Advent in Our Neighbouring Towns – Holiday Magic Around Zagreb

Zagreb’s Christmas market and partnering towns also bring the joy of the holiday season to Ogulin, Čazma, Marija Bistrica and Đurđevac.

This year’s Christmas market has also been inspired by the magical opus of Ivana Brlić Mažuranić. One of the greatest Croatian writers of all time has brought together Zagreb and the town of Ogulin. The characters in her fairy tales, together with Ivana, are the hosts of all fairy tales and fairy tale writers in Ivana’s House of Fairy Tales in Ogulin. The shared wish is, at the end of a year dedicated to cultural heritage, to thank Ivana Brlić Mažuranić for her works and help visitors learn more about her fairy tales.

In Čazma this year too the Salaj Land Christmas Story awaits us. The Salaj family has for 17 years been telling its Christmas story which has become the most significant event in inland Croatia. This year, the 17^th Christmas Story of the Salaj family opens its doors on Friday 30 November 2018 and will be open until 13 January 2019. A fairytale Christmas will be created by four million fairy lights!

Advent in Marija Bistrica, a Croatian place of pilgrimage, is also a very special experience. Four themed weekends bring us a wonderful programme, from a concert by Jacques Houdek and Vanna to the Marija Bistrica Christmas market. Advent in Marija Bistrica ends with a traditional New Year’s Eve programme starting at noon on the town’s central square.

Advent in Đurđevac brings us a rich Advent programme next to the attractive medieval castle, Stari grad. A special attraction is the Living Nativity Scene with camels and farm animals. Important to note is this year’s Advent is plastic-free. The aim is to avoid plastic packaging and to use recycled materials as much as possible. With that aim, compostable materials will be used to replace harmful plastics or single-use items.