January 23, 2021 – The feast of St Vincent's Day, Vincekovo, could not be celebrated this year due to the epidemiological situation, but Ludbreg winemakers continue to focus on their wine production. Thanks to the very favorable climate, the Ludbreg area is suitable for planting vineyards, and local winemakers hope to soon get their well-deserved place on the Croatia's wine list.

Vincekovo, which was celebrated yesterday, January 22, in the Ludbreg area, used to be celebrated in Globočec when the plantations were blessed. The main event was a traditional and unique exhibition of young wines from the Ludbreg and surrounding vineyards, which was canceled this year due to strict epidemiological measures and a challenging situation.

It is an additional blow for all caterers who suffered the most in the corona crisis and wine producers. Local winemakers and winegrowers will wait for some better times to meet and rejoice with friends.

Sanja and Tomislav Stručić, top winemakers from Ludbreg, who met with TCN in Ludbreg last year, told their business story for the Epodravina.hr portal.

Family vineyard three kilometers from the center of the world

"We were pleased by the announcement that we could reopen our doors in February, but if we won't open until Easter, as announced, the season is questionable. We are very affected," says winemaker Sanja Stručić.

However, despite the pandemic, wine lovers are not resting. Caring for the vineyards is a year-round work, essential for producing good wine. The season begins now when the first pruning is done and lasts until the harvest.

"Last year, we estimated that, given the situation with the coronavirus, we would have stocks of wine. Therefore, we reduced the grape yield during pruning in the spring. We left grapes for sparkling wine and wines to age. We want to produce quality, not quantity, that is, high-quality wines," says the Stručić family.

Sanja and Tomislav Stručić with Paul Bradbury in 2020, Total Croatia News

Their beautiful wine-growing hills, clean air, excellent wine, and hospitality evoke the love of land and viticulture that began in 1984 with a family vineyard just three kilometers from the center of the world. Sanja's father, Dragutin Crnković, once planted the first vineyard there, passed on his love of viticulture to his daughter, and introduced her to the wine business.

Emphasis is on the premium line of nature wines

Sanja's husband, Tomislav, also fell in love with winemaking and viticulture. In 2000 they founded the Winery, and in 2017 they produced the first sparkling wine in the region. They are the new wine style leaders in Varaždin County, and today they create top and quality wines.

Stručić Winery has become one of the most famous and successful and began more severe production in 2002. The emphasis is on the premium line of wines represented by nature wines. The premium line consists of carefully selected bunches hand-picked from selected vines. Sanja showed her love, passion, and care for each of these grapes before they become wine.

"Only ripe grapes are picked from the petiole by hand, clean and healthy. Fermentation on own yeasts and grapes, without the addition of selected yeasts, produces natural wines. This top line comes in different bottles and has different labels. We have been making it in small batches, approximately 750 bottles, for four years now, every year with a new vintage," says Sanja.

Back in 2016, Stručić family even produced a special edition of Sara Kolak Chardonnay to celebrate the local Olympic javelin gold-medal winner.

Journalists who encourage stories about gastronomy, tourism, and hedonism are also responsible for the turn in wine production. The Stručić family decided to take advantage of the microclimate and their plantations' position, which enable them to produce excellent raw materials for the production of different wine styles.

"We researched and realized that our region is a microclimatic God-given. While visiting various wine fairs and festivals, we realized we want to make different wines. The exhibitions were an incentive for us to expand our knowledge to be as good as possible. We also visited wineries in Italy to get a better insight into their viticulture and winemaking that is at a high level, and to apply experiences and some wine secrets in our vineyard and cellar," says Sanja on how they started producing sparkling wine and natural wine.

Produced the first sparkling wine in the region

The family vineyard initially had 3,500 vines and was later expanded with new plantations. Today, they cultivate three and a half hectares of land with 14,000 vines. It consists of plots named after the youngest members: Lucija, Luka, and Petra, and the newest plantation was named after their niece Katarina. The plots are registered by varieties and years of planting. The rulers of their vineyard are Graševina, Chardonnay, Rhine Riesling, Sauvignon, Portuguese and Yellow Muscat.

"We produce Graševina, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Rhine Riesling, and mixed wines. Poštenjak is a blend – a mixture of Graševina, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris. We make fruit wines and liqueurs, and sparkling wine. We produce about 25,000 bottles a year," says Tomislav.

The opening of the Ludbreg Wine Road about ten years ago encouraged a stronger development of their winery. Thus, in 2017, Vinarija Stručić produced the first sparkling wine from the Ludbreg vineyards, which has the label "blanc de blancs" (namely "white from white"), which means that only white grapes were used in its production, that is, Chardonnay.

"After top quality wines, every winemaker wants to produce sparkling wine. It is the crown of your work, as if, for example, you have won the World Cup. The production of sparkling wine was our desire for a step higher. And now, three years ago, we are doing batch after batch," Sanja points out.

The Croatian Wine Institute, which evaluates and issues a quality certificate, rated their sparkling wine as top quality. And there is only five percent of top wines in Croatia, so they expanded their production in 2018 with rose sparkling wine from the Portuguese. It is a unique rarity in Croatia, produced by only one other winemaker on Plješivica.

Microclimatic conditions with a continental climate favor the quality ripening of grapes, so the Podravina and Zagorje regions are God-given for sparkling wine production. The Ludbreg vineyards' climate is ideal for producing light wines with little alcohol, sparkling wine, and wines of late harvests.

Decanter quality certification

Stručić Winery sells its products throughout Croatia. In Ludbreg, visitors can taste their wines in the Bonaparte coffee bar, which they own, as well as the Amalia catering facilities, Pivnica Mejaši, and Hotel Crnković.

"Rhine Riesling is mostly associated with the name of our winery. It is our flagship and our most sought after wine on the market. Then follow Graševina, Chardonnay, Portuguese, Sauvignon… Premium wine lines, sparkling wines, aged, and nature wines are distributed to the Adriatic coast," says Tomislav.

The secret behind the Sučić Winerys's success, Sanja points out, is harmony, great love, patience, a lot of sacrifices, and constant investments. Proof of quality arrived last August when the Stručić Winery won a bronze medal for Chardonnay and recommendations for Rhine Riesling and Graševina at the most influential wine evaluation – the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 in London.

"It is a confirmation that we make quality wine. With these recognitions, we have increased visibility," says Tomislav with satisfaction.

Ludbreg vineyards on the wine list of Croatia

For wines to achieve top results, a lot of education, work, and knowledge is needed, so the Stručić family cooperates with the leading Croatian sommelier and Decanter judge Siniša Lasan. With Varaždin County's cooperation, Siniša visited several wineries and tasted wines, discussed problems, and gave his view of the current situation in winemaking in the county.

Continental tourism is in the beginning. Tourism Ministry began to give it importance and encourage it only a few years ago.

"The Ludbreg and Varaždin vineyards are neglected. They are not marked on Croatia's wine list, and our winemakers are very hardworking but self-effacing. A dozen of us from all over the county will have to sit down, compare wines, listen to the profession to style them if necessary so that we stand out together with quality. I believe that we will soon mark our vineyards on the wine list, which would raise the price, and we could sell our wines more easily on the doorstep," Sanja is optimistic.

"Viticulture is a demanding activity that requires a lot of attention because wine is alive and should be continuously monitored. Without love for the vineyard and wine, there is no progress, "the Stručić couple agrees.

However, the biggest reward in their work is that the interest in winemaking is shown by their 17-year-old son Luka. He wants to enroll at the Faculty of Agriculture and become a wine expert, oenologist. Thus, when the time comes, to the family's satisfaction, the winery will be taken over by the third generation, which will cultivate, enrich, and further create new top-notch wines.

To read more about Ludbreg, follow our dedicated page.

January 16, 2021 – Just as the white stone of Croatia was once exported globally to help build some of our most iconic buildings, Varazdin solar panels will be used atop the domes of one of the contemporary world's biggest businesses - the Google Data Centre in California

From the statues of Ivan Meštrović to the white stone of Dalmatian mines (like the famous one that still works on the island of Brac), Croatia has a long history of exports within the fields of aesthetics and architecture. A whole new eco-friendly tag is now being added to that reputation as one Croatian company prepares to send 120,000 Varazdin solar panels to cover Google's Data Centre in California. The purchase is part of the company's drive towards relying on carbon-free energy solutions.

The 120,000 Varazdin solar panels will be provided by Croatian company Solvis, who have held a contract with the California-based global search engine for quite some time. The 120,000 Varazdin solar panels will cover newly constructed domes at their Data Collection Centre in California, just a short distance from the company's global headquarters in Silicon Valley.

The contract for the 120,000 Varazdin solar panels and continuing co-operation with Solvis is, according to a recent article in Croatia's Jutarnji List, worth in excess of 10 million Euros.

Search engine Google is currently the most popular of its kind. Although it is based in California in the United States of America, where the 120,000 solar panels from Varazdin will be situated, it has properties all over the world. The purchase of the 120,000 solar panels from Varazdin is part of a drive for Google to equip all its buildings in the world with solar panels. Therefore, if the business between Google and the Varazdin company is successful, it could lead to more orders and an extended collaboration with the northern Croatia company.

January 11, 2021 – Comparable to UNESCO's World Heritage List, the European Heritage Label is given to sites that have played a significant in the history, culture and values of Europe. If successful, Varazdin Old Town will be only the second site in Croatia to receive the classification

They say that Northern Croatia has more castles, fortresses and stately homes than any other region in the country. And they are probably right. Not that the names and locations of all are widely known either in the country, and certainly not outside. Truth be told, some of the structures included on Northern Croatia's list of important buildings have lain derelict for centuries. In others, the decline has been more recent. The best way to preserve such buildings seems to come from reimagining them for contemporary use, rather than simply preserving them in aspic or amber.

That is something that Varazdin Old Town does extremely well. All of Northern Croatia's famous castles do this well - Čakovec castle, Trakošćan, Veliki Tabor and Gornja Stubica. It's the reason they are famous. By opening up their doors as museums and event spaces, they attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and they get to tell their stories. And the story of Varazdin Old Town makes it perfect for the European Heritage Label.

© Ivo Biočina / Croatia National Tourist Board

Varazdin Old Town is today inhabited by the Varaždin City Museum. They give guided tours around the fortress that was once the full extent of Varazdin Old Town. This city museum is the best way to learn about Varazdin's extraordinary buildings, culture and history. The museum has undertaken this role, and that of preserving items from Varazdin's past, since 1925. It has four permanent exhibitions and six major departments – Archaeology, History, Cultural History, Ethnographical, Entomology and the Gallery of Old and Contemporary Masters, some of which are inside the Old Town fortress itself.

The Gallery of Old and New Masters of Varaždin City Museum © City of Varazdin Tourist Board

The Old Town fortress itself is medieval in origin, its construction having begun in the 14th century. Its Gothic towers were added a century later and the collection of buildings was remodelled and added to right up to the 19th century, in response to its inhabitants and its purpose.

© Ex13

For defence against the Ottomans in the 16th century, it was reconstructed as a Renaissance fortress – high earthen walls with bastions were added, and a double moat. During the past, many noble families have lived here - the Counts of Celje, John Ungnada, George of Brandenburg and Croatian Ban Thomas Erdödyja and his successors. Indeed, Varazdin was once the capital city of Croatia, ruled from these very buildings. In its changing use, architecture and occupancy lies the story of not only the development of Croatia but that too of Europe and it is this that makes Varazdin Old Town eligible for the European Heritage Label.

The European Heritage Label is awarded to sites that bring to life the European narrative and the history behind it. The European Heritage label is currently awarded only every two years. So far, the only site in Croatia to receive the European Cultural Heritage Label from the European Commission is the Neanderthal Museum in Krapina. Its label was awarded in 2015.

The Neanderthal Museum in Krapina, also in Northern Croatia. It received its European Heritage Label in 2015 © Zeljko Filipin

January 4, 2020 – A map showing production across the former Yugoslavia details the sustained prosperity of many Croatian favourites as some of the strongest Croatian brands are shown not only to have survived but have succeeded following independence

Media across Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia have surprised younger readers and reminded older readers with the publication of a map detailing production in the former Yugoslavia. While this trip down memory lane has caused a range of reactions across the countries of the former republic, looking at the map from a purely Croatian perspective gives some enlightening information. Namely, many of the strongest Croatian brands visible on the map are recognisable today. Some of the strongest Croatian brands not only survived independence but have since grown.

Bajadera - one of the most popular products made by Zagreb-based chocolate and confectionery manufacturers Kraš

Zagreb-based chocolate and confectionery manufacturers Kraš, Požega-based confectionery and drinks manufacturers Zvečevo, oil company INA, Koprivnica-based food company Podravka and Koprivnica-based pharmaceuticals company Belupo, vitamin drink Cedevita, Varaždin-based food company Vindija, Vukovar shoemakers Borovo, Varaždin clothes designers and manufacturers Varteks and multi-use condiment Vegeta are just some of the strongest Croatian brands that are present on the map. You are still likely to see these brand names on many Croatian high streets. Some have succeeded in reaching further into international markets since Croatian independence.

Croatian-made condiment Vegeta is sold all over the world

Of course, not every brand visible on the map of Yugoslavia production has fared so well. In their coverage of the map, Ri.portal reminds that “Some of the Yugoslav products were used by literally the whole world - ships, cars, planes, trucks, weapons and even computers were produced... However, many of these companies no longer exist or are bankrupt.”

In their coverage of the map, Bosnian website Klix reminds that Croatian shipyards Uljanik in Pula and 3 Maj in Rijeka were at world level and produced large ships for customers from all over the world. Split-based shipyard Brodosplit, which can also be seen on the map, survives to this day.

Croatian vitamin drink Cedevita comes in a range of flavours

Ri.portal goes on to remember that Yugoslavia was one of only five countries in Europe at the time that manufactured its own computers. “Probably the most famous is the Galaxy, while the first computer produced was the CER-10,” they say. One of the Yugoslav computer makers on the map, popular in the late 1970s, was Digitron, based in Buje in Istria.

Sadly, not all of the strongest Croatian brands have made it until today. Famous tractor and agriculture equipment manufacturer Tomo Vinković of Bjelovar is no longer in production. Their famously-reliable machines are much in-demand on the secondhand market. Two new tractor manufacturers, Hittner doo and the Prima tractor factory still make tractors in Bjelovar.

November 11, 2020 - "Holiday homes with a story," a project that brands rural accommodation in Varazdin County, continues to expand.

HRTurizam writes that after the Varazdin City Market initiated the delivery of groceries to the homes of Varazdin citizens, now groceries from the market can be directly delivered to all guests thanks to "Holiday homes with a story."

The first step of connecting agricultural producers in the Varazdin region with holiday homes was realized through the so-called "Varaždinske kištrice" (see photo below) which each group of guests receives as a welcome gift and aims to present indigenous products of Varazdin County.

Namely, the Varazdin County Tourist Board has provided this for free ​​for all "Holiday homes with a story" members, and it currently contains Varazdin pumpkin oil, gingerbread, honey, buckwheat flour mlinci, lavender and eco-cosmetics, and tourist brochures with all relevant information.

The availability of fresh food, without leaving your holiday home has been recognized as an opportunity to better connect small farmers with tourism and involve the wider local community in developing and raising the quality of the project.

Fresh food delivery can be ordered from Monday to Saturday. The completed order leaflet, which can be found in every participating holiday home, must be photographed and sent to the e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Varazdin market has a Certified Peasant Market status, which guarantees sales directly from producers and the ecological origin of products. The price of delivery depends on the distance of the holiday home, and the price list of groceries can be checked HERE.

TZ Varazdin County

This is certainly a step further in involving small farmers in tourism and responding to the needs of modern guests who believe that “eating local, healthy, and homemade” on vacation or traveling is increasingly important.

Furthermore, Varazdin pumpkin seed oil is the first in Croatia to protect its name and geographical origin. The fact that Varazdin pumpkin seed oil won two gold medals at the prestigious world competition Monde Selection in Brussels in May this year confirms that it is a top product.

Varazdin County has seven products under one of the forms of protection in the European Union and/or in Croatia. In addition to pumpkin oil, these products include Varazdin cabbage, Zagorje turkey, Zagorje mlinci, Varaždin klipič, Zagorje struklji, and Zagorje acacia honey. 

There are currently 45 holiday homes with a total of 220 beds included in this project.

According to data before the coronavirus pandemic, about 90 percent of tourists who visit "Holiday Homes with a Story" are Germans, Danes, and Scandinavians. On average, they stay a minimum of seven nights. You can find out more about the whole project and a list of all the homes with a story on the dedicated website.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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November 8, 2020 - Nedelisce parishioners are seemingly universal in their understanding and forgiveness as their local pastor leaves the priesthood for an altogether different kind of calling

Not every job is undertaken just to pay the bills. The strong urge to take a specific career is often referred to as a calling. Occupations in which you help other people are usually those described in this way - doctors, teachers, nurses, nuns and priests.

Spoken of with admiration, those who receive 'a calling' are presumed to be on a path of life which is their true destiny. Be it supernatural, genetically implanted or influenced by God, it is considered unlikely that anything could turn their heads and make them veer off course. Such considerations are naïve in their ignorance of Cupid's arrow.

Both Vecernji List and 24 Sata this week reported on the recent resignation of popular parish priest Rev. Tihomir Ciglar (30). Although on his path to the priesthood since he attended Archbishop's Classical Gymnasium in Zagreb, Ciglar has recently departed from his chosen course in favour of an altogether different calling - he fell in love.

The parish church in Nedelišće © Župa Presvetog Trojstva - Nedelišće

“He was wonderful.,” one of Ciglar's former Nedelisce parishioners is quoted as saying in 24 Sata. Nedelišće is a small town near Varaždin. “He was mild-mannered, good, everyone's favourite. My whole family loved going to Mass and listening to the sermons because of him. And then what happened, happened. He just fell in love, that's how it was.”

“We don't blame him for anything,” the parishioner continued, her voice apparently representative of locals' general feeling on the affair of the popular priest. She also added that news was circulating about the imminent arrival of the couple's first child. “May God give them many more children!”

Tihomir Ciglar was first presented to Nedelisce parishioners in 2014 as a chaplain, and in 2018 he was appointed pastor of the church. His pull from the pulpit occurred after he met the woman who is now his girlfriend in service of the church – she donated her time in the form of a cook. Further speculation on the development of feelings between the woman and her roamin Catholic partner is perhaps best left for village gossip.

An older image of the church in Nedelišće © TZ Nedelišće

In a heartfelt letter Ciglar penned to his flock, which was read aloud at Mass last Sunday, he asked for their forgiveness. The Nedelisce parishioners seem uniform in their understanding of the situation.

“I wasn't surprised when the letter was read,” one is quoted as saying in 24 Sata. “We'd seen something happen between him and that girl before. That's no small thing with us. Still, we were all kind of rooting for their love story.”

The local diocese is in the process of assigning another young priest to the parish. It is unlikely that the new priest will be similarly tempted from his path, but, you never know. This is not the first time it has happened. A similar case was recorded in Nedelišće forty years ago when a priest left the service out of love for a woman.

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October 27, 2020 – The City of Varazdin is planting Croatia's first community orchard – the space will bring together residents of all ages, provide free fruits and play a role in educating about organic produce and cultivation

The first community orchard in this part of Europe is being built in Varazdin. The community orchard will be situated to the west of the city centre, in the Haller alley, just behind the city cemetery. In the first phase, some 250 trees will be planted and be accessible to the public.

Beautifully landscaped in the early 1900s by Herman Haller, the City of Varazdin cemetery is one of its best gardens. It contains works by internationally recognised Croatian sculptors Antun Augustinčić and Roberto Frangeš-Mihanović. Frangeš-Mihanović is responsible for the very famous statue of King Tomislav which faces the main train station in Zagreb. The Varazdin community orchard will be located in Haller's alley, just behind the cemetery © Parkovi d.d. Varaždin

A community orchard, sometimes known as a public orchard, is an increasingly popular use of public land in some areas of western Europe and North America. They are an asset shared by a community and not managed for personal or business profit.

A community orchard has many benefits - it increases community access to healthy, organic fruit, it teaches young people about food, organic produce, agriculture and cultivation and it allows ordinary people to develop cultivation skills. This is particularly useful to those who themselves own no land for growing. They also increase co-operation and inter-generational socialising within a community and can be made into focal points for community activities.

St Ann's Community orchard in Nottinghamshire, England  © Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent. (www.clemrutter.net)

However, community orchards are not always met with universal approval. Interest in community gardening and cultivation schemes can wane over time, especially if they are started without authorisation. The burden of taking care of such projects then falls on city authorities.

Thankfully, any objections to this brilliant idea in Varazdin have been removed – the Varazdin community orchard will be taken care of by the city's own parks authority. They will decide on which particular fruits and trees are to be planted. Anyone from the community can come and help themselves.

City of Varazdin cemetery, behind which the community orchard will be placed © Turistička zajednica grada Varaždina

Low-lying fruit trees and berries are often chosen for community orchards. Their height level means they are not out of reach for youngsters who are being educated in such areas, and harvest is made safer, easier and more accessible to all age ranges.

The community orchard in Varazdin will be arranged in expanding circles. The first planted trees are expected to bear their first fruits within just a few years. Some residents of Croatia might be of the opinion that their communities already have a community orchard. However, taking fruit from a neighbours trees, even if granted permission to do so, is something different to a community orchard, in which access to pick fruit is opened to the general public at any time, not just community members and with no prior agreement necessary. Stealing fruit from your neighbour's trees and bushes is certainly not comparable to a community orchard.

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October 26, 2020 - The 9th round of the Croatian First League was held from October 23 to 25, 2020. In this round, only two out of the five games were played, with wins for Dinamo and Slaven Belupo. 

Varazdin v. Slaven Belupo (1:2)

Varazdin and Belupo opened the 9th round in Varazdin on Friday, October 23, 2020.

Krstanovic scored in the 18th minute for Belupo to make the game 0:1 at the half. Bacelic-Grgic increased Belupo's lead in the 50th minute for 0:2. 

Petkovic was able to get one for Varazdin, making the final result of the match 1:2 

Varazdin is currently in 7th place with 7 points, while Belupo is in 5th with 10 points. 

Sibenik v. Dinamo (0:2)

Dinamo and Sibenik closed out the 9th round on Sunday, October 25, 2020. 

While the first half ended 0:0, Petkovic scored a penalty for Dinamo in the 54th minute for 0:1. Orsic increased Dinamo's lead in the 72nd minute for the final score of 0:2.

Sibenik is currently in 7th place with 7 points, while Dinamo is in 1st with 22 points. 

Recall, three 9th round Croatian First League matches meant to be played this weekend were postponed.

HNK Gorica announced on Friday that after testing the entire team and the professional staff of HNK Gorica, 13 players and three staff members are coronavirus-positive. Due to several infected players, the 9th round match against Rijeka was postponed. 

In addition to Gorica, Lokomotiva Zagreb announced they could not compete. After postponing the match against Osijek in the 8th round, the 9th round match against Hajduk, which was supposed to be played on October 24, at Kranjčevićeva, was also postponed. 

The same happened with the match between Istria and Osijek, as seven players of the Osijek Football Club tested positive. 

All matches will take place on the first possible date, which will be decided later.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

October 7, 2020 - Varazdin Klipic yesterday became the 27th item of Croatian produce protected by the EU. The bread roll is designated a unique standing and protected name because of its distinct place of origin

Terrific news from the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture! As of Tuesday 6 October 2020, Varazdin Klipic became the 27th item of Croatian produce protected by the EU.

The process of protection of the bread snack's name began in February 2017, when the Chefs Association of Varaždin County submitted a request to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Varazdin Klipic is made according to a specific recipe - its thin dough is stretched, cut into strips and then rolled into 25 cm long sticks. A time-honoured tradition of Varazdin County, the breadsticks must have four folds on each side.


Varazdin Klipic, collected in a basket and pictured in front of the famous Old City of Varazdin © Croatian Ministry of Agriculture

The surface of the Varazdin Klipic is subsequently coated with egg and sprinkled with cumin seeds, which give them a distinct flavour. After baking, their outside is gold in colour with a smooth and firm consistency. Their insides are white, soft and fluffy. Varazdin Klipic is always handmade and the ingredients of its dough are wheat flour, milk, sunflower (or vegetable) oil, yeast, sugar and salt.

Varazdin Klipic is not the only protected product from Varazdin County - Varaždin cabbage is already protected at an EU-level, as is Meso ‘z tiblice from Međimurje.

The other Croatia produce currently protected at an EU-level are Paški sir, Paška janjetina and Paška sol (Pag cheese, Pag lamb and Pag salt), Bjelovarski kvargl cheese, Neretva mandarins, four different and distinct pršut (prosciutto) - from Dalmatia, Drniš, Krk island and Istria, Lička janjetina and Lički krumpir (lamb and potatoes from Lika), olive oils from the islands of Cres, Krk, Solta and Korčula, Poljički soparnik, sour cabbage (sauerkraut) from Ogulin, Kulen from Baranja and Slavonia, Slavonia honey, Međimursko meso ‘z tiblice, Zagorski puran and Zagorski mlinci (turkey and mlinci from Zagorje) and Brački varenik, a spicing made from grape juice which also won its designation recently.

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September 28, 2020 - The 6th round of the Croatian First League was held on September 26 and 27, 2020. In this round, Hajduk topped Varazdin at a very stormy Poljud, while Osijek was better than Gorica. The games between Dinamo and Rijeka, and Lokomotiva and Slaven Belupo were postponed due to obligations in the Europa League.

Istra 1961 v. Sibenik (1:0)

Istra and Sibenik opened the 6th round on Saturday, September 26, 2020, in Pula. 

The only goal of the match came in the 39th minute when Ivancic scored for 1:0 at the half. Grzan missed a penalty in the 70th minute and failed to increase Istra's lead. The game ended 1:0.

Istra is currently in 9th place with 4 points, while Sibenik is in 8th with 4 points. 

Osijek v. Gorica (2:1)

Osijek and Gorica met on Saturday, September 26, 2020, at City Garden Stadium. 

Mierez scored a penalty for Osijek in the 3rd minute of the ref's added time, just before the half. A Doka double-yellow saw Gorica play with a man down from the 72nd minute. Gorica, however, was able to equalize in the 84th minute thanks to a Lovric goal. Grgic put Osijek back in the lead in the 7th minute of added time for a final score of 2:1.

Osijek is currently in 4th place with 10 points, while Gorica is in 2nd place with 13 points. 

Hajduk v. Varazdin (2:0)

Hajduk and Varazdin closed out the 6th round on Sunday, September 27, 2020, at Poljud Stadium. 

Gyursco scored an early goal for Hajduk in the 5th minute to put them ahead 1:0. A Pellumbi red card for Varazdin in the 15th minute did not help them equal the score. 

A penalty was awarded to Hajduk in the 50th minute, which Caktas scored for 2:0. A vicious storm erupted in the game's final minutes, which you can see in the video below. 

Hajduk is currently in 3rd place with 10 points, while Varazdin is in 5th with 7. 

Dinamo and Rijeka, and Lokomotiva and Slaven Belupo, will play their 6th round matches in the first free term.

You can see the full HNL table here. 

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