A brief overview of the development of naturism in Croatia and Slovenia, prepared for the INF International Naturist Congress in Slovenia, Banovci on October

7th, 2021. At the very beginning I would like to mention that the beginnings of naturism in the former Yugoslavia did not historically take place in Croatia, but initially in Slovenia. There is ample evidence of this and I will quote them in a few more statements. I would like to emphasize that this little chronicle of the nudist development in ex Yugoslavia, and today Slovenia and Croatia, is not a historically based story, but tells the story from my point of view and with arguments that I have collected and published over 50 years. Every addition and every new knowledge is always welcome. In the half an hour that I have at my disposal, I have written my script and divided it into thirty years. I will only, in my opinion, mention strategic years that determined the future of naturism as a lifestyle, either positively or negatively in former Yugoslavia and today Slovenia and Croatia. In 1855. The development of naturism, viewed as a movement in ex Yugoslavia, according to the previous investigations, we can attribute the first steps to Dr Arnold RIKLI, who founded an air and sunbathing facility in BLED (then Weldes) in 1885. Dr Arnold Rikli was then still known under the name “Sonnenarzt”. The basis of Dr. Rikli were the healings through water temperatures between 10C-20C. The healing was based on water, sun and air baths. In 1924 the first book about the naturist practice in Yugoslavia appeared in Ljubljana under the name “Sonnenbad”. The book was published by the author Ivo Zor in the publishing house “Der Lehrer Drueckerei” as a detailed work about hygiene and naturist practice. In 1927 an article by Ernesto Guido Gorischegg appeared in the paper “Fiama Italica (No. 7) about the first naturist areas in Innsbruck, Lugano and the island of Rab. In 1933. Under the influence of Black Friday of March 3,

1933, Hitler’s government banned naturism and dissolved all associations and nudist associations in Germany. Naturism was banned and the ban lasted until 1945. Due

Due to this ban, the island of Rab was the most visited nudist and tourist destination until 1940. and even more visited than Opatija and Dubrovnik as well-known tourist centers. In 1934. Rab is associated with the name of dr Richard Ehrmann from Vienna, the first chairman of the INF. He opened a naturist holiday oasis “on the paradise beach on the island of Rab. Later he was the godfather to the opening of the naturist centers Koversada in 1961 and Valalta (1969) and many others. In 1936. the English monarch Edward VIII bathed naked on the island of Rab Paradise Bay and so the name Paradise Bay was changed to English Bay. In 1949. Peter Joschy, then President of the naturist association “WFFKK” Vienna, founds the first naturist colony and leases 50 bed units in private accommodation on the island of Rab. In 1953 Ludwig Goetz, President of the BNV from Nuernberg, travels with the first naturist groups from Germany and camps near Opatija, Ika and Lovran. In 1955 we already had the first so-called “wild” naturist beaches on the islands of Pag, Orjule, Mali Lošinj and in 1956 also in Rovinj – LimFyord Valalta and Vrsar Koversada. In 1960 R. Halbig from Munich initiated the opening of the first naturist campsite in Croatia (then Yugoslavia) “Koversade”. Thanks to Halbig, Vrsar was launched in naturism. Between 1961 and 1971, 35 campsites were established in former Yugoslavia, especially Croatia and Montenegro from Savudrija to Ulcinj, with a reception capacity of 30,000 people Over 7 million nights. In 1972 the INF organized the international congress for the first time in a socialist state. In the same year the naturist association in Yugoslavia was founded on my initiative and Regjep Tofani from Ljubljana Slovenia was elected as the first president. In the same year the second association was founded in Solaris under the name Naturisteoraganisation Yugoslavia (President Vladimir Novak Journalist). After that, in 1977, due to the new law on associations, other sections of the ex YU FKK FEDERATION were founded:

– Naturist Association “Gorenjska” Kranj – President Vladimir Lah – Naturist Association “To Nature” Ljubljana – President Miklavž Knez – Naturist Association “The Coast” Koper – President Nina Potočnik – Naturist Association “Venera” Celje – President: Stane Smrečnik In 1978 “Naturist Association of Croatia” – President Vladimir Novak Naturist Association of Serbia – President L. Čolaković In 1982. The first naturist bath inland ex Yugoslavia was opened in Maribor on the “Island near Maribor”, as well as an association in Slovenia, the “Naturist Association Island near Maribor”. In 1983, one late autumn day 1983, at 12 o’clock in the morning, Giueseppe Giradelli, President of the naturist association “Anita” Milano

from Italy, called me after a long phone ring and as excited as someone who has made his old dream come true: “Ce lo fata, Ce lo fata “I did it, I did it. In the following year, 1984, a nudist camp called Pizzo Grecco was set up in the Capo Rizzuto area. And with this I would like to give a comparison as an example of how naturism is unfortunately no longer understood as correctly in Croatia as it is in Italy, where one started later and continued development in the spirit of naturism. The naturists – Italians and foreigners – will bring Italian naturism “as dowry” 1 million 6 thousand attendances and a turnover of 54 million 240 thousand euros, says a recent JFC INSTITUTE STUDY by Massimo Ferruzzi from Faenza. A number that may seem considerable, but in reality it is far from the real potential of a market segment that could generate 4 million 10,000 presences and a turnover – always potential – of 216 million 252 thousand – a potential three times as much! What would ancient Latins say: sapienti sat or: sufficient for a clever man? Importance of naturism for HR Combined: Naturism importance for the economy of the country: Over the past 70 years have traveled through Croatia: 50 MILLION NATURISTS (OR IN COMPARISON ALL OF POLAND WITH POPULATION THROUGH CROATIAN NATURIST CENTERS) FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD 8 days average stay 400 million overnight stays and 15 billion euros or 100 billion Croatian kuna income (turn over) What is ONE annual budget of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. Who are naturists – national structure -% differences within 40 years? 1982 2019. FKK-TXT FKK-TXT Germany 60.00 39.00 55.00 33.00 Slovenia 15.00 9.00 6.00 7.45 Austria 9.00 13.00 15.00 9.70 Netherlands 4, 00 5.50 6.00 9.60 France 2.00 4.10 2.00 1.20 Italy 2.00 9.20 4.00 7.50 Others 8.00 21.20 12.00 33.50 ————————————————– —————- Total 100.00% 100.00% The national structure of naturists shows a decrease in Slovenian visitors and an increase in Austrian visitors, while the proportion of German naturists has remained almost the same. We only have 3 percent

native Croatian naturists, which is negligible in relation to the habits and number of people in Croatia who travel (44%). In summary, it can be said that Croatia is particularly dependent on the German-speaking area for nudism. AN OVERVIEW OF THE NATURIST CENTERS OF CROATIA 2021. with reference to 1987. and comparisons after 60 years 1. Time dynamics of building: from 1960 Koversade (beginning of 1934 Rab) 2. The number of so-called “textile tourist centers” with nudist beaches: (1980: 34 today 18) 3. The number of so-called “wild nudist beaches”: today more than 100 (1980: 40) 4.Number of nudist camps 10 (1980: 32) 5.Number of naturist hotels and resorts 3 (1987 11) 6. Area of the nudist camps in m2 7,220,000 (1980 9,220,000) 7.Number of places in nudist camps 20,720 (80: 52,100) 8.Number of overnight stays in nudist camps 2,584,000 (80, 3.6 million) 9.Number of beds in naturist resorts and hotels 4,584 (80

8,368) 10.Number of overnight stays in naturist resorts and hotels 1,750,000 (80: 6,930,340) So a selective tourism segment that doesn’t age and a lifestyle that still has its supporters. This is also proven by the INF initiative but also by LSK “Let’s save Koversade” from Graz Austria, which fights for the island of Koversade as a nudist synonym and legend of Croatian naturism. What would ancient Latins say: sapienti sat or: sufficient for a clever man? The future of naturism in Croatia Naturist camps in Croatia that did not strictly control the clothing ban have lost their selective importance. Naturists don’t want to mix with textile tourists and therefore a naturist camp cannot be a hemafrodit. This has forced many naturists to move to nudist destinations in neighboring countries – and they still do. And thanks to the Internet, the search for holistic nudist oases is no problem. An important factor is how the INF family or the global naturist community will behave? Will your children respect naturism regardless of age? If these factors still mean something, the INF family should include large numbers of people who practice nudism but are not actually members of the INF. So make it easier and more accessible to join your INF family! This shouldn’t mean sacrificing your nudist principles versus textile circumstances, but rather interpreting the nudist ideology of integral nudity for young and casual nudists to get used to the nudist movement. This could cause them to lose their world brand for a while, but they would gain a much larger membership and army of like-minded people. Only you can live the nudist tradition on a global level if you generously forego the strict procedural rules of admission. The aim of the INF is to promote the development of naturism and to advise on the construction and opening of new centers. Naturism is defined by clothing and the main motto should be that a person without clothing extinguishes all social differences and especially personal freedom and tolerance. This should also be the leitmotif and the model of the INF for the future.

Jerko Sladoljev