© Igor Tomljenović / Sisak-Moslavina County Tourist Board
© City of Hrvatska Kostajnica / Sisak-Moslavina County TB
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© Sandra Tralić / City of Hrvatska Kostajnica / Sisak-Moslavina County TB
© City of Hrvatska Kostajnica / Sisak-Moslavina County Tourist Board
1 5 A view of the city of Hrvatska Kostajnica and the Una River; 2 3 The Zrinski Old Town; 4 The old center of Hrvatska Kostajnica; 6 The "Broken Landscape" memorial installation.
© Ivan Pavičić / City of Hrvatska Kostajnica / Sisak-Moslavina County Tourist Board ...................................................
SISAK-MOSLAVINA COUNTY
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Text: Željka Kunštek
Experience Croatia
Following the path of water, forests, and chestnuts The Banovina-Pounje region is a starting point for new tourism stories that are just waiting to be discovered.
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tipTravelMagazine June 2023 - May 2024
n the southern part of continental Croatia, in the Banovina-Pounje region, where nature created a breathtakingly beautiful landscape, and people, who have lived there harmoniously for centuries, have enriched it with their hard work, new attractive tourism stories are being developed presently. It is an area shaped by the Una and Sunja rivers, water springs, and forests that beckon you to go on a bike ride, take a walk, or hike through that hilly-mountainous landscape. Famous inhabitants of the forests there are chestnut trees, and the locals use the nuts to prepare various dishes, and there has been a festival held in honor of that delicious forest fruit for more than twenty years in the city of Hrvatska Kostajnica (which was named after the chestnut - "kesten") named Kestenijada (October 6-8, 2023), famous even beyond the borders of Croatia. At the three-day festival, for which it is truly worth making the trip to the town on an island in the middle of the Una River, there are plenty of treats:
including everything from gastronomy to entertainment. Performances by folk dance groups, concerts, old-fashioned games and old trades, various activities for all generations, and plenty of fun are all reasons to come. Although it is the most famous, the Kestenijada isn't the only event in the area. The international "Una Regata - Lađom niz Unom" regatta, Polenta festival, Fisherman's Night, Mardi Gras, Una Art Colony, and the Labor Day Cycling Festival are just some of the events with which the locals attract many tourists to their area. Whichever reason to visit the Banovina-Pounje area you choose, don't miss out on visiting at least some of the cultural sites of the area such as the medieval fortress of the Zrinski Old Town. Hike up to the top of Čukur Mountain and see Hrvatska Kostajnica and the Una Valley through a large, cracked photo lens. The "Broken Landscape" memorial was installed there in memory of Gordan Lederer, a photographer killed in the Homeland War, who took his last shots from that viewpoint.