Over 15,000 Turn Out for Legend of the Rooster Festival

The biggest tourist manifesto in the Koprivnica-Križevci County in northern Croatia has taken place over the weekend…

More than 15,000 people, including Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanović, turned out over the weekend for the annual Picokijada, or Legend of the Rooster in Đurđevac. Legend of the Rooster, which has taken place since 1968, is held in memory of the victory of Đurđevac people against the Turk Ottoman forces in 1552.

The Legend says that in the surrounded fortress the food had vanished. All that was left was one small rooster. This could not feed the people, so an old woman suggested to the captain of the town that the rooster should be put in a cannon and shot into the Turkish Camp. Thinking that there was plenty of food in the fortress, Ulama-beg ended the siege and left the battlefield. As a curse, Ulama-beg calls the people of Đurđevac Picoki, or “roosters”.

This year’s programme included performances from local culture and folklore groups, a children’s festival, plays, a chicken preparation contest, wine tasting, sports tournaments, including tennis and basketball, as well as a number of concerts and theatre performances.

The display of Legenda of the Rooster is under the protection of the Republic of Croatia Ministry of Culture as the first intangible cultural heritage of Republic of Croatia, as well as being the biggest tourist attraction of Podravina.

Check out some photos below from this year’s Legend of the Rooster.

(photos: picokijada facebook)