Presentation CROATIA
BASIC FACTS
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe and Southeastern Europeat the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Adriatic Sea. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. Croatia borders Slovenia to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast.
The Croats arrived in the early 7th century in what today is Croatia. They organized the state into two dukedoms. The first king, King Tomislav was crowned in AD 925 and Croatia was elevated into the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for almost two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Demetrius Zvonimir. Croatia entered a union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand from the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, Croatia was included in the short-lived State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs that declared independence from Austria–Hungary and co-founded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A Croatian state briefly existed during World War II, but it was a Nazi/Fascist puppet-state. After World War II, Croatia became a founding member of the Second Yugoslavia. On 25 June 1991, Croatia declared independence and became a sovereign state.
Since the fall of communism and the end of the Croatian War of Independence, Croatia has achieved high human development and income equality, and ranks highly amongst Central European nations in terms of education, health, quality of life and economic dynamism. Croatia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, NATO, the World Trade Organization and CEFTA. Croatia is an acceding state of the European Union, with entry expected in July 2013, and is a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean. Croatia is classified as an emerging and developing economy by the International Monetary Fund and a high income economy by the World Bank.
Area: Total 56,594 km2 (126th); 21,851 sq mi
– Water (%) 1.09
Population – 2011 census 4,290,612
Density 76/km2; 196/sq mi
Capital (and largest city): Zagreb
Official language(s): Croatian
Ethnic groups (2001) 89.6% Croats, 4.5% Serbs, 5.9% others and unspecified
Government: Parliamentary republic
Prime Minister: Jadranka Kosor
Establishment:
– Principality 785
– Independent Principality 879
– Kingdom 925
– Union with Hungary 1102
– Joined Habsburg Empire 1 January 1527
– Independence of SHS from Austria–Hungary 29 October 1918
– Yugoslavia becomes Republic 29 November 1943
– Decision on independence 25 June 1991
– Declaration of independence 8 October 1991
GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate: Total $78.090 billion
– Per capita $17,683
GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate: Total $60.589 billion
– Per capita $13,720
Nature in full colour
Croatia is one of the ecologically best preserved parts of Europe. It is a land where the hues of the sunny and warm Mediterranean happily blend with the tranquillity and freshness of mountains and the gentle sway of the golden plains of Pannonia. A land of truly divine inspiration that has delighted many of the world’s prominent men of letters. A rare European landscape which boasts as many as eight national parks in so small an area!
With Risnjak, Paklenica, the Plitvice Lakes and Northern Velebit in the mountainous area, and with the Kornati Archipelago, the island of Mljet, the Brijuni Archipelago and the Krka waterfalls in the coastal area, Croatia is indeed a jewel of the primeval beauty of nature. Adding to that two arboretums, one in Trsteno, near Dubrovnik, and Opeka, near Vinica, numerous historical parks and protected nature parks, it is indeed a green land, with as many as 4300 plant and as many animal species.
Do not delay: sail the azure blue waters of the Adriatic and discover the island which is one of the last habitats of the griffon vulture in Europe. For dedicated nature lovers in Croatia you can put to sea with an adopted dolphin or, if you are particularly lucky, encounter the mysterious and rare Mediterranean monk seal. Whatever you decide to do, you will find that this is a place where the colours of nature are at their warmest and fullest.
Adriatic sea
The big blue of the small Adriatic sea is 783 km long, and if one includes the islands then the coastline is 7868 km, from which the Croatian part is 74% or 5385 km and truly epitomises the best qualities of the Mediterranean. If you want the precise figures: the clarity and transparency of the open sea reaches depths of 56 m whilst on the shore it is 5m deep. The depth of the sea in the north that runs along the Istrian coast is the shallowest at about 50m, whilst at Palagruža it reaches up to 250m and around the most distant island of Jabuka it reaches 1300m in depth. The average temperature of the sea surface in the summer months is between 22-27 oC, whilst it is at its lowest in winter at around 7 oC and in the spring it is a comfortable 18 degrees.
Beaches
Croatia offers absolutely all types of beach. There are family beaches with gentle coves that are made from pebbles or gentle rocks, which can be found almost everywhere on the Adriatic coast, tidy town beaches and modern beaches for walking and having fun such as the crazy beach of Zrće on Pag, naturist beaches such as Koversada and Valalta in Istria, Punat and Baška on Krk or Lokrum beach near Dubrovnik, there are those that are deserted and difficult to get to on the islands, as well as pretty sandy beaches such as those on the island of Susak, the so called Saharun on Dugi Otok, Lumbarda on Korčula, and Orebić and Kukljica on the island of Ugljan. A large number of beaches in Croatia are crowned with a fluttering blue ecological flag ,where asides from having a sea and coastline that is totally clean, they also offer complete safety as well as numerous accompanying facilities.
Gastro & wine corner
The continental cuisine is typical for its early proto-Slavic roots and more recent contacts with established schools of gastronomy – Hungarian, Viennese, and Turkish. Meat products, freshwater fish and vegetables dominate.
The coastal region is characterized by the influences of the Greeks, Romans, Illyrians and later Mediterranean cuisines – Italian and French. It features many seafood specialties (squid, cuttlefish, octopus, shrimp, lobster…) prepared in various ways, olive oil, prosciutto, various vegetables, Dalmatian wines such as Babić, Malvasia, Prosecco and Vrbnik Žlahtina, and various liqueurs like the famous Maraschino.
In 2008, the national culinary team participated for the first time in the world encounter of chefs and pastry chefs, the Culinary Olympics held in Erfurt, Germany, and won the bronze medal.
Croatian cuisine
The Croatian cuisine is diverse and known as a cuisine of different regions. Its modern form originates from the proto-Slavic and ancient times. The differences in the selection of ingredients and preparation methods are the most obvious if we compare the continental and coastal regions.
The continental cuisine is typical for its early proto-Slavic roots and more recent contacts with established schools of gastronomy – Hungarian, Viennese, and Turkish. Meat products, freshwater fish and vegetables dominate. The coastal region is characterized by the influences of the Greeks, Romans, Illyrians and later Mediterranean cuisines – Italian and French. It features many seafood specialties (squid, cuttlefish, octopus, shrimp, lobster…) prepared in various ways, olive oil, prosciutto, various vegetables, Dalmatian wines such as Babić, Malvasia, Prosecco and Vrbnik Žlahtina, and various liqueurs like the famous Maraschino.
In 2008, the national culinary team participated for the first time in the world encounter of chefs and pastry chefs, the Culinary Olympics held in Erfurt, Germany, and won the bronze medal.
Treasure trove of impressive history
Welcome to Croatia! A land whose rich cultural heritage is not discovered only from within the walls of numerous museums, galleries and churches, many of which today, as zero category monuments, are included in a part of the UNESCO World Heritage List, but much more in that magical place on the Mediterranean, where even the shortest stroll becomes a journey down a staircase thousands of years old which takes one through a history that is at the same time turbulent, exciting and glorious. Whether walking the intricate grid of narrow white stone streets and alleys, or revelling in the teeming life of the port towns of Istria, Kvarner or Dalmatia, or climbing the green serpentines of Central Croatia to the fairy-like fortresses and castles, each step is an ever fresh experience, made special by the fact that on her territory as many as four cultural circles meet, intertwine and complement one another – west, east, Central European and the southern spirit of the Mediterranean. Croatia is a land of urban culture which numbers more cities than any other part of the Mediterranean.
If you are interested in the days of antiquity, you should start from the Roman amphitheatre in Pula, through Zadar and its forum – the largest excavated forum on the eastern shores of the Adriatic – and then to the magnificent palace of Emperor Diocletian in Split. Walk through time, from the pre-Romanesque Church of St. Domnius in Zadar dating from the 9th century, to the world of the Romanesque that is the magical monument city of Trogir, or the islands of Krk and Rab. Follow the Gothic period in Zagreb, Pazin, or, for instance, the town of Ston on the Pelješac peninsula. Discover the Renaissance in Osor on the island of Cres, Šibenik cathedral, the islands of Hvar and Korčula, and finally, the one and only Dubrovnik. The towns of Varaždin, Bjelovar and Vukovar glow with the splendour of the Baroque, while the heritage of the 19th century is at its best in Rijeka, Osijek and, of course, in downtown Zagreb.
UNESCO HERITAGE
A land whose rich cultural heritage is discovered not only from within the walls of numerous museums, galleries and churches, many of which today, as zero category monuments are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, but also in that magical place on the Mediterranean, where even the shortest stroll becomes a journey down a staircase thousands of years old, which takes one through a history that is at the same time turbulent, exciting and glorious.
With as many as seven cultural phenomena- The Festivity of Saint Blaise, lace-making in Lepoglava, Hvar and Pag, the bell ringers from the Kastav region, the Hvar Procession Za Križem, (‘following the Cross’), two-part singing in the Istrian scale, in Istria and Hrvatsko Primorje, the spring procession of ‘Ljelje’ and traditional manufacture of wooden toys in the Hrvatsko zagorje region, Croatia is among the countries with the most protected intangible cultural heritage elements, recorded on the UNESCO List.
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