Karlovac Freshwater Aquarium Aquatika has been visited by half a million visitors so far

The main tourist attraction of the city of Karlovac - the freshwater aquarium Aquatika - welcomed its half-millionth visitor in its eighth year of successful operation!

Maja and Iva Pejčić and Tonka and Vedran Vučičić arrived from Zagreb, and on Saturday, May 11, there were 500.000 visitors who walked into this unique institution that combines education, entertainment, care for the environment and the local community.

At Aquatica, they were greeted with a surprise and gifts presented to them by the Mayor of Karlovac, Damir Mandić, the Director of Aquatica, Margarita Maruškić Kulaš, and popular radio host, Karlovac native Dario Maradin.

A faithful depiction of the natural wealth and biological diversity of Croatian rivers, lakes and wetlands uniquely reveals the secrets of the life of the river world that lie beneath the surface. 

In the aquarium complex located On the very banks of the Korana River, which blends in wonderfully with the surrounding nature, 25 aquariums house around 100 species of fish, which is as much as two-thirds of the wealth of the Croatian river world, the richest in terms of the number of freshwater fish in Europe.

Among them are trout, carp, bream, pike, catfish, bream, as well as chubs and walleyes, which are accompanied by attractive sturgeons, which are among the oldest and regionally extinct fish species.

"We have been achieving excellent results for years and organizing numerous events that attract visitors from all over Croatia, the region, and all countries of the world throughout the year. When we remember that at the beginning we expected about 12.000 visitors per year, we are overjoyed with the half a million visitors we have achieved", said the director of Aquatics Margarita Maruškić Kulaš and thanked all visitors, employees and fellow citizens for their trust and visits.

One of the most successful projects in Croatia financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds has included local producers since its inception.

Around sixty craftsmen make the aquarium souvenir shop a unique place to promote Karlovac and the entire Karlovac region, which contains around 400 different types of souvenirs, among which you can even find the popular Karlovac fog.

The aquarium souvenir shop encourages the work of local artists, craftsmen, family farms, and home crafts, which visitors ultimately appreciate and reward with their purchases.

The fascinating fish world is also enriched by the Green Library, a separate department of the "Ivan Goran Kovačić" Karlovac City Library, which, in its first year of operation, was listed among the seven best green libraries in the world, competing with libraries from China, the USA, Portugal, Spain and Germany.

Recently, the rich offer has been complemented by an evolutionary infographic that allows visitors to explore the history of the origin of fish, which are also the first vertebrates to appear on Earth.

An equally significant part of the employees' work is cooperation with the scientific sector, and Aquatika makes its contribution to the international network of UNESCO Water Museums and to the European network of scientific museums and ECSITE centers.

Author of photos: Denis Stošić