Happy 440th Birthday of the City of Karlovac!

Concerts, exhibitions, festivals, events, sports competitions and gatherings await you

There are very few cities in the world whose exact date of establishment is known by historians and the city of Karlovac is one of them. Namely, the city was established on 13 July 1579. It was named after its founder, Archduke Charles of Habsburg. This early period of the city’s history was also marked by the beginning of works on the erection of the military frontier fortification, which served as a defence against Ottoman attacks.     

The City Day of Karlovac is celebrated every year on July 13, on which occasion the local city authorities organise a birthday ball at the Ban Josip Jelačić Square, the City Council holds a ceremonial sitting and people with notable achievements are presented with awards. Year after year, birthday celebrations of the city of Karlovac offers more and more interesting events and it can be said that it has evolved into a true tourist attraction. For three weeks the citizens of Karlovac and their numerous tourist guests enjoy different kinds of cultural, entertainment and educational programmes, which are the fruit of joint efforts of many creative fellow citizens. In order to improve the tourist promotion of the city of Karlovac and make it easier for foreign guests to find the city on the different tourist maps of Croatia and the world, this year the traditional organisation of the event City Day of Karlovac will give way to its modern refreshed version called “STARLIT SUMMER”. The event will be held under the slogan “440 hours for 440 years”. The six points of the STAR represent six thematic groups of the festival – concerts, exhibitions, festivals, events, sports competitions and gatherings, all of this in honour of the 440th birthday of the city of Karlovac.