Karlovac Travel Guide, Croatia

Karlovac Travel Guide – Position and Presentation

Situated 56 km south-west of Zagreb and close to Osijek, connected to the coast thanks to the highway Zagreb-Rijeka, Karlovac is an important cultural, industrial city and the administrative centre of the Karlovac county. The municipality has a population of more than 60 thousands people and most of them are Croats and Roman-Catholic by religion.

Even though, Karlovac seems to be less populated than other towns in Croatia and there are negative perspectives concerning the growth of its population.

Karlovac Travel Guide should definitely specify that the city is known as “the city of parks” because of its many green areas or “the town on four rivers” thanks to the rivers Kupa, Korana, Mreznica and Dobra that flow through or very close to the town. This is one of the reasons it is considered today one of the most important towns in Croatia.

Even if it is a rather young town that has its beginnings in the 16th century, the city of Karlovac became an important economic and traffic centre not to mention a main traffic junction in Croatia.

Karlovac Travel Guide – A New Identity of the Town

When writing about Karlovac Travel Guide it is worth being mentioned the fact that the town was cleverly constructed into a baroque style obvious in its architecture and it was designed as resembling the form of a star that only 2 other European cities seem to have.

The town suffered a lot from the damages produced by the Croatian Liberation War (1991-1995) being severely bombarded. The damage still can be seen on many buildings that are supposed to go through a renovation process. Thus, Karlovac started to be renewed and to find a new economical and spiritual dimension as there still are problems and obstacles from the economic and cultural point of view.

Karlovac Travel Guide – Local Events and Things to Do

The main entertainment and cultural events that take place in Karlovac are: the Beer Days which are a kind of the famous Oktoberfest (that is organized every year in Munich), mostly because the town has a lot of beer to sell and Karlovacko Brewery is the best known brand name of it.

Other events are: the floral exhibition and fair in June, the Karlovac Cultural Days that are organized in October, November and December, St. John’s Bonfires taking place in June and the pilgrimages to St. John in Dubovac every year on 19th of March..

Besides a high level of culture that exists in the city’s life, one should not neglect the many opportunities of practicing sports on the four rivers. Everybody is invited to go swimming, bathing, rafting canoeing, or rowing in excellent water conditions.

Those who like hunting and hiking, riding bicycles or simply walking in silence and enjoying the serenity of the nature, are advised to choose the woods with paths and trails, near Dragania, on Klek or Modruša, the thermal resorts, or other surrounding peaceful green areas. You can also take advantage of a recreation break by going to ski on Bjelolasica Mountain during winter.

Another possibility to relax and do something interesting in the same time refers to go shopping in the old part of the town where most of the old buildings were transformed into trendy shops where visitors can buy mostly casual or elegant clothes.

Buyers of souvenirs should not miss the Katzler House Pavillion where tourists can choose between a variety of photographs, postcards, memorial coins or paintings that could look very nice in their homes.

Connecting Europe and Danube area with the Adriatic Sea, Karlovac reveals itself to visitors who are willing to spend at least a day or two in a town that continues to develop and shows attractive new things to everybody.