In the strategic documents for the development of tourism in Varaždin County the themes of rest and recuperation and the use of the sulfur thermal mineral water were positioned since 1997. The ...sensitive topic of health tourism has been formulated by the Committee for Health Tourism of the Croatian Academy of Medical Sciences since 1994. In order to understand the term of health tourism, attention is drawn to the following components of the general phenomenology of tourism, such as tourist destination, tourism resources, tourist attractions (potential and real), basic classification of tourist motives/activities, and finally, the misunderstanding of the words tourists, daily visitors, and tourism. Health tourism is a subsystem of the general tourism system that highlights its special features with regard to maintaining and improving health: the type and distribution of natural remedies in the area, the development of natural health resorts and sanatoriums, and the concept of the health tourism destination. Varaždinske Toplice are a concrete example of the high quality spring of natural remedies (sulfur thermal mineral water). Its thermal springs has become the backbone of the two-thousand-year-long development of this prominent health resort, from the Roman Times to modern complex of the Special Hospital for Medical Rehabilitation. The possibilities for further development of health tourism in the Varaždin County were also investigated, especially through the available resources by identifying all natural remedies. Key natural remedies include thermal mineral water, which is sulfuric in Varaždinske Toplice and salty in Lunjkovec in the far east of the county. The sulfur thermal mineral water of Varaždinske Toplice has been used for a very long time, and has the potential to support the development of health tourism throughout the county. However, for the practical application of the Lunjkovec thermal mineral water, several obstacles from other sectors need to be solved, particularly energy. The third natural remedy is the peak area of Mt. Ivanščica, which has special geological features, as well as a mountain climate. Only Varaždinske Toplice have ensured full accessibility of its natural remedies (sulfur thermal mineral water and peloid) to tourists. The other two springs of natural remedies, the area of Mt. Ivanščica peak (mountain climate) and Lunjkovec near Ludbreg (salty thermal mineral water), are still inaccessible to health and tourism.
The spring of the sulphuric thermal mineral water Klokot, in the municipal garden of Varaždinske Toplice (Varaždin Spa) has, for over 2000 years, formed the healing, medical and cultural history of ...this spa-town. Most of this healing water comes from the water catchment area of the mountain range of Kalnik and the eastern slopes of Ivanščica which, to its thermal spring of Klokot, has travelled for more than 40.000 years.
Sulphuric baths, the basic spa and health attraction of the Varaždinske Toplice was at the core of the human settlement of this area, evolving from the first ancient settlement – Roman baths Aquae Iasae, from I to IVth century. From the medieval times to the modern era, the town was the property of the Roman Catholic archbishop of Zagreb (1181 to 1945). During its golden era, from 1838 to 1914, Varaždinske Toplice followed the same development trajectory as the other fashionable European spa towns. Furthermore, in 1936, the excavations of the remains of the roman Aquae Iasae situated around the Klokot spring started. The end of the World War II, with its major social and economic changes, marked yet another stage of the Varaždinske Toplice development. The spa-complex was turned into the Hospital for rheumatic diseases and rehabilitation in 1963. Three years later, in 1966, the Hydrotherapy facilities were added, followed by the hotel Therapy (250 beds) in 1973 and much larger hotel Minerva (588 beds) in 1981.
The another turning point for the Varaždinske Toplice development happened in 1991, with the onset of the Homeland war, when the hospital was mostly treating the wounded soldiers and has, thus, got its official status as the Special hospital for medical rehabilitation Varaždinske Toplice. Later on, this period will become known as the transition era that has ended in an economic recession. In spite of the economic difficulties, the Water park Minerva was added during that time and the new Hydrotherapy complex was completed. As a consequence of ambitious and continuous excavation program of the roman Aquae Iasae, the municipal museum was renovated and modernised, and the archaeological site conserved and interpreted.
Against this context, significant and diverse attractions related to baths, medical treatments and cultural heritage of the Varaždinske Toplice are identified and evaluated in order to provide foundations for attractions on which two new tourism products – health tourism and cultural tourism - can be created, both aligned well with the funding policy of the EU.
Although tourism attractions are a basic resource for long term tourism developments, they are not given the proper attention, both, theoretical and practical. Therefore, rare studies of tourism ...attractions, especially those with the ambition of creating a functional system of tourism attractions, attract special attention. The aim of this paper is to present a new system of tourism attractions. This new system is based on the review of published research on tourism attractions, particularly those dealing with their definitions, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, it is the result of the research agenda with an aim to propose functional classification of tourism attractions and test it through the series of case studies. This newly proposed system provides a number of novel features: it has developed an innovative tourism system in part dealing with the tourist destination (with an emphasis on tourism attractions); it ensures the functionality of their internal attraction structure, but also with all aspects of the wider tourism system; it is useful tool for many processes in the tourism theory and practice; it contains a functional classification of tourism attractions and a method of determining their characteristics; it offers a three-dimensional model showing the internal connection between components of this system. All these features are overshadowed by its capabilities to serve as the basis for creating a Tourism Cadastre, initially and, especially, the Cadastre of tourism attractions.
The academician Mirko Malez was not only born in Ivanec, but as a mountaineer and lover of nature, he was deeply attached to Ivanec and Ivanščica, and to the entire area of Ivanec. In return, Ivanec ...included him in several volumes of Ivanec calendar. After his death, his name was assigned to one of four streets of Ivanec cross road, the one which leads from the centre of town to Lepoglava.
In Ivanec calendars, a kind of „encyclopedia of Ivanec” he is mentioned in a different context, i.e. among the famous people of the area of Ivanec as well as in the Annexes to the bibliography of Ivanec. He is inevitable as the author of numerous papers on Paleolithic, Neolithic and Vindija Cave. Special attention should also be paid to the articles of deceased Marija Poje, his collaborator and native of Ivanec as well. Finally, Ivanec calendar bid the last goodbye to Mirko Malez with the paper of distinguished academician Milan Herak.
Masovni i globalno rasprostranjeni turizam izaziva sve više konfliktnih situacija u prostoru. Za potrebe nadolazećeg "novog" turizma autor je, na osnovi testiranja kroz petnaestak projekata u ...Institutu za turizam (Zagreb), predložio izvorni koncept funkcionalne klasifikacije potencijalnih i realnih turističkih atrakcija u funkciji planiranja održivog razvoja turizma te zaštite prostora i okoliša.
Autor konstatira kako je krajem 2000. godine započeo elementarni
proces pridruživanja Republike Hrvatske Europskoj Uniji te upozorava
na golemu razliku između standarda koji se odnose na razvoj, ...uređenje i zaštitu ruralnog prostora u Europskoj Uniji i onih u Hrvatskoj. Za dosizanje europskih standarda na tom području nisu dovoljne samo masovne i kampanjske akcije. Bez poznavanja
kompleksne problematike i ciljanih akcija, nemoguće je hrvatski ruralni prostor približiti ruralnom prostoru razvijenih europskih zemalja ni fizički ni duhovno. Korijeni drastičnog hrvatskog zaostajanja su mnogobrojni, raznoliki i tvrdokorni. Razlike su
poglavito posljedica specifičnosti povijesnog razvoja, s podjednakim
gospodarskim, sociokulturnim i prostornim sastavnicama, s uporištima
u legislativi, ali i u sustavu obrazovanja znanstvenika i stručnjaka koji
je još uvijek opterećen preživjelim stereotipima. O nekim se uzrocima
i aspektima takvog stanja rijetko raspravlja i rijetko se podrobnije
istražuju. Autor upravo njima posvećuje osobitu pozornost, primjerice, definiciji ruralnog prostora, njegovu jezičnom određenju,
planskoj negaciji ruralnog prostora, »urbanizaciji« sela, fragmentaciji
seljačkog posjeda, kompleksu kolektivizacije i industrijalizacije, dominaciji logike modela PIK-ova (poljoprivredno-industrijski kombinati), preprekama okrupnjavanju seljačkih
gospodarstava, istini o depopulaciji ruralnog prostora, te kompleksu:
ruralni turizam, ekološka poljoprivreda, kućna radinost (narodno
rukorvorstvo), iskustvima i konceptu održivog razvoja ruralnog prostora razvijenih zemalja i razlozima nejakih učinaka sličnih inicijativa u Hrvatskoj.
Vrelo sumporne termomineralne vode Klokot u gradskom parku Varaždinskih Toplica pokretač je 2000 godina duge kupališne, lječilišne i kulturne povijesti ovog lječilišnog mjesta. Pretežiti dio ...spomenute ozdravljujuće vode dolazi s oborinskih površina Kalnika i istočnih obronaka Ivanščice, koja do topličkog izvora putuje više od 40.000 godina. Sumporna kupelj, temeljna kupališna i lječilišna privlačnost Varaždinskih Toplica, bila je egzistencijalna i kulturna osnovica za razvoj ovog naselja, početno antičkog naselja, rimskih termi Aquae Iasae, od I. do IV. stoljeća, pa sve do današnjih dana. Slijedilo je gospodarenje Zagrebačkog kaptola od 1181. do 1945. godine, sa zlatnim razdobljem od 1838. do 1914. godine – kada su Varaždinske Toplice bile na razini sličnih europskih mondenih topličkih kupališta i lječilišta. Godine 1936. započinju istraživanja bogatog arheološkog nalazišta antičkog naselja Aquae Iasae koje se razvilo uz samo vrelo Klokot. Po završetku II. svjetskog rata nastaju velike društvene promjene i započinje novi ciklus razvoja ovog lječilišnog mjesta. Lječilište se pretvara u Bolnicu za reumatske bolesti i rehabilitaciju (1963.), gradi se Hidroterapija (1966.), dovršava se novi hotel Terapija s 250 postelja (1973.) te hotel Minerva s 588 novih postelja (1981.). Godina 1991. donosi novo razdoblje koje započinje ratom, koji u Varaždinske Toplice dovodi ranjenike i stvara potrebu da te godine bolnica dobije status Specijalne bolnice (Specijalna bolnica za medicinsku rehabilitaciju Varaždinske Toplice). Ovo će se razdoblje kasnije nazivati tranzicijom te će završiti ekonomskom krizom. Usprkos svemu, u tom su razdoblju izgrađeni Vodeni park Minerva i nova Hidroterapija, a dovršava se preuređenje Zavičajnog muzeja Varaždinske Toplice uz opsežna istraživanja antičkog naselja Aquae Iasae te njegovu konzervaciju i interpretaciju. Značajne i raznolike kupališne, lječilišne i kulturne privlačnosti Varaždinskih Toplica sistematizirane su i vrednovane kako bi mogle poslužiti kao atrakcijska osnova za kreiranje dva nova turistička proizvoda, zdravstvenog i kulturnog turizma, koji mogu biti i predmet interesa Europske unije.
