- by croatiaweek
- in News
A Croatian city is introducing price limits for popular food and drinks at its Advent celebrations, including a maximum price of €5 for sausages and hamburgers and €3 for mulled wine.
Pula is introducing price caps on selected food and drinks at its Advent Christmas market this year, aiming to keep popular festive treats affordable for visitors, Dnevnik Nova TV reported.
The measures come ahead of the winter festive season, when Christmas markets across Croatia attract residents and visitors with seasonal food, hot drinks, entertainment and decorations.
However, the cost of food and drinks at Christmas markets has increasingly become a topic of public discussion across Europe, with visitors often paying more for familiar products in central locations and seasonal stalls.
Under the new rules, traders operating the market stalls will be required to offer a selection of standard products at fixed prices, including hot dogs, hamburgers, cod dishes, mulled wine and traditional Croatian fritule.
Under Pula’s new price list, hot dogs, hamburgers and cod dishes will each cost €5. Mulled wine, hot chocolate and cocoa will be priced at €3, while tea and bottled water will cost €2.
Sweet treats will also have capped prices, with fritule, pancakes and Christmas biscuits each priced at €3.
Pula Deputy Mayor Siniša Gordić said the price limits would apply to specified products that stallholders must include in their offers, rather than their entire menus.
Each trader will be required to offer the relevant fixed-price product depending on whether their stall specialises in savoury food, sweets or a combination of the two.
The quantities and portions of the regulated products will also be defined to ensure that customers receive the specified serving for the advertised price.
Stallholders will remain free to set their own prices for additional products outside the mandatory selection.
The proposal has received a mixed but generally positive response from traders, some of whom say the final price must reflect the quality and size of the product.
Visitors have also welcomed the move, with some saying that lower prices could encourage more people to visit the festive market and spend time in the city centre.
Pula is not the first Croatian city to use price limits to make its Christmas market more accessible.
The nearby coastal city of Poreč has applied a similar approach for several years, adjusting its prices over time to reflect changing market conditions.