CROATIA

Physical geography

Croatia is in central and south-eastern Europe, has a particular horseshoe shape, borders Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, and Slovenia to the northwest. The territory covers 21,851 square miles. Most of Croatia has a moderately warm and rainy climate. There are over 1000 islands off the coast of Croatia.

Climate

On the coast, a Mediterranean climate prevails with mild winters and temperatures around 10°C, and hot summers with temperatures exceeding 30°C. The beautiful warm sunny days begin at Easter. Usually, the good weather and the sun last until late October. The sea temperature is very pleasant in summer; bathing is possible from June to October. July and August are the best months to visit Croatia.

Iconic places

Croatia is known for its beautiful beaches, its Krka National Park and for its islands.

Iconic object

The necktie is an iconic object from Croatia. The Croatian cavalry traditionally wear a strip of cloth around their necks, the “hrvat”, which gave the word “cravate” in French. King Louis XIV of France adopted it for his court in Versailles. Note that Croatia has perhaps the richest intangible cultural heritage of any European country, according to UNESCO. 

Something Croatia has done for the world

Famous historical figure

Vladimir Prelog is a Croatian chemist who received the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research into the stereochemistry of organic molecules and reaction.

Famous living person

Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic was elected president of Croatia in 2015.

History before 2000

Croatia was under the influence of Italy during most of its history (the Romans, then the Venetians). Austria-Hungary freed Croatia from the Ottoman Empire. In 1918, it became part of Yugoslavia, which was invaded during World War II. After a war with Italy, a fascist dictatorship set up the Independent State of Croatia in 1941. In 1945, Croatia became part of the new, communist, Yugoslavia (the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), which collapsed in 1991. Croatia is now independent for the second time. In 1991, the independence of Croatia triggered a war that lasted until 1995. 

History after 2000

Croatia decided to focus on economic development and managed to join the EU on 1 July 2013. It is a member of the World Trade Organization since 2000.

Human geography

Croatia has about 4.4 million inhabitants spread over the continent and its 66 islands. Croatia is characterized by depopulation, rural-urban division, accelerated ageing and a very high number of elderly. Out-migration and wars have formed a very uneven presence of population in Croatia and an imbalance in regional development, deepening the differences between the rural and urban areas, as well as between the outskirts and centres.

Languages and cultures

The Croatian language is a South Slavic language which is used primarily by the inhabitants of Croatia as well as Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatian is based on the Ijekavian pronunciation of the Stokavian dialect (with some influence from Cakavian and Kajkavian) and written with the Croatian alphabet. German and English are the most common second languages. French, Italian, Czech and Hungarian are also spoken. The majority of the population are Croats. Minorities include Serbs, Hungarians and Gypsies. The population is predominantly Roman Catholic, although there are Christian Orthodox, Muslim, and Jewish minorities, mostly living in Zagreb. Croatia has one of few remaining basilicas in Western Europe (beside the ones in Ravenna) dating from the time of early Byzantium: Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč, built in the 6th century. In the 7th century the Croats, along with other Slavs and Avars, came from Northern Europe to the region where they live today. The Croatians were open to Roman art and culture, and most of all to Christianity. The largest and most representative among the 9th century churches Donatus in Zadar. Music in Croatia has two major influences: Central European, present in the central and northern parts of the country including Slavonia, and Mediterranean, particularly present in the coastal regions of Dalmatia and Istria. The National Park is also of interest and the national flower is the Iris croatica.

Politics, place in the EU

The capital is Zagreb. Croatia joined NATO in 2009. It became a member of the EU on 1st July 2013. The country has entered its sixth year of recession...

Flag
In 1848, the red-white-blue flag is recognized as the symbol of the nation. The red and white came from the flag of Croatia, and the blue and white from Slavonia. Long banned under the communist regime of Tito, it was only in 1991 that the flag reappeared when Croatia became independent. The coat of arms is in the center of the flag. It consists of two parts: a checkerboard of 25 red and white tiles and 5 badges. The badges represent, from left to right: Old Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria and Slavonia.

Economy

The process of transition from a planned economy to a market economy began in the late 1980s; deindustrialization and damage due to the independence war have slowed this mutation. Revenues generated by the tourism industry (20% of GDP) partly offset the trade deficit. Croatia has an economy based primarily on services, and some light industry. The main economic problem is structural unemployment (19% in 2012). The average salary in Croatia is €700. The largest trading partner is the European Union.

Youth

Croatian youth take part in many events such as music festivals (for example the INmusic festival) or theater (at the Open Air Theatre in Opatija, etc.), especially during the summer.

Article by Ronan SIMONNOT

For an account of a trip through this fabulous country, read below!

My journey through Croatia...

Last year I stayed in Croatia with a summer camp during my holidays. It was really incredible and I am going to explain why.

I left in August last summer and I stayed there the whole month. I took the plane and that very afternoon I arrived in the capital, Zagreb, without my luggage. Unfortunately, the company had mislaid it… That evening I met up with the other members of the camp. We went to eat a pizza. That dinner is a good illustration of my meals during those four weeks! In that camp we, the young people, had the opportunity to choose our activities. We decided where we would go, what we would visit, what we would eat. My suitcase was finally found by the airline and it arrived the day after my arrival.

First, we visited Zagreb, staying three days in a hostel. It is a charming city, with its various sights, along the river Sava valley and the northern part in the foothills of the Sljeme mountain. An enormous fire devastated this city in the 18th century. There are still traces of this disaster. People come to pray in front of a door which had resisted the fire and under which a girl was miraculously saved.

Later we drove to Plitvice, where we slept for the first time in a campsite and under the stars. Plitvice is incredible. The Plitvice Lakes National Park is registered as a UNESCO world heritage site. It is located in the mountainous Karst area of central Croatia. This place seems to have been spared from civilization. Its amazing landscape is composed of dozens of lakes and hundreds of waterfalls. The color of the water goes from azure to green, grey to blue. The colors change constantly depending on the angle of the sunlight.

We began our second week at Nin. We slept once again under the stars. I was finally able to bathe for the first time for more than a week! It was very hot there, and I had waited for this moment for a long time: a swim in the sea! On August 9th I also celebrated my birthday. It was an unforgettable moment; my new friends jumped on me at midnight and I even saw a shooting star ten seconds later!

The next day, we visited Krka, another place with waterfalls and where Nature glitters. Then we stayed a few days in Zadar, an ancient city hidden behind tall ramparts. I saw a magnificent circular church, about 20m in diameter, which concentrates solar energy, illuminated with all the colors of the sun at night. The best place, though, was the port, where a man called Nikola Basic has created a marine organ! Thanks to an ingenious system of pierced tubes, this musical instrument produces, among the wind and the crashing waves, incredible sounds…

We then went on to the South of Croatia, next to the sea. In the remaining two weeks, we visited numerous cities. In Trogir, I slept for the first time in the house of a local inhabitant. We were divided into three groups of eight, and each group had to find a place to sleep for the night as cheaply as possible. We could offer to work in exchange for a bed. It was a challenge! We were under the baking sun, carrying enormous backpacks. Finally a very kind man welcomed us and we spent the night in his house. It was an enormous relief. In exchange, we cleaned his garden. He left us sunbathe in it afterwards. Then we visited other cities and islands for their rich architectural heritage: Hvar, Screw, Brac, Solta, Bowl, and others.

The best was kept till last. Split is certainly the most attractive city in Croatia. It is there that Games of Thrones is filmed. For the connoisseurs, Split is Port-Réal! There are a lot of sea expeditions to show you the fortresses of the city as well as the places where the Battle of Néra was shot.

We took the night train from Split to Zagreb. At the airport, we said goodbye. We were sad of course, but promised to keep in touch. This trip had filled our heads full of wonderful memories. What a fabulous country!

Amaury CHADRIN