Croatia's thermal spa scene just got a heavyweight addition. Wellovar, a €42 million geothermal complex in the town of Bjelovar, about an hour east of Zagreb, has officially opened its doors — and it's being billed as the largest facility of its kind in the country.
The complex sits in Veliko Korenovo on the edge of Bjelovar and packs in ten pools: five indoors and five outdoors, including a 50-metre Olympic-standard pool certified for international competition. Alongside the swimming facilities there's a full wellness and recreation offering, built around geothermal water drawn from the nearby Bilogora area. The energy system running the whole site is designed around that same geothermal resource, making it a showcase for renewable-powered tourism development in Croatia's interior.
Construction took 23 months, and the project was partly financed through Croatia's National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The facility currently employs around 47 people, with more economic activity expected to trickle into local accommodation, restaurants and services.
Why does this matter beyond Bjelovar? Croatia's tourism story is overwhelmingly coastal — Dubrovnik, Split, Hvar and the rest dominate both the headlines and the seasons. Inland destinations have historically punched well below their weight. Local authorities hope Wellovar can help rebalance that, drawing visitors to continental Croatia and encouraging stays outside the busy summer months, when the pools' indoor facilities can keep operating while the outdoor side runs seasonally.
The project isn't only aimed at holidaymakers. The Olympic pool is intended to host international sporting events as well as recreational swimmers, positioning the complex as a hybrid of sport, wellness and tourism rather than a classic thermal spa. A hotel project is also in the works nearby, which would round out the offer for overnight visitors — for now, guests will rely on local accommodation providers in Bjelovar itself.
For travellers, the appeal is straightforward: a modern, competitively sized thermal and wellness complex in a part of Croatia most visitors never see. Bjelovar makes an easy day trip or weekend stop from Zagreb, and pairing a soak with the region's quiet countryside — Bilogora's rolling hills, small-town cafés and wine routes — offers a genuinely different rhythm from the Adriatic crowds. If the planned hotel materialises, expect the area to develop into a proper short-break destination. Until then, early visitors get the novelty of Croatia's newest and largest geothermal complex without the crowds.
