Paul McCartney – Diamond Jubilee Concert

Paul McCartney was definitely the highlight of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, London on 4th June 2012. He ended the star-studded show by performing Beatles classics ‘Magical Mystery Tour’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘Let It Be’, ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ and a spectacular version of his own ‘Live and Let Die’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1eM-d2mu6Q

Back in 1976 Paul McCartney and his group Wings visited Zagreb. On the 21st September they played the Dom Sportova arena.

Paul McCartney and Wings, Zagreb 1976

Whilst in Zagreb in 1976 McCartney also met up with Veljko Despot, long time fan and friend of The Beatles.

Paul McCartney meets Veljko Despot in Zagreb in 1976

Were you there at the concert back in 1976?

‘Wings Over Zagreb’ live concert album cover

More links:
The Beatles Revival Band
– Croatia’s best tribute band based in Rijeka
The Beatles Fan Club Zagreb – the original fan club started in 1968 by Veljko Despot (Jugoslavenski Beatles Fan Club/The Yugoslav Beatles Fan Club)

Yugoslav Beatles Fan Club letters and memorabilia

Tražim zaposlenje u području medija/tiska/izdavaštva:
e-mail

Titanic centenary – Rijeka connection

It was on the fateful night of the 14-15th April 1912 that the British passenger liner the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg, 375 miles from the coast of New Foundland in the North Altantic, and sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City.

Did you know that there is a connection between the Titanic and the city of Rijeka? (at that time known as ‘Fiume’, within the Austro-Hungarian Empire)

RMS Titanic

The connection is another liner the RMS Carpathia. This ship travelled regularly between Rijeka and New York when it would transport immigrants seeking a new life in America.

RMS Carpathia

On the night of the 14-15th April 1912 the Titanic sent out SOS distress calls for help after colliding with an ice berg which the Carpathia, which was at that time travelling from New York to Rijeka then picked-up and headed to its assistance. The Carpathia managed to save over 700 people (a handful of whom were Croats) from the icy waters who had escaped the sinking. Unfortunately the other 1,500 or so passengers and crew perished.

One crew member of the Carpathia, a Croat, Josip Car, held onto to a life jacket from one of the survivors of the Titanic and this historical item was later donated after his death to the Maritime and History Museum in Rijeka (PPMHP)

Titanic life jacket held in the Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Littoral in Rijeka

There are several commemorative events of this tragic maritime event being held in the UK (where both ships were built) as well as an exhibition being staged at the Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Littoral in Rijeka.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yW6EkLEGLg

The Peek & Poke Computer Museum in Rijeka also held a special event until 15th April 2012 on the Arca Fiumana boat, moored on Rijeka’s waterfront entitled ‘Carpathia 2012’: http://www.peekpoke.hr

For a superb selection of photographs visit: British Pathe collection

Titanic footage and survivors interviews. On 14 April 1912, on her maiden voyage, the passenger liner RMS Titanic hit an iceberg. More than 1500 men, women and children perished. This is a short television documentary about the sinking of the Titanic, including interviews with survivors talking about their experiences and their escape.

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Official commemorative postage stamps from the UK

RMS Titanic Centenary postage stamps

More info visit https://www.benham.co.uk/pd/Titanic-30th-Anniversary-of-Discovery-of-the-Wreck-GB-Customised-Stamp-Sheet_GBS0255.htm

London Calling Comedy LIVE in RIJEKA 23.04.2012

Brod MARINA – 23.4.2012

LONDON CALLING COMEDY is back in town!
Kontakt osoba – Sonir Srdoč 091 5109 621
Rezervacije karata/ticket reservations:
Zagreb: ssonir@gmail.com

Britain’s rising young talent, a true English gentleman and Paddy’s return!

MC: Geoff Whiting (England)

HEADLINE ACT: Paddy Lennox (Ireland)

OPENING ACT: Alfie Brown (England)

MID ACT: Jeff Leach (England)

Organizatori/Organisers
Udruga Urbani Ured
Sonir Srdoč

Kontakt osoba – Sonir Srdoč 091 5109 621

Ulaznice u pretprodaji od ČETVRTKA, 12.4.2012:
Dallas Music Shop i Brod marina
Na dan predstave 60kn u predprodaji 40kn.

GEOFF WHITING – England

“wonderfully confident, highly entertaining…” Scene Magazine Bristol

Celebrating 15 years on the stand-up circuit, Geoff has a wealth of experience in working at all the notable comedy clubs in London, UK and in Europe from audiences of 12 to over 1,000 people. His entertainingly funny, strong, versatile act launched his career not only on stage as a stand-up comedian but equally on the TV screen with regular appearances for the BBC and radio.

Interestingly, he is one of only a handful of comics worldwide to have performed stand up comedy in a pod on the London Eye (for BBC: The One Show). Over the years, Geoff has worked alongside some of Britain’s most famous household named comics such as Michael McIntyre, Harry Hill, Dara O’Briain, Omid Djalili, Lee Mack and Lee Hurst.

ALFIE BROWN – England

“Immensely self-assured and stylish” – The Guardian

Alfie Brown is a comedian and presenter from South-West London and in 2006, at the tender age of 17, Alfie launched onto the comedy stage and has since established himself as one the most exciting people currently rising in the field. Described as stylish and unique as well as ‘One of the best young comedians around’ (Time Out), Alfie has a bullet-proof arrogance combined with thoughtful, passionate perspective on a range of topics that somehow sets him apart from the others.

Already at such a young age in his developing, exciting career path, he has managed to feature on primetime TV (BBC2) and has performed his stand-up at the 550 seater Lyric Theatre in London’s west end. Alfie is a devotedly passionate Liverpool FC fan.

PADDY LENNOX – Ireland

“Simply a scream.” The Telegraph

In February, Paddy burst on stage with London Calling and became an instant hit with Croatian audiences, so we’ve asked him to return for his 2nd London Calling Tour! Paddy is an engaging and instantly likeable comic, with a warm and natural approach, combining topical material, observational routines with impressive improvisation and banter to give you some great entertainment.

Recently, Paddy’s been working the corporate scene including shows for the BBC, ITV and Radio. As an accomplished comic actor, he has already created a pretty impressive list of theatre, film and TV performances. Paddy tries to play the piano to help him unwind.

JEFF LEACH – England

“Summer’s favourite festival comedian!!” – Esquire Magazine

Jeff Leach quite simply is hilarious, entertaining and the girls love him! Geoff started his journey as a DJ and quickly made his way onto TV as a presenter before appearing as host of UK’s Big Brother in 2009 as well as other BBC, ITV and Channel 4 shows. He started doing stand-up comedy in February 2010 and is set to be a household name that just seems to be getting stronger within the comedy circuit across the UK.

He performs his own revealing brand of stand up comedy whilst writing and performing sketch and character pieces. In the past year he has become a London New Comedian Awards Finalist and Leicester Square New Comedian semi-finalist and performed sold out shows at the Edinburgh Festival. He’s one to watch out for and we are delighted to have him with us on tour in Croatia.

http://www.londoncallingclub.com/

 

Rijeka – Jeste li znali ….?

Jeste li znali ….?

– da je u Rijeci 1909. godine snimljen prvi hrvatski igrani film

– da je prva TV antena na hrvatskim krovovima bila u Rijeci

– da je u Rijeci obavljena prva transplantacija bubrega u bivšoj Jugoslaviji (1971.)

– da je rt u Arktiku blizu Nove zemlje nazvan Rijeka po našem gradu.

– da je Roberto Bartini prvi Riječanin koji je konstruirao zrakoplov

– da je u Rijeci prvi put u povijesti fotografiran let puščanog zrna

– da je riječki manipulativni poštanski žig V: Fiume iz 1755. godine, najstariji do danas sačuvan poštanski žig na području Republike Hrvatske

– da se u Rijeci nalazi prsluk za spašavanje sa Titanika. Carpathijina (brod koji je spasio preživjele) ruta bila je New York – Rijeka.

– da je u Rijeci 1786. godine osnovana prva primaljska škola u Hrvatskoj

– da je riječki klub Husar bio prvi disko klub u ovom dijelu Europe

– da je Quorum Colours prvi i najveći hrvatski „underground“ klub

– da su prvi pravi R’n’R band u ondašnjoj državi – Jugoslaviji – bili “Uragani”

– da su “Parafi“ bili prvi punk band u Hrvatskoj, a s ljubljanskim “Pankrtima” i prvi punk Jugoslavije

– da je u Rijeci počeo hrvatski Hip-Hop

– da je u Rijeci održana prva speedway utrka u Italiji te da je utemeljitelj talijanskog speedwaya upravo naš Riječanin

– da je u Rijeci sagrađena prva bolnica za duševne bolesti na prostorima nekadašnje Jugoslavije

– da se u Rijeci nalazi najstarije dizalo u Hrvatskoj

– da je u Rijeci napravljeno prvo hrvatsko vozilo s oznakom “Made in Croatia“

– da Rijeka ispod naseljenog dijela ima špilju koja je proglašena geomorfološkim spomenikom prirode

– da je Rijeka imala svojeg Schindlera koji je spasio na tisuće Židova

– da je u Rijeci 1852. godine puštena u rad prva plinara u jugoistočnoj Europi

– da je Riječka tvornica konopa najstarije industrijsko postrojenje u povijesti Rijeke.

– da je na Pećinama 2 otvoren prvi sanatorij u Hrvatskoj

– da je 1920. godine prvi radio prijenos na ex-YU prostorima napravljen
u Rijeci. Prenošen je D’Annunzijev govor.

– da je 1949.godine u jednoj od najvećih sportskih nesreća svih vremena, stravičnoj avionskoj nesreći gdje je poginula kompletna momčad Torina bio i Riječanin. Tadašnji Torino smatran je jednom od najboljih svjetskih momčadi, koja je osvojila za redom 5 naslova prvaka Italije i čijih je čak deset igrača bilo u reprezentaciji Italije

– da je prvi hrvatski parobrod sagrađen u Rijeci te da je njime uspostavljena redovita putnička linija između Senja i Rijeke što se smatra početkom linijskog putničkog prometa na hrvatskoj strani Jadrana

– da je prvi zračni brod koji je srušen zrakoplovnom paljbom u povijesti bio talijanski ratni cepelin koji se je vraćao s bombardiranja Rijeke

– da je hrvatska himna napisana u Rijeci

– da je francuski pisac Henri Beyle Stendhal boravio u Rijeci

– da je Fiorello Henry La Guardia član Američkog senata i gradonačelnik New Yorka boravio u Rijeci kao američki konzul i igrao za riječki nogometni klub Atletico Fiumano

– da je naš Riječanin Pero Radaković 1962. godine na svjetskom nogometnom prvenstvu u Čileu, u četvrtfinalu protiv Njemačke zabio jedini gol na utakmici i tako osigurao Jugoslaviji 4. mjesto, što je njezin najbolji uspjeh. – da je Nikola Tesla imao sestru koja je živjela u Rijeci i da su D’Annunzievi legionari uništili sva njezina osobna pisma i ostale stvari koje su mogle završiti u muzeju

– da je Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp najodlikovaniji podmornički kapetan Austro-Ugarske Monarhije. pohađao srednju pomorsku školu i Pomorsku akademiju u Rijeci. Na porinuću podmornice u brodogradilištu na Kantridi upoznao se i zaljubio u unuku Robert Whiteheada, Agathu, te su se 10. 01. 1911. godine vjenčali u Rijeci. Šezdesetih god. Prošlog stoljeća snimljen je jedan od najboljih glazbenih filmova svih vremena o obitelji Von Trapp, Moje pjesme moji snovi.

– da su Riječani Gino i Oscar Jankovits 1937. godine dizajnirali, konstruirali, proizveli i testirali prvi automobil u Hrvatskoj. Riječ je o Alfa Romeo Aerospider. To je prvo vozilo na svijetu sa uklopljenim kvakama i svjetlima u karoseriju, prvi sa upravljačem po sredini, prvi s motorom postavljenim centralno otraga, prvi s vodoravno postavljenim hladnjakom… Postizao je brzinu od 230 km/h.

– da je u Rijeci, prvi u Jugoslaviji, 09. 06. 1969. godine započeo sa radom bibliobus, organiziran kao pokretna knjižnica za djecu i odrasle. Obilazi naselja u gradu Rijeci i okolici koja nemaju knjižnični ogranak na svojem području kako bi svim stanovnicima pružio knjižnične usluge.

– da je Riječka banka još 1984. u Rijeci instalirala prvi bankomat na području tadašnje Jugoslavije?


You find out much more about Rijeka, its history, the people, the places and news as well as take part in forums at:
http://www.lokalpatrioti-rijeka.com

Read this in English here

Karneval, mesopust – commentary

The carnival in Rijeka is over for another year, which for some has come way too soon and for others has come way too late. It really seems to stir up much the same reaction as marmite – people either love the carnival or hate it. Although the main procession on the last Sunday during the carnival is the most visible and most widely promoted feature during carnival time, throughout the whole period there are all sorts of activities going on: bell ringers, carnival parties every Saturday night, the city ball attended by various dignitaries, special carnival plays, exhibitions and concerts. One such carnival activity is the trial of the pust. If you were to drive through any of the smaller towns and villages around Rijeka during carnival time, particularly in the villages around Opatija, you would more than likely spot the rather macabre sight of a human effigy, or pust, hanging from a post.

Every year, each village or town’s carnival society chooses a figure, who is held to blame for all the problems that have occurred during the previous year. In 2002, when I spent a lot of time going from village to village to look at the different pusts, a very popular figure was Osama bin Laden, but pusts can be an effigy of someone in the village [like a notorious womaniser or gossip], a local firm or state company, or even a concept [like suspicion]. Throughout the carnival period, the pust hangs on its post in shame until Shrove Tuesday when a court case is held to determine its fate. In front of the whole village the pust is put before the judge, where the charges that have been made against it are read out. Just as in a real trial, defence and prosecution lawyers present their cases. All the villages have their own way of carrying out the trial, but a shared feature in all them is the merciless humour and wise-cracks directed at the powers-that-be, and topical issues of the day . The pust is almost always found guilty as charged and is then sentenced to death, whereupon it is taken in a solemn funeral procession, with people dressed up as a priest and funeral mourners, to a funeral pyre to be burnt. Again, the burning of the pust takes many forms – but perhaps the most interesting [and most well-known] burning of the pust happens in Mošćenička Draga, where the pust is tied onto a make shift rocket facing the sea and burnt. With its burning, all of the problems of the previous year go up in smoke.

There has been some debate in recent years about the direction the carnival is taking. Some people feel it is becoming too commercial, too geared towards being a tourist attraction and that as a result the traditions that lie behind the carnival are taking second place. When I was speaking to one bell ringer, he told me that he is not happy with coming to the city to parade in the main procession. He said ‘we are not doing this because of the tourists, we are doing this because it is a part of our tradition’. His argument was that bell ringing is carried out in the villages to chase out the winter and to welcome in the spring, and that if people wanted to see this tradition they should come to the villages and not the other way around. The thing about pusts and the burning of the pust is they are one such tradition that cannot be brought into the city.

Original post by Sarah Czerny 🙂

http://books-croatia.blogspot.com/2008/02/carnival-in-rijeka-is-over-for-another_07.html

Croatian language – the dialects

The official Croatian language, which is taught in schools and used for all official business is called Štokavski. But this is just one of three dialects which you will hear in the country and its neighbours, which also vary with regional sub-dialects.

Below is a breakdown of the dialects and their sub-dialects with an example of one sentence using that specific dialect, and the regions you will most likely hear them spoken.

Main dialects:
Čakavski
Štokavski
Kajkavski

Sub-dialects:
Ikavski
Ijekavski
Ekavski

Čakavski – ikavski (“Ča je lipo vrime učinilo” – Dalmatia region)
Štokavski – ikavski (“Što je lipo vrime napravilo” – Slavonia region)

Čakavski – ekavski (“Ča je lepo vreme udelalo” – Kvarner region)
Štokavski – ekavski (“Što je lepo vreme napravilo” – Serbia, official Serbian) (as well as ex-Serbo-Croatian i.e. official Yugoslavian language)
Kajkavski – ekavski (“Kaj je lepe vreme učinile” – Zagorje region)
Kajkavski – ekavski (“Kaj je lepo vreme učinilo” – Slovenia, official Slovenščina)

Štokavski – ijekavski (“Što je lijepo vrijeme napravilo” – standard Croatian, Hercegovina, Bosnia and Montenegro)

Štokavski with the ijekavski sub-dialect is the official Croatian language.

The three main dialects can be easily defined by the use of the words “ča“, “što” and “kaj” which in English can be mostly interpreted as “what?” as well as “which“, “that” and “something“.

This is my own understanding of the language situation and is not a definitive list as many regions have their own intermixed vocabulary and accents. I welcome any comments and views 🙂

NB: the word “šta” which is not dialect or official but is commonly used can be equated with the British English word “wot”.

The London Calling Club Tour rolls into Rijeka for the first time

Fast-paced, racy, English speaking stand-up comedians from the club and corporate circuits to tour Croatian theatres!? You wouldn’t have thought this would be a success but surprisingly it has. The London Calling Comedy Club Tour has been packing out venues in four of Croatia’s major cities: Zagreb, Varaždin, Rijeka and Osijek. Organiser Nino Bantić (a Croat living and working in London) took a gamble when he arranged a multi-night tour of the country with some of the UK’s hardest working comedians on the club and corporate circuits. I was fortunate to catch the tour’s show in Rijeka at the Sušak Cultural Hall (Hrvatski kulturni dom).

Stand-up comedy in Croatia is not a big audience pull and so the prospect of presenting three hardened comics in front of an audience whose grasp of English comes mostly from watching US movies and crime series on TV seemed quite daunting, but Croats do have a fantastic sense of humour and surprisingly enough British comedies such as ‘Allo Allo’, ‘Only Fools and Horses’ are regularly screened on Croatian television to great admiration, even the cretinous ‘Mr. Bean’ raises a smile!

For me, a Brit who has lived in Croatia for the last 8 years, this was a real treat. Before the show I had a brief chat with the comedians. They’d all travelled the world and performed in front of audiences from Japan to Saudi Arabia to America, so they were prepared for anything. I was interested in how different crowds reacted to different jokes and how they had to curb their accents and language for the various countries they visited. They said that they have to tone-down their language and expressions for non-English speaking audiences from what they would use on their home turf, but at the end of the evening they had found common ground with the Croatian audience through situational comedy and everyday relationship jokes which cross all cultural and linguistic barriers.

The MC for the show was Sully O’Sullivan from New Zealand and he warmed-up everyone excellently with his audience interaction, although at times finding it tricky to get a reaction from them as they were obviously just expecting to be entertained rather than actually participating. Next up was the Mohican haired, goaty-bearded, Paul B. Edwards from Letchworth, with guitar slung around his neck which he used to comic effect superbly, even when just strumming out a song he had written which eventually had no lyrics and then the superb ‘Everybody Dies Matthew’ ditty which he sung at his little nephew’s birthday party, bringing down the house with its nihilistic lyrics – reminiscent of Bill Bailey. Following him was a young home grown stand-up comic from Rijeka named Elvis, who unfortunately was only given a few minutes to recant his comedic encounters with the beautiful girls of the city. Last up was Nick Wilty from Whitstable who came on stage with a bottle of the local lager and regaled us with his tales of his worldly travels some of which were a little close to the edge – knob gags and jokes about lesbians may have missed their targets with the conservative audience a little.

It was the first time that the city of Rijeka was a stopping-off point for the tour and Nino and fellow organiser Peter Hopwood, from Varaždin, were a bit unsure whether its people would be willing to venture out on a Tuesday evening for such a previously unthought-of event but as ever the open-minded and cosmopolitan folk of Rijeka proved once again that they were ready try something new and although some of the comedians language may have gone over their heads a splendid time was had by all.

http://www.londoncallingclub.com

Croatia – a Whistle Stop Tour

Croatia will enthral you when you meet the warm, friendly people, its cultural-historical heritage along with its beautiful coastline.

I first visited Croatia in 2000 when it captured my heart in more than one sense. On my first trip I stopped off on the Northern Adriatic island of Cres, at the tiny village of Beli, to visit a small ecological centre called Eko-centar Caput Insulae-Beli, where volunteers from all over the world can come and help protect the local wildlife and rebuild the local environment. So taken was I with their warmth and friendliness that I also came and volunteered later that year. It was during this time that I met many Croats, who were to become good friends (including one very special person!). If you would like to visit the island of Cres and you prefer a more active vacation of hiking, climbing, cycling, boat and fishing trips and exploring its wild, untouched landscape then the Secrets of Cres agency can offer you more than just

The following year I returned and travelled the country, stopping-in to visit my new friends. First stop was the northern town of Varaždin, probably not on many tourist maps, but a perfect example of baroqueness. I arrived the day before the ‘Špancirfest’ and was lucky to be involved in the preparations. The festival of arts, crafts and music last for a week and celebrates the culture and heritage of this quaint mid-European town, everyone gets into the festival spirit, dressing up in period costumes and promenading through the streets, eating, drinking and playing music.

 After he concluded the opening ceremony and a few glasses of wine, my host showed me the inner city’s Renaissance fortress, which had recently been beautifully restored. Sitting within the original Gothic moat it provides the perfect introduction to the town’s history as each room inside had been turned into a museum with each portraying a different period, fascinating. After a great couple of days I had to leave but my friend said I must come back the following year to experience the world renown Baroque Concert Evenings that the town hosts and feature musicians from all over the world. Ok, so, next time….

 

Next stop was down south to the Dalmatian coastal city of Split. Travelling by bus (Croatia has a very reliable bus service) another new friend met me and showed me around. She explained to me that Spilt had gained the status of an UNESCO site of World Cultural Heritage due to the Roman Emperor, Diocletian’s palace around which the city had been built. It was amazing to imagine yourself walking alongside Romans over cobblestones and through buildings within the palace’s walls over 1,700 years ago!

More was to come when we visited the ancient city of Salona on the outskirts of Split. Here you can wander over the remains of Roman baths, villas, churches and even an amphitheatre. These areas were amongst the first to be Christianised during Roman rule. Next time I’ll need a bit further down the coast to Dubrovnik, Croatia is simply drenched in history on a par with any other part of Europe. So much to see and experience! Next time, next time, next time…..

Unfortunately with little extra time to spare I travelled back to the northern coastline of the Adriatic to the peninsula of Istria. This area is the closest part of Croatia to Italy and has a touch of Tuscany to it. Inland you can find tiny villages atop hilly outcrops, such as Motovun and Buje, and on the coast small promontory towns such as Rovinj and Umag and even a fjord cut into the land around Lim, but probably the most impressive attraction of Istria is the Roman amphitheatre at Pula. Possibly built in the first century BC it is the best preserved building of its kind in the world. An impressive structure from outside and from inside it is easy to imagine the roars of the crowd during gladiator battles. Today it is well looked after and even hosts rock and opera music concerts as well as the annual Pula International Film Festival, again more history and culture to soak up. Next time, next time, next time…..

From Istria I needed to travel east along the coast to the city of Rijeka and onto the island of Krk to the airport there. As the plane left the tarmac, I was sad to leave and vowed to return as soon as possible to experience more of Croatia and to see a very special person whom I may have mentioned earlier! More of that though next time……..!

Rijeka Carnival – Riječki karneval

Did you know that the city of Rijeka on the northern coast of Croatia hosts one of the largest international carnivals in the world?
The 2023 Rijeka Carnival Procession takes place on Sunday 19th February in the centre of the city – come and join the fun!

 
 

Every February the world goes carnival crazy with the lead up to Lent: Rio, Venice and also in Croatia, where the spirit of Mardi Gras is alive and kicking. The Kvarner Riviera attracts over 150,000 revellers from all over Europe. The 2011 event was the largest in its history with again over 100 floats and troupes of ‘zvoncari’ bell ringers coming from all over south east Europe filling the city with music, noise and festivities: the Rijecki karneval! I had spent a couple of days on the beautiful island of Cres, off the Kvarner coast and was joining in with the preparations for the big carnival. People were busy building amazing floats, extravagant costumes and masks whilst others were rehearsing music and dance routines, which would fill the streets of Rijeka in the final procession on Sunday.

In villages all over the region the local young men were preparing themselves to ‘drive-out winter.’ Early one morning I travelled up to the idyllic hillside village of Matulji just outside Rijeka. Here I was met by the colourfully dressed mayor and his small ‘oompah’ band. I guess they were very pleased to see me as they pressed a glass of the local brew, a heady mix of grappa and mountain herbs, locally known as ‘rakija,’ into my hand. While this warmed my cockles he told me about the tradition of the ‘zvoncari’ which means ‘bell ringers.’

The zvončari bell ringers certainly scare the devil out of most people!

In ancient times, the evil spirits of winter were banished by these fearsome characters dressed in sheepskins, brandishing wooden clubs and bones whilst yelling and gyrating the cow bells hanging from their waists, but this hadn’t really prepared me for the spectacle I was to experience later on that day.After a hearty, wholesome lunch of bread, cheese, ham and local wine I wandered into the crowds of people starting to line the streets. What was going on? Little did I realise, that Matulji was the village where the zvoncari were meeting before the big Sunday procession in Rijeka and already the square was filling with bright costumes and brass bands. Men from all over the area and indeed some coming from as far away as Poland and Slovakia as well as neighbouring Slovenia were arriving and getting into character. What a sight!

Each ‘tribe’ had a different outfit, some full sheepskin garbs with long red tongues and huge horns, some with outrageous head dresses and some even with real animal skulls over their faces. Real demonic versions of England’s own Morris Men! Once gathered together, each tribe began their exorcism of the ‘devil’ – winter. What a tremendous cacophony!

Bells clanging, shouting and yelling, whips cracking and drumming all followed through the village by brass bands and a costumed children’s parade. Leading up to the final Sunday grand parade in Rijeka, these troupes carry out their traditional ritual through all the towns and settlements of the Kvarner region, sometimes without rest, whilst the local people provide them with food and copious amounts of beer and wine.

Many zvoncari begin their path as toddlers and these littl’uns sometimes tag along in their tiny versions of their fathers’ full costumes, very cute. In 2010, to prove how significant they are, these pagan bell ringers gained international UNESCO status so as to be protected as a part of the region’s cultural-heritage.

This was a perfect introduction to the full carnival spirit of Rijeka. The city is steeped in history. A place where mid-European culture and the Mediterranean climate meet. All around you can spy the various influences of the Venetians, Italians, Austrians and Hungarians from the architecture to the customs, a real crossroads of culture.

Throughout the carnival period other festivities take place. From classical music concerts to masked balls and everyone is involved. Tens of thousands of people converge on the city every year. Over 120 floats and groups portraying everything from the Romans to political parodies to modern-day environmental issues all vibrantly decorated, partying and parading through the city.

Party goers of all ages take part

One of my fellow spectators told me that it takes nearly six hours for all the floats to pass by, but I was enjoying the atmosphere so much that time didn’t matter! I even spotted the mayor – he was having a whale of a time dressed as a huge beer barrel leading his merry brass band! He gave me the biggest grin, probably because he had drunk the contents before climbing into it!

Everyone joins in the fun

Although the roots of carnival go back centuries this event is always evolving for the last few years it has featured the Pariz-Bakar masked car rally. No this isn’t a spelling mistake! In Rijeka there is a region known as Pariz and nearby is the town of Bakar (once a leading Croatian town) and one of the country’s best known racers Tihomir Filipovic, recognising the connection after completing the famous Paris-Dakar Rally, started the trend and now up to 200 brightly painted vehicles make the tour between the two points into Rijeka for the end of party banquet.

It is hard to believe that the Rijeka International Carnival is probably one of the largest in Europe and yet few people in the UK have heard of it. You could easily travel to the Venice Carnevale di Venezia and then come to Rijeka and do it all over again!

Come and join in the fun of Carnival, the year-long Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture programme and “be what you want to be!”

rijeka carnival rijecki karneval article

More info: http://www.ri-karneval.com.hr/en/

My original article published in the Civil Service Motoring Association’s ‘Motoring & Leisure’ magazine in January 2001.