Corridor: Via Adriatica
Country: Croatia, Rijeka

City of Rijeka is known for its carnival festivities since the Middle Ages. Carnival customs of Rijeka are a particular blend of European middle-class carnivals, foremost Venetian and Austrian carnivals with elements of old Slavic folklore and mythology. Carnival events traditionally take place in squares and streets of the City regardless the weather conditions. Steeped in a hundred-year tradition, the International Carnival of Rijeka has recently become an acknowledged and impressive happening for the Town of Rijeka, its region and all of Croatia, attracting numerous individual masks, organized groups of masks, participants, spectators and the media. The International Carnival of Rijeka is a member of the Federation of European Carnival Cities - FECC. The height of the carnival festivities, taking place on the last Sunday of the Carnival, is the International Carnival Parade, a procession of masks and carnival customs of coastal and continental Croatia and abroad. The traditional International Rijeka Carnival - the pride of the people of Rijeka - is one of the largest and most acknowledged carnivals in Europe, hosting more than a thousand masks and over 100 000 spectators. The media has been covering this significant international event for years (more than 50 daily newspapers, 20 radio stations, numerous domestic and foreign TV stations). The Carnival of Rijeka could be viewed on the Internet. The INTERNATIONAL CARNIVAL OF RIJEKA will be teeming with cultural events, entertainment and sports. The beginning of carnival festivities will be officially proclaimed when the Mayor of Rijeka will hand over the keys of the town to the Carnival Master of Ceremonies, thus symbolically handing over the rule of the town to the masks. As legend has it, the boisterous merry-making of the masks will drive away the forces of evil, while evoking the arrival of spring and celebrating the creation of new life.