Croatia in Focus, No. 25/26, March/April 2007

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FACTS AND FIGURESR E P U B L I C O F C R O A T I A

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic sea got its name froman ancient port of the same name.

The Adriatic spans from the Balkanto the Apennine peninsula.

The part belonging to the Republicof Croatia is the eastcoast whichextends all the way from Prevlakain the south to cape Savudrija

in the west,including all islands,islets and cliffs along the coast,andthe archipelago of Palagruza (thenumber of islands, islets and cliffs ismore than 1700).

This is a unique area in Europefor cruising with motor boats,speedboats, or sailboats, but also forenjoying the underwater world.

Geographical positionCroatia extends from the furthesteastern edges of the Alps in thenorth-west to the Pannonian lowlandsand the banks of the Danube in theeast; its central region is covered bythe Dinara mountain range, and itssouthern parts extend to the coast ofthe Adriatic Sea.

ZAGREB

OSIJEK RIJEKA

SPLIT

ZADAR

DUBROVNIK

Land area

56.542 sq. km

Territorial waters area

31.000 sq. km

Length of coastline

(with islands)

5.790 km

Length of terrestrial

border

1.777,7 kmHighest peak

Dinara (1.831 m above sea level)

Number of islands

1.185 (66 inhabited)

Population

(census 2001.)

4.381,352

Capital

Zagreb

(779.145 inhabitants)

Religions

Roman Catholic, Serbian

Orthodox, Islamic, Jewish,

Protestant and othersCurrency

kuna (1 kuna = 100 lipa)

Language

Croatian



Croatia In Focus | No. 25/26 | March/April 2007

PM SANADER VISITSBOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

PM SANADER IN BRUSSELS

PM SANADER ATTENDS5TH EUROPEAN BUSINESS SUMMIT IN BRUSSELS

SEECP´S FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING

CBR FAIR IN MUNICH

400TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONALAND UNIVERSITY LIBRARY IN ZAGREB

E - HEALTH

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERPROGRAMME ON COMBATING HATE

CRIME

ZAGREB DOX

ŽUMBERAKSAMOBORSKO GORJE NATURE PARK

VINKOVCI

THE WORLD OF FOOD IN CROATIA

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Publisher

Government of the Republic of Croatia,

Office for Public Relations

10000 Zagreb, Trg sv Marka 2,tel: +385 1 63 03 050, 45 69 248,

fax: +385 1 63 03 446, 63 03 022,

www.vlada.hr

Editor in chief

Tomislav Mazal,

[email protected]

Deputy editor in chief

Sandra Puhovski

Staff

Sanja Milinović, Suzana Kovačević,

Jasna Sruk Vlah, Dubravka Belas,

Ida Ćosić, Igor Žarković,

Martina Mance, Paula Popravak,

Vesna Lončar, Daniela Valić,

Antun Čajkovac, Slađana Butković

Layout and design

Massol design&marketing,

www.massol.hr

Print

Kersch Offset

Edition

1500

CROATIAN GOVERNMENT BULLETIN

I M P R E S S U M CONTENT



Croatian Prime Minister IvoSanader led Croatian gov-

ernment delegation on first of-

ficial visit to Bosnia and Herze-govina, on 29th and 30th March.During the visit PM Sanader metwith the chairman of the Councilof Ministers Nikola Spiric, mem-bers of the state presidency andof the state parliament.

Upon arriving in Sarajevo PMSanader said he was bringingBosnia and Herzegovina new

proposals for the settlement ofoutstanding issues, notably forthe status of southern Croatianseaport of Ploče. “We are bring-ing a draft agreement on the portof Ploče. In it we are proposing,and then we will talk about this,that Bosnia and Herzegovina, asa major user of the port, shouldhave the status of the most privi-leged nation,” said PM Sanader.He said that the proposal meant

special terms for Bosnia andHerzegovina, but added that inthe future, once the highway on

the VC corridor between the twocountries was completed, Croa-tian companies would haveidentical privileges when trans-porting commodities throughBosnia and Herzegovina.

Good relations andreadiness to cooperateadvance regionalstability

Croatian PM Sanader startedhis official visit by meeting withthe chairman of the BosnianCouncil of Ministers NikolaSpiric. After the meeting,Sanader said that both sidesagreed that it was necessaryto strengthen their cooperationand settle the outstanding is-sues without delay.During the Croatian governmentdelegation’s visit to Sarajevo,

Croatian Interior Minister IvicaKirin and Bosnia-Herzegovina’sCivil Affairs Minister Sredoje

Novic and Security MinisterTarik Sadovic signed a dual citi-zenship treaty and an agree-ment on cooperation in bordercontrol. The dual citizenshiptreaty regulates the rights andobligations of dual citizenshipholders relating to place of resi-dence and work, responsibilitybefore law, military service andother issues. The agreement on

cooperation in border controlprovides for exchanges of infor-mation, joint security assess-ments, communication, andspecial forms of cooperationsuch as joint border patrols andcrime prevention teams. PrimeMinister Sanader said that thesigning of a dual citizenshipagreement and an agreementon cooperation in monitoringthe state border between Croa-

PM SANADER VISITSBOSNIA ANDHERZEGOVINA

No. 25/26 | March/April 2007



tia and Bosnia-Herzegovinarepresented an important signalto not only the countries of theregion, but to Brussels as well

because they confirm the readi-ness and ability to cooperateand advance regional stability.Sanader reiterated that the over-all relations between Croatiaand Bosnia were good and con-firmed the two countries’ readi-ness to find solutions to the re-maining outstanding issues thatwould be to the satisfaction ofboth sides.

Great possibilities foreconomic cooperationand investmentCroatian Prime Minister Sanaderspoke at a Croatian-Bosnianbusiness forum on possibilitiesof economic cooperation andinvestment, held in Sarajevo.He called on Croatian and Bos-nian business people to step upcooperation and the two coun-

tries’ governments to create aclimate that would boost eco-nomic cooperation. The forumwas attended by representativesof some 70 Croatian compa-nies. Sanader said that he andhis Bosnian counterpart NikolaSpiric had agreed today on clos-er cooperation between the twogovernments in order to promotetrade. “This economic forum is a

sign of friendship between Bos-nia-Herzegovina and Croatia.There can be no wealthy Croatiawithout a wealthy Bosnia-Herze-govina and vice versa,” Sanadersaid. He stressed that the fu-ture of Croatia and Bosnia layin Euro-Atlantic associations.Bosnian Prime Minister NikolaSpiric said that Croatia wasone of Bosnia’s most importanttrade partners. In 2006 Bosnia

exported around 507 million eu-ros worth of goods to Croatia,while Croatia exported around1.37 billion euros worth of com-

modities to Bosnia.

Good atmosphere andsigning of agreements– most important resultof the visitTwo members of Bosnia-Her-zegovina’s tripartite presiden-cy, Haris Silajdžić and ŽeljkoKomsić, received CroatianPrime Minister Ivo Sanader.

The officials agreed that bilat-eral relations were good andthat outstanding issues shouldbe settled in line with the com-mon goals of strengthening thealready good neighbourly coop-eration and drawing closer toEuro-Atlantic institutions. Croa-tia and Bosnia-Herzegovinahave a lot more in common anda lot more reasons for coopera-tion than they have outstanding

issues in their relations. Bothsides agreed that it was neces-sary to strengthen their coopera-tion and settle the outstandingissues without delay.

During his official visit to Bos-nia-Herzegovina, Croatian PrimeMinister Ivo Sanader openedthe reconstructed library at thetheology college of the Sarajevo

Catholic Archdiocese. The li-brary with about 90,000 entriesis one of the biggest institutionsof this kind in Bosnia-Herzegov-ina. Croatia has donated 880,000kunas for its renovation.Later in the day, Sanader, ac-companied by Sarajevo Arch-bishop, Cardinal Vinko Puljić,visited the Croat-populatedresidential area of Sarajevo,called Stup. He toured the lo-

cal Catholic school and a daycare centre, the construction ofwhich is being funded by theCroatian government. Croatian

PM also visited the Franciscaninternational students centre inBosnia’s capital that is currentlyunder construction. During histalks with Bosnian friars, PMSanader pledged that the Croa-tian government would donateadditional four million kunas forthe remodelling of the centre’sinterior. So far, Zagreb has allo-cated 1.3 million kunas for the

centre’s construction.PM Sanader also visited the Cro-atian cultural society Napredak,saying Croatia would continueto support Croats in Bosnia andHerzegovina and their associa-tions.

On the second day of his visit,PM Sanader went to Travnik andNova Bila in central Bosnia and

Herzegovina, talking about thesituation in the area with Croatand Muslim municipal offi-cials. In the village of Nova Bila,Sanader visited a new hospital.Croatia financially assisted inits construction and the premiersaid Croatia would invest anoth-er HRK5 million in it. Sanaderalso visited Zepce and Usora.

Croatian Prime Minister IvoSanader described as success-ful his first official visit to Bosniaand Herzegovina during whichhe had talks with the most se-nior officials. Before leaving, PMSanader said the good atmo-sphere during the talks, along-side the signing of agreementson dual citizenship and bordercontrol, was the most importantresult of the visit.

March/April 2007 | No. 25/26



T

he Croatian PM Ivo Sanaderwent to Brussels where he

met the President of the Eu-ropean Parliament Hans-GertPoettering, heads of almostall parliamentary fractions–Martin Schulz, Chairman ofthe Socialist Group; DanielCohn-Bendit, the president ofthe group of European Greens;Graham Watson, the presi-dent of Liberal Democrats; thepresident of the international

political committee Jacek-EmilSaryusz-Wolski, and he ad-dressed to Socialist Group ofthe European Parliament.PM Sanader also met the Eu-ropean Commissioner for En-largement Olli Rehn and tookpart at the EPP´s summit.

In his addressing to the rep-resentatives of the socialistfraction in the European Par-liament PM Sanader said that

this year was going to be theyear of opening chapters, andthe following one the year ofclosing them, and that it wasreally possible to end the ne-gotiations in the next year. Af-ter that it was the EU´s taskto do necessary institutionalchanges that would providenew enlargement. He alsopointed out he did not wantthe process of enlargement tobe finished with Croatia, but to

PM SANADER IN BRUSSELS




be continued on other coun-tries in South East neighbour-hood when the countries wereready for accessing the EU.

He thanked the leaders of so-cialist fraction on support thatthey give Croatia even thoughthe Government in Zagreb is ofopposite political sign. Partic-ularly he mentioned the wordsof Martin Schulz who oncesaid to PM Sanader that hehad to admit, although beingin an opposite political side,he had done a lot for Croatia

and the region.

PM Sanader also met thePresident of the European Par-

liament Hans-Gert Poettering.After the meeting Poetteringsaid that the European Parlia-ment in its Report on Croatia

could mention the year 2009as a targeted year for admis-sion in the EU. ˝Report onCroatia’s progress has beenpreparing in the Parliament’sForeign Affairs Committee. IfI am well informed, reporterHannes Swoboda has an am-bition to suggest Croatia tobe the member state in 2009˝Poettering said. PM Sanader

said he thought there was awide consensus in the Euro-pean Parliament for supportto Croatia.

PM Sanader met the Enlarge-ment Commissioner Olli Rehnwho, after the end of the meet-ing, stated that the accessing

negotiations with Croatia weredeveloping quickly and smooth-ly. PM Sanader thanked OlliRehn for the support he gave toCroatia once again pointing outthat, regardless the pre-elec-tion year, the Union in Croatiahad been functioning very wellwhich showed the maturity ofthe Croatian political scene.

PM Sanader participated atthe EPP´s summit that gath-ered around ten PMs of the EUmember states.




Croatian Prime Minister IvoSanader in Brussels at-

tended the opening of the 5thEuropean Business Summitand the presentation of invest-ment opportunities in Croatia.PM Sanader was one of thespeakers at the opening ofthe summit and he said that

Croatia was not just a pleasantdestination for vacation, but a

place for investment. He alsosaid that the Croatian Govern-ment was doing everything tocreate a convenient milieu forinvestment like: simplificationof the process of companyregistration via one-stop-shop,land-ownership records re-form, digitalisation of civil

service and the continuationof the policy oriented toward

macroeconomic stability.In his speech, Belgian PM GuyVerhofstadt mentioned Croatiaas the EU 28th member state.Bulgarian Foreign MinisterIvailo Kalfin and European andSocial Committee PresidentDimitris Dimitriadis were alsospeaking at the summit, while theEuropean Parliament President

Hans-Gert Poettering addressedthe summit via video link.

In the presentation ˝Croatia,EU 28th member state – Howto invest in Croatia˝ the keyinformation about the Croatianeconomy circumstances werepresented. The essential fac-tor that would contribute to thegreater economic growth for

PM Sanader is accessing theEU and NATO. He also pointedout Croatia’s aim to becomethe EU member state in 2009,and in next year to get an invi-tation to the NATO.

PM Sanader opened the Croa-tian stand which provided tovisitors a lot of informationabout Croatian economic pos-sibilities.

PM SANADER ATTENDS

5th EUROPEANBUSINESS SUMMITIN BRUSSELSCroatia isn’t just a pleasant destination for

vacation, but a place for investment


EUROPEAN BUSINESS SUMMIT



The meeting of foreignministers of South East-ern European Coopera-

tion Process is of ex-treme importance andis being held at a histor-ical moment for SouthEastern Europe that isstanding on the thresh-old of renewed matu-rity and modernity˝, PMSanader said in his keynotespeech on opening the meetingon 2 March 2007 in Zagreb.

The meeting took place behindclosed doors at Zagreb’s hotelWestin hosting the ministers

of SEECP: Croatia, Albania,Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedo-nia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia,Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece andofficials of Monte Negro, Euro-pean Commission, and GermanPresidency of the EU, StabilityPact for South Eastern Europe,OESS and UNIMK/Kosovo as aspecial guest of the presidingcountry.The summit was held during

Croatia’s one-year presidencyof the SEECP. Just to remind,in Salonika on 4 May 2006 the

President of the Croatian Gov-ernment dr. sc. Ivo Sanaderhas taken over one-year presi-dency over summit presidingfrom Greece, and it is going tolast till 11 May 2007. During theCroatia’s presidency the SEECPis going to be institutionalised,it will get a permanent secre-tariat and headquarters of theCouncil for Cooperation. TheCouncil for Cooperation will be

The current political moment in South Eastern Europe is the time of a real shapingof a genuine European character of the region

SEECP´S FOREIGN

MINISTERS MEETINGHistorical moment for South Eastern Europe

˝





established during the meetingof the SEECP foreign ministerson 11 May 2007 in Zagreb. Thework of the secretariat should

be financed by the countries inthe region, the European Com-mission and interested donors.

˝As the presiding country of theSEECP Croatia has recognisedthe importance of the currentpolitical moment in South East-ern Europe, a time of shaping

of the genuine European char-acter of the region. Without adoubt the European and Euro-Atlantic capacities of our region

are growing and South EasternEurope is on the threshold ofrenewed maturity and moder-nity˝, dr. sc. Ivo Sanader said inhis speech.

The ministers discussed thesituation in the region, issueslinked to the exit strategy of the

Stability Pact for the SEE andabout the role of the SEECP asa political forum that would as-sume the leading role in region-

al cooperation. Another topicwas the Montenegro’s futureparticipation in the SEECP andthe continuation of the involve-ment of the European Commis-sion and international donors inthe new bodies of the regionalcooperation that will replacethe Stability Pact.

10 No. 25/26 | March/April 2007




As a significant contribution tothe economic development, lib-eralisation and strengtheningof mutual trade, the ministers

welcomed the signing and high-lighted the importance of theratification of the new CEFTA´scontract in 2006 initiated by theRepublic of Croatia.

The SEECP´s member coun-tries were considering theKosovo status as an important

part for the future safety andstability in South Eastern Eu-rope. Kosovo was recognisedas a democratic and multieth-

nic society based on system ofrights, minority rights protec-tion, cooperation and solidar-ity of all the communities. Theministers also pointed out theEuro-Atlantic perspective to bethe best frame for solving thisquestion and confirmed theSEECP´s interest to continuethe involvement into the pro-cess.

The SEECP´s summit endedup in acknowledging the com-mon statement that offered acompromised solution of theKosovo status by the officialsof ten member states and theyalso expressed their support toefforts and activities of a specialdelegate of the UN´s SecretaryGeneral Marttia Ahtisaaria.

SEECP - in brief The South East European Co-operation Process (SEECP)was launched on Bulgaria’sinitiative in 1966. Namely, atthe Bulgaria-chaired meetingin Sofia, the SEE countries laidthe foundations for regionalco-operation for the purposesof creating an atmosphere ofthrust, good neighbourly rela-

tions and stability. By now theSEECP has been consistingof ten member states: Greece,Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Mol-dova, Macedonia, Albania, Bos-nia-Herzegovina, Croatia andSerbia. The Republic of Croatiahas become a member state inOctober 2004, and after becom-ing independent Monte Negrosubmits a request for gainingthe status of a full participant.

The SEECP is a region-al non-institutionalisedstructure coordinated bythe presiding country.

The SEECP presidencylasts for one year and isrotated among the mem-ber states. The presidingcountry presents the Pro-cess at international meet-ings and hosts the annualmeeting of heads of stateand government, foreignministers meetings and anumber of annual meet-

ings of political directors.

Talks on stronger connectionbetween the SEECP and the Eu-ropean Commission are beingin process just as talks aboutthe SEECP´s role in the exitstrategy of the Stability Pact.

The basic goals of the SEECPinclude the strengthening ofsecurity and political situation,

intensification of economicrelations and co-operation inhuman resources, democracy,justice, and fight against ille-gal activities and conversionof the region into area of peaceand stability that will provideapproach of Process towardEuropean and Euro-Atlanticstructures.

A special characteristic of theSEECP is that it is an originalform of co-operation among thecountries in the region launchedon their own initiative and noton the initiative of some otherinternational organisations orother countries. In that way, theSEECP presents an authenticvoice of SEE complementary tothe Stabilisation and Associa-tion Process.

11March/April 2007 | No. 25/26




CROATIA - favourite tourist destination

Due to its position in the circle of favourite touristplaces, Croatia participated as a partner country inone of the biggest tourist fairs in the world.

One of the biggest touristfairs CBR (Camping-Boot-

Reisen; Camping-Boats-Trav-el) in Munich gathered some 1500 exhibitors from more than70 countries on the area of 70000 square metres. The fairlasted for five days, from 22ndto 26th February. This year’sfair had a special significance

for Croatia since it participat-ed as a partner country. Thisprivilege was given due to theposition that Croatia holds inthe circle of favourite tour-ist places, and its popularitystill grows. Croatia has beenan attractive destination forGerman tourists for a longtime, and the last year the Ger-

mans were the most numer-ous guests in Croatia with thenearly 11 million nights.

The fair was opened by the Cro-atian Prime Minister dr. sc. IvoSanader and Bavarian coun-terpart dr. Edmund Stiober, inthe presence of many repre-sentatives of political and so-

CBR FAIR

IN MUNICH

12 No. 25/26 | March/April 2007

CBR FAIR IN MUNICH



cial life of both countries. Ex-cept for the Croatian Premier,Croatia was represented bythe Minister of the Sea, Tour-

ism, Transport and Develop-ment Božidar Kalmeta, StateSecretary for Tourism ZdenkoMičić, director of CroatianNational Tourist Board NikoBulić and many other invitedpersons. Premier Sanadercongratulated to all those whoparticipated in preparing Cro-atian tourist presentation inMunich, expressing his hope

that the very season would bebetter than the last had been.˝We can be proud of Croatia’spresentation in Munich to-day˝, PM Sanader said.

The first day of the fair wasrich in events and businessflurry which ended up in the

representative space of oneof the oldest Munich hotelsBayerischer Hof, where Croa-tian Tourist Association organ-

ised ˝Croatian Evening˝ forthe most important partnersand media reporters, offeringthem traditional Croatian cui-sine specialties and well cho-sen original wines.

Since Croatia was a partnercountry the fair was in signof Croatia and the openingwas made attractive by the

island’s Rab crossbowmenthat walked along all the fairexhibition stands accompa-nied by strong drum beating.Rapska fjera was particularlypresented. It is a celebrationin the spirit of the middle Ageswith the presentation of cus-toms, trades, life and spirit of

the island’s medieval period.Besides the regional present-ing of Kvarner, Istria, Dalmatiaand continental Croatia, also

Croatian companies showedtheir programmes.

The Croatian Chamber ofEconomy opened the stand˝Be CROative˝ with the pre-sentation of the products en-titled ˝Originally Croatian˝or ˝Croatian Quality˝, so thevisitors could get themselvesfamiliar with various Croatian

products and got the chanceeven to taste some of them,like paprika-flavoured sausageand smoked ham.

The Croatian and German me-dia was presented the novel-ties from the Croatian touristoffer by the State Secretary


CBR FAIR IN MUNICH



for Tourism Zdenko Mičić,director of Croatian NationalTourist Board Niko Bulić andthe president of the CroatianChamber of Economy NadanVidošević.

The press was mostly inter-ested in investment in new ca-pacities in Croatia as well asthe hunting and nautical tour-ism. State Secretary for Tour-ism Zdenko Mičić announcedthe renewal and building ofnew capacities in which thestate, as the main investor,together with a private sectorwould invest EUR 13.6 million

by the end of 2009.

Niko Bulić said that there werethree types of investment inCroatian tourism, and he alsoannounced the renewal of ho-tels ruined in the war with 25000 beds temporarily beingout of function. These hotelsare going to be of three to fivestars range. He added that the

objects built in the 60s werein the process of removal andthe new ones were being built.Moreover, in accordance withregional plans the constructionof completely new capacities is

planned, so-called Greenfieldinvestments.

It was said that Germany stayedan important country for theCroatian tourism for sure, con-cerning the official informationthat Germans spent EUR 60.5billion for foreign visits in thelast year. The planned Germaneconomic growth of 1.7 per

cent in 2007 is a good indicatorfor Croatia and its forthcomingseason. This number surelyjustifies the Germans´ readi-ness for visiting other coun-tries again and Croatia as well,while the CBR fair in Munichcontributed in strengtheninginterest for spending summerholidays on a truly amazingCroatian coast.

Traditionally goodrelations betweenCroatia and Bavaria

In the margins of the fair thetwo premiers discussed some

political issues and PremierStoiber expressed his strongsupport on Croatia’s admis-sion to the EU and NATO.

Premier Stoiber also ex-pressed his will that the date ofCroatia’s accession would beknown during Germany’s cur-rent presidency of the EU. Hesaid he was sure that Croatia

was going to be the EU´s 28thmember state and expressedhis hope that the followingyear Croatia would enter theNATO, and in 2009 would be afull member of the EU.

Both Premiers highlightedtheir satisfaction over alreadytraditional relationship be-tween Croatia and Bavaria.

1 No. 25/26 | March/April 2007

CBR FAIR IN MUNICH



˝Gdo knige počtue dae knigami počtovan˝ deacon Broz Kolonić said noteven suspected that his wordswould become the motto of fourhundred years old National andUniversity Library. The Libraryis an institution of a long andrich history, the treasury of theCroatian heritage with untouch-able national significance andindisputable European status.Since the language and scriptin Croatia the thread of the na-tional identity and our people’sdestiny on this area can be bestread and resoluted in the Na-

tional and University Libraryholding. In these terms, thisCroatian institution primarilyhas a national role as a placeof preservation of cultural andspiritual reality of Croats dur-

ing restless centuries, and lateron its role is also educative andscientific. Or as suitably formu-lated by Mr Josip Stipanov, themanager of the National and Uni-versity Library, the NUL is ̋ the di-ary of the Croatian people˝.

Occasional exhibitions and cer-emonies will witness the specif-ics of our culture on occasion ofmarking the 400th anniversary.

The exhibition ˝NUL´streasure˝ by academi-cian Josip Bratulić, Stj-epan Damjanović andthe associate Ivan Kosićpresents selected valu-

able of our written heri-tage and reminds of Cro-atian curiosity from theperiod when the Croatsused three languages ina parallel way: Latin, OldChurch Slavic and Croa-tian, and wrote in threescripts: Glagolitic andLatin script and CroatianCyrillic script.

400th ANNIVERSARY OF THENATIONAL AND UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY IN ZAGREBFrom Jesuitical course library to the European library




The monograph ˝National andUniversity Library in Zagrebfrom 1607 to 2007˝ by profAleksandar Stipčević presentsa historical development of theinstitution and its holding in

that way introducing us withfour important collections: col-lection of manuscripts and oldbooks, graphic collection, col-lection of musical supplies andaudio-materials and the collec-tion of maps and atlases.On marking four centuriesof the institution during thewhole year ten most importantworks of Croatian written his-

tory will be shown (˝LibellusGothorum˝, ˝Missal of 1483– the 1st printed book ̋ , ̋ Evan-gelarium Spalatenese˝, ˝Ju-dita˝ by Marulić, ˝Theory ofnatural philosophy˝ by RuđerBošković, ̋ Pleasant Conversa-tion of Slavic People˝ by Andri-ja Kačić Miošić, Gaj´s ˝Shortbase of Croatian-Slavonian or-thography˝, ˝Death of Smail-aga Čengić˝ by Mažuranić,

˝Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh˝by Krleža and ˝Thirsty stone atthe wellspring˝ by Tin Ujević).

The 4th century of the librarydeserves a short survey.

Although we can seek the his-tory of the National and Uni-versity Library in the library ofthe Jesuit Gymnasium in 1606,the beginning of librarianshipin Croatia dates earlier in theMiddle Ages with the estab-lishing the Benedictine mon-astery in the 9th century. Ouroldest preserved manuscript,Evangelarium Spalatenese,

emerged in the 7th or 8th cen-tury at the copycat-workshopin Split cathedral.The development of literacy,culture and science in theMiddle Ages is closely linkedwith church, and the librariesof that time were establishedwithin the Croatian bishopric.The most significant library inCroatia is Metropolitana – Za-greb bishopric library from the

11th century. From the develop-ment of libraries of Humanismand Renaissance and after thearrival of Jesuits and Jesuiticalcourses libraries we are genea-logically approaching contem-porary central National Croa-tian institution.

The establishment of the Acad-emy of Science in 1776 is of aspecial importance for the de-velopment of the NUL. Namely,after the abolition of the So-ciety of Jesus, or gymnasiumof Zagreb course in 1773, thelibrary of the former Jesuiti-cal course becomes a part ofa newly established Academy.The Enlightenment played aspecial role in collecting booksand historical material andfounded more systematic ap-proach to language, culture,science and book collecting.The role of Adam Baričević andBishop Maksimilijan Vrhovacis unavoidable.




It is worth to mentionthat the Library holding was enriched by privatedonations and one of the

most valuable donations was that by Baltazar Adam Krčelić (17151778), a canon of Za-greb, historian and thehead of the Croatiancourse in Vienna. He leftby will his ̋ better˝ booksand manuscripts, he gift-ed 757 book volumesand 50 manuscripts.

The public category of this insti-tution dates back to 1777 whenit was determined that the li-braries of the academy shouldserve for public use, while from3 December 1816 by the writtenreplay of ˝visokog vugerskogkraljevkog tolnača˝ the acad-emy library got the right fora free sample of each editionfrom the university printing-

works in Pest and gained thepublic significance. In 1818 theinstitution was proclaimed pub-

lic by emperor Franjo I who onvisiting Zagreb went around theAcademy and the library.Collecting of Slavic books got

the full swing with the mem-bers of the Illyrian movement,and finally, after thirty years, bythe establishment of the Uni-versity in 1847, the library grewinto university library at thesame holding the features of anational library.Our first Croatian librarian by oc-cupation and professional qual-ification was Ivan Kostrenčićwho was the manager for 35years from 1875.

Regular influx of books fromCroatia and Slavonia guaran-teed the Press Law from 1875,supplemented by the ban’s de-cree from 1897. Due to the thendivision of Croatia, the booksfrom Dalmatia, Istria and otherareas were procured by pur-chase.

Simultaneously, the enlarge-ment of the holding and widen-ing of the activity caused the re-

location of the library from theUpper Town to the Universityafter which the Croatian Parlia-ment in 1907 decided to build a

new building. With the strikingsecessionist exquisiteness thedraft made by Rudolf Lubynskiwas realised in 1913.Eighty years passed until thenext relocation was done. To-day’s new building of the NULthat was built during the ag-gression on Croatia was openedin 1995.Today, four centuries later, theNational and University Libraryholds the same national andcultural role. It is the keeper ofthe Croatian heritage. Thosewho still like to feel the paperunder fingers, peculiar scentof bookish paper - they have achance to engage all their sens-es there.

The modern building, furnishedwith windows with the inter-

netisation of library looks ontoall four sides of the world, far-ther and farther.

MissaleRomanum Glagolitice(first Croatian printed book,

AD 1483)




On line access to healthcare services and qualitymedical assistance

The informatisation of Healthis one of the priorities of the

e-Croatia programme whichexpects to improve the qualityof service to citizens with sig-nificant financial savings. Themain areas of the applicationare: informatisation of primaryhealth services, indroduction ofan integral information systemfor hospitals, informatisation ofthe Croatian Institute for HealthInsurance (HZZO) with the intro-duction of multi-functional smart

cards. One of the main tasks ofthis project is the establishmentof the standards of interoperabil-ity of these information systemsby the introduction of the on-lineappointments for examinations

by specialists.The Ministry of Health and So-cial Welfare conducted evalua-tions of the Informatisation ofprimary health services projects,and the Informatisation of theHospital Information system.In the meantime, the imple-mentation of the project on theinformatisation of the PrimaryHealth Services was initiated.The development of functional

e HealthBy the e-Croatia 2007 pro-

gramme the Croatian Gov-

ernment has transformedthe Croatian society into

an information one. The

basic objectives of the

programme are to provide

an opportunity for the citi-

zens and entrepreneurs

to receive information in

time and therefore actively

participate in the society

through the networked

information system; to

improve and join the Croa-

tian economy; to provide a

comprehensive exchange

of information and experi-

ence in the business world

and entrepreneurship and, finally, to enable the state

to become a transparent,

fast and efficient service.

The programme is divided

into several areas: e-Gov-

ernment, e-Justice, e-Edu-

cation, e-Business and e-

Health.

Informatisation - the fastest step forward into future of CroatianHealth Care


E-HEALTH



and technical specification hadbeen completed, as well as the

creation of the health informa-tion system. Moreover, neces-sary equipment was acquiredand the system and applicationsoftware implemented.Also, preparations for the pro-duction of application solutionsfor primary health services of-fices were completed.The Croatian Institute forHealth Insurance (HZZO) initi-

ated the HZZO Portal project inaccordance with the project ofthe informatisation of primaryhealth service. The HZZO Por-tal ensures a secure electronicdata exchange with the sub-jects within the Croatian healthsystem. The first phase of thepilot project referring to the in-troduction of a smart card intothe system of health insurancehas been finished.

Integrated information sys-tem - Croatian˝know-how”project

The most recent integrat-ed information system– connecting of institutesof the primary healthcare, labs and pharma-cies at the national level

In February, the integratedinformation system of the pri-mary health services was offi-cially put into operation at theceremony that was held at theCroatian Government, and waspresented by the president ofthe Croatian Government dr. sc.Ivo Sanader, minister of Healthand Social Welfare doc. dr. sc.Neven Ljubičić, the state secre-tary of the Central State Admin-istrative Office for e-Croatia ofthe Government of the Republicof Croatia Miroslav Kovačić andthe president of Ericsson NikolaTesla Company.In the collaboration with theEricsson Nikola Tesla Companyand Central State Administra-tive Office for e-Croatia theMinistry of Health and SocialWelfare has designed the most

recent technological solution,integrated information systemthat presents the Croatian ref-erence for the whole world.The system anticipates that bythe end of the next year all theoffices of the primary healthcare, labs and pharmacies willbe joined into integrated healthcare information system andin that case will simplify thework of medical staff. The PM

Sanader noted that the systemwould eliminate unnecessaryadministrations, patients wouldno longer have to ̋ walk˝ around

the institutions, and any sign ofcorruption would be preventeddue to the transparency of thewhole procedure.Within the project already 350offices of general and familypractice have been informatical-ly connected. By the end of theyear joining of the paediatric,gynaecological and dentist’s of-fices, labs and pharmacies will

start, and by the end of 2008all six thousand of the primaryhealth services institutions willbe informatically connected.The members of the CroatianInstitute for Health Insurancewelcome the informatisation asit will provide a good layout ofdoctors´ work and in that waywill ensure a full control andreduce costs. As well, primaryhealth service will be possible

to be paid due to the realisedwork, contrary to the case be-fore – through the amount thatthe Institute paid to a doctor onthe number of the registeredpatients. The Croatian NationalInstitute of Public Health alsoexpresses its satisfaction bythe project as integrated datawill provide them a good surveyof manifestations of some dis-

eases and doctor’s actions andall of that will provide a betterprevention.

By now HRK 70 million hasbeen invested in the project.During the year another HRK 40 million will be provided forinformatical equipment of afamily practice and HRK 80 mil-lion for the paediatric and gyn-aecological offices.


E-HEALTH



Minister of Health andSocial Welfare doc.Dr. sc. NevenLjubičić high-

lighted thatthe informati-sation of theprimary healthservices sys-tem was a hugestep forward forthe Croatian health, andwhen it came to the informati-sation of the primary health ser-vices system, we spoke aboutthe systems of general/familypractice, dentistry, paediatrics,gynaecology, pharmacy andlaboratories. Unnecessaryadministration will be signifi-cantly reduced, so doctors andother medical staff will spendmore time with patients.

A great sum of money has beeninvested in the project, but theexperience of the countries

in which this kind of a projectoperates for years already wit-nesses that a profit surpassesfunds for multiple times.

The informatisation of the pri-mary health services is the firststep in the informatisation ofthe whole health, State Sec-retary Miroslav Kovačić said,adding that e-Health has beenthe most compound project tillnow.Primary health services infor-mation system developed bythe Croatian experts from theEricsson Nikola Tesla Com-pany is unique in the worldand shows strong aspects tobecome a valuable Croatian ex-port product. This project differsfrom similar systems in othercountries as it comprises all the

business pro-cesses andentities ofthe primary

health ser-vices. Thei n f o r m a t i o n

health care sys-tem in Croatiawill be integrated

at the national level,and opened standards andprotocols will provide integra-tion with the similar systems ofother countries. A great advan-tage of this system is seen incosts and data control of all thepatients, and on the other handit enables connection with theinsurance companies. The sys-tem is among the most recentones in the world, and is uniquein Europe due to its applicationat the national level.

Patients inthe centre of attention of thenew system

No patient will have to walk from a lab to anoutpatients´, test results will be automatically con- veyed into his/her elec-tronic card

For a patient the informatisa-tion actually means that byhis/her e-card a doctor will getan insight into his/her wholemedical card by now, and ac-cess to an ̋ electronic card˝ willbe possible for all other doctorsin different doctors´ offices inCroatia if a patient happens to

ask for a help.In future patients will no longerhave to pick their test results atlabs because they will be elec-

tronically delivered to doctorsand they will be able to orderan examination via the Internet.Moreover, a patient will be ap-pointed for a medical examina-tion by his/her doctor within aninstitution of the primary healthservices and he will also pos-sess a schedule of free appoint-ments.Medical data are permanent

and clandestine. They are per-manent because they can notbe subsequently altered, erasedor added, and they are clandes-tine because they can only beavailable for medical staff andpatients.This system puts a patient in thecentre of attention, but it alsobrings various advantages to allits users. It provides a completeand right in time information

about a patient to doctors andnurses, it provides applicationsupport in a daily work, effica-cious management of workinghours, reduction of administra-tive works, computer support indecision making, and after allit provides medicine based onevidences, and the most impor-tant it advances the relation be-tween a doctor and a patient.

Patients will be provided bymuch better and more effica-cious health care system withless administrative works, moreprivacy and data confidentialityabout the health care system ofpatients.A patient, as well, will get anaccess to his/her own medicalcard and access to all of his/hermedical and clinical informa-tion.

20 No. 25/26 | March/April 2007

E-HEALTH



Croatia is the first coun-

try in the region that hasprovided to its policeofficers opportunity fortraining on combatinghate crime. Besides theMinistry of the Interi-or’s officers, the mem-bers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Eu-ropean Integration, Of- fice for Human Rights

and NGO’s Iskorak andKontra took part in thetraining, too.

The European Union welcomesthe progress of minority rightsand diminution of number ofethnically motivated incidents.No organised violence againstcertain groups has been record-ed in Croatia. Mostly it is a caseof individual and non-organised

incidents that were motivated

by national, racial or some oth-er affiliation of damaged partywhich do not indicate plannedand organised execution ofsuch crimes.

We have come to these resultsby systematic and dedicatedwork, we are not hiding oursatisfaction by what we haveaccomplished taking in consid-eration a turbulent war time leftbehind us.Apart from influencing lives ofindividuals, hate crimes havenegative consequences on so-cial order, peace and qualityliving in a community. Regard-ing this, hate crimes put inthe unequal position personsconcerning their affiliation to acertain social group, their dis-tinctive characteristics which

are contrary to the Croatian

Constitution. Assault motivatedby hatred toward certain socialgroup causes damage not onlyto a victim but it is an assaulton his/her value as a human be-ing.The Republic of Croatia ratifiedthe International Conventionon Eliminating of All Forms ofRacial Discrimination. Article4 of the Convention obligesthe member states to punish˝promotion of ideas based onsuperiority or hatred, incite-ment of racial discrimination,violence or incitement of suchacts against any race or a groupof people of different colour ofskin or ethnic origin.˝

Apart from the statutory regula-tions a significant attentivenessis given to monitoring of minor-

Better future with more tolerance

LAW ENFORCEMENTOFFICER PROGRAMME ONCOMBATING HATE CRIME




offence issue on this area asto other safety interesting con-ducts, events and occurrences,with the main goal of preventing

and taking adequate measureseither individually or in the col-laboration with other govern-ment bodies, citizens and civilsocieties.One of the imperatives for rec-ognition, diminution and sup-pression of hate crimes is defi-nitely adequate police officers´education.Law enforcement officer pro-gramme is a part of the OESS´sefforts orientated to combatinghate crime and is designed inaccordance with special cir-cumstances of each country.In the beginning of 2006 Croa-tia became the first countrythat provided training for itspolice officers on combatinghate crime. Nine police officerswent through the training at thePolice Academy in Zagreb and

received know-how and skillsof a coach who will train otherpolice officers in the future. Be-sides the Ministry of the Inte-rior’s officers, the members ofthe Ministry of Foreign Affairsand European Integration, Of-fice for Human Rights and non-governmental organisationsIskorak and Kontra took part inthe training, too.

The Memorandum of Under-standing between the Ministryof the Interior of the Republic ofCroatia and ODIHR on combat-ing hate crime was signed inDubrovnik.By signing the Memorandumthe Republic of Croatia obligeditself to introduce training oncombating hate crime withinthe existing state instructional

programme for police officers´training.In the Memorandum of Under-standing the Croatian Govern-

ment and OESS/ODIHR havetaken the obligation to continuethe co-operation referring tothe police officers training bothin Croatia and within widerOESS´s region and to engagea Croatian expert for combatinghate crime in order to providetraining and support to otherOESS member states.Continuation of the implemen-tation of the Law EnforcementOfficer Programme on Combat-ing Hate Crime is going to berealised in the following way bythe Ministry of the Interior:• Within the national police cur-riculum through all the instruc-tional programmes in the basicpolice training• through the specialist cours-es that are implemented withinthe Department of professional

training• through the remedial profes-sional training that is carriedout at police departments,which means it is necessary tocarry out another training formultiplicators in order each po-lice department to have at leastone educated police officer forthis problem area• through the co-operation of

all relevant government’s bod-ies (Ministry of Foreign Affairsand European Integration, Min-istry of the Interior, Office for

Human Rights, Ministry of Jus-tice, General Attorney’s Office,judicature, Judicial Academy)in gathering, processing andexchange of data• through the co-operation withthe non-governmental organi-sations at all the levels, in thestate and local alike.

This programme temporarilygathers eight countries that ac-tively participate in the imple-mentation, these being: Cana-da, Croatia, France, Germany,Hungary, Spain, the UK and theUSA, and just recently Polandand Serbia.

Three-day training for the fu-ture police coaches from thir-teen countries was held in thebeginning of January 2006 in

Paris, with the emphasis on anefficacious reaction, investiga-tion, gathering and exchangingof data as well as on dealingwith victims, witnesses and af-fected community.Interesting to note is that theprogramme was designed anddeveloped by the police officersthemselves along with the prac-tical realisation.

22 No. 25/26 | March/April 2007



Zagreb Dox was held from 26January to 4 March at the

Student Centre in Zagreb. The

festival presented around 29documentary films immediate-ly after the world premiers atthe international documentaryfilm festival in Amsterdam.

Big Stamp Award for the BestFilm in International Competi-tion went to the film ˝Civil Sta-tus˝ by Alina Rudnitskaya fromRussia. In her film in black andwhite contrast she shows the

world of bureau and showsemotions of the visitors andemployees. Jury thought it was

a mix of creativity, humanityand unique humour.Special awards in InternationalCompetition went to Armenianfilm ˝A story of people in warand peace˝ and Finnish ˝Noman is an island˝.

In the regional competition BigStamp Award for the Best Filmwent to the film ˝Evropa prekoplota˝ by Želimir Žilnik (Ser-

bia), which shows the effects ofSchengen Agreement at Hun-garian-Serbian border from the

summer of 2004 to the spring of2005. According to the Jury’sopinion the author leads thestory with a brilliant dramatur-gy, perfectly weaving in the nar-rative parts which are almostunrecognisable from the film’sdocumentary foundation.

German-Romanian film ˝Vil-lage of Socks˝, Serbian ˝Na-tional Park˝, Croatian ˝Last

ZAGREB DOX The biggest international documentary

film festival in the region




Native Petrović˝ and MacedonianDream: ˝A Girl and her Accordion˝were conferred special awards inthe regional competition.

Little Stamp Award for the Best Filmby Young Author (up to 30 years)went to young Petra Seliškar fromSlovenia and her documentary film˝The Grandmothers of Revolution˝.

Thirty eight films were competing forawards in International Competitionconsisting of a statue and a diplo-ma. Among 23 documentary films inthe regional programme there wereeight premiers of Croatian films.Two new film festivalswere introduced this year –˝Zavjera˝(˝Conspiracy˝) and ̋ Auto-dox˝, while ˝Controversial Dox˝brought a huge interest.




The hilly area of Žumberak –

Samoborsko gorje, one outof eleven nature parks in Croa-tia, is located in the westerncentral part of the country, only30 kilometers south-west fromthe capital city, along the bor-derline with Slovenia. The Parkjoins the Žumberak mountains,with the highest peak SvetaGera (1178 m) and the Samo-bor mountains whose highestpeak is Japetić (971 m). MountPlešivica (780 m) is also part ofthe Samobor mountains.Nature Park was founded in1999., both for its preservednatural and rich cultural heri-tage. Pitoresque landscapesof this large area, covering ap-proximately 333 sq.km, pres-ent a cultural environment- it is the result of a long-timecoexistence between man and

land: alternating cultivated

parts and intact nature havethe value that deserves specialeffort in their protection. That’swhy the Public Authority wasestablished in 2001.: to run thisarea, meaning its protection,conservation, sustainable useand promotion.Deciduous forests of the area,covering almost two thirds ofits territory, are mostly beechand mixed oak-hornbeam. Thistype of habitat provides hometo numerous species of faunaand flora, some of them endem-ic and threatened. The centralpart of Žumberak is character-ised by many clearings, deeplyincised valleys, sinking rivers,waterfalls and caves, hidingmany underground endemicspecies that haven’t yet beenexplored. By cutting trees, over

many years man has uninten-

tionally created a new type ofhabitat in this area – grass-lands that host completelynew plant and animal species.Apart from the human impact,the richness in biodeversity ofmedows and pastures in thePark is also based on naturalfactors, such as geologicalbase (which is mostly karst),soil, relief and climate, espe-cially in plant species. It madea great impression even on for-eign experts and encouragedthem to explore and participatein their conservation.Except for being wealthy inbiological sense, this area hasa big importance for preserva-tion of Croatian cultural heri-tage. Žumberak mountains isan entirely rural area withoutany urban settlements. How-

ŽUMBERAK Samoborsko gorjeNature Park


ŽUMBERAK



ever, the highest altitude set-tlements in the middle part ofCroatia are situated here. Theearliest known cultural historyof this region goes as far asthe early Stone Age - Palaeo-lithic, evidenced by remains ofa mammoth-hunter’s camp inPodstranak. Numerous otherfindings detected by the end of

19th and during 20th century,provide evidence that this ter-ritory had been settled duringvarious epochs of prehistory.Methodical archaeologicalexploring during the last 20

years has provided importantfindings that enrich the cul-tural-historical significanceof Žumberak. A settlement

and a necropolis dating fromthe early Iron Age, situatednearby the village of Budinjak,represent one of the most sig-nificant findings of that kind inthe south-east Alps area. Twocopper helmets, which werefound in duke’s graves, makethe most important finding innecropolis. The helmet foundin the grave of duke Tumul no.3, is the only entirely preservedspecimen from one of the sixgroups of different helmettypes dating from early IronAge in middle Europe.On the fields below Gornja Vasand in the center of the Brateljivillage, antic necropolis thatdate from early-emperor pe-riod of Roman state have beenfound and explored. The dis-coveries resulting from study

of this site contribute to ourunderstanding of lifestyle andburying customs of local resi-dents during the roman domi-nance on our territories.Preserved nature, rich cultural

heritage and closeness to thebig cities of this part of Croatiaare some of the reasons thatthe number of visitors, both lo-

cal and foreign, is constantlyincreasing. People that chooseto visit Žumberak – Samobor-sko gorje Nature Park can getall the information at info-cen-tres in Slani Dol and in Budin-jak. Along with other services,such as professional guidenessalong the 4,2 km long educa-tional walking trail called “TheTrail of the Princes” in Budin-jak and visiting exhibitions atthe centres, the Nature Parkstuff also provide educationalprogramme for elementaryschool children. Fans of hikingcan choose among numerousmarked hiking trails, mostlymaintained by mountaineringclubs. There are 9 mountainhuts in the area, most of themoffering food and accomoda-tion and a few places offering

rural-tourism. There are alsomany beautiful natural andcultural sights to visit, such as:Žumberak fortress, Tuščak for-tress, the Canyon of Slapnicariver, Ethnographic collectionof Žumberak everyday life atBasilian Sisters Monastery inSošice etc.Two take off points at Plešivicaand Japetić are provided forfans of paragliding, and thereare also two areas for freeclimbing. Four bicycle trails,all together over 200 km long,were marked by the NaturePark stuff.All these information shouldbe an invitation to everyonethat wants to spend free timegathered with astonishing na-ture and cultural history of thisprecious mountain site.


ŽUMBERAK



Vinkovci is a Croatian townin eastern Slavonia and

lies on the banks of the riverBosut. It is the biggest town ofboth eastern Slavonia and Vu-kovar-Srijem County. The siteof Vinkovci was inhabited fromthe Neolithic period and as thefirst significant site found inthe written documents was theRoman town Colonia AureliaCibalae. Vinkovci is the townfounded on mediaeval place StElias. Vinkovci was left a very

nice baroque core by Austro-Hungarian period.

During three centuries the cul-tural events of Vinkovci and Vu-

kovar-Srijem County had beenenriched by different names

out of which many were regis-tered in Croatian cultural andart history like: ˝Satir iliti divjičovik˝ by M.A. Relković, ˝Deadcapitals˝ by Josip Kozarac,˝Inoče˝ (Second wife) by JozoIvakić, ̋Đuka Begović˝ by IvanKozarac, M.S. Mađer, DionizijeŠvagelj, Josip Bogner, JosipRunjanin, Vanja Raduš, andmany others.

Along with the historical sightsand cultural particularities thatmake this area interesting,Vinkovci and its surroundingsoffer their various and univer-

sal catering-tourist serviceand attractiveness. The Tourist

Board of Vinkovci in early 1975launched an initiative for theancient beauties of rich andbeautiful Slavonia to be used forthe rural tourism development,since the villages Otok, Ivanko-vo, Rokovci, Andrijaševci, Lipo-vac and some other were situat-ed in the breathtaking setting ofthe famous oak-tree forest andmeandering flow of the riversBosut, Biđ, Spačva, Studva and

their tributary rivers. Especiallypopular are ˝Virovi˝ near Otok– a natural phenomenon of al-most untouched forest nature.Even today, besides pure nature

VINKOVCIThe existing economic structure and disposable capacities, not enough used pos-sibilities and world development trends provide positive prerequisites to overall future development along with the well created global strategy of development.

THE TREASURY OF LUXURY, BEAUTY AND TRADITION


VINKOVCI



and relaxation in silence, walk,fishing and hunting, a guestcan take part in farm work

with his/her host and enjoy infamous Slavonian cuisine spe-cialties. All those villages havepreserved their genuine ap-pearance, their folk customs,holidays, folk costumes, gamesand merry Šokac songs. Thistype of tourism holds the long-lasting tradition due to the dif-ferent species of wildlife suchas red deer, fallow deer, knownto European hunters, then wild

boars and wild fowl. Near thetown there are famous hunting-grounds: ˝Kunjevci˝, ˝Spačva˝and ˝Merolino˝.One can fish in the rivers Bo-sut, Spačva, Studva, Otok andBošnjak eddies.The rivers abound in freshwaterfish: carp, pike-perch, Europeancatfish, tench, perch, cruciancarp and pike. Sporting fish-

ing has been nourished fromthe old days and it is quite of-ten possible to see numerousfishermen in summer monthscompeting along the Bosut inthe very centre of the town.

The site of Vinkovci and Vu-kovar-Srijem County disposeof rich natural resources and

famous are: cultivable land,forests, oil, gas, clay and gravelfields, and advanced hydro-graphic network. The natural re-sources present the factors thatmostly determine the structureand define the courses of eco-nomic development of Vinkovciand the whole County. The en-tire forest area together withSpačva pool take up the spaceof 69.011 ha or 28.30 per cent of

the County’s area. The area ismostly covered with Slavoniancommon oak and ash-tree. Thatwas a good basis for the devel-opment of wood-processingindustry. Lately there is muchmore companies – wood-pro-cessors from small and middlebusiness. Rich fields of clay,gravel and sand have enabledthe development of construc-

tion material industry, especial-ly brick making and buildingtrade. In the past few years thecommerce, trades and servicesare more and more representedto the detriment of agriculture,

food and processing industry.One can say that the existingeconomic structure and dis-

posable capacities, not enoughused possibilities and worlddevelopment trends providepositive prerequisites to overallfuture development along withthe well created global strategyof development.

“Vinkovci Autumns”– folk music festival of great traditional valueThe most famous annual event

held in September in Vinkovci isthe folk music festival ̋ VinkovciAutumns˝ (Vinkovačke Jeseni),which includes the folkloreshow, cultural, economic andtourist presentations. Manyfolklore groups from differentparts of Croatia, Diaspora andother countries from Europeand America take part in thisfestival. The first Vinkovci Au-

tumns festival was held in Sep-tember of 1966. In the beginningit was just a local review of theauthentic Slavonian folklore atwhich groups from the Vinkovcisurroundings, then from Slavo-


VINKOVCI



nia and Baranja took part. Since1977 Vinkovci Autumns festivalis recognised as the review ofthe authentic folklore of theCroatian nation and nationality,and since 1990 it is seen as thereview of the authentic Croatianfolklore at which even manyfolklore groups from Diasporatake part.The Folklore Evenings pre-cede the opening ceremony ofVinkovci Autumns. They areheld a few evenings before theopening ceremony of VinkovciAutumns, and folklore groupsfrom Vinkovci surroundings

and since 1993 groups from Vu-kovar-Srijem County perform.Since the 80s Folklore Eveningshold a competing character. Thebest groups receive the right toperform at the internationalFolklore Review in Zagreb and Đakovo Embroidery.One of the most interestingperformances of Vinkovci Au-tumns is Šokac talks (Šokačkidivani), emerged as an eventthat evokes the authenticspeech, games and fun, i.e. thespirit and mentality of Šokac, aSlavonian and to remind of oldtalks. Vinkovci Autumns festi-val celebrates, preserves, nour-ishes and shows the genuinefolk treasure, culture and cus-toms of Slavonia and Croatia aswell as some other people’s cul-ture like our dear and respected

guests.

Vinkovci is the treasuryof luxury, beauty andtradition. Each season will offer you something for your soul in thistown and its surround-ings. So come and visitour Slavonian town richin tou-rist offer.


VINKOVCI



When we speak aboutthe Croatian cuisine wespeak about a diversecuisine of different Croa-

tian regions. Typical forthe continental cuisine,along with the earlier an-cient and Common Slavicroots, is Hungarian, Vien-nese and Turkish influ-ence as a copy of a his-torical and geographical windswept area whereCroatia has always beenplaced. Maritime cuisine

is marked by the Greeksand Romans´ influencetogether with Slavonian,Illyrian, Italian and Frenchcuisine influence.

An interesting exhibition˝The world of food in Croa-

tia˝ is taking place at the Eth-nographic museum in Zagrebshowing vividly that food canalso be a museum artefact.The authors did not exaggeratewith the ambition and breadthof the display in desire to dis-tance themselves from a com-mon inventory of the Croatianfood through the centuries.On the other hand, they chosehistorical feeding flashes thatjust evoke the course of his-tory and a parallel develop-ment of preparation and food

consumption. The exhibition

reminds us of the Neanderthalfeasts, the use of a fork and aspoon in the New Stone Age as

well as on the level of civilisedbehaviour during the meal, itreminds us of an unavoidableRoman feasts, the revolution-ary invention of a cooker inthe 19th century, and in theend the exhibition reminds usof the present days that evokeshopping carts stuffed with theprocessed food ready for theusage.The exhibition displays Croa-

tian confraternities of the Mid-dle Ages, the description of theCroatian ban Nikola Zrinski´seating and the author of acookery-book with dishes pre-pared on a Čakovec court. Onecan also see a peaceful reignof the Austrian emperor FranjoJosip that widened Vienneseand Danube-region cuisinespecialties and the Josip Broz

Tito´s feasts prepared for theleaders of the non-aligned countriesat the Brijuni.A rich literary opuswitnesses of a highlevel of a gastro-nomic culture inCroatia. There arerecorded facts onfood from the earlyhistory, like, for

example, in ˝Gazophylaciumillyrico-latinum ˝- dictionaryfrom 1740 by Joannis Bellosz-

tenect published 65 years afterthe author’s death, and whichpreceded the similar Frenchdictionary with the headwordslinked to food collected in the17th century and which referto an earlier period before thecoming of a potato in Croatiaand versatile use of a corn.The exhibition depicts scarcityand modesty of rural and poorpeople’s cuisine, feasts andgourmandise aristocracy’s cui-sine, and through the portraitsof contemporary women itpresents the frames of a feed-ing culture of Croatia.

The exhibition will be openeduntil September.

Contemporary nutritionisttrends which promote health

food have forced the return tosimple traditional recipes andthe good news is that in Splitbesides the ˝global˝ and fa-mous pizza one can buy slic-es of soparnik, old Poljice´scheese, known also as the Dal-matian prisnac, which allegedlyNapoleon liked. This vegetariandish was traditionally preparedduring the Lent, on Good Fridayor Christmas Eve.

THE WORLDOF FOOD INCROATIA

30 No. 25/26 | March/April 2007



Bring 50 dag of honey to the boil and

skim it. Ad 1.2 dl of oil, 0.5 dag of salt,1.25 dl of prošek (sweet wine), 0.1 dagof saffron, a pinch of cinnamon, halfof grated nutmeg, a half teaspoonof white pepper, 6 poundedcloves, 1.5 dag of bicarbon-ate of soda, and enough flourto absorb the mixture (about80 dag). Roll out the dough incylindrical shapes, and pressthem into moulds. Bake in the

preheated oven at the tem-perature of 160° C for about25 minutes. Cakes are bakedwhen they get characteris-tic light brown colour. Beat1 egg white, then graduallyadd 4 tablespoons of powdersugar and use the glaze todecorate the cakes.

Soparnik (prisnac,Swiss-chard pie) The day before wash and dry 1 kg of Swiss-chard, then cut into pieces leaving out thewhite parts. Spread over the clean cloth andsprinkle with salt or Vegeta.Next day, knead out the dough from ½ kg offlour, a pinch of salt, little olive oil and 2 dlof lukewarm water. Divide the dough in twoloaves and set aside for 15 minutes. Slice sev-eral onions and mix with Swiss-chard and fourspoonfuls of olive/sun seed oil.Roll out one loaf of dough so that it overlaps

the edges of the greased baking tin. Arrangethe filling evenly over the whole surface of onesheet of the dough, sprinkle with tablespoonof maize flour to absorb the moisture andcover with the other sheet of dough. Overlapthe edges of the upper sheet with the lowerand press firmly so that it keeps the filling in.Drill the upper dough with fork several times,so that the soparnik does not grow high in theoven. Put into the preheated oven, 180° C, andbake for 35 to 40 minutes. Soparnik should bea little burnt on the surface. Leave it to cool

and sprinkle over the top with mixture of oliveoil, pressed garlic and coarsely chopped al-monds. Cut into rhombi and serve.

Hvarski paprenjaci(Hvar gingerbreads)




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Croatia in Focus, No. 25/26, March/April 2007

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