Flag of Croatia
Coat of Arms of Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in Central and Southeast Europe , on the coast of the Adriatic Sea . It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Italy to the west. Its capital and largest city, Zagreb , forms one of the country's primary subdivisions , with twenty counties . Other major urban centers include Split , Rijeka and Osijek . The country spans 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles), and has a population of nearly 3.9 million.
The Croats arrived in modern-day Croatia, then part of Roman Illyria , in the late 6th century. By the 7th century, they had organized the territory into two duchies . Croatia was first internationally recognized as independent on 7 June 879 during the reign of Duke Branimir . Tomislav became the first king by 925, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom . During the succession crisis after the Trpimirović dynasty ended, Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest , the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of Austria to the Croatian throne. In October 1918, the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs , independent from the Habsburg Empire , was proclaimed in Zagreb, and in December 1918, it merged into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . Following the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, most of Croatia was incorporated into a Nazi-installed puppet state, the Independent State of Croatia . A resistance movement led to the creation of the Socialist Republic of Croatia , which after the war became a founding member and constituent of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . On 25 June 1991, Croatia declared independence , and the War of Independence was successfully fought over the next four years.
Croatia is a republic and has a parliamentary system . It is a member of the European Union , the Eurozone , the Schengen Area , NATO , the United Nations , the Council of Europe , the OSCE , the World Trade Organization , a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean , and is currently in the process of joining the OECD . An active participant in United Nations peacekeeping , Croatia contributed troops to the International Security Assistance Force and was elected to fill a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council in the 2008–2009 term for the first time.
Croatia is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy . Service , industrial sectors , and agriculture dominate the economy . Tourism is a significant source of revenue for the country, with nearly 20 million tourist arrivals as of 2019. Since the 2000s, the Croatian government has heavily invested in infrastructure, especially transport routes and facilities along the Pan-European corridors . Croatia has also positioned itself as a regional energy leader in the early 2020s and is contributing to the diversification of Europe's energy supply via its floating liquefied natural gas import terminal off Krk island, LNG Hrvatska . Croatia provides social security , universal health care , and tuition-free primary and secondary education while supporting culture through public institutions and corporate investments in media and publishing . (Full article... )
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The politics of Croatia are defined by a parliamentary , representative democratic republic framework, where the Prime Minister of Croatia is the head of government in a multi-party system . Executive power is exercised by the Government and the President of Croatia . Legislative power is vested in the Croatian Parliament (Croatian : Sabor ). The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The parliament adopted the current Constitution of Croatia on 22 December 1990 and decided to declare independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. The Constitutional Decision on the Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Croatia
came into effect on 8 October 1991. The constitution has since been amended several times. The first modern parties in the country developed in the middle of the 19th century, and their agenda and appeal changed, reflecting major social changes, such as the breakup of Austria-Hungary , the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , dictatorship and social upheavals in the kingdom, World War II , the establishment of Communist rule and the breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia .
The President of the Republic (Croatian : Predsjednik/ica Republike ) is the head of state and the commander in chief of the Croatian Armed Forces and is directly elected to serve a five-year term. The government (Croatian : Vlada ), the main executive power of Croatia, is headed by the prime minister, who has four deputy prime ministers who serve also as government ministers. Twenty ministers are in charge of particular activities. The executive branch is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign and internal policies. The parliament is a unicameral legislative body. The number of Sabor representatives (MPs) ranges from 100 to 160; they are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The powers of the legislature include enactment and amendment of the constitution and laws; adoption of the government budget , declarations of war and peace, defining national boundaries, calling referendums and elections, appointments and relief of officers, supervising the Government of Croatia and other holders of public powers responsible to the Sabor, and granting of amnesties. The Croatian constitution and legislation provides for regular presidential and parliamentary elections, and the election of county prefects (county presidents) and assemblies, and city and municipal mayors and councils. (Full article... )
The following are images from various Croatia-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 2 Pluteus with the figure of king from 11th century, found in
Hollow Church in
Solin is thought to most likely depict a King of Croatia, probably
Petar Krešimir IV or
Demetrius Zvonimir . Above the sculpture,
Croatian interlace can also be seen, which is a common feature of
Croatian pre-romanesque art . (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 4 Klis Fortress in the hinterland of town of
Split was one of the places that saw action during the
First Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1242. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 5 Cathedral of
St Stephen in
Zagreb , the capital of Croatia, the 14th century interior (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 6 Ethnic structure of Croatia in 2021. (from
Croatia )
Image 8 Croatia became the 28th EU member country on 1 July 2013. (from
Croatia )
Image 9 President Zoran Milanović during an official arrival ceremony with
NATO leaders on July 10, 2024, at the
White House ,
Washington, D.C. (from
Croatia )
Image 10 The historic centre of
Trogir has been included in the
UNESCO list of
World Heritage Site since 1997. (from
Croatia )
Image 11 University of Zadar , 1396, Croatia's oldest university (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 13 A 16th century depiction of
Vrana monastery , seat of
John of Palisna . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 14 Portal of the
Trogir cathedral by sculptor
Radovan , c. 1240 (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 15 The
Baška Tablet from the 11th century, written in the Croatian language and Glagolitic script. (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 16 Poglavnik of the Independent State of Croatia,
Ante Pavelić , shakes hands with
Adolf Hitler in 1941. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 17 One of the seats of 14th-century magnate
Paul Šubić , in
Bribir . Paul held the hereditary titles of the
Ban of Croatia and
Lord of Bosnia . Croatian historians sometimes refer to Paul as "the uncrowned king of Croatia". (from
History of Croatia )
Image 19 Croatians in a caffe bar on Petar Preradović Square, also known as "Flowers Square" (
Cvjetni trg ), in
Zagreb (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 20 Galešnjak island in a shape of a heart (from
Croatia )
Image 21 A man wearing
Lika cap . (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 22 "Remnants of the Remnants" (
Reliquiae Reliquiarum ), shown on this map in yellow, represent the territory under the jurisdiction of Croatian-Slavonian
Sabor at the height of the Ottoman advance (from
History of Croatia )
Image 26 Franjo Tuđman , the 1st president of the modern independent
Republic of Croatia (from
History of Croatia )
Image 27 Savka Dabčević-Kučar ,
Croatian Spring participant; Europe's first female prime minister (from
History of Croatia )
Image 28 A tower on top of
Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) building in
Zagreb neighbourhood of Prisavlje. (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 29 Varaždin , capital of Croatia between 1767 and 1776, is the seat of
Varaždin county ; Pictured: Old Town fortress, one of 15 Croatia's sites inscribed on the
UNESCO World Heritage tentative list (from
Croatia )
Image 30 National Memorial Cemetery of The Victims of Homeland War in Vukovar , the central place of holding the
National Remembrance Day , public holiday on
November 18 , for all the victims of the war in Croatia and the
Vukovar massacre , one of the symbolic and crucial events in the
Croatian War of Independence 1991 (from
Croatia )
Image 31 Zlatni Rat beach on the Island of
Brač is one of the foremost spots of
tourism in Croatia . (from
Croatia )
Image 32 Rimac Automobili were designed and made in Croatia (from
Croatia )
Image 33 Medieval Croatia (dark green) south of
Gvozd Mountain shown in relation to medieval Slavonia (green) centered around
Diocese of Zagreb . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 34 Pula Arena , Roman amphitheatre located in
Pula , constructed between 27 BC and AD 68. (from
Croatia )
Image 35 Tourist cruise on the
Danube river, eastern
Slavonia (from
Croatia )
Image 36 Plitvice Lakes,
IUCN Category II (
National Park ) (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 37 Vučedol dove – the most famous piece of bronze age
Vučedol culture . (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 40 A map of 10th-century Croatian counties (
županije ), as they were mentioned in
De Administrando Imperio . The counties marked in blue represent the territories governed by the Croatian Ban. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 42 The climax of Hasan Pasha's Great Offensive was
third Battle of Sisak on 22 June 1593. The battle is depicted here by
Johann Weikhard von Valvasor . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 43 Josip Broz Tito led
Yugoslavia from 1944 to 1980; Pictured: Tito with the US president
Richard Nixon in the
White House , 1971 (from
Croatia )
Image 44 Dubrovnik is Croatia's most visited and most popular destination. (from
Croatia )
Image 45 University Hospital Centre Zagreb is the largest hospital in Croatia and the teaching hospital of the
University of Zagreb . (from
Croatia )
Image 46 The assassination of Croatian MPs in the National Assembly in Belgrade was one of the events which greatly damaged relations between Serbs and Croats in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 47 Portrait of a Roman woman, found in
Solin (Salona),
Croatia . (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 48 A map of the Istrian peninsula from the Roman map
Tabula Peutingeriana , made sometime in the 4th century (from
History of Croatia )
Image 49 The
Law Code of Vinodol from 1288, written in
Glagolitic script , is the earliest legal text written in the Croatian language. This code regulated relations between inhabitants of the town of
Vinodol and their overlords, the
counts of Krk . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 50 Pelješac Bridge connects the peninsula of
Pelješac and through it the southernmost part, including
Dubrovnik , with the
Croatian mainland . (from
Croatia )
Image 51 The
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within
Austria-Hungary created in 1868 following the
Croatian–Hungarian Settlement . (from
Croatia )
Image 52 Kingdom of Croatia c. 925, during the reign of
King Tomislav (from
Croatia )
Image 53 Pula Film Festival is held each year during summer. Its main stage is
Roman amphitheatre in Pula. (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 54 Two parts of the Triune Kingdom: Croatia-Slavonia (number 17) and Dalmatia (number 5) within Austria-Hungary (from
History of Croatia )
Image 55 Radio Zagreb , now a part of
Croatian national
public broadcasting company,
Croatian Radiotelevision , was the first public radio station in
Southeast Europe . (from
Croatia )
Image 56 A chair designed by Bernardo Bernardi in 1956. (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 57 The
flag of Croatia was hoisted together with the
flag of Europe on the building of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in Zagreb as a symbol of Croatia's membership in both the
Council of Europe and the
European Union (from
History of Croatia )
Image 58 Croatian musical
diva Josipa Lisac . (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 59 Landscapes of
Motovun in
Istrian peninsula (from
Croatia )
Image 60 The woodcut by
Leonhard Beck , from
c. 1515, depicts the
Battle of Krbava Field between the Army of Croatian nobility and Ottoman akinjis. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 62 Proclamation of severing ties with
Austria-Hungary in front of
Croatian Sabor in 1918. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 63 Tounj bridge on
Jozephina road (from
History of Croatia )
Image 64 The 1527 Cetingrad Charter, preserved in the
National Archives of Austria contains seals of most distinguished Croatian nobles such as:
Ivan Karlović ,
Nikola III Zrinski as well as seal with
Croatian checkerboard . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 65 A border marking of Illyrian Provinces on Sava river shores in modern-day
Zagreb . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 66 Iapodian headwear and other material culture from
Gacka valley , Croatia. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 67 Fans on
Poljud stadium during Croatia's biggest football derby between
Hajduk Split and
Dinamo Zagreb . (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 68 Marko Marulić (18 August 1450 – 5 January 1524), Croatian poet, lawyer, judge, and Renaissance humanist who coined the term "
psychology ". He is the
national poet of Croatia. (from
Croatia )
Image 70 Self-portrait with Dog (
Autoportret sa psom ) by
Miroslav Kraljević (1910)
Modern Gallery, Zagreb (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 72 Croatian borders similar to those established with the
Peace of Karlowitz in 1699. Although the peace treaty meant relief from Ottoman pressure, Croatia lost the compactness of its territory. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 73 People of Zagreb celebrating
liberation on 12 May 1945 by
Croatian Partisans (from
Croatia )
Image 74 Novigrad Castle , near
Zadar was a place where anti-court supporters held queens Mary and Elizabeth in captivity.
Velebit mountain can be seen in castle's background. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 75 Croatian soldiers raising the flag on the
Knin fortress at a commemoration of the
Operation Storm , the Croatian military action which liberated occupied Croatian territories in
1995 (from
Croatia )
Image 76 The
Split pluteus with the figure of a king, dating from the 11th century. It is hypothesized to depict a Croatian king, probably
Petar Krešimir IV or
Zvonimir . It was originally situated in
Hollow Church . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 77 The 1835 issue of the magazine
Danicza , with lyrics of what would later become the Croatian national anthem "
Lijepa naša domovino " ("Our Beautiful Homeland"). (from
History of Croatia )
Image 79 Ozalj Castle - one of Zrinski-Frankopan conspirators center and a center of Ozalj literary-linguistic circle which produced Croatian
baroque literature such as:
Putni tovaruš ,
Gazophylacium or
Gartlic za čas kratiti . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 80 Poštak Wind Farm near
Gračac ,
Zadar County . (from
Croatia )
Image 82 Cardinal
Aloysius Stepinac with the Croatian communist leader
Vladimir Bakarić at the celebration of
May Day , shortly before Stepinac was arrested and convicted by the communists (from
Croatia )
Image 83 Traditional Croatian musicians playing violins (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 84 Ban
Josip Jelačić at the opening of the first Croatian civic Parliament (
Sabor ) whose deputies were elected on 5 June 1848. In earlier Sabors, members represented feudal estates rather than citizens. The Croatian tricolor flag can also be seen in the background. Dragutin Weingärtner, 1885. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 86 Mass protests in Zagreb against the unification of the
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs with the
Kingdom of Serbia in 1918 (from
Croatia )
Image 87 Ban
Josip Jelačić at the opening of the first modern
Croatian Parliament (
Sabor ), June 5, 1848. The Croatian tricolour flag can be seen in the background. (from
Croatia )
Image 88 Architecture of Old Town in
Dubrovnik (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 90 Clockwise from top left: The central street of
Dubrovnik , the
Stradun , in ruins during the
Siege of Dubrovnik ; the damaged
Vukovar water tower , a symbol of the early conflict, flying the
Croatian tricolor ; soldiers of the
Croatian Army getting ready to destroy a
Serbian tank; the
Vukovar Memorial Cemetery; a Serbian
T-55 tank destroyed on the road to
Drniš (from
History of Croatia )
Image 91 Late 9th century
Church of Holy Salvation with a Carolingian
westwork , built at the time of duke
Branimir of Croatia . (from
History of Croatia )
Lisa Nemec at the 2015 Berlin Marathon
Lisa Christina Nemec (née Stublić ; born May 18, 1984) is a Croatian American long-distance runner . Born and raised in the United States, where she competed for the Columbia University , Stublić moved to Croatia, her father's homeland, and established herself as a leading long-distance athlete in the country, having set the Croatian records in 3000 meters steeplechase , 5000 meters , half marathon , and marathon . She is the first Croatian marathon runner ever to qualify for the Olympic Games . She finished 52nd in the marathon at the 2012 Olympics.
On 31 March 2016, Nemec was banned for doping for four years following an out-of-competition test taken in October 2015. (Full article... )
The Sava is a river in Central and Southeast Europe , a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube . From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina , and finally reaches Serbia , feeding into the Danube in its capital, Belgrade .
The Sava is 990 kilometres (615 miles) long, including the 45-kilometre (28 mi) Sava Dolinka headwater rising in Zelenci , Slovenia. It is the largest tributary of the Danube by volume of water, and the second-largest after the Tisza in terms of catchment area (97713 km² ) and length. It drains a significant portion of the Dinaric Alps region, through the major tributaries of Drina , Bosna , Kupa , Una , Vrbas , Lonja , Kolubara , Bosut and Krka . The Sava is one of the longest rivers in Europe and among the longest tributaries of another river. (Full article... )
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Hvar (
local Croatian dialect :
Hvor or
For ,
Greek :
Pharos ,
Latin :
Pharina ,
Italian :
Lesina ) is a town on the eponymous island of
Hvar in
Dalmatia ,
Croatia . The municipality has a population of 4,138 (2001) while the city itself is inhabited by 3,672 people, making it the largest settlement on the island of Hvar.
The town's harbour provided a suitable location for a port, being geographically ideal and also protected by islands, making it a safe haven for boats hiding from hazardous winds.