Photo: Mike Swigunski | Unsplash
Hotel Lyra in Croatia aims to not only offer guests a nice place to sleep, it also has a goal of improving the surrounding community, which has remained scarred from the Balkans war of the 90’s and the breakup of the former Yugoslavian state. Hotel Lyra, located in the village of Ličko Petrovo Selo, opened in 2019; it was the brainchild of Andreja Černevšek, who now serves as its general manager. “I was shocked by the state of the village, it quickly became clear that our plans for a hotel would need to include regeneration of the village,” she explained. From repairing damaged buildings that some town residents were living in to hiring a diverse staff, and buying food from local family farms, the hotel contributes to its surrounding community in many ways. In July 2022, the village celebrated its 230th anniversary; the event brought everyone together for a celebration. “Five years ago, this was a ghost village, it is beginning to come back to life. We are proud of our past and have hope to our future,” said Sonja Leka of the Tara Community Association.
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