Art & Culture
Your essential guide to galleries, museums and the performing arts in Croatia
Croatia today
In February of this year Monte in the chic Istrian town of Rovinj became the first Croatian restaurant to receive a Michelin star. It was one of 34 eateries on Michelin’s inaugural Croatian list. Nobody would argue with the choice of Monte, a famously creative restaurant that has had reviewers agog ever since it opened. What’s odd is that it took Michelin until 2017 to get to grips with Croatia, a country that has been flexing its culinary muscles for quite some time. Well over 15 years have passed since Croatian tourism threw off the post-war blues and started clambering its way back up the European holiday league. In that time we’ve become accustomed to several of the country’s trademarks – the rugged drama of the Adriatic coastline, the translucent purity of its sea, a profusion of good food and wine, and the generally easygoing, un-jaded attitude of the locals themselves. A record sixteen million tourists visited Croatia in 2016, and if the first few months of the year are anything to go by, this number will be topped in 2017. Dubrovnik in particular has seen a 100% increase in the number of guests over the last 8 years, many of them drawn, perhaps, by the city’s role as a shooting location for Game of Thrones, Star Wars, the new Robin Hood… The word on the streets is that James Bond may well be next. There’s concern that the Croatian economy is becoming too reliant on the tourist trade as its other industries struggle. However tourism remains the one effectiv
The 10 best festivals in Croatia
Of all the exciting things to happen to Croatian tourism over the last decade, the boom in boutique music festivals has come as the biggest surprise. A surge in party-loving punters flocking to the Adriatic has generated a cool buzz around the country, inspiring promoters near and far to set up temporary camp along its famously sun drenched coastline. And when it comes to Croatian festivals, you really do have the best of both worlds: incredible line-ups are matched by equally impressive locations. The choice here is massive – from sizzling hot boat parties and raves in abandoned forts to live music in the heart of Croatia’s historical cities. With over twenty festivals taking place this summer; it’s harder than ever to pick the right one. To help you decide, we’ve shortlisted ten of the best. RECOMMENDED: More Croatia music festivals
The best Croatian animators
For anyone that's been to Zagreb's annual Animafest, it's clear that animated film is a cherished part of Croatian culture. This is nothing new: in 1962, the pioneer of Yugoslavian / Croatian animation, Dušan Vukotić, became the first non-American to win an Oscar for an animated film. At the time, Disney still had a monopoly on animation, and it was radical filmmakers from now-Croatia, among other countries, that helped it become the endlessly imaginative art form it is today. Contemporary Croatian animation continues that tradition of progressive, genre-defying filmmaking. With studios Bonobo and Adriatic Animation producing incredible stop-motion and multimedia work, Croatian animation is gaining a reputation for its distinctive, often surreal style and impeccable production. With homegrown talent scooping up awards at festivals worldwide, it seems Croatia is keeping its place at the forefront of animated film. Here are some names to look out for.
A history of Zagreb in 10 buildings
Visitors to Zagreb tend to make a beeline for the cathedral and St Mark's church. And while they're certainly worth admiring, the architecture fiend should know that the Croatian capital's finest buildings exceed the ecclesiastical variety. There's hardly a movement since Art Nouveau that hasn't left a trace here, and startling examples of the avant-garde are lurking at every corner. Here's a history of Zagreb in ten remarkable buildings. RECOMMENDED: essential Zagreb attractions.
Great films shot in Zagreb
The HBO fantasy series Game of Thones has secured Croatia's place in celluloid history, but did you know its capital Zagreb has also served as the location for a crop of cult international films, as well as countless domestic productions? In its cinematic heyday, Croatia churned out some 124 Yugoslavian films and 145 international co-productions from its famous Jadran film studio - one of the biggest in Central Europe before the war. There's a surprising raft of indelible productions shot in and around Croatia's capital, like the world-dominating spy-caper 'James Bond: From Russia with Love' and Orson Welles' interpretation of Kafka's absurd, existentialist novel 'The Trial', filmed in the pretty Habsburg-era Old Town. There's plenty more scenery to chew on with our list of the best films shot in Zagreb. RECOMMENDED: the best film festivals in Croatia.
The best of Croatia
Essential Dubrovnik attractions
Dubrovnik's glittering past as the Republic of Ragusa means it has several stand-out sights of great historic interest, which combine with its scattering of museums and galleries. Fascinating landmarks dot the Old Town an easy stroll from each other, perfect for a day's sightseeing. Consider this your Dubrovnik attractions bucket list.
The best Split museums and galleries
A bustling hub in Roman times, Split – which is built around an old Roman palace – is full of unique historic and artistic treasures. Split attractions include a number of museums and galleries that make the city a fascinating destination for art aficionados, historians and sightseers alike. Here's where to head.
Croatia’s top venues for art and exhibitions
Museum of Contemporary Art • Zagreb
Costing some €60 million and covering 14,500 square metres, the MCA – MSU in Croatian – is the most significant museum to open in Zagreb for more than a century. Its collection includes pieces from the 1920s and gathered since 1954 when Zagreb's original MCA (in Upper Town) was founded. Of particular note are Carsten Höller's slides, similar to the 'Test Site' installation he built for Tate Modern's Turbine Hall but custom-made and site specific for Zagreb – pieces of art patrons can ride to the parking lot. Croatia's outstanding 1950s generation of abstract-geometric artists (Ivan Picelj, Aleksandar Srnec, Vjenceslav Richter, Vlado Kristl) play a starring role in the collection, alongside photographs and films documenting the more outlandish antics of legendary performance artists like Tom Gotovac and Vlasta Delimar. The new-media and computer-art works produced by the Zagreb-based New Tendencies movement in the late '60s and early 70s reveals just how ahead-of-its-time much of Croatian art really was.
Moderna Galerija • Zagreb
Housed in the impressively renovated Vraniczany palace on Zrinjevac, the Modern Gallery is home to the national collection of 19th- and 20th-century art. It kicks off in spectacular fashion with huge canvases by late-19th-century painters Vlaho Bukovac and Celestin Medović dominating the sublimely proportioned hexagonal entrance hall. From here the collection works its way chronologically through the history of Croatian painting, taking in Ljubo Babić's entrancing 1920s landscapes and Edo Murtić's jazzy exercises in 1950's abstract art. Several contemporary artists are featured here too - sufficient to whet your appetite before hopping over the river to the Museum of Contemporary Art to see some more. The Moderna Galerija's most innovative feature is the tactile gallery, a room containing versions of famous paintings in relief form (together with Braille captions) for unsighted visitors to explore.
Museum of Arts & Crafts • Zagreb
This grand Hermann Bollé-designed palace, founded in 1880, was originally based on 'a collection of samples for master craftsmen and artists who need to re-improve production of items of everyday use'. It has now grown to become the country's premier collection of applied art, with a wide-ranging gaggle of pieces from Baroque altar pieces to Biedermeier furniture, domestic ceramics, clocks and contemporary poster design. A side room full of synagogue silverware and ritual candlesticks recalls the rich heritage of Zagreb's pre-World War II Jewish community. On the top floor, a collection of 19th-20th century ball gowns and evening dresses provides a strong whiff of glamour. The museum is also a major venue for temporary exhibitions with big themes, with the photographs of Rene Magritte and the history of Croatian Art Deco drawing recent crowds.
Croatian Museum of Naive Art • Zagreb
Housed on the second floor of the 18th-century Raffay Palace, this collection is a solid introduction to Croatian Naive Art, mostly the work of self-taught peasant painters from the villages of the east. The collection is frequently rotated but there are usually plenty of representations of rural life executed by the big names of the genre: Ivan Generalić, Mirko Virius and Ivan Rabuzin. Also included are international primitives such as the self-taught Polish-Ukrainian artist Nikifor.
More cultural venues in Croatia
Croatian National Theatre • Split
As in Zagreb, the National Theatre in Split played a vital role in the promotion of the Croatian language while the country was still ruled from elsewhere. This venerable institution opened in 1893, first at Dobroma, before this imposing edifice was built decades later. Early performances featured troupes from Italy while a local theatrical culture developed. Today the HNK not only stages Croatian-language theatre, but also foreigner-friendly opera and ballet. It's a major venue during the Split Summer Festival.
Croatian Association of Artists • Zagreb
Visit for the building alone, a circular pavilion standing in the middle of Victims of Fascism Square a ten-minute walk south-east of the main square. The building was designed by sculptor Ivan Meštrović just before World War II as an exhibition space in honour of the then Yugoslav King Peter I. Inside, the circular walls contain three galleries, which span two floors and provide an outstanding venue for a dynamic program of contemporary art exhibitions and events organized by the Croatian Association of Artists (HDLU). The circular central hall features natural light through the cupola.
Dubrovnik Contemporary Gallery
When you tire of all of the “I love Dubrovnik” t-shirts and refrigerator magnets, take a 10-minute stroll from the city walls to the Dubrovnik Contemporary Gallery, on the left-hand side of the road that leads to the Excelsior Hotel. This little gem features striking contemporary paintings by Croatian-American artist Selma Hafizovic Muller, who also exhibits in many galleries in New York. Her work is colourful, edgy: a welcome change from all the traditional landscapes, harbour scenes and sunsets.
Greta Gallery • Zagreb
Zagreb has always lacked the kind of small-scale independent galleries that occupy the fertile spawning grounds in-between public art institutions and private dealers. Which is why Greta, a gallery in a former clothes shop that opens a new exhibition every Monday night, has proved such an instant hit. Greta doesn’t follow too strict a curatorial framework, ensuring the widest possible variety of artistic approaches. The gallery’s location, at the apex of a bohemian Bermuda Triangle formed by the Fine Arts Academy, the Architecture Faculty and the Sedmica bar, ensures a knowledgeable and enthusiastic public. Indeed Greta regularly receives more visitors than many of the more established galleries, with opening-night celebrants spilling out onto the pavement outside.
Lauba House • Zagreb
Lurking mysteriously in a little-visited area 4km west of the centre is this brand-new private art gallery, occupying a century-old barrack block painted in alluring matt black by modern restorers. Displaying the collection of businessman Tomislav Kličko, Lauba includes major works by virtually everyone who is anyone in Croatian art from about 1950 onwards. If you've already visited the Museum of Contemporary Art, then Lauba will provide you with a refreshingly alternative take on the local art establishment, concentrating on visually appealing works as well as more conceptual exercises. Figurative paintings by Lovro Artuković and disarmingly bling sculptures by Kristjan Kožul are among the highlights.