The Public Institution Barać Caves has been granted nearly HRK 20 million for the Visitor Centre ‘Home of the Cave’ from the European Cohesion Fund.
Investment value: HRK 19,908,960.00 + VAT, of which HRK 16,922,616.00 are non-refundable funds (the support intensity is 85%)
An agreement has been signed on non-refundable funds for the project ‘Promotion of the Sustainable Development of the Significant Landscape of Barać Caves’, funds from the fund: KK.06.1.2.02.0016
Tender: ‘Promotion of the Sustainable Development of Natural Heritage’
ABOUT THE VISITOR CENTRE
What will the Home of the Cave look like?
The main attraction and entry point of the project is the visitor centre, which contains: presentation/museum units, a speleological educational centre with a depot and library, a multi-purpose multimedia hall, a hospitality establishment, office spaces, a children’s playground, a souvenir shop, a cloakroom and an outdoor area with presentation points and parking lot, with a total area of 2000 m2.
The goals that have been set in the development of the visitor centre were to improve the infrastructure for visitors and present the cultural and natural values of the locality in a unique, innovative and appealing way, to provide tours for visitors with special needs and to create state-of-the-art infrastructure for holding all kinds of educational and recreational activities and other related added value.
The use of modern technologies in order to create an experience that will interpret the natural and cultural heritage is a given, which will represent a very large step in evoking times past in the modern era. In addition to this, the project of the construction of the Home of the Cave will encourage an interest in culture and nature among the local population and raise awareness on the importance of environmental preservation and sustainable interaction between man and nature.
Located underground as an authentic representation of nature
The building has been planned in a way to reflect the locality that it is presenting, and due to this reason it is located underground. Two larger thematic units distinguish themselves –general biological – geomorphological topics on the locality which are covered on the ground floor of the structure, and a “showroom” of sorts. In this manner, visitors will first gain a perception of the topics and familiarise themselves with the basic terms and characteristics and then, after descending to the subterranean level of the centre, they will have the opportunity to experience everything they have learned for themselves through a variety of multimedia presentations, sensory chambers and other interactive exhibits.
STATEMENT OF THE DIRECTOR:
It is projects such as these that leave a great mark and finally put into operation some of our most beautiful and valuable resources, such as natural heritage. We, the people who manage protected areas, bear the great responsibility of putting resources into operation in the service of sustainable development and creating new jobs and economic activities.
It makes me happy that the great potential of our project has been recognised, as this represents a huge step forward for our community and opens the door to a wide variety of possibilities and opportunities for further growth and development. This is something that we must, and can do! All we need is the right opportunity and a bit of wind in our sails.
The execution of this project will directly contribute to increasing the number of the visitors of the locality, as well as raise awareness of the local population and visitors alike on the natural heritage of the municipality of Rakovica and the development of its tourist appeal as a destination for nature lovers.
PARTNER
Our partner in this project is the Public Institution of the Plitvice Lake National Park, and our mutual goal is to develop joint programmes and activities for the purpose of improving the management of visitors in our area. Creating new content will allow for the better distribution of visitors and, most importantly, directly create the conditions that are necessary to extend the stays of visitors at continental destinations. I wish to stress that our partner will help us in funding the implementation of the project, while cooperation between the two protected areas will represent an example of synergy in tourism and the successful planning of sustainable development.
A destination is created through the activity of all of its participants, and without synergy and coordination there can be no quality tourist products. The most important thing is that arrivals will not be motivated by accommodation, but by the high-quality, diverse and authentic content that is offered. Croatia’s one-of-a-kind parks and protected areas are our most valuable resource, one that must be responsibly and purposefully managed.
We are very pleased that the implementation of this project will mark the first step in achieving our mutual goals.
