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Croatian Tourism - Dakovo (C)

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About Croatian Tourism - Dakovo (C)

As the most magnificent product of the rich plains in Slavonia, Đakovo emerges from its heart and rises, touching the sky with the towers of its cathedral. In the bosom of the love of the fertile land and the endless sky, the city of Strossmayer, Lipizzans and Đakovački vezovi Festival keeps the tradition and heritage of generations alive in the hearts of its inhabitants and in the symbols of its spiritual and material wealth.

The name Đakovo appears in written documents in the 13th century, and this area was inhabited as early as the Neolithic. The settlement began to grow with the arrival of Bosnian bishops. The brother of the Croatian-Hungarian King Bela IV, Prince Coloman, donated in 1239 the town of Đakovo and its surroundings to the Bosnian bishop Ponsa as the seat of the diocese. As an important medieval diocesan center, Đakovo became a city, and as a diocesan city it experienced social and cultural prosperity after the Turkish rule. A towering figure in the historical development of the city is Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer. He was a visionary and patron, whose activity made the Croatian culture, art, science, education and church a part of the contemporary global and European movements, and Đakovo a beautiful and proud Central European city. The vision and spiritual greatness are embodied in the life achievement of J. J. Strossmayer, the construction of the most beautiful cathedral from Venice to Istanbul, as Pope John XXIII called it.

St. Peter's Cathedral
The center of the city, the heart of Slavonia, is dominated by St. Peter's Cathedral. Its bell towers rise like a lighthouse over the plain, and their beauty and spiritual wealth shine far and wide. Đakovo Cathedral, built from 1866 to 1882, is a monumental masterpiece of Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Gothic architecture, a magnificent monument of sacred art in which important European and Croatian artists of the 19th century such as architects Karl Rösner and Friedrich von Schmidt, painter J. F. Overbeck, father and son Alexander Maximilian Seitz and Ludwig Seitz, Ludovic Ansiglioni and sculptors Vatroslav Donegani, Ivan Rendić and Rudolf Valdec realized their achievements. The three-nave church with two towers preserves its value not only in its aesthetic richness, but also in its symbolic meaning and rootedness in the region and people from which it grew.

The cathedral was based on Strossmayer's idea as a link between East and West by the diligent hands of the people for whom it was intended. It was built from the land to which it belongs, from seven million bricks, and decorated with Slavonian folk motifs. At the foot of the cathedral towers is one of the most beautiful Croatian squares – J. J. Strossmayer Square – and together with the 'korzo', the city's central street, it is one of the most beautiful continental promenades. A walk through the center of Đakovo will provide every visitor with a little time travel through the history of architectural art styles from Romanesque to Secession. Đakovo will offer human warmth in the spiritual sea with the richness of its hospitality, aromas and tastes, events, the sounds of the Lipizzan hooves and the beauty of the nature of a small paradise in the heart of Slavonia.

Đakovački vezovi Festival
Đakovački vezovi Festival, one of the largest Croatian folklore festivals of song, dance and folk customs, for more than half a century, since 1967, has brought together thousands of participants from Croatia and beyond, every summer in late June and early July. Founded as a cultural and tourist event on the occasion of the International Tourist Year, today it has grown into a symbol of the heart of Slavonia – Đakovo. Đakovački vezovi Festival has long since surpassed all that can be a traditional folklore event: today it is a basis of which new generations of admirers of cultural treasures are growing. Đakovački vezovi Festival lives in the hearts of all those who see it as a symbol of Croatian identity, tradition and love for folk art.

It is an event that includes numerous programs where one can enjoy the beauty of folk customs, costumes, songs, dances, handicrafts and gastronomic specialties. The central, most beautiful and most festive part of the event is traditionally held on the first weekend in July. Many visitors from all over Croatia and the world can then experience the invaluable wealth of the national heritage, and the obligatory and most popular programs are the grand opening, a festive parade of participants through the streets of Đakovo and the closing program called "Slavonijo, zemljo plemenita" ("Slavonia, You Noble Land").

After half a century of existence and continuous preservation of the national treasure, the Festival has become the central cultural and tourist event of the City of Đakovo and the whole of Slavonia. The value of Đakovački vezovi in terms of culture and tourism has been recognized at national and international levels, as evidenced by numerous awards received by the organizers – the City of Đakovo and the Tourist Board of the City of Đakovo. Among numerous acknowledgments, Đakovački vezovi Festival holds the Charter of the Republic of Croatia for exceptional contribution to the preservation and nurturing of Slavonian traditional heritage and the promotion of Croatian national culture and identity.

The Festival preserves and nurtures the cultural treasures that have been recognized by the UNESCO as well. The list of world cultural heritage includes "ljelje" (girls dressed as queens in traditional costumes), which are one of the symbols of Đakovački vezovi, and the bećarac song genre, which conveys folk wisdom and memories and is an inseparable part of Đakovački vezovi.

Đakovački vezovi always features its greatest value – the hospitality of the generous Slavonia region and the warm heart of Đakovo, whereby the Slavonian soul is as wide as the plain, with room in it for every dear guest.

Robert Francem, prof.