Ðurdevac – candidate for selection of the European Destination of Excellence

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The Town of Ðurdevac will represent Croatia in the European Destination of Excellence competition to be held 18 and 19 September in Bordeaux, France.
Ðurdevac won the right to participate in a very tough competition of 27 candidates in Croatia, among which the Committee of Croatia National Tourist Board Head Office selected the national winner according to the criteria set for the project.

The European Destination of Excellence competition has been held since 2006, involving all European Union Member States. Although Croatia is not an EU member, it has been invited to join, so it has been involved in the action from the beginning.

This year it is organized on the subject of “Tourism and Local Intangible Heritage”.

Popular for its various cultural, sport and other attractive events such as Podravina From Summer to Summer, Mamas Baked Some Štrukli, Welcome Friends, and more,  Ðurdevac is particularly distinctive for its Legend of the Roosters (Picoki). The traditional cultural & entertainment event, which has been organized for forty years, illustrates the historical and traditional heritage of the region, and this attractive tourist product main tains the legend of the locals’ craftiness in this part of Koprivnica-Križevci County.

The Croatian Ministry of Culture has proclaimed the Legend of the Roosters intangible cultural domain. The legend is associated with an old story about a long siege of Ulama-Beg’s Ottoman army and his intention to force the people of Ðurdevac captured in the Old Town to surrender due to hunger. However, following the advice of an old lady, the defenders outwitted the Beg by firing their last rooster out of a cannon into the Ottoman camp, thus creating the impression they had food to waste. Believing they had plenty of food, Ulama-Beg retreated with his army and the people of Ðurdevac have been referred to as the Roosters ever since.
Numerous visitors to Ðurdevac do not come here just for the legend, but for various other facilities making the region popular because the area contains famous hunting grounds and the Naive Painting road passes here as this is the region where Naive Painting was conceived.
Ðurdevac has an art gallery containing paintings donated by the famous Croatian Naive painter Lackovic Croata, whose works have been exhibited in many galleries around the world, and the area also has 45 kilometers of bike tracks, very popular with visitors and local alike..

Ðurdevac Tourist Board : www.tz-djurdjevac.hr