C R O A T I A

Republic of Croatia is situated in Southeastern Europe on the Adriatic coast. Croatia’s neighbor countries are Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy. Surface area of Croatia is 56.538 sq. km. and a population of 4.8 million. Capital is Zagreb with 1 million inhabitants. Official language is Croatian.

From the 9th to the 12th century Croatia was under the rule of Croatian dukes and kings (the first Croatian king Tomislav was crowned in 925). From this period date first early Croatian churches and written funds. From the 12th century until 1990 Croatia had many different rulers, among which there was the Habsburg Monarchy, which left deep traces in culture and everyday living in the continental part of the country: its capital, Zagreb, is called “little Vienna”, and really, Zagreb has many things in common with Vienna, from the architectural point of view. The surroundings of Zagreb abound in mediaeval fortreses and castles, among which the most famous are Trakošcan and Veliki Tabor. On the coast have Romans, Italians and French left their traces; the towns on the coast abound in monuments dating back to Roman times (the amphitheatre in Pula, the Diocletian Palace in Split....) and in monuments from the Renaissance (Dubrovnik, Šibenik, Trogir...).

Even under foreign rule Croatia had as a special territorial unit its own administration and has kept its culture and spirit throughout many centuries. Croatia has also given many famous artists and scientists during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and in modern times. Long cultural tradition is testimoned by large number of cultural monuments and works of Croatian architects, sculpturers, painters, writers and world famous scientists, such as Nikola Tesla, Ruder Boškovic, Juraj Dalmatinac, Ivan Meštrovic, Julije Klovic, Marin Držic and many others. As for the cultural heritage, the most important monuments have a status of UNESCO-heritage; the town of Dubrovnik, the Šibenik cathedral, Romanic town in Trogir, the St. Euphrasius Basilica in Porec, the Diocletian Palace in Split and the Plitvice Lakes.

Croatia today is a parlamentary democracy, which by its culture and history belongs to the central European circle. It is divided into 10 regions. On the northwest of the land the climate is continental, at the coast mediterranean and in the highland alpine. Among a large number of economic branches (metal processing, wood, leather, paper, food, chemical, pharmaceutical industries etc.) the most important are tourism and shipbuilding industry. Croatia has good road, air and railway traffic connections, within the country itself and internationally.

Croatia is not only rich in cultural heritage, but it is also a land of natural phenomenons of breathtaking beauty: the Plitvice Lakes, the Brioni Archipelago, the Velebit Mountain, the biggest peninsula of the Adriatic, Istria, just to mention some... Croatia has 8 National Parks and 10 Nature Parks, and ecologically it is the land with the purest environment in the Mediterranean. In short, it is a land of rich culture, that knows how to connect its tradition with a modern way of life and which attracts visitors in many different ways.

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