President Milanović Participates in 150th Anniversary Celebration of Organized Mountaineering in Croatia by Hiking up Klek Mountain
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović participated today in marking the 150th anniversary of organized mountaineering in Croatia organized by the Croatian Mountaineering Association (HPS) held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia.
“In 150 years spanning three centuries, with six different states and three social and political systems, not only did we survive but we formed a national alliance of more than 340 mountaineering associations with over 40,000 members. We have achieved valuable results, and we are especially proud that as volunteers we are helpful to the broader community. In celebrating our special anniversaries our patrons have always been our presidents: Tuđman in 1994, Stjepan Mesić in 2004, Ivo Josipović in 2014 and this year Zoran Milanović for which we thank him and especially for coming to Klek”, the President of the Croatian Mountaineering Association Darko Berljak stated in welcoming those who gathered at the mountain lodge on Klek Mountain.
The Croatian Mountaineering Association is celebrating the anniversary of mountaineering in Croatia with a number of mountaineering events in 2024. The celebration began with the ascent of Klek near Ogulin in memory of an event 150 years ago when, in 1874, Professor Johannes Frischauf from Graz proposed to Vladimir Mažuranić and Bude Budisavljević that a mountaineering association be founded in Croatia in that area.
As the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service was founded in 1950 in the scope of the Croatian Mountaineering Association, it developed strongly and has become a recognizable public rescue service not only in the mountains, but also in all non-urban terrains. Following the ceremony at the mountain lodge on Klek, representatives of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service performed are a demonstration exercise.
Accompanying President Milanović on the ascent to the mountain lodge on Klek were the president of the “Klek” Croatian Mountaineering Association Zdenko Trninić and the mayor of Ogulin Dalibor Domitrović as well as the Head of the Office of the President Orsat Miljenić.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta