2026 in Croatia
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Events
January
- 2 January – Two people die in a house fire in Glina.[1]
- 6 – 12 January – Heavy snowfall affects Croatia, disrupting travel and causing numerous injuries.[2] In Zagreb, hundreds of people are treated for fracture related injuries caused by icy conditions and an orange level weather warning is issued for the Zagreb region. A red weather warning is issued for the Osijek region.[3][4][5] In Knin, several villages are left without electricity and the start of classes in primary schools is postponed.[6]
- 7 January – Blessed Miroslav Bulešić Hospice is opened in Pula.[7]
- 9 January – The maternity hospital in Sinj is closed due to a low number of births.[8]
- 12 January – A woman dies of carbon monoxide poisoning in Zaprešić.[9]
- 29 January – Tomislav Ćorić is voted in as the new Minister of Finance by a vote of 76-52 in the Croatian Parliament. His predecessor, Marko Primorac becomes the vice president of the European Investment Bank.[10]
- 31 January – Marko Kovač and Vlado Razum are consecrated as auxiliary bishops of Zagreb in the Zagreb Cathedral by archbishop Dražen Kutleša.[11][12]
February
- 1 February – The Croatian men's handball team wins a bronze medal at the European Championship in Scandinavia.[13][14]
- 3 February – Up to 50,000 people gather at the Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb to celebrate the Croatian men's handball team's silver medal.[15]
- 6-15 February – Croatia participates at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics with 14 competitors in four sports.[16]
- 7 February – The Croatia national futsal team wins bronze at the European championship.[17]
- 18 February – The final identification of nine victims from the Croatian War of Independence, four of whom are Croatian defenders, is carried out at the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb.[18]
- 21 February – Demonstrations in Zagreb against a planned chicken farms complex near Sisak.[19]
- 23 February – A boat carrying migrants capsizes along the Una River near Hrvatska Kostajnica, killing a passenger.[20]
- 27 February
- The student dormitory of the Polytechnic in Bjelovar opens.[21]
- A worker dies at a construction site in the Zagreb neighborhood of Sveta Klara.[22]
- Croatian soldiers Stjepan Boni and Zvonimir Miljak are buried in Antunovac and at the Vukovar Memorial Cemetery, 36 years after their disappearance during the Croatian War of Independence and nine days after their exhumation.[23]
- 28 February – A 17-year-old boy dies after being hit by a train in a tunnel at the main railway station in Split.[24]
March
- 1 March – The Croatian Police's anti-explosive service removes a World War II anti-ship mine weighing 500 kg (1,100 lb), with more than 300 kg (660 lb) of explosives, from Rovinj's Lone Bay.[25]
- 2 March
- Employees of the Institute for Social Work in Split and Kaštela start a "white strike" (bijeli štrajk) due to a "lack of professional staff and administrative burden".[26]
- A German EMC anti-ship mine from World War II weighing 500 kg (1,100 lb) is found at a construction site in Pazin.[27]
- Fourteen people are injured in a fire at Bilice prison in Split.[28]
- Shooters Josip Sikavica, Miran Maričić and Petar Gorša win bronze in the team competition of the European Championship in Yerevan.[29]
- 3 March
- An earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale hits the Sisak area at 5:46 a.m. (CET).[30]
- The 17th Croatian Contingent (HRVCON) with 50 soldiers deploys to NATO's Forward Land Forces in Poland from the barracks in Knin.[31]
- Mayor of Nova Gradiška Vinko Grgić resigns.[32]
- Fourteen Croatian pilgrims return from the Holy Land by charter flight at Zagreb Airport amid the Israel-US attack on Iran.[33]
- USKOK arrests 19 suspects for corruption, two of whom are high-ranking officials of the HEP power company.[34]
- Croatian free diver Vitomir Maričić receives recognition from the World Apnea – AIDA International for the best free diver in 2025 by international ranking, while compatriot Petar Klovar finishes second.[35]
- Shooter Josip Sikavica becomes the European champion in the solo air rifle at the 2026 European Shooting Championships in Armenia.[36]
- 4 March
- An earthquake with an epicenter near Siverić (Drniš) measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale is recorded at 1:23 a.m. (CET)[37]
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs deploys four Croatia Airlines' aircraft to evacuate Croatian citizens in the United Arab Emirates due to the 2026 Iran war.[38]
- 6-15 March – Croatia participates at the Winter Paralympics in Milan-Cortina with five competitors in two sports.
- 10 March
- Stjepan Lakušić is re-elected as rector of the University of Zagreb.[39]
- A worker dies at a construction site in Tučepi.[40]
- 11 March – Fifty years of the play San i ludilo ('Dream and Madness') by Teatar &TD, adaptation of Tin Ujević's poetry.[41]
- 12-16 March – WTT Feeder 2026, international table tennis competition in Varaždin Arena.[42]
- 13 March – Pope Leo XIV appoints Msgr. Leopoldo Girelli as apostolic nuncio in Croatia.[43]
- 14 March – The National Shrine of Saint Joseph is proclaimed as a basilica minor at the Holy Mass celebrated by archbishop Dražen Kutleša.[44]
- 24 March
- As part of archaeological research in the area of the City Market in Vinkovci, archaeologists find 22 Roman graves.[45]
- During her official visit to Croatia, the President of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, meets with President Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.[46]
- 25 March – A worker dies in a quarry near Petrinja after being run over by a machine loading crushed stone.[47]
- 26 March – The bodies of two unknown males are found in the Paovo forest area, near the village of Soljani.[48]
- 30 March – The Croatia national under-19 football team qualifies for the UEFA Championship in Wales.[49]
- 31 March – A natural disaster is declared in Jastrebarsko.[50]
April
- 5-6 April – One person dies in a house fire in Peščenica.[51]
- 6 April – One person dies in Hum Košnički near Desinić following an accident with a kubura.[52]
- 7-8 April – The Directorate for Detainees and Missing People of the Ministry of Croatian Veterans exhumes the remains of 11 people killed at the end of World War II in the Split-Dalmatia County, nine of which are found in the Medviđa cave on Biokovo, near Zagvozd.[53]
- 9 April – An informal meeting of foreign ministers of the EU MED9 member states in Split.[54]
- 9-12 April – Gymnastic DOBRO World Cup 2026 in Gradski vrt Hall in Osijek, with gymnasts from 51 countries.[55]
- 12 April – The Croatian women's handball team qualifies for the European Championship in December.[56]
- 13-14 April – A wildfire breaks out in the protected ornithological reserve Orepak near Vid in the Neretva valley.[57]
- 13-15 April – Split Open, international wheelchair tennis tournament, in Firule Tennis Centre in Split.[58]
- 13 April – Taekwondoka Klara Uglešić wins a silver medal at the World Junior Championship.[59]
- 17 April – Judoka Iva Oberan wins a bronze medal at the European Championship in Tbilisi.[60]
- 21 April – One person dies in an explosion at an underpass in Split.[61]
- 22 April – A foreign national is found dead in Staro Selo Topusko.[62]
- 26 April – Boxer Gabrijel Veočić wins a silver medal at the World Cup in Brazil.[63]
- 27 April – At the "Depth Quest" competition in Mabini (Philippines), Croatian freediver Petar Klovar set two world records (FIM and CWTB), Vitomir Maričić won first place overall, Sanda Delija set a national record (CWTB), and Toma Čelar won the award for the greatest improvement.[64]
- 28-29 April – Three Seas Initiative's 11th Summit in Dubrovnik, with 1,600 state, financial and corporative representatives from 45 countries participating.[65][66]
- 28 April
- Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina sign an agreement to build the Southern Interconnection gas pipeline connecting Bosnia with the LNG terminal in Krk.[67]
- A mass grave with the remains of more than 50 victims from World War II and the post-war period was found in the Golubinka cave on Sopanj hill, in Šibenik-Knin County.[68]
- 29 April – International Democracy Union's Forum with 250 party representatives from around 50 countries is held in Zagreb.[69]
Predicted and scheduled events
- 26 April–3 May – Mediterranean Bowling Championships in Zaprešić.[70]
- 23–28 June –
- 13-18 August – 2026 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships
Deaths
January
- 2 January
- Nikša Stančić, 88, historian[73]
- Tomislav Sabljak, 92, writer[74]
- 9 January
- Josip Oslić, 73, philosopher[75]
- Miroslav Sinčić, 89, writer[76]
- 15 January – Ante Grgurević, 51, basketball player[77]
- 23 January – Dalibor Brun, 76, singer[78]
February
- 15 February – Goran Sukno, 66, water polo player[79]
- 25 February – Katja Marasović, 65, conservator[80]
March
- 14 March – Lovorka Čoralić, 58, historian[81]
- 16-17 March – Zlatko Šimenc, 88, water polo player[82]
April
- 5 April – Vlatko Cvrtila, 61, geopolitical analyst[83]
- 8 April – Srećko Bogdan, 70, footballer[84]
- 17 April – Franjo Plavšić, 80, toxicologist[85]
Holidays
Source:[86]
- 1 January – New Year's Day
- 6 January – Epiphany
- 5 April – Easter Sunday
- 6 April – Easter Monday
- 1 May – Labour Day
- 30 May - Statehood Day
- 4 June – Feast of Corpus Christi
- 22 June – Anti-Fascist Struggle Day
- 5 August – Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day
- 15 August – Assumption Day
- 1 November – All Saints' Day
- 18 November – Remembrance Day
- 25 December – Christmas Day
- 26 December – Saint Stephen's Day
