Preko

Preko is the road and administration centre of the island of Ugljan, and a municipality in Croatia in the Zadar County. Situated, as the name states, opposite Zadar. Its old centre consists of typical Dalmatian architecture and numerous patrician family summer houses. According to the 2001 census, there are 3,871 inhabitants, 87% which are Croats.

Sitting in the mountains above Preko, is the castle of St Michael, once the seat of the noble Stipanov dynasty. The ruins look out across the Adriatic Sea to Italy, from where the Stipanov clan originated at the time of the Emperor Diocletian. The castle was sacked by English crusaders on their way to the Holy Land, and by the fleeing Nazis in 1945. The high position of the castle, made it the perfect lookout and listening station for the occupying Germans. Today, the castle is home to a telecommunications station.

The best way to feel the Mediterranean atmosphere is by walking along the quay or sipping a favourite drink on one of the terraces with a view of the Zadar Channel.

Vlado Kreslin

Vlado Kreslin (born 29 November 1953) is a Slovenian folk rock musician.

Life and work

Kreslin was born in the village of Beltinci in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia, then part of Yugoslavia. He began his musical career in his student years, first coming to acclaim as the lead singer with the rock group Martin Krpan. He later continued playing a mixture of Slovene folk and rock music with the Beltinška Banda, a folk group from his native village, whose other members were all over 70 years old, and the group Mali Bogovi. Both groups (with him) often perform together, mixing several generations onstage together.

Today he is one of the best-known and highly esteemed Slovenian musicians and songwriters, drawing on Slovene folk and ethnic heritage, occupying his own niche in the Slovenian music scene. He has been referred to as an ethno-revivalist for his modernization of Slovenian folk songs such as "All the Wreaths Have Wilted". Modern Slovenian rock bands such as Siddharta have worked with him. He has also performed with R.E.M., the Dubliners, Allan Taylor, Hans Theessink, Vlatko Stefanovski, and the Walkabouts.