Jesen u Lici: squeaky škripavac and curly sheep in Gospić

On the first weekend of October, Trg Stjepana Radića, the main square of Gospić, fills with stalls of Lika potatoes, cheese, honey and fruit brandy. Jesen u Lici (Autumn in Lika) is the largest exhibition and sales fair of the Lika-Senj county, which organises it. Small producers show and sell only their own products. Shows of native sheep, cattle and horses take place on the livestock ground (Stočno sajmište) in Smiljanska street. Gospić is the county seat on the Lika plateau, and the Plitvice Lakes belong to the same county.

Nine exhibitors started the fair in 1998

The first exhibition of traditional and farm products under the name Jesen u Lici took place in Gospić in 1998, the Lika-Senj county writes. Two associations, ZOE and Kap života, started it together with the Velebit Nature Park. They brought together nine exhibitors with one idea: to show Lika's own products to a wider public. Since 2004 exhibitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia have taken part. In 2007 the exhibition ran over two days for the first time. Today it lasts three days, from Friday to Sunday, and the 2026 edition was the 28th.

The first weekend of October is fair weekend

The organiser calls the first weekend of October the traditional date. Recent editions kept to it: 30 September to 2 October 2016 (the 18th), 3 to 5 October 2025 (the 27th) and 2 to 4 October 2026 (the 28th). According to the 2026 programme, the stalls open at 10:00 and close at 19:00, on Sunday at 17:00. The formal opening takes place on Friday at 11:00 on the main square. The fair stands in the open air, on the square and on the livestock ground, and the programme lists no entrance tickets.

Cheese, potatoes and rakija fill the stalls

On the 2026 opening day Lika Express listed what the stands offered: Lika potatoes, škripavac cheese, meat products, honey, fruit brandies, jams, preserves, fruit and vegetables, handicrafts, wooden goods and natural cosmetics. Exhibitors come from every Croatian county, along with guests from abroad. Two Lika foods carry EU protection, and both sell fast at the fair.

• Lički krumpir: the Lika potato has stood in the EU register of protected designations of origin and geographical indications since 30 September 2015. In 2026 a Gospić farmer, Ante Čačić, told HRT his potatoes were almost sold out on the first day.
• Lički škripavac: a soft, fatty cow's milk cheese made without ripening, so it has no rind. It keeps its squeak for the first 5 to 7 days, Novi list writes. Since 21 December 2021 it has held an EU protected geographical indication.
• Juried products: honey, cheese, fruit brandy, jams and preserves from Lika and other mountain areas of Croatia go before juries. The 2026 programme set the results of the 24th honey and 20th cheese assessments for Saturday at 13:00 on the main square, and the awards for the best exhibitors for Sunday at 12:00.
• Old crafts: the 2026 programme listed potters and blacksmiths at work, wooden souvenir making, oil pressing and simple traditional dishes cooked on the square.

Pramenka sheep and buša cattle meet on the livestock ground

The breed shows are the second half of the fair. The organiser announced more than 250 breeders for 2026. They show the Lika pramenka, a curly-fleeced sheep, the native buša cattle and two horse breeds: the Croatian cold-blood (hrvatski hladnokrvnjak) and the Croatian Posavina horse (hrvatski posavac). An agricultural machinery show stands next to the pens. The 2026 programme opened the breed shows on Saturday at 11:00, with a cup for young breeders at 12:00. On the Friday it sent a parade of horse-drawn carts from the livestock ground through Smiljanska and Kaniška streets to the main square and back.

Lika Fest opens the Friday night

Lika Fest is a competition of new tamburica, pop and entertainment songs on the main square, held on the evening of the first fair day. In 2026 it started at 20:00. The 2025 festival was the third, the 2026 festival the fourth. On the Saturday evening the same stage hosts the Miss Lika-Senj County contest, which picks the county's candidate for Miss Croatia. Folklore groups perform through the weekend. In 2026 the programme listed ensembles from Gospić, Lički Osik, Sinac, Ličko Lešće, Brinje, Ravni Kotari, Bibinje, Starigrad, Cazin and Bihać.

The Gospić exit on the A1 leads straight to the fair

Gospić has its own exit on the A1 motorway, number 13, at kilometre 181 counted from the Lučko interchange at Zagreb. The two Zadar exits follow some 70 kilometres further south. The Gospić exit also serves Karlobag on the coast and Korenica. The town lies on the Lika plateau; its weather station stands at 564 metres above sea level. The fair fits a weekend with the Plitvice Lakes, which county prefect Ernest Petry counts among the places the fair belongs to. Our guides cover what to see at the lakes and how to get there from Zagreb or Split. Other October food fairs are Bučijada in Ivanić-Grad and Kestenijada in Hrvatska Kostajnica.

Tesla's birth house stands in Smiljan, 6 km away

The Nikola Tesla Memorial Centre lies in Smiljan, 6 km northwest of Gospić. The town of Gospić opened it on 10 July 2006, for the 150th anniversary of Tesla's birth. The site includes Tesla's birth house with a permanent exhibition, the church of Saints Peter and Paul and an experimental station. Summer hours run until 31 October: Tuesday to Saturday from 7:00 to 20:00 with last entry at 19:00, Sunday from 10:00 to 16:00 with last entry at 15:00, Monday closed. Adults pay 10 euros. Tesla coil demonstrations start at fixed times, the last at 19:00. Tesla also appears at the fair: the programmes of 2025 and 2026 listed the Tesla STEM Academy of the Gospić association Nikola Tesla Network on the square.

Jesen u Lici 2027

As of 20 October 2026, the organiser has announced no dates for the 29th Jesen u Lici. The fair is traditionally held on the first weekend of October, and the last two editions ran from Friday to Sunday on that weekend. The Lika Fest team closed its 2026 report with an invitation to the fifth Lika Fest in 2027, also without a date. Dates appear first on jesenulici.hr. Festival dates that are already fixed for next year are collected in Croatia's 2027 festival calendar.

Jesen u Lici 2026 in review

The 28th Jesen u Lici ran from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October 2026. County prefect Ernest Petry opened it on Friday at 11:00 on Trg Stjepana Radića. Agriculture Minister David Vlajčić attended as the envoy of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. Lika Express counted a record 285 stand places on the main square. The organiser had announced more than 400 exhibitors for the whole programme and more than 250 breeders, and HRT reported about 400 exhibitors. The partner counties were Dubrovnik-Neretva and Primorje-Gorski Kotar.

Buyers came in large numbers, HRT reported. A cheese exhibitor from Krasno told the broadcaster that this year looked like the busiest so far, even on a Friday. Lika Fest on the Friday evening presented 22 new songs with the tamburica orchestra of Hrvoje Harkanovac. 'Velebite' by Siniša Biško won first place, and 'Hrvati smo braćo' by Stjepan Milinković took the audience award.

For the Saturday the programme listed the 16th Lika pramenka show, the 7th national buša show and the county shows of the Croatian cold-blood (6th) and the Posavina horse (5th) on the livestock ground. The 4th Congress of Eco and Sustainable Tourism ran alongside from 1 to 3 October, on the theme of sustainable event tourism. For the Friday the Museum of Lika had announced an exhibition on the RMS Titanic and the RMS Carpathia. A year earlier, the 27th edition ran from 3 to 5 October 2025. The county expected more than 300 exhibitors and more than 30,000 visitors; HRT reported about 270 exhibitors on the opening day.