Remembrance Day in 2024

When is Remembrance Day for all victims of the Homeland War?

Remembrance Day is a state holiday in Croatia observed on November 18th.

Known in Croatian as 'Dan sjećanja na sve žrtve Domovinskog rata i Dan sjećanja na žrtve Vukovara i Škabrnje', the full name of this holiday is 'Remembrance Day for all victims of the Homeland War and Remembrance Day for the victims of Vukovar and Skabrnja'.

History of Remembrance Day for all victims of the Homeland War

This holiday commemorates two events during the Croatian War of Independence (1991 - 1995), known as the Homeland War in Croatia.

Every year on the 18th of November the anniversary of the fall of Vukovar is marked in Croatia. During the 87-day siege of Vukovar by the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) between August and November 1991, 1,624 people were killed, including 12 children, 1,219 were wounded, and more than 350 Croatian soldiers unaccounted for. More than 22,000 Croats and other non-Serbs were also expelled from the city.

Also on November 18th, the victims of the Škabrnja massacre are also remembered. In 1991, 62 Croatian civilians and five prisoners of war lost their lives on this day in the villages of Škabrnja and Nadin, northeast of Zadar, at the hands of the JNA.

Though the events in 1991 have been commemorated across the country for many years, this day has been a public holiday since 2020.

Most shops will be closed and buses and ferries will run on Sunday timetables.