Information for genealogists visiting Croatia (2)

Accommodation: hotels, hostels
and private rooms

We continue our series of articles about Croatia for genealogists from abroad who plan to visit the country and do the genealogy work. In the previous article, the transportation had been discussed, and we will now draw our attention to accommodation.

Croatia is a tourist country, so there are lots of accommodation options around, particularly along the cost. However, since a genealogist coming from abroad would probably spend most of his or her time in the Croatian capital of Zagreb (because the largest collection of vital records can be found in Croatian State Archives in Zagreb), we will first focus on the accommodation there.

Zagreb. The Croatian capital has several dozen hotels of various sizes and luxury, the most luxurious being The Regent Esplanade Hotel, Sheraton & Westin. They are all within the walking distance from the State Archive, the Regent Esplanade being the closest.

The budget hotels can also be found in the city center, like Best Western Astoria, Hotel Central, Hotel Dora, Hotel Fala, Hotel Maksimir. The variety of choice inexpensive hotels are in the suburbs: Hotel Paradise, Hotel Holiday, I Hotel. Since Zagreb has a well developed public transportation system, there shouldn't be a problem for a genealogist to stay in those hotels while spending most of his or her time in the city center, at the archives.

Those who want a really affordable accomodation, there are more than a dozen "youth" hostels available, many of which are fairly close to the center: Fulir Hostel, Hostel Lika, Hostel Nocturno, Ravnice Hostel, Hostel Mali Mrak... Although called accomodation for "youth", they are open and available for anyone who is willing to accept somewhat casual and informal, but nevertheless friendly and warm approach to the guests. Hostels, unlike hotels, do not offer breakfast (only bed), but that shouldn't be a problem for a traveler, as Zagreb is full of small bakeries available at almost every corner, which sell delicious products particularly in the morning.

But that's not all, private rooms are increasingly popular way of accomodation in Zagreb. They are almost always a good alternative to more formal accomodation, and they are more affordable.

And finaly, Zagreb is surrounded with "the Ring", several urbanized communities extremly well connected by public transportation with the Zagreb city center: Velika Gorica, Zaprešić, Sesvete, Ivanić-Grad. One of those communities is Samobor, where authors of this web site live, and where a traveler can find a hotel or private accomodation of a high quality, but for much less money than in Zagreb city center.

Split. The second largest city in Croatia is situated at the Adriatic coast towards the south. Since it is in the costal tourist area (although itself is more a transit port rather than touristic destination), it has great variety of accomodation opportunities.

If a traveler wants a high standard four & five star accomodation, Atrium Hotel, Art Hotel, Hotel Park, Hotel Marmont are the choice. But most affordable accomodation is in private rooms, and they are plenty. During the summer time, persons offering private accomodation are available at every corner. With them, don't accept the first price, you should instead bargain!

Other cities. In almost every larger city in Croatia, there is at least one hotel. But be aware that not all hotels along the coast are open all year long, and that during sumertime they are not rarely fully booked. Probably the best time for a genealogist to come to Croatia is mid Spring or early Fall. Then the accomodation is abundant everywhere, and the prices are moderate.

For more information about the accomodation in Croatia, please, contact us.

All articles from Croatian genealogy web site

Female given names as a motivator for Croatian surnames A matronymic surname would be typically created using a name of a women who particularly excelled in a community, or was famous because of some fortunate or less fortunate circumstance. Tidbits of Janeš family history available online Nenad Menićanin gathered valuable data from various sources on the meaning, geography and genealogy of his ancestors, and published his findings on the internet. A new book published on the history of the noble Jelačić family Pavao Maček, a prominent Croatian historian, introduced the book "Noble clans of Jelačićs" in Zaprešić City Hall. Herzegovian village of Hardomilje and it's clans The most prominent clans and family names in the area are Bandur, Boras, Bubalo, Ćuže, Gadže, Grbavac, Ilić, Jelinić, Kravić, Mandić, Miloš, Rupčić and Vukšić. Vučetić nobility from Brinje and Senj The first mention of the Vuchetich surname can be traced back to a certain Bosnian nobleman Pribislav and his last will written at the second half of the 15th century. (14 Mar 2010) Bosnia-Herzegovina, an important area for genealogical research for Croats Vital records kept in local Catholic parishes have always been crucial in claims of Croats in the area about their identity and history. Pitomača family trees researched An interesting work about genealogy of residents of the Croatian town situated between Đurđevac and Virovitica had been published on the internet. Slavonian settlements with a significant German population By 1931, in about hundred settlements in eastern parts of Croatia lived about 20 thousand inhabitants of Germanic origin. Aristocracy of the Republic of Ragusa One of the oldest and most prominent aristocracies in the Mediterranean region had developed in 12th and 13th century in Dubrovnik region. Visiting Croatia (2): Accommodation We continue our series of articles about the country and it's people for genealogists preparing to visit Croatia and do the research. 19th century census as a source of genealogical data The oldest census in the areas of today's Croatia was performed in 1785, but the most valuable one was done in 1857. Visiting Croatia (1): Transportation If you plan to visit Croatia to do genealogy research, our series of articles on transportation, accomodation, telecommunications and the culture may help you as you prepare for the trip. Croatian genealogists invited to contribute Several interesting new colaborative internet technologies were presented in Zagreb, Croatia to those interested in research of Croatian records. Hrastovac vital records available online Up until the end of the World War II the settlement also known as Eichendorf had been a vibrant society, mostly inhabited by Germans.

By their noses shall they be recognized
Lidija Sambunjak
professional genealogist
People who want their family trees to be researched come from all around the world and it’s no wonder every one of them is different. But as special as family Sadar was, none were before them. (11 Oct 2011)