A small Croatian village reclaimed a Guinness World Record on Saturday after laying out a 3-kilometre chain of apple strudels made from five tonnes of flour and fruit.
Guinness World Records adjudicator Paulina Sapinska announced after measurement that the line consisted of 8,940 strudels, making it the new world record for the longest strudel chain. Organisers said the effort used two tonnes of flour and three tonnes of apples to produce the nearly 9,000 pastries.
The strudels were prepared and arranged during the village's traditional Strudelfest by locals and volunteers, who laid the pastries across several tables set in a star formation. After a process of rigorous verification and counting, Sapinska declared the attempt successful.
"After very rigorous verification and counting I can announce that a total was achieved of 8,940 strudels, which means that's a new Guinness World Record title," Sapinska said. Festival organisers said the finished strudels will be donated to institutions, organisations and people in need after the event.
Regional Mayor Martina Furdek Hajdin said the strudel is closely linked to local tradition and that events such as the festival help boost development in the rural region. The village, about 66 kilometres southwest of Zagreb near Karlovac, attracted several thousand visitors for the weekend festival, and attendees joined residents in preparing and sampling the pastries.
"They've been working so hard," said Monika Ivis, one of the visitors. "They taste super."
The village has a history of attempting the record. A decade ago it assembled a 1.4-kilometre line of strudels, and the crown was later taken in 2019 by the Croatian town of Sisak, which laid out a line more than 1.7 kilometres long consisting of nearly 6,000 strudels. Organisers said this year's effort was designed to reclaim the title and to celebrate the region's culinary heritage.
Officials described the effort as a communal undertaking involving local bakers, volunteers and municipal support. The strudels were made according to a traditional recipe, and teams worked through the festival to maintain quality and adhere to the continuity requirements set by Guinness World Records.
The successful attempt adds to a string of recent Guinness World Records achieved by Croatians. Last month freediver Vitomir Maričić set the record for the longest time holding his breath voluntarily underwater, spending 29 minutes and three seconds submerged after breathing pure oxygen beforehand, according to Guinness.
Organisers of Strudelfest said the distribution of the thousands of pastries to charities and institutions would begin after the festival concludes, allowing the community to both celebrate the record and provide food to those in need. The event underscored local efforts to promote tourism, preserve culinary traditions and draw attention to rural development initiatives in the region.