Croatia Travel Blog

Archive for the ‘Motovun’ Category

This week’s Telegraph has a wonderful article about Croatia’s Summer Festivals. Sure, everyone’s heard of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. It’s great but how about something less, ahem, touristy? The article suggests a number of great festivals where you can enjoy the arts and avoid the mobs. For example, there’s the Rapska Fjera in Rab Town, a startlingly original medieval festival. A film buff? Try the Motovun Film Festival in beautiful Motovun. Foodies flock to the October Truffle Festivals in Istria. Music lovers are serenaded at Groznjan (contrary to the article, it’s not only jazz available) and the Lubenice musical nights in Cres Island.

See more about when to go to Croatia.

Golf in Croatia has never really gotten off the ground for several good reasons. First, Croatia’s climate doesn’t allow for a long golfing season and second, Croatians have never been much into golfing (now, tennis is another matter entirely).

Yet, in their pursuit of tourist money, the Croatian government is undeterred by these obstacles. Recently the Croatian Parliament passed a law making it much easier for the government to snatch land from private owners and sell it to golf course developers under the theory of “eminent domain”.

And where are golf developers headed? Not to the rocky Dalmatian coast, that’s for sure. No, it’s Istria with its gentle rolling countryside that will be the primary target of golf developers.

The above photo is of the countryside surrounding Motovun where the proposed new golf course is planned.

Local residents are, ahem, teed off by the proposal. Lawsuits and countersuits have been launched with dark insinuations of collusion between the developers and politicians. There are a lot of good reasons why the proposed golf course is a bad idea for the environment and for local life. If you’d like to join the protest, you can go to the Facebook site against the golf course (in Croatian) and register your support.

I really like this description of the Motovun Film Festival from the Times’ Wendy Ide:

Why go: For starters, where the hell is Motovun? It’s a hilltop town in Istria, with a population of just 1,000. Here, a hedonistic five-day marathon takes place, with screenings from 10am until 4am – many in the open air. Backpackers camp in the fields beneath the town and are hauled up each day in a tractor-pulled trailer.
How to get tickets: Visit the festival website for details: www.motovunfilmfestival.com
Where to stay: In a tent. Or do like the hardcore festival-goers do and sleep in the gutter where you fell the night before.
Where to drink: Everywhere, throughout the day.

See article.

No, it ain’t Cannes. I can tell you from personal experience that no festival-goers sleep in the gutter at France’s famous festival.

Where is Motovun? Alert visitors to croatiatraveller.com know that Motovun is in Istria (see a map) and accessible (although not easily) by bus. See more about Motovun.