By Denis Loktev
Published on
02/07/2026 - 7:00 GMT+2
In the Croatian village of Cigoc, storks are not just visitors – they are residents. Each spring, white storks return from Africa to nest on the rooftops of the village's traditional wooden houses, in such numbers that they regularly outnumber the people who live there.
The phenomenon has earned Cigoc the title of Europe's first 'Stork Village', a status it has held for 32 years. Unlike most of the continent, where storks typically build nests in trees, on cliffs or near the coast, here they have settled directly into village life.
