March the 10th, 2023 - Alright, we hardly need to be told about just how jaw-droppingly gorgeous Croatia's oldest national park is, but with most of the rest of the world thinking Croatia's beauty is confined to the coast, it's time for Plitvice Lakes National Park to shine internationally. CNN has listed as being among the most beautiful places on planet Earth.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, our planet is truly spectacular, and stunning beauty can be found at every turn. It is difficult to unanimously decide which are the most beautiful places in the world, but CNN brings its audience, as they themselves claim, "the best of the best", and one Croatian jewel, the one and only Plitvice Lakes National Park, has also rightfully been placed on the list.

From lush African forests to vast and imposing Latin American deserts, watery Balkan paradises to ancient Middle Eastern cities, these are their picks for the world's most beautiful destinations that literally take your breath away.

Croatia has long had the status of the best European location for escaping to nature. When visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park, which has enjoyed its protected status since 1949, you'll come across one of the most incredible sights in the world: sixteen lakes connected by waterfalls, which eternally change the formation of the stones they flow over, writes CNN.

The lakes at gorgeous Plitvice Lakes National Park are easy to explore by walking along the wide network of paths and promenades, and at every step you will be delighted by the rich forests and enchanting wildlife.

In addition to Plitvice National Park, CNN has singled out 24 other mindblowing places across the world that are considered the most beautiful. You can view them by clicking the link to CNN's publication above.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

March 9, 2023 - Laganini, the chilled Croatian way. Check it out through the eyes of our latest TCN correspondent, Pedro Premuz, a Croatian returnee from Argentina. Welcome, Number 187! If you would like to write for TCN about the Croatia where you are, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Writing.

It's May, some random Tuesday before 10:00 am. I walk past construction workers on my way to a kafić (coffee shop), and I daringly peek inside the building they are working on. Except they are not fixing it now, they are already having their first break, which could be their second. beer in hand and a sandwich with what I imagine is home-produced meat, as is the tradition here. Most people have their own orchard or make their own charcuterie. I mutter to myself the newly-understood phrase... "Laganini" (To take it easy). Time is all we have, I say to myself as I go and take a second break and a third coffee.

It takes a while, but eventually you get used to this rhythm of life and calmness, people are not used to yelling or complaining. Maybe, you’ll get to disappoint them should you cross a red light, but that's it.

You will see a lot of people (I'm no expert but I have no doubts we’re talking about 85% of the population) drinking alcohol daily, but the only drunk people you'll ever see are non-Balkan tourists, because cheap (and tasty) alcohol drives them crazy.

Croatians love to contemplate the universe in silence. They take their job very seriously. They must do one thing: “I have to do nothing and I must be good at it”. They actively embrace the nothingness of sitting outside, plain vibing without any guilt or remorse.

Back at home, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I used to take the train to work, and I had more than an hour, door to door. Daily, regular commute. It just felt normal to travel more than an hour just to go to work. Now, if something takes more than 50 minutes, I have to think about it 4 times before making up my mind, and it may take me the whole day to travel that far. Let me clarify: Let's say you take a tram combination, 20 minutes each, and you need to be at your destination at, say, 2:30pm.

With the life I'm living at the moment, I would probably leave home at around 12:00, take the first tram, get off at the correct station to wait for the second one, but, alas! The thirst.

It's time for that break: Coffee and a glass of water. Similar to any construction worker break. I take out a book from my backpack and spend 45 minutes reading, contemplating life for a while, and by the time I continue the second half of my journey, ready and well-rested, I already forgot whatever I was aiming to do at my place of destination.

I guess what I have been deciphering so far about Croatia as a whole is that we are still a village in most aspects. And we love it just that way, thanks for asking. So, if you read this and you feel like enjoying time passing through, you can visit, or don't, we’ll be here watching time pass, anyway.

March 9, 2023 - Dalmatian lamb has received the European protected designation of origin, which means that the name of the product is entered in the register of protected designations of origin and protected designations of geographical origin and is protected in the territory of the entire European Union, the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture reported on Wednesday.

As 24Sata writes, the procedure for the protection of the name was initiated by the Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders of Dalmatia, which submitted a request to the Ministry of Agriculture for the protection of the designation of origin under the name Dalmatian lamb.

Dalmatian lamb is the meat of lambs of the original Croatian breed of sheep, the Dalmatian Pramenka, which are lambed, reared, and slaughtered exclusively in Dalmatia. For the production of "Dalmatian lamb," lambs are slaughtered at 70 to 130 days old when they reach a body weight of 15 to 28 kilograms. It is named after the breeding area of the Dalmatian lamb, Dalmatia, but the name Dalmatia itself comes from the Illyrian word for sheep, dalma, or delma. 

"Especially valued 'Dalmatian lamb', produced on the islands, coast, and karst areas of the Dalmatian Zagora, is characterized by a delicate muscle structure without pronounced marbling, white subcutaneous and internal fat deposits. Compared to other types of lamb, the 'Dalmatian lamb' meat contains significantly less fat. Consumers recognize and especially appreciate Dalmatian lamb, primarily because of its soft and juicy muscle tissue and its aroma and taste without a pronounced mutton smell," the Ministry of Agriculture explains.

The Republic of Croatia now has 40 agricultural and food products whose name is registered in the European Union as a protected designation of origin or a protected designation of geographical origin.

The EU mark of the protected designation of origin or the protected designation of geographical origin on the packaging guarantees the consumer the purchase of an authentic product.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

March 9, 2023 - The organizers of the PLACE2GO International Tourism Fair decided this year to announce the 10^th edition of the fair in the spirit of giving. In cooperation with the Croatian Tourist Board, they organized a contest in which they are looking for 20 of the most beautiful photos of Croatia, and the best authors will receive travel vouchers.

As stated in today's announcement, Poslovni writes, the award-winning photos will also be shown to more than 200 exhibitors from about 20 countries and to approximately 15,000 visitors expected in Arena Zagreb from March 24 to 26. Photos can be sent from March 4 to 23, and the best ones will be decided by the audience via the social networks of the PLACE2GO fair and the expert jury, which consists of artistic photographer Hrvoje Serdar, the director of the PLACE2GO fair Damjana Domanovac and the chief creative director of the Kofein agency Tomislav Krajacic.

The photo contest called #ljepotaHRVATSKE is looking for photos that show Croatia as a desirable tourist destination, which is recognizable for its natural beauty, architecture, gastronomy, flora and fauna.

"For the first time, we decided to directly involve visitors in the content of the fair. The presentation of Croatia through the lens of visitors is the most authentic way, because the most important thing for a good photo is to be in the right place at the right time. We look forward to seeing hidden parts that are not so well known, details of architecture, interesting people and customs, characteristic of our country.

At the same time, this is a great opportunity for Croatia, which has been ranked highly as a tourist destination for the past few years, not only in Europe, but also in the world, so exhibitors from all over the world will get an insight into Croatia through the eyes of citizens, which is also a good promotion for the upcoming season," explained Damjana Domanovac, organizer of the tourism fair PLACE2GO.

The three photos with the highest number of likes on social networks and the best jury scores will be additionally awarded with valuable vouchers. The winners will be announced on April 5 on the websites place2go.org, place2go.hr and on the Facebook and Instagram PLACE2GO platforms.

"PLACE2GO is the leading tourism fair in the region, which has hosted more than 113,500 visitors over ten years, and around 700 exhibitors from 38 countries and more than 40 sponsors have participated in the fair so far. In addition to domestic and regional exhibitors, visitors will have the opportunity to get to know the newly discovered destination of Albania and exotic Malaysia, and special attention this year is devoted to Algeria, which is also the partner country of this jubilee edition. Entrance for all visitors is free," the organizers announce.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Travel section.

March 9, 2023 - Medimurje County was awarded a prominent award for sustainability in tourism this week in Berlin. On the stage of the leading global tourist expo "ITB Berlin," the "silver of a golden glow" award, as they call it in Medimurje, was awarded to Prefect Matija Posavac and Director of the Tourist Board of Medimurje County Rudi Grula.

As Poslovni writes, the Green Destinations Certification Committee's official decision, which has so far certified hundreds of destinations worldwide, signed by president Dr. Albert Salman, has been ready for a few days. However, in Medimurje, they were meticulously preparing for the big award ceremony in the German metropolis.

"This great recognition came as a result of the effort, work, and commitment of all residents of Medimurje. This is a reward for all those who tirelessly and devotedly take care of the orderliness of their homeland, environmental protection, and preservation of natural and cultural values. Medimurje is the green cradle of Croatian sustainable tourism; all our tourism development strategies are aimed at sustainability, promotion of rich natural values between Mura and Drava, revitalization of cultural heritage, our history, quality of enogastronomy and local products, and everything that carries the strong identity of Medimurje. With this valuable award, our efforts have been recognized by profession at the world level", said the Prefect of Medimurje County, Matija Posavec, while receiving the award in Berlin.

The director of the tourist board of Medimurje, Rudi Grula, who has been managing the destination for 20 years, points out that this is the culmination of the work of the past year in cooperation with the county and the company Tourism Lab, the official representative of Green Destinations in Croatia. He also emphasizes that "we do not perceive sustainability in Medimurje only as a tourist trend, and we do not carry out activities related to sustainability because it is "in fashion." We want to achieve long-term sustainable development through numerous segments, which is a source of attractiveness and quality."

From Green Destinations, they reveal that Medimurje is the first destination in this part of Europe that, as a region, has passed the certification process and thus joined the remaining three tourist regions in the world, while there are over 200 individual certified destinations in the world, which speaks of the complexity and importance of this process for positioning and establishing destinations in the world. During the next two years, Medimurje County has the right to use the acquired marks, after which the reevaluation process awaits it again.

Medimurje achieved the highest marks in the segments of destination management, nurturing culture and tradition, social well-being, and maintenance of nature and landscape, while in the categories of environment and climate, they continue to develop, which will be significantly helped by a report that recommends in detail further development steps in the destination. By the way, Green Destinations is present in more than 80 countries worldwide, developing sustainable and responsible tourism.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Travel section.

March the 9th, 2023 - The rather remarkable Croatian startup Choncha is set to make life much easier for both people and the plants they buy and might forget to take care of and water once or twice, or... maybe constantly.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Josipa Ban writes, plant selection and care should soon be much easier thanks to the unusual and innovative Croatian startup Choncha, which has created a smart plant pot that should be on the market soon. This clever product, which is based on the application of the Internet of Things (IoT), comes in combination with an associated application that scans the conditions in the room the plant would be situated in through sensors, it then recommends the optimal types of plants to the user.

But that's not all. After planting, Choncha the smart plant pot takes care of the plant when it is there entirely automatically, all based on the collected data from its immediate environment.

A hard-working team of experts of various profiles are behind the Croatian startup Chonca and have been busy working on the development of Choncha the smart plant pot for some time now. Among them are people who have completed their studies in computer science, to those who graduated in mechanical engineering and agronomy, and as Frano Primorac, the originator of the idea and head of the Croatian startup Choncha revealed, they're currently completing their prototype.

"We're now working on the preparation for mass production, which we'll be greatly supported in by a Kickstarter campaign, which is currently in preparation. Further plans are definitely an organised capital collection, and since the interest of the public is huge, we're hoping for good results,'' stated Frano Primorac.

The campaign will be launched this week, more precisely on Wednesday March the 8th, and the plan is to collect six thousand US dollars. The price of the Choncha smart plant pot will be 59 USD on Kickstarter, and it will probably be cheaper here on the domestic market in the end. However, as Primorac noted, it's somewhat difficult to estimate how much they can collect.

"For now, we have a good number of collected emails on our website where people who want a Choncha pot can leave an email to be notified when the Kickstarter sale is launched," he said. As for the profile of the investors, they're targeting a type of profile that would otherwise buy this product.

"Through this viral marketing campaign, we discovered that the people who would purchase one of our smart plant pots are mostly mothers and tech geeks. Through Kickstarter, we hope for a more global reach, but we aren't yet sure in which niche we'll manage to garner the greatest response,'' he explained.

He added that successful and experienced Croatian entrepreneurs Albert Gajsak, the founder and director of CircuitMess, and Domagoj Boljar, co-founder of the well-known ecological tennis brand Miret, are helping them with advice in preparing for their Kickstarter campaign, which should contribute to their overall success. After the campaign, which they hope will end successfully, they are starting the last part of the job – that of mass production of Choncha, that is, their innovative smart plant pots.

Primorac, who graduated from the FOI in Varazdin and worked for an IT company for a year now, was motivated to start his own business because of a problem he had with growing plants.

"The idea itself arose from a problem I had as the worst botanist I know. The logical decision was therefore to spend ten months on automating the process of growing plants, a job that would take me half an hour a week. That's how the Croatian startup Choncha, and the idea of the plant pot, was born," he explained, adding that there are five permanent people working on the team who all knew each other before.

"We're all on the same page and are aware that we can't expect salaries at the start because we're simply bootstrapping, but that's why morale and fun are always paramount," said the initiator of the idea of a smart flower pot. He also pointed out that their biggest challenge has always been financing. They had no problems with the development of the prototype itself, primarily due to the expertise of the mechanical engineers and part of the team that worked on it.

As far as actual production is concerned, it will be based on 3D print technology, and the first prototype will be exhibited at FOI. "The plant pot itself and the application function as one product, is all very simple from the user's side. Choncha itself can scan the surrounding conditions and recommend optimal plants for the space, but the user can place any plant in it they want and in the connected application just tell Choncha which plant it is. Choncha waters the plant perfectly and warns plant owners about other conditions," he explained.

All the user has to do to successfully grow the plant with minimal effort is to turn on the button on the pot. Then they need to download the app, log in and pair the app with the container. The aforementioned institution from Varazdin otherwise played a major role in the creation and development of the Croatian startup Choncha, as this young team gained its first entrepreneurial experiences through their [email protected] program.

Through it, FOI provides financial and operational support to students and young innovators in the development of their various entrepreneurial ideas and product placement on the market. They also get an office in the premises of the Technology Park in Varazdin, as well as help in managing accounting, tax advice and consultation.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

March the 9th, 2023 - The Croatian-Austrian startup PlanRadar is making waves on the other side of the world, with the digitalisation of the largest infrastructure project in Tasmanian history.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the Croatian-Austrian startup PlanRadar, a company whose eponymous cloud platform has been designed to digitise construction processes, has been selected as the software supplier for the 786 million Australian dollars (500.45 million euros) Bridgewater Bridge project over the Derwent River in Australia.

The work of building the bridge is being managed by Burbury Consulting, and it is the largest infrastructural transport project in the entire history of Tasmania.

It's interesting to note, as they pointed out from PlanRadar itself, that the Peljesac bridge project right here in Croatia was one of their main references for getting this job in distant Australia. Domagoj Dolinsek, the founder of the Croatian-Austrian startup PlanRadar, explained that this is their biggest project in Australia so far, and also one of the biggest in the world.

A strategic step forward

"We've been present in Australia for a year, and with last year's investment in our company of 69 million US dollars, a stronger exit from the European market to the global market, primarily North America, the Middle East and Australia, was made possible," explained Dolinsek.

The new Bridgewater Bridge project will use PlanRadar to manage all of its various inspections, quality assessments, task management, construction documentation, site audits and other key aspects of construction project management. PlanRadar pointed out that they are a leading player in this particular industry with over 120,000 clients in their global base using their property and construction project management software platform, and this is their first infrastructure mega-project in Australia.

“PlanRadar has previously been used in similar infrastructure projects across Europe, notably in the case of Peljesac Bridge, one of Europe's largest construction projects, along with its surrounding network of roads and tunnels. The Peljesac Bridge project is still one of the largest mega infrastructure projects in southern Croatia, with a total value of 550 million euros,'' they stated.

Bart Crowther, the Croatian-Austrian startup PlanRadar's regional manager for Australia emphasised the importance of this project for their future presence in that part of the world. "The opportunity to work on any infrastructure project of this scale is truly extraordinary, and the positive impact on the Tasmanian community, both for the 22,000 daily users of the future bridge and for the improvement of freight and logistics routes on it, is extremely important to us. We're looking forward to working with the Tasmanian Government and the Burbury Consulting teams and helping guide their day-to-day ongoing site inspection processes,” Crowther said. A Burbury Consulting representative said PlanRadar was chosen for this project because of its data-driven reporting capabilities.

"When it came time to choose our project inspection software, we unanimously chose PlanRadar because of their ease of use and incredibly detailed data-driven reporting capabilities that help us better manage timely reporting, inspections, audits and verifications," it was stated.

Otherwise, this new Bridgewater Bridge will replace the existing 75-year-old cable-span bridge and will have a length of one kilometre in total. The main works on the bridge started last year, and it is estimated that it will be completed in 2024. The river crossing between Bridgewater and Granton in Tasmania has a long history and the first bridge was opened in 1848.

The existing Bridgewater Bridge was built back in 1946 and is the fourth bridge at this location, but the planning to replace this bridge began over 20 years ago, with many different designs and plans developed over that time, and the current project was completed and finally approved in 2018. The Croatian-Austrian startup PlanRadar, born from the idea of builder and founder Domagoj Dolinsek, enables the management of all construction documentation via mobile phones, tablets and computers, and is used in both the construction industry and on the real estate market.

By digitising the workflow, PlanRadar reduces the frequency of what could be costly and frustrating errors, saves time for all parties involved and enables huge efficiency gains: users report saving an average of seven working hours every week.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

March 8, 2023 - So how does Croatia really work? Meet the Mighty State of Uhljebistan.

Can learning one word of a foreign language change your understanding of that country and your relationships with your local friends?

It did with me.

The day I learned the word Uhljeb and its effect on Croatian society, Croatia changed for me, and so did my relationships with many of my Croatian friends.

Find out how Croatia really works be entering insides the walls of the Mighty State of Uhljebistan, a country within a country in Croatia.

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