July the 3rd, 2025 – Sea, sun, mountains, beaches… you’ve heard it all. What about an unusual maze in Croatia that changes its location each year?
As Putni kofer writes, be it pumpkin seed oil or škrlet…. Ivanić-Grad is well known for the liquid it produces. Did you know that it’s also home to a rather different sort of maze? The unusual Posavina Corn Maze is a sustainable, accessible and interesting project and an ideal option for a perfect summer trip in continental Croatia. The events involving it this year are set to begin around July the 10th. You’ll find the corn maze in the small village of Lijevi Dubrovčak, at least this year…
an unusual maze lures visitors to continental croatia
The Posavina Corn Maze has been around since 2022, explains Ana Gašparović, director of the Ivanić-Grad Tourist Board. It was born out of the desire to offer the residents of the area, as well as its visitors, something a bit different that lasts longer than the usual events, i.e. a weekend or a maximum of 10 days. This unusual corn maze is unlike most other offers across Croatia. People are free to visit it from July to November and it is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s also free and stretches over a rural area spanning at least two hectares.
inspired by local folk costumes
This most unusual maze in Croatia is located in a corn field and has a pattern inspired by local folk costumes, with games and puzzles awaiting those who enter it. It’s also an ideal option for a trip with children. Since it is located near the mighty Sava, it is also possible to take a ferry across the river.
A visit to this maze isn’t just about walking through the maze itself, it also provides an additional experience. Visitors are also welcomed by a game, tasks and puzzles related to the history and heritage of rural Posavina. Every year, the game is different. One year, visitors had to solve a case of theft based on an old newspaper article. The game could be played by scanning a QR code, and last year 3,000 visitors came and played it.
The maze’s very labyrinth also changes its appearance each year. One thing remains the same, however, it is inspired by the intricate patterns of the local folk costumes from that region.
“In the area of Dubrovčak Lijevi, there’s a folk costume called ‘Hrvatica’. The famous writer Marija Jurić Zagorka, who started the magazine of that name, also mentions it. In another part of Posavina, more specifically in the area of Posavske Breg, there’s a folk costume called ‘Skovačkoga’, which has a different, but still geometric pattern,” explained Ana Gašparović. Landscape architect Kristina Komšo was the person responsible for the design of the labyrinth itself.
Because of this connection with local folk costumes, the local community has warmly welcomed the maze project, which, precisely because of this connection with tradition, is also a matter of pride. So far, and this is the fourth season of the labyrinth, they have had three Hrvaticas and one Skovačkoga. For the first two years the labyrinth featured the pattern from Hrvatica, followed by the one from Skovačkoga. This year, it’s the turn of the Hrvatica once again. The pattern itself is best seen, of course, from the air, and because of its beauty and interesting appearance, the labyrinth has even exceeded the boundaries of the ‘field’ in which it is located.
the maze goes wherever the corn grows
That’s not the end of the labyrinth’s changeability. In addition to the content for visitors changing every single year, its appearance, design, and even location of the maze also changes. “In agreement with local farmers, we see where the corn will be planted on one of the plots that are acceptable for visitor access. Then they sow the corn, in a classic crop rotation, they do it as they would normally, and then in May and June the design, marking out and breaking in the paths is done, and then this most unusual maze opens in July as the summer tourist season gets into full swing in Croatia. That’s why the location changes every year. When all that’s finished, we move the game boards, and then the farmer harvests the corn and returns everything back to nature.
This means that there’s no damage and no negative impact on the environment, and yet it is something totally authentic and unique. “A lot of people come to the pools with their children, and then they go to visit the maze. Or they come to Bučijada and then visit the maze. In July everything is extremely green, rich and dense and then, as the seasons change, it turns completely yellow.
This year, the most unusual maze in Croatia will be in the village of Lijevi Dubrovčak. It is located next to the old school building where the Ivanić-Grad Museum is now in operation. The Sava River flows right beside it with a ferry boat. Come September, Posavina Days begins, where local OPGs (family farms) and their products are also presented to visitors.
