Pula. Photo: Katie Leum

In the beginning of this month the European Union got accompanied by a brand new nation and a little more than 4 million new souls, 1777 kilometers of wild coastlines and radiant sunshine. ECF wish them welcome on the European Union stage.

European Mobility award

The capital of the Republic of Croatia is Zagreb, and the home to approximately 780 000 Croatians was the winner of the European Mobility Award during European Mobility Week 2012. According to the European Green Capital website the Croatian capital demonstrated their commitment to sustainable urban mobility. A wide range of activities that involved more than 150 000 citizens emphasized the conviction that innovation can improve urban transport and the environment. With vintage trams, urban fitness activities, educational sessions, cycle information centers information centers and redesigning public parking facilities for bicycles there is no wonder so many people were engaging in the celebration.

Presto

Zagreb was also a part of the PRESTO project, a project that ran from 2009 to 2013 and was working to promote cycling in Europe. According to PRESTOs final report the modal share of cycling in Zagreb is only 3% and is mainly popular among university students. With 55 000 students in the 11 city-universities the potential is great, and the city has therefore developed a bicycle lane network plan to improve the situation.

Moj bickl

Our member in Croatia, Moj bickl (my bicyle) is an NGO that has their headquarters in Zagreb and has been devoted to educating people on the need for bicycle transport as an integrated part of urban transportation systems.  Their work began in 2001 and in 2003 they became full members of ECF. Through 12 years they have been working with newsletters and the website , raising awareness in schools and campaigning with stands in public space and collaborating with municipalities and with the Faculty of Traffic Science in Zagreb to introduce transportation by bicycle. Moj bickl is today in charge of the largest cycling website in Croatian and the hard work has borne fine fruits visible in the streets throughout Croatia as they continue to educate and inform cyclists.

 “We are doing everything to make as many people in Croatia accepted the bike as part of their life”   Source: http://mojbicikl.hr

In April 2013, Moj bickl organized the first ever Cycling Europe Conference, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Croatia. The successful event that ran over two days in Zagreb and presented a great variety of topics from cycling infrastructure, road traffic safety, cycling share-schemes to cycling.

Zagreb. Photo: Katie Leum

Cycling Tourism in Croatia

Lately the cooperation with the Croatian ministry of Tourism and Moj bickl on introducing Cycling Tourism has been a great success, but even greater are the Croatian part of the EuroVelo 6, Danube route, which they both designed and supervised and the publication of two booklets.  The trend of active holidays are also on the rise in Croatia where thousands of cycling tourist have finds their way to the cycling paths and explore the green and diverse country.

At the moment there is no National Coordination Centre for Croatia but during the conference there were signs that suggest that the waiting is soon at an end.  Moj bickl is one of the organizations that expressed their keen interest to take on the task.

Croatia as a destination for cycling tourism is growing and maturing and the work of Moj bickl is ensuring that sustainability is in focus every step of the way.

Some of the routes:

Sama

The popular route Sama, starts at the border with Slovenia and ends in the village Aljmas where the river Drava and the Danube comes together and crosses EuroVelo 6.

EuroVelo 6

The Croatian part of EuroVelo 6 takes you from Batina to Osijek, a 40 km ride along the river bank and takes you through the world-famous Kopacki rit nature reserve and bird watching area.

EuroVelo 8

If the lively coast and dipping your body in the Adriatic Sea after a day on the bike is more your thing, then you should saddle up and take the EuroVelo 8 that takes you through the beautiful Croatian coast. With its many historical cities and UNESCO World heritage sites you are bound to feel your jaw drop more than once while you ride through such as Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, Rijeka and Pula.

Drava

The river Drava takes you on a magical path, packed with beautiful nature and charming small villages that are situated near the powerful river. Rich in cultural heritage are cities as the historical Varazdin, Osijek and Koprinica or smaller towns like Meljani or Durdevac where time seems to have been standing still.

 Read more on Moj bickl 

About the Author

Anette Christiansen works as communications Assistant at the European Cyclists’ Federation. She holds a Masters-degree in European Tourism Management (EMTM) and is specialized in Cycling Tourism.

 Photos: Taken in Croatia 2012 by Katie Leum