President Milanović at 28th International Lepoglava Lace Festival
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović visited the 28th International Lace Festival, the oldest and largest event in Lepoglava, a town with an exceptionally rich cultural tradition, which has been known throughout Europe as an important lace-making centre for more than a century.
Accompanied by the host, Mayor of the town of Lepoglava, Marijan Škvarić, Deputy Varaždin County Prefect, Silvija Zagorec, President of the Lepoglava Town Council, Robert Dukarić, Director of the Tourist Office of the Lepoglava Tourist Board, Ljubica Dubovečak, and Head of the Single Administrative Department of Lepoglava, Maja Poja, President Milanović viewed the most beautiful lace from as many as 15 European countries. His tour began by viewing the exhibition of Croatian lace-making centres and the exhibition “Lepoglava Lace and Jewellery,” displayed at the Tourist Cultural and Information Center in Lepoglava, after which he viewed the exhibition of foreign exhibitors and local hosts at the Pavlin Monastery.
This year’s International Lepoglava Lace Festival is being held from the 13th to the 15th of September under the high patronage of the President of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Culture and Media, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Croatian Commission for UNESCO, the Croatian Tourist Board, the Varaždin County Tourist Board, Varaždin County, and the town of Lepoglava.
The organizers of the 28th International Lepoglava Lace Festival have prepared exhibitions of the most beautiful examples of Lepoglava lace, whose craftsmanship was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, as well as exhibitions of lace from other renowned lace-making centres in Croatia – Primošten, Split, Sikirevci, Križevci, Trg near Ozalj, Sveta Marija, Pag, and Krašić. This year’s festival was further enriched by a glimpse into the culture and heritage of Turkey, the partner country of the 28th International Lace Festival.
President Milanović was accompanied by Bartol Šimunić, Head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic, and Zdravko Zima, Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for Culture.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta