Legends of the Plitvice Valleys bring history back beneath the walls of Drežnik Old Town on 26 June
On Friday, 26 June 2026, near the tower of Drežnik Old Town, the event Legends of the Plitvice Valleys will take place, a programme that connects history, oral tradition and family evening entertainment at one of the most recognisable historical locations in the surroundings of the Plitvice Lakes. According to the announcement by the Plitvice Valleys Tourist Board, the event begins at 6 p.m., while the official event calendar lists its duration until 10 p.m. Through costumed presentations, visitors will get to know the Serežani, Eugen Kvaternik, the Japods and the character of the Korana River, while a series of games, workshops, a search for Frankopan treasure and the play “Captain Bježo and Our Lady of Sugar” have been announced for children. The organisers are also announcing a gastronomic offer, and the musical part of the evening will be handled by the duo Tea & Jan. The event is intended for a broad audience, from families with children to travellers who want to get to know the Plitvice Lakes area beyond its best-known natural views.
The event is held in Drežnik Grad, in the municipality of Rakovica, in the immediate vicinity of the area recognised in tourism communication as the Plitvice Valleys. This is an important note because the name of the event relies on a wider destination identity, while the location itself is a historic fortress above the Korana River. For visitors planning to stay longer than one evening, especially because of the proximity of Plitvice Lakes National Park and other local excursion sites, it is useful to check in time the accommodation offers in the surroundings of the Plitvice Lakes. According to the organisers’ announcement, the programme combines education and entertainment, but it does not rely only on the scenic impression: the characters appearing in the programme are connected with different layers of this area’s history, from the prehistoric Japods and the medieval fortress to the Military Frontier and the Rakovica Revolt.
An evening in which local history becomes a public programme
The central idea of the event is that historical figures, military groups, ancient peoples and natural motifs are not presented only as data from books, but as characters who tell visitors their own stories. According to the post by the Plitvice Valleys Tourist Board, visitors will be welcomed by the Serežani, Eugen Kvaternik, a Japod and the personified character of the Korana River. Such an approach is especially suitable for a family programme because it turns historical themes into conversation, play and a staged encounter. Children will be able to take part in workshops and games, while the announced search for Frankopan treasure introduces them to the world of medieval motifs without a dry lecture. The play “Captain Bježo and Our Lady of Sugar” further expands the children’s part of the programme, while the evening performance by the musical duo Tea & Jan gives the event a more relaxed closing tone.
In the event calendar, the organisers state that the programme includes children’s content, games, face painting, a play and a performance by a musical duo, and they particularly emphasise that it is content for all generations. In practice, this means that the event is not conceived only as a historical reconstruction, but as a public gathering in which cultural heritage is used as a framework for socialising. In recent years, this model has been appearing more and more often in European destinations that want to connect local history with more sustainable, slower and richer tourism in terms of content. Instead of keeping visitors only at the level of photographing the location, the programme introduces them to stories that explain why a particular place is important. In the case of Drežnik, that context is particularly strong because the fortress was for centuries a point of defence, changes of rule and encounters between different historical layers.
Drežnik Old Town as the natural stage of the event
Drežnik Old Town was not chosen by chance. According to information from the Plitvice Valleys Tourist Board, it is a defensive fortress from the 12th century that protected this part of Europe from Ottoman incursions for centuries. The same source states that, because of its strategically important position, Drežnik often changed rulers throughout history, while its walls still bear witness today to the turbulent past of the area along the Korana. The position of the fortress, on an elevation and with a view towards the river, gives the event a visual framework that would be difficult to achieve indoors. When historical characters appear beneath the walls, the story of the border, defence, trade, routes and everyday life becomes more concrete and easier for the reader to understand.
In tourism descriptions, Drežnik is often presented as the historical guardian of the Plitvice Valleys, and its wider area is connected with walking, cycling and excursion routes. This is also important for visitors who want to fit the event into a one-day or weekend stay. The Plitvice Lakes area is globally known above all for its natural heritage, but events such as this show that there is also a rich cultural and historical layer in the surroundings of the national park. Drežnik Old Town functions as a bridge between the natural landscape and human history: on one side stands the Korana River, and on the other the layers of defensive architecture, Military Frontier history and local traditions. Precisely for this reason, this event can also attract visitors who have already toured the lakes but want to better understand the wider area in which they find themselves.
Serežani, Japods and Korana: characters who explain the layers of the region
One of the most interesting elements of the programme is the appearance of the Serežani, historical soldiers connected with the area of the Military Frontier. The Croatian Encyclopaedia of the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography states that a serežanin, or serežan, was a soldier of a Serežani company in the Military Frontier, and that such units were established after the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 and existed until the demilitarisation of the Military Frontier in 1873. The encyclopaedic description also emphasises that the Serežani were elite, irregular military units who, instead of a classic uniform, wore folk costume. In the context of the event, their staged portrayal brings visitors closer to the time when borders, guarding routes and defending fortresses strongly shaped the everyday life of the population. In this way, local military history is not reduced to dates, but is connected with clothing, equipment, speech and the position of people who lived on the border of large political systems.
The programme also includes the character of a Japod, which takes the story much further back into the past. Plitvice Lakes National Park, in its presentation of cultural and historical heritage, states that the wider park area has been inhabited since prehistory and that in prehistoric times the Japods lived in this area from the 12th to the 1st century BC. The Croatian Encyclopaedia describes the Japods as a people who, during the period of Roman rule, inhabited the area of Lika, the Ogulin-Plašćanska valley and Pounje, with a rich material culture known for grave finds, jewellery, weapons and Japod caps. In the programme of Legends of the Plitvice Valleys, this prehistoric layer receives a recognisable staged form, which is especially valuable because the oldest periods of local history often remain less visible to the wider public. The character of the Korana River, meanwhile, introduces the natural element without which neither the landscape nor life beside Drežnik can be understood, because the river was at once a spatial marker, a source of life and part of the fortress’s defensive logic.
Eugen Kvaternik and the memory of the Rakovica Revolt
Eugen Kvaternik, a politician and one of the best-known figures of the Croatian 19th century, has a special place in the announced programme. The Croatian Encyclopaedia states that the Rakovica Revolt was an uprising for the secession of Croatia from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, carried out from 8 to 11 October 1871 by Eugen Kvaternik and his associates around Rakovica near Slunj, in the area of the Military Frontier. The encyclopaedic account of Kvaternik’s biography states that, on the eve of the revolt, he established a Provisional Croatian National Government with ministers, but that most of the rebels, including Kvaternik himself, were killed. Including Kvaternik in the programme is therefore not merely local decoration, but a reminder of one of the most symbolic episodes in the political history of the area around Rakovica. Since the event is held in the same wider region, such a character gives the event additional historical weight.
For an international or younger visitor, the Rakovica Revolt may be less familiar than the Plitvice Lakes or medieval fortresses, but precisely for that reason public programmes can have an educational role. It is important, however, that such themes are presented clearly and without oversimplification, because the 19th century in the area of the Habsburg, or Austro-Hungarian, Monarchy includes complex relations between national movements, military structures and political reforms. In journalistic and interpretive terms, Kvaternik in the programme opens the question of how local events can have broader political significance. His appearance alongside the Serežani, the Japod and Korana shows that Legends of the Plitvice Valleys does not build its story around only one epoch, but around a series of historical layers. Precisely this breadth may be the strongest asset of the event, because visitors are offered a journey from prehistory to the modern political age.
The proximity of the national park strengthens the tourism significance of the event
The wider area of the Plitvice Lakes is one of the best-known natural destinations in this part of Europe. The public institution Plitvice Lakes National Park states that the Plitvice Lakes are the oldest and largest national park in Croatia, proclaimed on 8 April 1949. The same official source emphasises that the process of tufa formation, by which tufa barriers and lakes are created, is the unique universal value because of which the Plitvice Lakes were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 26 October 1979. Such status attracts a large number of visitors from different countries, but cultural events in the surroundings of the park can help ensure that attention is not focused only on the main walking routes beside the lakes. They encourage longer stays, a more balanced distribution of interest and a better acquaintance with places located outside the best-known panoramic points.
In that sense, Legends of the Plitvice Valleys is an example of an event that complements the natural attractiveness of the destination with cultural content. Visitors planning a tour of the national park can connect the evening programme in Drežnik Grad with a daytime excursion, a tour of nearby routes or a visit to other local attractions. For families with children, it is especially practical that the programme begins in the early evening hours, while the official calendar envisages it lasting until 10 p.m. Travellers arriving from more distant places are advised to plan their arrival, parking and overnight stay in advance, especially during the period of increased summer traffic towards the Plitvice Lakes. In that context, it is natural to check accommodation near Drežnik Old Town and the Plitvice Lakes, but the event itself remains above all a cultural and historical event, not a tourism sales presentation.
The children’s programme as a key to the sustainable transmission of heritage
The children’s content in the announcement is not an incidental addition, but an important part of the event concept. Games, workshops, face painting, a search for Frankopan treasure and a theatrical performance make it possible to present history to younger audiences through participation, not only through observation. Such a format can be more effective than classic guided tours because children more easily remember characters, tasks and the spaces in which they moved. A treasure hunt, for example, encourages attention and movement, while costumed encounters create a clear emotional connection with the theme. When history is learned in the space where it happened or where it is at least deeply rooted, there is a greater possibility that visitors will understand the relationship between place, people and stories.
The family character of the event at the same time helps the local community view cultural heritage not only as a static past, but as a resource for contemporary public life. Food, music and informal socialising are part of that experience because they create a reason for visitors to stay, talk and connect with the location. According to the organisers’ announcement, there will be no shortage of good food during the evening, while the musical duo Tea & Jan should provide a pleasant atmosphere. Such elements do not diminish the historical theme, but give it a rhythm suited to an outdoor summer event. When the programme is well balanced, educational content and entertainment do not have to be opposites, but can complement each other.
Practical information for visitors
According to the official announcement, Legends of the Plitvice Valleys will be held on Friday, 26 June 2026, from 6 p.m. near the tower of Drežnik Old Town. The official event calendar lists the time as 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and highlights the Plitvice Valleys Tourist Board as the organiser. The same calendar states that the event is held with the financial support of the Croatian National Tourist Board. Since this is an outdoor event at a historical location, it is reasonable for visitors to check the latest announcements by the organisers before arriving, especially in the event of changed weather conditions or programme adjustments. For families with children, it is useful to plan an earlier arrival so that the youngest visitors have time to take part in workshops and games before the later evening segment.
- Date: Friday, 26 June 2026.
- Start of the programme: 6 p.m.
- Planned duration according to the official calendar: until 10 p.m.
- Location: Drežnik Old Town tower, Drežnik Grad, Plitvice Valleys area.
- Programme: costumed presentations of the Serežani, Eugen Kvaternik, a Japod and Korana, children’s games and workshops, a search for Frankopan treasure, the play “Captain Bježo and Our Lady of Sugar”, food and a performance by the duo Tea & Jan.
For a destination globally recognised for its lakes, waterfalls and tufa barriers, an event like this is a reminder that the identity of a place is not built only on nature. The area around the Plitvice Lakes can equally be read through fortresses, rivers, Military Frontier history, prehistoric communities and local traditions. Legends of the Plitvice Valleys is therefore not only an announcement of one summer evening, but also an example of how cultural heritage can be presented to an audience seeking content, clarity and an experience of place. If the programme remains faithful to the announced combination of history, family activities, food and music, Drežnik Old Town on 26 June becomes a stage on which the wider Plitvice region shows itself from a different, livelier perspective.
Sources:
- Plitvice Valleys Tourist Board – announcement of the Legends of the Plitvice Valleys event on 26 June, with the programme, characters and musical segment (link)
- Plitvice Valleys Tourist Board – official event calendar with time, location, organiser and note on the support of the Croatian National Tourist Board (link)
- Plitvice Valleys Tourist Board – description of Drežnik Old Town and its historical significance (link)
- Public institution Plitvice Lakes National Park – official information on national park status and UNESCO inscription (link)
- Public institution Plitvice Lakes National Park – overview of cultural and historical heritage and information on prehistoric settlement and the Japods (link)
- Croatian Encyclopaedia, Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography – entry on the Japods (link)
- Croatian Encyclopaedia, Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography – entry on the Serežani (link)
- Croatian Encyclopaedia, Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography – entries on the Rakovica Revolt and Eugen Kvaternik (link; link)