5 traditional festivals to experience in Croatia

Main image: Sinjska Alka (Julien Duval)

Everyone loves a festival. It’s like a portal straight into a country’s culture, through its food, drink or ancient rituals – usually all three at once. Croatia’s festivals are no exception. Whether it’s a carnival, a saint’s day or even a knights’ tournament, you’ll get under the skin of Croatia’s culture and discover why these events have become part of UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage. Here are five to enjoy on your next holiday to Croatia.

1. The carnival bell ringers of Kastav

While nearby Rijeka erupts every winter for the biggest pre-Lent carnival in Croatia, the hinterland region above the Kvarner Gulf has its own special way of celebrating. Throughout January and February until Ash Wednesday, the villages of the Kastav region echo to the sound of the zvončari – bell-ringers – who parade in a very distinctive style.

Covered in shaggy sheepskin, waists weighed down with heavy noisy brass bells, their heads adorned in most outlandish floral arrangements, the bell-ringers make their boisterous way through the villages banishing any evil spirits that might be foolish enough to hang around. At each stop, they gather in a circle and stomp and shimmy and shake their bells while the villagers bring out large amounts of food and wine for the bell-ringers. You’ll see their hips move in a massively exaggerated way so the bells can make as much noise as possible. While you might notice bell-ringers as part of Rijeka Carnival, the villagers of the Kastav region will be quick to point out that their zvončari are the original ones.

2. Festival of Saint Blaise

Dubrovnik’s patron saint, Sveti Vlaho – Saint Blaise – has been celebrated in colourful style since the 10^th century. Legend has it that a vision of St Blaise warned a priest in 972 that the Venetians were about to attack, and that gave the city time to build defences. He’s been Dubrovnik’s patron saint ever since.

The festivities officially kick off on 2 February, also known as Candlemas, when white doves – symbols of freedom and peace – are released to the sound of bells in front of the Church of St Blaise. Everyone gathers round Orlando’s Column as St Blaise’s banner is raised on this 15^th-century marble column. Sometimes there are special events on 1 February, such as musical parades and a wine festival.

On 3 February – the saint’s day itself – processions throng along the Old Town’s main pedestrianised thoroughfare, Stradun. After mass, there’s the traditional feasting on doughnuts and the deliciously meaty Dubrovnik pasta dish called šporki makaruli before the standard bearers greet the bishops in a lavish ceremony. A classical concert rounds off the evening.

3. Spring procession of Ljelje/Kraljice

Every Pentecost Sunday, the village of Gorjani in Slavonia has its own rite of spring. Here in this small village between Osijek and Đakovo, a group of girls acts out a tradition that goes back centuries, although no one is quite sure where it came from.

The girls (ljelje) are divided into two groups, one as kings (kraljevi) and the other as queens (kraljice). All dressed in brightly coloured costumes, the kings wear huge flower-covered hats and brandish sabres (purely for show, of course). The queens, meanwhile, have white garlands decorating their hair, rather like a bride.

Dressed in this vivid way, the girls proceed slowly through the village singing hauntingly beautiful polyphonic songs while stopping to perform a circular dance accompanied by traditional musicians. After such a spectacle, the villagers show their appreciation by giving the girls plenty of food and drink. It doesn’t end there, however. The girls have a specially decorated horse-drawn carriage to take them to other nearby villages to spread the fun and perform the ritual again.

4. Sinjska Alka

Get a sense of Croatia’s rich history by watching this extraordinary spectacle that takes place in the small town of Sinj. In this hinterland region about an hour north of Split, the Croatians’ victory over the Ottoman Turks back in 1715 is commemorated in swashbuckling style. On the first Sunday in August, crowds gather to watch a knights’ tournament that’s been going on for about 300 years.

Dressed in the 18^th-century costumes of Croatian warriors, the town’s most skilled horsemen known as alkars gather in the Alkarsko Trkaliste – the alkars’ racecourse. Galloping along the course at great speed, they use their lances to try to hit a ring called the alka. The winner with the most hits is crowned the Duke of Alka.

Even if you don’t get a ticket in the grandstand, the whole event is broadcast on a giant screen in the town centre, where there’s a party atmosphere. Get caught up into the spirit of it all amid huge barbecues of spit-roasted pork and food and drink stalls, while roving musicians serenade you.

5. Festivities of Tripundan

Tripundan translates as St Tryphon’s Day, which celebrates a 3^rd-century saint whose relics are in St Tryphon’s Cathedral in the Montenegrin port town of Kotor. Not only is St Tryphon the patron saint of Kotor, but Croatians who emigrated from this part of Montenegro to Croatia, known as the Bokelji, have their own festivities honouring their saint. And they’ve spread all around Croatia.

St Tryphon’s Day is 3 February, and there are other related cultural events and traditional balls held in Split, Zagreb, Pula, Dubrovnik and Rijeka from February to April. Not surprisingly, 3 February is a big feast day, with lots of traditional dishes enjoyed en masse by festival-goers. One of the day’s highlights is the circle dance, called a kolo, which is performed with great drama by 12 members of the Bokelj Navy 809, a non-profit organisation created to keep up the traditions of the Bokelji Croats. But before all that happens, one lucky young boy is chosen to be the little admiral for the festivities and has the honour of playing a starring role.

Feeling inspired?

For more information, head to the official Croatian Tourist Board website.

Explore now