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...)
Image 15Croatian 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 16Cardinal 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, he became a symbol of resistance to the communist regime in Yugoslavia. (from Croatia)
Image 29Bora is a dry, cold wind which blows from the mainland out to sea, whose gusts can reach hurricane strength, particularly in the channel below Velebit. On the picture Bora in the town of Senj. (from Croatia)
Image 38The 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 45On January 1, 2023, Croatia replaced the kuna as its national currency and adopted the euro, on the same day Croatia became part of the Schengen zone. (from Croatia)
Image 46A 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 47A border marking of Illyrian Provinces on Sava river shores in modern-day Zagreb. (from History of Croatia)
Image 48Marko 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 49The 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 62President Zoran Milanović at the NATO summit on 11 July 2023, Vilnius, Lithuania. The accession of Croatia to NATO took place in 2009. (from Croatia)
Image 67Ban 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 70A chair designed by Bernardo Bernardi in 1956. (from Culture of Croatia)
Image 71"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 81One 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 84Ban 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)
Zaprešić (pronounced[zâːpreʃitɕ]) is a town in Hrvatsko zagorje, Zagreb County in Croatia. It has a population of 19,644 inhabitants in the town proper, with 25,223 in the administrative area. The town's metropolitan area, which encompasses the seven neighbouring municipalities, has a population of 54,640. Zaprešić is the third-largest, and most densely populated town of the county. It is located northwest of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and near the Slovenian border. It is centered on plains north of the Sava River, and is bordered by Medvednica Mountain to the east, and the Marija Gorica Hills to the west.
The first human settlement in, and near Zaprešić dates from the Neolithic, and several Roman roads were constructed in the area. Vicinity to transport corridors is also reflected in the meaning of the name (za, 'near or behind', prešće 'crossing'). The first records of the settlement date from 1474. (although, some authors claim that the church of Saint Peter in Zaprešić could have been mentioned in a document supposedly written in 1334). In the late medieval and early modern times, the village history includes being a part of a feudal estate Susedgrad, as well of being a part of Brdovec parish. (Full article...)
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.