Health Tourism in Biograd na Moru: An Orthopedic Hospital by the Sea and a Tradition of Healing

HR: Zdravstveni turizam u Biogradu na Moru: ortopedska bolnica uz more i tradicija liječenja

DE: Gesundheitstourismus in Biograd na Moru: Das orthopädische Krankenhaus am Meer und die Tradition der Heilung

There are destinations on the Adriatic that offer more than the classic summer holiday. Biograd na Moru is one of those places where the daily rhythm naturally adapts to the environment, where the promenade, the sea, and a healthcare institution are only a few minutes’ walk apart. It is precisely this proximity of urban amenities and open space that gives the town a special value in the context of health tourism.

In this environment operates the Special Hospital for Orthopedics Biograd na Moru, an institution that combines medical expertise with a location rarely found among healthcare facilities.

It is a modern center for the treatment of orthopedic conditions that:

• performs diagnostics, treatment, medical rehabilitation, healthcare, accommodation, and nutrition;
• provides specialist-consultative healthcare with specialized diagnostics and a day hospital;
• offers health-tourism services in accordance with special regulations.

(Source: Tourist Board Biograd na Moru, 27.02.2026)

The History of the Building — Architecture That Announced the Development of Health Tourism

The building that today houses the Special Hospital for Orthopedics Biograd na Moru was created at a time when Biograd was only beginning to develop its modern urban identity. It was designed by Armenian architect Vagan Melik Karaganjan, the same architect who built the town’s first hotel, Hotel Ilirija.

This coincidence is not merely an interesting biographical detail. It reflects a period when tourism and public healthcare developed in parallel as part of the same vision of a modern coastal town. One building was intended for rest, the other for treatment, but both expressed the same ambition – to create infrastructure that would permanently place Biograd on the Adriatic map.

The building of today’s hospital was originally the Banovina Hospital, built in 1933 and officially opened in 1936.

The first director was surgeon Dr. Niko Barišić, and at the time of its opening, the hospital had 60 beds. Soon, the capacity increased to 80 beds distributed across internal medicine, surgical, and maternity departments. It had a total of 25 rooms and about 30 employees, while patients were also cared for by nuns who had permanent accommodation within the hospital complex.

(Source: Biograjski.com, 27.02.2026).

The current name, Special Hospital for Orthopedics, was adopted in 1994. Few institutions in this region, marked by a turbulent and uncertain past, can boast the continuity and role that this hospital has maintained from its foundation to the present day (Došen, B. (2025) Povijest specijalne bolnice za ortopediju Biograd. Biograd na Moru: Grad Biograd; Specijalna bolnica za ortopediju Biograd).

A Space That Changes the Experience of Rehabilitation

Located directly by the sea, the Special Hospital for Orthopedics Biograd na Moru is not separated from the town but forms an integral part of it. It provides patients with a peaceful environment for rehabilitation and offers more than a typical healthcare service.

The mild Mediterranean climate and proximity to the sea naturally support the recovery process, whether it is physical rehabilitation after orthopedic procedures or maintaining the functionality of the musculoskeletal system.

Health Tourism as a Natural Extension of the Identity of Biograd na Moru

For decades, Biograd na Moru has built a reputation as a town open to visitors. The development of health tourism in Biograd na Moru represents a logical continuation of existing infrastructure, tourism tradition and the continuous work of a healthcare institution located directly by the coast.

The combination of historic architecture, orthopedic specialization and a seaside location makes Biograd a destination where recovery is not separated from the environment but exists in balance with it. Visitors who come here for health reasons do not leave merely as tourists, but as people who have experienced Biograd in its entirety – a place where recovery, architecture and the local rhythm create a unique harmony.