LEGRAD, Croatia – A town in northern Croatia hit hard by rural depopulation is selling its abandoned houses for one kuna (16 U.S. cents) in a bid to attract new residents, albeit with some big conditions.
Legrad, once the second-biggest population centre in Croatian territory, has suffered a steady decline since the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian empire a century ago, when new borders left it sidelined.
“We turned into a border town with few transport connections to other places. Since then the population has been gradually falling,” said the town’s mayor, Ivan Sabolic.
Surrounded by green fields and forest, the town is near the border with Hungar…
Keep on reading: A penny for a house: Shrinking Croatian town tries to lure in new residents