Croatia

 

Flag of Croatia

Language: Croatian

Currency: Kuna (HRK)

Currency: 385

 

Description of Croatia

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a parliamentary democratic republic, a member of the European Union, located between Central Europe, southern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, borders on the northeast with Hungary, on the east with Serbia, on the southeast with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, to the northwest with Slovenia and to the southwest with the Adriatic Sea, where it shares a maritime border with Italy.

Its capital and most populous city is Zagreb. It has 56 594 km² of territorial extension - this figure includes the more than a thousand islands that are located off the coast of the Adriatic Sea - and has a varied climate, mostly continental and Mediterranean. As for the political administration, the country is divided into twenty counties and the city of Zagreb. Its population amounts to more than 4.29 million inhabitants, most of them are Croats of Catholic religion.

At the beginning of the 7th century the Croats arrived in the area and two centuries later they were organized into two duchies. In 925 Tomislav became the first king, elevating the status of the state to a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia maintained its sovereignty for almost two centuries, and reached its peak during the reign of Peter Krešimir IV and Demetrio Zvonimir. Croatia formed a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, threatened by Ottoman expansion, the Croatian parliament elected Ferdinand I of Habsburg as successor of the Croatian throne. In 1918, after the First World War, it was part of the ephemeral Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which had been separated from Austria-Hungary, and which later became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During the Second World War a puppet state of Nazi Germany was founded. After the war, Croatia was a founding member and federal element of the Second Yugoslavia, a socialist state. In June 1991, Croatia declared its independence, which was recognized on October 8 of that year. The Croatian War of Independence took place in the four years following the declaration.

In 2012 Croatia maintained a very high Human Development Index. The International Monetary Fund classified it as an emerging and developing economy, while the World Bank identified it as a high-income economy. Croatia is a member of the UN, the Council of Europe, NATO, the World Trade Organization and is a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean. In addition, in July 2013 Croatia acceded to the European Union. As an active member of the United Nations peacekeeping force, he has contributed troops to the NATO security mission in Afghanistan and from 2008 to 2009 he held a seat on the UN Security Council.

The Croatian economy is dominated by the services sector, followed by industry and agriculture. Tourism is a major source of income during the summer, as the country is among the twenty most visited tourist destinations in the world. The state controls a part of the economy, with important government spending and its main trading partner is the European Union. Since 2000 the country has invested in infrastructure, especially roads and means of transport, as well as Pan-European corridors. The Croatian State provides a universal health system and free primary and secondary education, at the same time that supports the culture through various public institutions and investments in the media and literature.

 

Travel Destinations in Croatia

Dalmatia

Cities

Dubrovnik

Salona

Šibenik

Split

Trogir

Zadar

Makarska
Lastovo
Hvar
Brač
Vis
Murter
Pašman

 

Other destinations

Cetina Valley Nature Park

Klis Fortress

Korčula Island

Kornati Islands National Park

Krka National Park

Mljet Island

Orebić

Paklenica National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park

 

North- West Croatia (Istria and Kvarner Area)

Cities

Poreč

Pula

Rovinj

Buje

Motovun

Pazin

Umag

Vodnjan

Rijeka
Opatija
Crikvenica
Baška
Senj
Delnice
Fužine

 

Other destinations

Brijuni National Park

Dvigrad

Medvedgrad

Nehaj Castle

Risnjak National Park

Sjeverni Velebit National Park

 

Central Croatia

Cities

Zagreb

Đakovo

Osijek

Slavonski Brod

Vukovar

Banovci

Karlovac
Krapina
Krapinske Toplice
Sisak
Varaždin
Vrbovec

 

Other destinations

Ozalj Castle

 

Travel Tips while you travel to Croatia

US citizens, British, Canadian as well as European Union don't need visa to travel to Croatia if you plan to stay less than 90 days there. However they do require returning plane ticket.

Religion plays an important part in lives of people. Religious affiliations are usually divide down ethnic borders. So 87.8% of the country are Roman Catholic Croats, 4.4% are Eastern Orthodox Serbs. There is also some minor presence of Muslims, Protestants and Jews.

Smoking and drinking on the streets is a normal thing in Croatia. Although certain restriction are applied around certain public, government and other localities.

 

Emergency numbers

Police 92

Ambulance 94

Fire 93

 

Etymology

The name "Croatia" (Croatian Hrvatska) comes from medieval Latin Latin. Croatia. The first ruler of an independent Croatian state, Prince Branimir, who ruled in the 9th century, received the title of Dux Chroatorum (Prince of the Croats) from Pope John VIII. The toponym Croātia comes from the ethnonym "Croats", the origin of which has not yet been precisely established, it is likely that it comes from the Proto-Slavic -Xŭrvatŭ (Xаrvatъ), which possibly comes from the Old Persian -xaraxwat.

The oldest surviving record of the Croatian ethnonym "xъrvatъ" was found on the Bashchanskaya plate and looks like "zvъnъmir kralъ xrаvatъskъ" ("Zvonimir, the Croatian king").

 

History of Croatia

In the pre-Roman period, several important pre-Indo-European archaeological cultures existed along the Adriatic coast, the most ancient of which was the “impressiono”. In the Bronze Age, descendants of the Impresso culture existed on the Adriatic coast, among which the Butmir culture stood out for its ceramics, and later the Castellier culture, of which several hundred fortified settlements remained. To the beginning of n. e. the whole territory of modern Croatia (the so-called Liburnia) was conquered by the Romans (for more information on Roman Illyria, see Illyria and the Illyrian uprising).

The Slavic tribes of the Croats, who gave rise to the Croatian nation, migrated to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea in the 7th century. Soon, the Kingdom of Croatia became one of the strongest in the region. In 1102, the ruling dynasty of Trpimirovich died away, and the Croatian crown was united in a dynastic union with the Hungarian. In the middle of the 15th century, Hungarian rule in the north of the country was replaced by Turkish, while Dalmatia became part of the Venetian Republic. At the same time, the Dubrovnik Republic largely maintained independence. Since 1868, the Croatian state entities within Austria-Hungary have been the crown land of Dalmatia and the lands of Croatia and Slavonia as part of Hungary.

In 1526, the successful dynastic marriage of Ferdinand I of Habsburg brought the Hungarian and Croatian crowns to the house of the Habsburgs, who ruled Croatia until the beginning of the 20th century. After the fall of the Republic of Venice (Campo-Formia Peace 1797), Istria, Dalmatia and Dubrovnik (Illyrian provinces of Napoleonic France) were added to the lands of the Habsburg monarchy.

After World War I, in 1918, Croatia became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, although the coastal areas of Austrian Primorye (Istria, Rijeka, and Zadar) went to Italy under the name of Venice-Julia. In 1929, the state was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. On August 26, 1939, on the basis of the Tsvetkovich – Macchek agreement, Croatia received autonomy status within the kingdom as a separate banovina.

In 1941, the Ustashi, under the leadership of Ante Pavelic, created the pro-Nazi Independent State of Croatia, which carried out the genocide of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. Also on its territory, Serbian Chetniks committed massacres of Bosnians and Croats. Under the onslaught of the communist guerrilla units of Josip Broz Tito, the Pavelic regime in Croatia and Nedic in Serbia fell and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or the SFRY was formed, which included six republics: HP Serbia, HP Croatia, HP Slovenia, HP Macedonia, HP Montenegro and HP Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 1991, against the backdrop of a sharp intra-republican conflict between Serbs and Croats, Croatia declared independence. Iceland was the first to recognize the new country on December 19, 1991. After the declaration of independence, interethnic clashes in the republic escalated into a war in Croatia (1991-1995), which lasted until the end of 1995 (Operation Storm). The declaration of independence by Croatia and Slovenia marked the beginning of the collapse of the SFRY. Finally, the integrity of Croatia was restored in 1998. The first president of the new independent Croatia was Franjo Tudjman.

On January 22, 2012, a referendum was held in Croatia, at which the majority of voters - 66.25% - voted in favor of the country's accession to the European Union.

 

Geography

Croatia is located in the south of Central Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. The area is 56,594 km², the water area is 33,200 km². There are a large number of islands in the water area, their total number is 1185, of which 67 are inhabited. The largest islands are Krk and Cres.

In the north, Croatia borders on Slovenia (600 km), in the northeast on Hungary (348 km), in the east on Serbia (314 km), in the south on Bosnia and Herzegovina (956 km) and Montenegro (19 km). The country consists of two parts: continental, located mainly in the Sava river basin; and the Adriatic, an elongated narrow strip along the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

 

Climate

Continental climate prevails in Northern Croatia, semi-mountainous and mountainous in Central Croatia, Mediterranean near the coast. Winter temperatures in the continental part reach an average of -10 °C, in the mountainous areas from -5 °C to 5 °C and from 0 °C to +10 °C in the coastal areas. In summer, it is warmest on the coast (from +25 °C to +30 °C on average), in the resort areas located on the peninsulas (in Istria - from +30 °C). The temperature in the mountains usually does not exceed +15 - +20 °C, and on the continent it is mostly around +25 °C. The least precipitation falls on the islands, approximately 500 to 1000 mm per year. The amount of precipitation on the coast ranges from 1000 to 1700 mm per year.

 

Administrative division

The territory of Croatia is divided into 20 counties (Croatian Županije), the counties are divided into 122 cities (Croatian Gradovi) and 424 communities (Croatian Općine), the capital is divided into urban areas (Croatian gradske četvrti), large cities are divided into local parts ( Croatian mjesne odbore). Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, has the status of the 21st county.

The representative bodies of the counties are the county assemblies (Cro. Županijska skupština), elected by the population, the executive bodies are the Župans (Cro. Župan).

The representative bodies of cities are city councils (Croatian Gradsko vijeće), elected by the population, the executive bodies are mayors (Croatian Gradonačelnik).

The representative bodies of the communities are community councils (Croatian Općinsko vijeće), elected by the population, the executive bodies are community leaders (Croatian Općinski načelnik).

The representative bodies of city districts are the city district council (Croatian vijeće gradske četvrti), elected by the population, the executive bodies are the chairmen of the city district councils (Croatian predsjednik vijeća).

Local parts do not have local government (with the exception of Split). Until 2001, there was an intermediate unit between the counties and communities - the district (Croatian kotar).

Political structure
Croatia is a unitary state, a parliamentary republic. The legislative body since 2001 is the Sabor (parliament). Between 1991 and 2001 the parliament was bicameral.

The head of state is the President, who is directly elected for a term of five years. He is the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces and, with the consent of parliament, appoints the prime minister. The President also deals with foreign policy issues. The last presidential elections were held on January 5, 2020, and were won by Zoran Milanovic. He took office on February 18, 2020.

The head of government is the Prime Minister, since October 19, 2016 this position has been occupied by Andrei Plenkovich. The government consists of four vice-premiers and 16 ministers responsible for specific areas of activity. The government initiates the adoption of laws, develops a draft budget, controls the implementation of laws, and determines the main directions of foreign and domestic policy.

The constitution was adopted on December 20, 1990, independence from Yugoslavia was proclaimed on June 25, 1991. Amendments to the constitution were adopted: 1) on the rights of minorities, 2) changing the semi-presidential model of governance to a parliamentary model of governance, 3) on parliamentary reform. The parliament is unicameral (most are elected from party lists, some from minorities). Until 2001, there was a chamber of districts.

 

Legal system

The constitutional oversight body is the Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud), the body that selects candidates for the positions of judges is the State Judicial Council (Državno sudbeno vijeće), prosecutorial oversight bodies are the State Prosecutor's Office (Državno odvjetništvo), Županijska državna odvjetništva prosecutors, community prosecutors ( Općinska državna odvjetništva).

General Justice
The highest court is the Supreme Court (Vrhovni sud), the courts of appeal are the Županijski sudovi courts, the courts of first instance are the community courts (Općinski sudovi).

Administrative justice
The highest judicial instance of administrative justice is the Supreme Administrative Court (Visoki upravni sud), the courts of appeal of administrative justice are administrative courts (Upravni sudovi).

Trade Justice
The highest court of commercial justice is the Higher Commercial Court (Visoki trgovački sud), the courts of appeal of commercial justice are commercial courts (Trgovački sudovi).

Disciplinary Justice
The highest court of disciplinary justice is the Higher Disciplinary Court (Visoki prekršajni sud), the courts of appeal of disciplinary justice are disciplinary courts (Prekršajni sudovi).

 

Economy

The leading industries are: shipbuilding, mechanical engineering, chemical, food, textile, woodworking, electrical and electronic, pharmaceutical industries. Tourism is an important branch of the economy.

The Keitz index (the ratio of the minimum and average wages in the country) in Croatia as of 2018 (average 8420 kunas and minimum 3442.25 kunas) is about 40.8%. From January 1, 2020, the minimum wage is HRK 4062.51, EUR 543.35 (gross) and HRK 3250.01, EUR 434.68 (net). From January 1, 2021, the minimum wage is HRK 4250, EUR 562.04 (gross) and HRK 3400, EUR 449.44 (net). From January 1, 2022, the minimum wage is HRK 4687.50, EUR 623.42 (gross) and HRK 3750, EUR 499.22 (net), the Cates index is 48.78%.

In July 2019, the process of Croatia's accession to the Eurozone began.

Advantages: stable economic growth. Under the auspices of the IMF, a program has been launched to reduce government spending. Tourism growth.

Weaknesses: privatization dragging on since 2001 and union resistance. The damage from the war is about 50 billion dollars. High unemployment (17.7% as of January 2010).

Transport
Automobile transport
The Croatian motorway network (autocesta) has a length of 1313.8 km. In 2019, Croatia ranked 12th in the world and 6th in Europe in terms of road quality in the Global Competitiveness Index, compiled annually by experts from the World Economic Forum. The highest place among all post-communist countries in the world.

Public transport
The most common form of public transport in Croatia is the bus. In addition to buses in large cities (eg Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek, Pula, etc.) there is also a network of tram lines (Zagreb and Osijek trams). Tickets are sold, as a rule, in the passenger compartment of the bus or tram or at newsstands.

Buses
International bus service in Croatia is quite developed. Bus routes run to Croatia from many European countries.

Almost all parts of the country are covered by a network of bus passenger transport. Almost every town has a bus station (Autobusni Kolodvor) where you can buy tickets and check the schedule.

Water transport
Between the cities of Croatia, located on the Adriatic coast, various ferries, ships, hydrofoils run. Most of the inhabited islands can also be reached by water transport. There are also international flights. From May 28 to September 30, the summer schedule operates with more frequent departures.

Airports
Croatia has 6 international airports and 3 civil airports for domestic and charter flights.

International airports:
Zagreb Airport (17 km from the center of Zagreb),
Split airport (24 km from the center of Split),
Dubrovnik Airport (18 km from the city),
Pula Airport (6 km from the center of Pula),
Zadar Airport,
Rijeka airport.

Airports for local and charter flights:
Bol airport
Lošinj airport
Osijek airport

 

Tourism

Croatia's Adriatic coast and numerous islands are a popular destination for international tourism. Tourism in the Adriatic began to develop in the 19th century; in the 20th century, the Croatian coast was one of the most developed tourist destinations in the socialist world. In the 1990s, tourism in Croatia experienced a serious decline, caused by military operations and an outdated tourist infrastructure that did not meet Western quality standards. Since the early 2000s, the tourism industry has shown growth. in the tourism industry in the mid-2010s. accounts for 18% of GNP, which is alarming for economists.

 

Population

The current Constitution of Croatia defines the Republic of Croatia "as the national state of the Croatian people and as the state of representatives of national minorities: Serbs, Bosnians, Slovenes, Czechs, Slovaks, Italians, Hungarians, Jews, Germans, Austrians, Ukrainians, Rusyns, Bulgarians, Roma, Romanians, Turks , Vlachs, Albanians and others who are its citizens.” The legal status of the 22 ethnic groups listed in the Constitution is regulated by the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia, which entered into force in 2002.

The estimated population as of December 31, 2016 was 4,154,213.

National composition, according to the 2011 census:
Croats (90.42%),
Serbs (4.37%),
Bosniaks (0.17%)
Hungarians (0.33%),
Italians (0.42%)
Slovenes (0.25%),
gypsies (0.4%),
Albanians (0.41%)
Czechs (0.22%)
Macedonians (0.4%)
Montenegrins (0.11%)
others (1.98%).

 

Religion

Religious composition, according to the 2011 census:
Catholics (86.28%),
Orthodox (4.44%)
Protestants (0.34%)
Muslims (1.47%)
atheists and agnostics (4.57%)
other religion or did not answer (2.9%)

Languages
The official language in Croatia is Croatian. The official use of languages ​​of ethnic groups defined by the Constitution as national minorities is allowed, which is regulated by the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia, as well as two laws regarding the use of languages ​​of national minorities.

In some cities of Istria, the official status is Italian. In some municipalities and localities, the official status of the languages ​​\u200b\u200bof national minorities is fixed - Serbian, Hungarian, Czech and Ruthenian. There are two endangered Romance languages ​​on the Istrian peninsula - Istro-Roman and Istro-Romanian.

 

Sport

Croatia has participated in every Olympic Games since independence and has won 27 medals, 10 at the Winter Olympics. The most popular sports in the country are football, basketball, handball, water polo and tennis. Despite the fact that Croatia is considered to be a southern country with a warm climate, it also popularizes winter sports such as alpine skiing, ice hockey and biathlon. Brother and sister Ivica Kostelic and Janica Kostelic have become one of the most famous and successful skiers of recent years. The Medvescak hockey team from Zagreb is popular in the capital, playing in the Austrian Hockey League. From the 2013/2014 season to 2016/2017, she played in the KHL.

The Croatian national team became the silver medalist of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, losing in the final to the French team with a score of 2:4. Midfielder and team captain Luka Modric has been named the 2018 FIFA Player of the Year for outstanding performance in sports and at the World Cup. One of the best clubs in Croatia is Dinamo Zagreb.

 

Armed forces

The official creation date of the Croatian Armed Forces is November 3, 1991. The first army formations were created on the basis of the formations of the Croatian National Guard created in the spring of 1991. At the time of the war in Croatia at the end of 1995 (Operation Storm), their number was more than 250 thousand people. The total number of armed forces in 2011 was 20 thousand people. (another 3 thousand serve in the police), the number of reservists - 21 thousand people.

In astronomy
The asteroid (589) Croatia, discovered in 1906 by the German astronomer August Kopff, is named after Croatia.