

She became World Champion for a second time in 2009.

Her awards also include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2010 and European Athlete of the Year Trophy (2007, 2010).

Did you know?

Vlašić was named after Casablanca, a city where her father competed and won a gold medal at the 1983 Mediterranean Games around the time of her birth.

From the beginning of her career she has been coached by her father, Joško Vlašić and a former high jumper Bojan Marinović.

Blanka is today a member of the ‘Champions for Peace’ club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.

! Video: Blanka Vlašić - 2009 World Championships in Athletics winner
! More info on: Blanka Vlašoić on Wikipedia
! More info on: Blanka Vlašić oficial web page











The Black King enters dragging the captured Bula maiden in chains. He tries to persuade her to respond to his advances, but she replies that she is in love with the White King.



The two kings and their armies confront each other.



Battle escalates from taunts to both armies clashing, with a mixture of solos and varying rhythms through seven different dances.



The Black soldiers are eventually surrounded and defeated, and the White King rescues the Bula.

Moreška is a traditional sword dance from the town of Korčula, on the Croatian island of the same name in the Adriatic.

Dating back to 17th century, the Moreška is an elaborate production involving two groups of dancers, engaging in a mock battle over the fate of a veiled young woman.

Originally performed rarely on special occasions, in modern times the Moreška is performed weekly for visiting tourists.

The two sides of battling dancers were originally Moors and Christians, recalling the Spanish battles of the Reconquista in the Middle Ages.

However, at some point in the 19th century in Korčula, the sides changed from Christians vs. Moors, to Turks vs. Moors, or simply "White" and "Black", with the non-Moor side emerging victorious.

! Video: Moreška sword dance
! More info on: All about Moreška
! More info on: Moreška on Wikipedia
! Tourist info: Korčula on Croatian National Tourist Board











Vučedol dove (made between 2800 and 2500 B.C.) is a remarkable example of artistic creation and religious symbol associated with a cult of the great mother. It became the symbol of style, culture and new arising European civilization.



Vučedol Orion (discovered in Vinkovci) is the vessel that contains the calendar which is divided into four fields symbolising the four seasons, and the systematic repetition of ornaments suggests the change of the months. The discovery of this oldest European calendar is clear proof of a highly developed civilisation and culture existing in this area more than 5,000 years ago.

The Vučedol culture (Croatian: Vučedolska kultura) was a Indo-European culture that flourished between 3000 and 2200 BC (the Eneolithic period ), centered in Syrmia and eastern Slavonia on the right bank of the Danube river, but possibly spreading throughout the Pannonian plain and western Balkans.

Sometimes also called the Vučedol civilization, it was contemporary with the Sumer period in Mesopotamia , the Early Dynastic period in Egypt and the early Troy.

The archaeological site of Vučedol is situated 5 km (3 mi) downstream from the Croatian town of Vukovar, on the right bank of the Danube.

It is one of the most important sites of Eneolithic. Because of the importance of findings in Vučedol, the whole phase of Eneolithic period was named after it - the Vučedol Culture.

! Video: Oldest European Calendar - Orion
! More info on: Vučedol culture on Wikipedia
! Tourist info: Vukovar Tourist board











Opatija is situated in the Gulf of Kvarner in a sheltered position at the foot of Učka mountain (Nature Park).



The Villa Angiolina, the oldest villa in Opatija, is located in the central city park.



Lungo mare walking path was built slowly through time. Today, it its one of the most beautiful walking paths on the Adriatic where you can enjoy a 11 km long path.



Girl with a seagull (360° view) is a frequent theme on posters and postcards that show Opatija, so it has turned into one of symbols of Opatija.

Opatija (German: Sankt Jakobi; Italian: Abbazia) is a town in western Croatia, just southwest of Rijeka on the Adriatic coast. As of 2001, the town proper had a population of 7,850.

Well-kept parks, an illuminated beachside walk of 12 kilometers, clean beaches and fountains which provide a wonderful setting to numerous villas and hotels.

It was regularly visited by numerous European celebrities, kings and princes, writers, musicians and bons vivants. The Congress Centre, which seats 500 and 800, is the basis of business tourism.

Opatija is surrounded by beautiful woods of bay laurel. The whole sea-coast to the north and south of Opatija is rocky and picturesque, and contains several smaller winter resorts.

It is a popular summer and winter resort, with average temperatures of 10 °C in winter, and 25 °C in summer.

! Video: Opatija in the 1950s and 1960s
! Video: Opatija - 19 seconds video
! More info on: Tourist guide
! More info on: Opatija on Wikipedia
! Tourist info: Opatija Tourist board
! Tourist info: Opatija on Croatian National Tourist Board











Arena Zagreb, built in 2008., is already one of the landmarks of Zagreb.



Resembling a giant rib cage around the building, 86 large pre-stressed, pre-fabricated concrete curved columns form the main facade, connected by a semi-translucent polycarbonate envelope that allows for various light effects.



2009 World Men`s Handball Championship final match between Croatia and France.

Arena Zagreb is a multi-purpose sports hall witch a capacity up to 24,000 people, located in the southwestern part of Zagreb.

The Arena is used for hockey, futsal, handball, athletics, basketball, volleyball, numerous other sporting competitions, and various concerts, exhibitions, fairs, conventions, and congresses.

Arena Zagreb won the Structural Design of the Year award at the 2009 World Architecture Festival, and Grand spectacle award at Global BBR 2010.

Did you know?

Construction of Arena began on 21st of July 2007., and lasted 503 days.

! Video: Construction of Arena Zagreb
! More info on: Arena Zagreb on Wikipedia
! More info on: About Arena - Official web page











Bold geometric prints and strong color combinations create a brand new, heritage-inspired sneakers.

Startas sneakers were originally designed for table-tennis players in 1976, but soon became an iconic object of desire in the Yugoslavia.

Light, functional and more than affordable Startas was an ideal socialist piece of footwear for the masses produced at the Borovo factory based in the town of Vukovar.

The original Startas sneakers were made in only 3 colors (white, navy and black) and became an instant hit, selling more than 5 million pairs annually.

Startas grew to be the biggest sports brand in the former federation, so big that it was one of the major sponsors of the 1987 Universiade international student games, a major sporting event that hosted more than 3900 athletes from 122 countries all of whom were equipped with Startas sportswear.

The Borovo factory, established in 1931, in its heyday employed more than 22,000 people and produced some 22 million pairs of shoes annually.

Today, after 17 years of free-falling into oblivion, Startas sneakers have been revived and redesigned.

! Video: Startas sneakers
! More info on: Startas editions
! Tourist info: Buy Startas sneakers

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