In Bregana, right on the border with Slovenia, a Camino waymarker was ceremonially installed on Saturday, 9 May. It will guide pilgrims along the Samobor – Slovenia – Ponikve route. This significant event brought together numerous pilgrims and friends of the Camino from Croatia, Slovenia, and Hungary, confirming how the Camino connects people, nations, and cultures through fellowship, faith, and walking.
The programme was held under the auspices of Camino Hrvatska, the Brotherhood of St. James, and began with remarks from Jerónimo Fuentes Candau, Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Croatia. He noted that seeing a Camino marker in this very place moves him deeply — but even more so the large number of people already walking this Camino route and living the spirit of community that the Camino carries.
The Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Slovenia, Meritxell Parayre, thanked all who had come to Samobor, highlighting the value of the initiative and the organisation of the event, and emphasising how such projects connect people and nations through their shared European and spiritual heritage.
Samobor Mayor Petra Škrobot said she is tremendously happy that Samobor has become part of the Camino route and that this project was realised through joint effort and wonderful collaboration. She also expressed her belief that the new waymarker will remain a lasting reminder to all pilgrims passing through Samobor and its surroundings along this route.
The ceremony gained a special spiritual dimension with the blessing of the waymarker, led by Fr. Rafael Arias Vialta, Vicar of Opus Dei for Croatia and Slovenia.
The Samobor Camino route is approximately 60 kilometres long, winding through the natural beauty and rich cultural heritage of the Samobor area. It forms part of the broader Croatian network of Camino routes connecting the continental and coastal parts of the country, and is also a segment of the European cultural route along which millions of pilgrims have walked for centuries towards Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
The Samobor route has two branches. The first begins in Konščica (Chapel of St. Joseph, Parish of St. Martin pod Okićem) and continues towards Bregana, where it joins the Slovenian Camino route at the small border crossing, then continues onward with the Italian, French, and Spanish routes all the way to Santiago de Compostela. The second branch heads towards Krašić, where the first section ends; it connects part of a future trail through Zagreb and Karlovac County, continuing through Gorski Kotar and Trsat and onward into Slovenia and other European countries.
The new waymarker will symbolically guide all future pilgrims setting out towards Slovenia and beyond towards Santiago de Compostela, continuing the centuries-old tradition of pilgrimage along the Way of St. James.