Portal:Croatia

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Introduction

Croatia (/kroʊˈeɪʃə/ (listen), kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska, pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska, listen) is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, on 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, sharing a maritime border with Italy. Its capital, Zagreb, forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, along with twenty counties. Croatia has an area of 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and a population of 4.28 million, most of whom are Roman Catholics.

Inhabited since the Paleolithic Age, the Croats arrived in the area in the 6th century and organised the territory into two duchies by the 9th century. Croatia was first internationally recognized as an independent state 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, which retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of kings Petar Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir. 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, in the final days of World War I, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, independent from Austria-Hungary, was proclaimed in Zagreb, and in December 1918 it was merged into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Selected general articles

White Croatia (also Great Croatia or Chrobatia) was the ill-defined homeland of the White Croats in Central and Eastern Europe. After the migration of the White Croats in the 7th century, it gradually lost its primacy under the influence of other Slavic peoples such as Czechs and Poles. It is considered that White Croatia ceased to exist as separate ethnopolitic state in the 10th century. According to the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, there existed another White Croatia along Red Croatia in Dalmatia. Read more...
The Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; German: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; Italian: Stato Indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II fascist puppet state of Germany and Italy. It was established in parts of occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, after the invasion by the Axis powers. Its territory consisted of most of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as some parts of modern-day Serbia and Slovenia, but also excluded many Croat-populated areas in Dalmatia (until late 1943), Istria, and Međimurje regions (which today are part of Croatia).

During its entire existence, the NDH was governed as a one-party state by the fascist Ustaša organization. The Ustaše was led by the Poglavnik, Ante Pavelić. The regime targeted Serbs, Jews and Roma as part of a large-scale campaign of genocide, as well as anti-fascist or dissident Croats and Muslims. Read more...
The Prime Minister of Croatia (Croatian: Premijer/ Premijerka Hrvatske), officially the President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Predsjednik/ Predsjednica Vlade Republike Hrvatske), is Croatia's head of government, and is de facto the most powerful and influential state officeholder in the Croatian system of government. Following the first-time establishment of the office in 1945, the 1990-2001 semi-presidential period is the only exception where the President of Croatia held de facto authority. In the formal Croatian order of precedence, however, the position of prime minister is the third highest state office, after the President of the Republic and the Speaker of the Parliament.

The Constitution of Croatia prescribes that "Parliament supervises the Government" (Article 81) and that "the President of the Republic ensures the regular and balanced functioning and stability of government" (as a whole; Article 94), while the Government is introduced in Article 108. Since 2000, the prime minister has had various added constitutional powers and is mentioned before the Government itself in the text of the Constitution, in Articles 87, 97, 99, 100, 101, 103, 104. The current Prime Minister of Croatia is Andrej Plenković. The Government of Croatia meets in Banski dvori, a historical building located on the west side of St. Mark's Square in Zagreb. Read more...
Clockwise from top left: Ante Pavelić visits Adolf Hitler at the Berghof, Stjepan Filipović hanged by the occupation forces, Draža Mihailović confers with his troops, a group of Chetniks with German soldiers in a village in Serbia, Josip Broz Tito with members of the British mission

Military operations in World War II in Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and client regimes. Subsequently, a guerrilla liberation war was fought against the Axis occupying forces and their locally established puppet regimes, including the fascist Independent State of Croatia and the Government of National Salvation in the German-occupied territory of Serbia, by the Communist-led republican Yugoslav Partisans. Simultaneously, a multi-side civil war was waged between the Partisans, the Serbian chauvinist Chetniks, the Croatian Ustashe and Home Guard, Serbian Volunteer Corps and State Guard, as well as Slovene Home Guard troops.

Both the Yugoslav Partisans and the Chetnik movement initially resisted the occupation. However, after 1941, Chetniks extensively and systematically collaborated with the Italian occupation forces until the Italian capitulation, and thereon also with German and Ustashe forces. The Axis mounted a series of offensives intended to destroy the Partisans, coming close to doing so in the Battle of Neretva and Battle of Sutjeska in the spring and summer of 1943. Read more...
Köppen climate types of Croatia

Most of Croatia has a moderately warm and rainy oceanic climate (Cfb) as defined by the Köppen climate classification. Mean monthly temperatures range between −3 °C (27 °F) (in January) and 18 °C (64 °F) (in July). The coldest parts of the country are Lika and Gorski Kotar where a snowy forested climate is found at elevations above 1,200 metres (3,900 ft). The warmest areas of Croatia are at the Adriatic coast and especially in its immediate hinterland, which are characterized by a Mediterranean climate since temperatures are moderated by the sea. Consequently, temperature peaks are more pronounced in the continental areas: the lowest temperature of −36.0 °C (−32.8 °F) was recorded on 4 February 1929 in Gospić, and the highest temperature of 42.8 °C (109.0 °F) was recorded on 5 August 1981 in Ploče.

The mean annual precipitation is 600 to 3,500 millimetres (24 to 138 in) depending on the geographic region and prevailing climate type. The least precipitation is recorded in the outer islands (Vis, Lastovo, Biševo, and Svetac) and in the eastern parts of Slavonia; however, in the latter case it is mostly during the growing season. The most precipitation is observed on the Dinara mountain range and in Gorski Kotar, where some of the highest annual precipitation totals in Europe occur. Read more...
Red Croatia (Latin: Croatia Rubea; Croatian: Crvena Hrvatska) is a historical term used for the southeastern parts of Roman Dalmatia and some other territories, including parts of present-day Montenegro, Albania, the Herzegovina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina and southeastern Croatia, stretching across the Adriatic Sea.

The term was first used in one version of the Chronicle of the Priest of Dioclea, which is as a whole dated to have been written in 1298–1300. It was in later years mentioned by a number of sources in various languages and by a number of people of different backgrounds. In the 19th century, during the Age of Romantic Nationalism, it became a central point of discussion and research, often a component part of Croatian nationalism, in which Red Croatia was sometimes popularized as a historical state of the Croatian people and thus should become part of a Greater Croatia. Read more...
The national flag of Croatia (Croatian: Zastava Hrvatske) or The Tricolour (Trobojnica) is one of the state symbols of Croatia. It consists of three equal size, horizontal stripes in colours red, white and blue. In the middle is the coat of arms of Croatia. Read more...
Croats (/ˈkroʊæt, ˈkroʊɑːt/; Croatian: Hrvati, pronounced [xr̩ʋăːti]) or Croatians are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia. Croats mainly live in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but are also recognized minorities in such countries as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Due to political, social and economic reasons, many Croats migrated to North and South America as well as Australia and New Zealand, establishing a diaspora. Thousands did so as war criminals, particularly to Argentina, Austria, Chile, and Paraguay in the aftermath of World War II, with grassroots assistance from their diasporae and the Roman Catholic Church. Read more...
The Republic of Ragusa (Croatian; Dubrovačka Republika) was a aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa in Italian, German and Latin; Raguse in French) in Dalmatia (today in southernmost Croatia) that carried that name from 1358 until 1808. It reached its commercial peak in the 15th and the 16th centuries, before being conquered by Napoleon's French Empire and formally annexed by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1808. It had a population of about 30,000 people, out of whom 5,000 lived within the city walls. Its Latin motto was "Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro", which means "Liberty is not well sold for all the gold". Read more...
The President of Croatia (Croatian: Predsjednik Hrvatske), officially styled the President of the Republic (Croatian: Predsjednik Republike), is the head of state, commander in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the country and abroad. The President is the holder of the highest office within the Croatia's order of precedence, however, the president is not the head of the executive branch ("non executive president") as Croatia has a parliamentary system in which the holder of the post of Prime Minister is the most powerful person within the country's constitutional framework and within everyday's politics.

The President maintains the regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government system, and safeguards the independence and territorial integrity of the country. The President has the power to call ordinary and extraordinary elections for the Croatian Parliament (in a manner specified by the Constitution), as well as to call referenda (with countersignature of the Prime Minister). The President formally appoints the Prime Minister on the basis of the balance of power in parliament and consultations conducted with the leaders of parliamentary parties, grants pardons and awards decorations and other state awards. The President and Government (Cabinet) cooperate in conducting foreign policy. In addition, the President is the commander-in-chief of the Croatian Armed Forces. The President appoints the director of the Security and Intelligence Agency in agreement with the Prime Minister. The President may dissolve the Parliament under circumstances provided by the Constitution. Although enjoying immunity, the President is impeachable for violation of the Constitution. In case of a temporary or permanent incapability by the president to discharge the duties of his or her office, the Speaker of the Parliament assumes the office of Acting President until the President resumes his or her duties, or until the election of a new president within 60 days of the permanent vacancy occurring. Read more...
Human rights in Croatia are defined by the Constitution of Croatia, chapter three, sections 14 through 69.

There are numerous non-governmental organizations dealing with the issue in the country, as well as the Croatian Government's Office for Human Rights and several equality bodies, such as The Ombudsperson for Human Rights, Ombudsperson for Gender Equality, Children's Ombudsperson and The Disability Ombudsman. Read more...
The Duchy of Croatia (Croatian: Kneževina Hrvatska; also Duchy of the Croats, Kneževina Hrvata; Dalmatian Croatia, Dalmatinska Hrvatska; Littoral Croatia, Primorska Hrvatska; Greek: Χρωβατία), was a medieval Croatian duchy that was established in the former Roman province of Dalmatia. Throughout its time it had several seats – namely, Klis, Solin, Knin, Bijaći and Nin. It comprised the whole of the littoral – the coastal part of today's Croatia – and included a large part of the mountainous hinterland, as well. The Duchy was in the center of competition between the Carolingian Empire and the Byzantine Empire for rule over the area. Rivalry with Venice emerged in the first decades of the 9th century and was to continue for the following centuries. Croatia also waged battles with the Bulgarian Empire, with whom the relations improved greatly afterwards, and the Arabs and sought to extend its control over important coastal cities under the rule of Byzantium. Croatia experienced periods of vassalage to the Franks or Byzantines and de facto independence until 879, when Croatian Duke Branimir received recognition from Pope John VIII as an independent realm. The ruling dynasty of Croatia was the House of Trpimirović, with interruptions by the House of Domagojević (864–878 and 879–c. 892). The Duchy existed until around 925 when, during the rule of Duke Tomislav, Croatia became a kingdom. Read more...
Population of Croatia (in thousands) from 1857–2011

The demographic characteristics of the population of Croatia are known through censuses, normally conducted in ten-year intervals and analysed by various statistical bureaus since the 1850s. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics has performed this task since the 1990s. The latest census in Croatia was performed in April 2011. The permanent population of Croatia at the 2011 census had reached 4.29 million. The population density is 75.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, and the overall life expectancy in Croatia at birth was 78 years in 2012. The population rose steadily (with the exception of censuses taken following the two world wars) from 2.1 million in 1857 until 1991, when it peaked at 4.7 million. Since 1991, Croatia's death rate has continuously exceeded its birth rate; the natural growth rate of the population is negative. Croatia is in the fourth or fifth stage of the demographic transition. In terms of age structure, the population is dominated by the 15‑ to 64‑year‑old segment. The median age of the population is 41.4, and the gender ratio of the total population is 0.93 males per 1 female. The country is projected to lose 350,000 citizens by 2045.

Croatia is inhabited mostly by Croats (90.4%), while minorities include Serbs (4.36%), and 21 other ethnicities (less than 1% each). The demographic history of Croatia is marked by significant migrations, including the arrival of the Croats in the area growth of Hungarian and German speaking population since the union of Croatia and Hungary, and joining of the Habsburg Empire, migrations set off by Ottoman conquests and growth of Italian speaking population in Istria and in Dalmatia during Venetian rule there. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the Hungarian population declined, while the German-speaking population was forced or compelled to leave after World War II and similar fate was suffered by the Italian population. Late 19th century and the 20th century were marked by large scale economic migrations abroad. The 1940s and the 1950s in Yugoslavia were marked by internal migrations in Yugoslavia, as well as by urbanisation. The most recent significant migrations came as a result of the Croatian War of Independence when hundreds of thousands were displaced. Read more...
The coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Grb Republike Hrvatske) consists of one main shield and five smaller shields which form a crown over the main shield. The main coat of arms is a checkerboard (chequy) that consists of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields. It's also informally known in Croatian as šahovnica ("chessboard", from šah, "chess"). The five smaller shields represent five different historical regions within Croatia. Read more...
Law enforcement in Croatia is the responsibility of the Police (Croatian: Policija), which is a public service of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, carrying out certain tasks, the so-called, police activities, laid down by law.

The Police deals with the following affairs: protection of individual life, rights, security and integrity, protection of property, prevention and detection of criminal offences, misdemeanors, violations, search for perpetrators of criminal offences, misdemeanors, violations and their bringing before competent authorities, control and management of road traffic, conducting affairs with aliens, control and security of state border, and other affairs defined by law. Read more...
The 2013 enlargement of the European Union saw Croatia join the European Union as its 28th member state on 1 July 2013.

The country applied for EU membership in 2003, and the European Commission recommended making it an official candidate in early 2004. Candidate country status was granted to Croatia by the European Council in mid-2004. The entry negotiations, while originally set for March 2005, began in October that year together with the screening process. Read more...
The main protected areas of Croatia are national parks, nature parks and strict reserves. There are 444 protected areas of Croatia, encompassing 9% of the country. Those include 8 national parks in Croatia, 2 strict reserves and 11 nature parks. The most famous protected area and the oldest national park in Croatia is the Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Velebit Nature Park is a part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. The strict and special reserves, as well as the national and nature parks, are managed and protected by the central government, while other protected areas are managed by counties. In 2005, the National Ecological Network was set up, as the first step in preparation of the EU accession and joining of the Natura 2000 network.

The total area of all national parks in the country is 994 km² (384 sq mi), of which 235 km² (91 sq mi) is sea surface. Read more...
The area known as Croatia today has been inhabited throughout the prehistoric period, ever since the Stone Age, up to the Migrations Period and the arrival of the Croats. Read more...
The Croatian Parliament (Croatian: Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia; it is Croatia's legislature. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor is composed of 151 members elected to a four-year term on the basis of direct, universal and equal suffrage by secret ballot. Seats are allocated according to the Croatian Parliament electoral districts: 140 members of the parliament are elected in multi-seat constituencies, 8 from the minorities and 3 from the Croatian diaspora. The Sabor is presided over by a Speaker, who is assisted by at least one deputy speaker (usually four or five deputies).

The Sabor's powers are defined by the Constitution and they include: defining economic, legal and political relations in Croatia, preservation and use of its heritage and entering into alliances. The Sabor has the right to deploy the Croatian armed forces abroad, and it may restrict some constitutional rights and liberties in wartime or in cases of imminent war or following natural disasters. The Sabor amends the borders of Croatia or the Constitution, enacts legislation, passes the state budget, declares war and decides on cessation of hostilities, adopts parliamentary resolutions and bylaws, adopts long-term national security and defence strategies, implements civil supervision of the armed forces and security services, calls referenda, performs elections and appointments conforming to the constitution and applicable legislation, supervises operations of the Government and other civil services responsible to the parliament, grants amnesty for criminal offences and performs other duties defined by the constitution. Read more...
Narentine State or Pagania in the 9th century, according to De Administrando Imperio.

The Narentines were a South Slavic tribe that occupied an area of southern Dalmatia centered at the river Neretva (Narenta), active in the 9th and 10th centuries, noted as pirates on the Adriatic. Named Narentani in Venetian sources, Greek sources call them Paganoi, "pagans", as they were for long pagan, in a time when neighbouring tribes were Christianized. The tribe were fierce enemies of the Republic of Venice, having attacked Venetian merchants and clergy passing on the Adriatic, and even raided close to Venice itself, as well as defeated the Doge several times. Venetian–Narentine peace treaties did not last long, as the Narentines quickly returned to piracy. They were finally defeated in a Venetian crackdown at the turn of the 10th century and disappeared from sources by the 11th century. Read more...
Women in Croatia wearing traditional costume

Women in Croatia form half the population and in modern Croatian culture they are largely equal to men. Read more...
Croatian language dictionary published by Vladimir Anić in 1991

The Croatian language is the official language of Croatia, and one of 24 official languages of the European Union since 2013. Minority languages are in official use in local government units where more than a third of the population consists of national minorities or where local legislation mandates their use. These languages are Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Ruthenian, Serbian and Slovak. According to the 2011 Census, 95.60% of citizens of Croatia declared Croatian as their native language, 1.23% declared Serbian as their native language, while no other language is represented in Croatia by more than 0.5% of native speakers among the population of Croatia.

Croatian replaced Latin as the official language of the Croatian government in 1847. The Croatian lect is generally viewed as one of the three standard varieties of the Shtokavian dialect of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language. Croatian is written using the Latin alphabet and there are three major dialects spoken on the territory of Croatia, with the Shtokavian idiom used as the literary standard. The Chakavian and Kajkavian dialects are distinguished by their lexicon, phonology, and syntax. Read more...
The kuna is the currency of Croatia, in use since 1994 (sign: kn; code: HRK). It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute.

The word "kuna" means "marten" in Croatian, referring to the historical use of marten pelts as units of value in medieval trading. The word lipa means "linden (lime) tree", a species that was traditionally planted around marketplaces in Croatia and elsewhere in the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the early modern period. Read more...
This is the history of Croatia since the end of the Croatian War of Independence. Read more...
Orders, decorations, and medals of Croatia

The system of honours of the Republic of Croatia was established after the independence of Croatia in 1991. There are eighteen main decorations conferred since 1995, in addition to several other medals and awards.

The President of the Republic of Croatia confers decoration and awards of the Republic of Croatia on his/her own initiative or at the suggestion of the State Commission for Decorations and Awards. Decorations and awards can be conferred on Croatian or foreign nationals, legal entities as well as units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of the Interior. Read more...
Zachlumia or Zachumlia (Serbo-Croatian: Zahumlje / Захумље; pronounced [zǎxuːmʎe]), also Hum, was a medieval principality located in the modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia (today parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, respectively). In some periods it was a fully independent or semi-independent South Slavic principality. It maintained relations with various foreign and neighbouring powers (Byzantine Empire, First Bulgarian Empire, Kingdom of Croatia, Principality of Serbia) and later was subjected (temporarily of for a longer period of time) to Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Serbia, Kingdom of Bosnia, Duchy of Saint Sava and at the end to the Ottoman Empire. Read more...
Croatia has a universal health care system, whose roots can be traced back to the Hungarian-Croatian Parliament Act of 1891, providing a form of mandatory insurance of all factory workers and craftsmen. The population is covered by a basic health insurance plan provided by statute and optional insurance and administered by the Croatian Health Insurance Fund. In 2012, annual compulsory healthcare related expenditures reached 21.0 billion kuna (approximately 2.8 billion euro). Read more...
View of Baćina lakes

This is a list of lakes in Croatia. The table lists some lakes with an area of 0.2 km² or bigger, sorted by size.

(* denotes artificial lake) Read more...
Privatization in Croatia refers to political and economic reforms which include the privatization of state-owned assets in Croatia. Privatization started in the late 1980s under Yugoslav Prime Minister Ante Marković and mostly took place in the 1990s after the breakup of Yugoslavia, during the presidency of Franjo Tuđman and the rule of his party Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), and continued in the 2000s with the privatization of large state enterprises. Many aspects of the privatization process are still seen as controversial as the political and economic turmoil, coupled with the events of the simultaneous 1991–95 independence war, are thought to have led to a degree of criminal activity. Read more...
Industry of Croatia plays an important role in the country's economy. It has a longstanding tradition based since the 19th century on agriculture, forestry and mining. Many industrial branches developed at that time, like wood industry, food manufacturing, potash production, shipbuilding, leather and footwear production, textile industry, and others. Today, the industrial sectors in Croatia are food and beverage industry (approx. 24% of total manufacturing industry revenue), metal processing and machine industry, including vehicles (20%), coke and refined petroleum production (17%), chemical, pharmaceutical, rubber and plastics industry (11%), wood, furniture and paper manufacturing (9%), electrical equipment, electronics and optics fabrication (9%), textile, clothing and footwear industry (5%) as well as construction and building materials production (5%).

In the structure of Croatian Gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015, industry's share was 21.2%. Industry's export reached around 10 billion euros in 2015, representing 94.5% of total export. In the same year the industrial production growth rate was 2.7%. Read more...
The Republic of Croatia is a sovereign country at the crossroads of Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean that declared its independence from SFR Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. Croatia is a member of the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN), the Council of Europe, NATO, the World Trade Organization (WTO), Union for the Mediterranean and a number of many other international organizations. Croatia has established diplomatic relations with 181 countries. President and the Government, through the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, co-operate in the formulation and implementation of foreign policy.

The main objectives of Croatian foreign policy during the 1990s were gaining international recognition and joining the United Nations. After these objectives have been achieved by year 2000, two main goals became NATO and EU membership. Croatia fulfilled both of these goals, first in 2009, second in 2013. Current Croatian goals in foreign policy are: positioning within the EU institutions and in the region, cooperation with NATO partners and strengthening multilateral and bilateral cooperation worldwide. Read more...
Traditional extent of Serbo-Croatian dialects in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Croatian (/kroʊˈeɪʃən/ (listen); hrvatski [xř̩ʋaːtskiː]) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language used by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighboring countries. It is the official and literary standard of Croatia and one of the official languages of the European Union. Croatian is also one of the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a recognized minority language in Serbia, and neighboring countries.

Standard Croatian is based on the most widespread dialect of Serbo-Croatian, Shtokavian, more specifically on Eastern Herzegovinian, which is also the basis of Standard Serbian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin. In the mid-18th century, the first attempts to provide a Croatian literary standard began on the basis of the Neo-Shtokavian dialect that served as a supraregional lingua franca pushing back regional Chakavian, Kajkavian, and Shtokavian vernaculars. The decisive role was played by Croatian Vukovians, who cemented the usage of Ijekavian Neo-Shtokavian as the literary standard in the late 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, in addition to designing a phonological orthography. Croatian is written in Gaj's Latin alphabet. Read more...
Municipalities in Croatia (Croatian: općina; plural: općine) are the second lowest administrative unit of government in the country, and along with cities and towns (grad, plural: gradovi) they form the second level of administrative subdisivion, after counties.

Though equal in powers and administrative bodies, municipalities and towns differ in that municipalities are usually more likely to consist of a collection of villages in rural or suburban areas, whereas towns are more likely to cover urbanised areas. Croatian law defines municipalities as local self-government units which are established, in an area where several inhabited settlements represent a natural, economic and social entity, related to one other by the common interests of the area's population. Read more...
This article lists political parties in Croatia.

Croatia has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must collaborate in order to form coalition governments. Between January 1990, when political parties were legalized in Croatia, and March 2015, 264 political parties were registered, out of which 118 have since been struck from the register. Read more...
This is a list of mountains (Croatian: planina) in Croatia.

The highest mountains in Croatia belong to the Dinarides range that is sometimes also called Dinaric Alps, of which Dinara is the highest mountain in Croatia. Together with the easternmost parts of the Alps, these mountains span most of the country, and their orogenic activity started in the Paleozoic with the Variscan orogeny and continued in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic with the Alpine orogeny. Read more...
St Jacobs Cathedral, Šibenik

The architecture of Croatia has roots in a long history: the Croats have inhabited the area for fourteen centuries, but there are important remnants of earlier periods still preserved in the country. Read more...
Croatian cuisine is heterogeneous and is known as a cuisine of the regions, since every region of Croatia has its own distinct culinary tradition. Its roots date back to ancient times. The differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of cooking are most notable between those in mainland and those in coastal regions. Mainland cuisine is more characterized by the earlier Slavic and the more recent contacts with Hungarian and Turkish cuisine, using lard for cooking, and spices such as black pepper, paprika, and garlic. The coastal region bears the influences of the Greek and Roman cuisine, as well as of the later Mediterranean cuisine, in particular Italian (especially Venetian). Coastal cuisines use olive oil, and herbs and spices such as rosemary, sage, bay leaf, oregano, marjoram, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and lemon and orange rind. Peasant cooking traditions are based on imaginative variations of several basic ingredients (cereals, dairy products, meat, fish, vegetables, nuts) and cooking procedures (stewing, grilling, roasting, baking), while bourgeois cuisine involves more complicated procedures and use of selected herbs and spices. Charcuterie is part of the Croatian culinary tradition in all regions. Food and recipes from other former Yugoslav countries are also popular in Croatia.

Croatian cuisine can be divided into several distinct cuisines (Istria, Dalmatia, Dubrovnik, Lika, Gorski Kotar, Zagorje, Međimurje, Podravina, Slavonija) each of which has specific cooking traditions, characteristic for the area and not necessarily well known in other parts of Croatia. Most dishes, however, can be found all across the country, with local variants. Read more...
The cinema of Croatia has a somewhat shorter tradition than what is common for other Central European countries: the serious beginning of Croatian cinema starts with the rise of the Yugoslavian film industry in the 1940s. Three Croatian feature films were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, several of them gained awards at major festivals, and the Croatian contribution in the field of animation is particularly important. Read more...
The anthem's lyrics were first published in the 14 March 1835 issue of Danicza.

"Lijepa naša domovino" (Croatian: [ljeːpa nâʃa domoʋǐːno]; English: "Our Beautiful Homeland") is the national anthem of Croatia. It is often referred to as just "Lijepa naša" (English: "Our Beautiful") in Croatia, which is also a phrase widely used as a metonym for the country. Read more...
Counties of Croatia: Bjelovar-Bilogora Brod-Posavina Dubrovnik-Neretva Istria Karlovac Koprivnica-Križevci Krapina-Zagorje Lika-Senj Međimurje Osijek-Baranja Požega-Slavonia Primorje-Gorski Kotar Šibenik-Knin Sisak-Moslavina Split-Dalmatia Varaždin Virovitica-Podravina Vukovar-Srijem Zadar City of Zagreb Zagreb County

The counties of Croatia (Croatian: županije) are the primary administrative subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia.
Since they were re-established in 1992, Croatia has been divided into 20 counties and the capital city of Zagreb, which has the authority and legal status of both a county and a city (separate from the surrounding Zagreb County). As of 2015, the counties are subdivided into 128 cities and 428 (mostly rural) municipalities. Read more...
Croatian Armed Forces emblem

The Republic of Croatia Armed Forces (Croatian: Oružane snage Republike Hrvatske – OSRH) is the military service of Croatia.

The President is the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, and exercises administrative powers in times of war by giving orders to the chief of staff, while administration and defence policy execution in peacetime is carried out by the Government through the Ministry of Defence. This unified institution consists of land, sea, and air branches referred to as: Read more...
The Kingdom of Croatia (Latin: Regnum Croatiae; Croatian: Hrvatsko kraljevstvo or Kraljevina Hrvatska) entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102, after a period of rule of kings from the Trpimirović and Svetoslavić dynasties and a succession crisis following the death of king Demetrius Zvonimir. With the coronation of King Coloman of Hungary as "King of Croatia and Dalmatia" in 1102 in Biograd, the realm passed to the Árpád dynasty until 1301, when the (male) line of the dynasty died out. Then, kings from the Capetian House of Anjou, who were also cognatic descendants of the Árpád kings, ruled the kingdoms. Later centuries were characterized by conflicts with the Mongols, who sacked Zagreb in 1242, competition with Venice for control over Dalmatian coastal cities, and internal warfare among Croatian nobility. Various powerful nobles emerged in the time period, like Paul I Šubić of Bribir and Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, that secured de facto independence for their realms. The Ottoman incursion into Europe in the 16th century significantly reduced Croatian territories and left the country weak and divided. After the death of Louis II in 1526 during the Battle of Mohács and a brief period of dynastic dispute, both crowns passed to the Austrian House of Habsburg, and the realms became part of the Habsburg Monarchy.

Some of the terms of Coloman's coronation and the later status of the Croatian nobles are detailed in the Pacta Conventa, a document preserved only in transcript from the 14th century. The precise terms of this relationship became a matter of dispute in the 19th century; nonetheless, even in dynastic union with Hungary, institutions of separate Croatian statehood were maintained through the Sabor (an assembly of Croatian nobles) and the ban (viceroy). In addition, the Croatian nobles retained their lands and titles. Read more...
Croatian literature refers to literary works attributed to the medieval and modern culture of the Croats, Croatia and the Croatian language. Besides the modern language whose shape and orthography was standardized in the late 19th century, it also covers the oldest works produced within the modern borders of Croatia, written in Church Slavonic and Medieval Latin, as well as vernacular works written in Čakavian and Kajkavian dialects. Read more...
The Croatian National Bank (Croatian: Hrvatska narodna banka or HNB; pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː nǎːrodnaː bâːŋka]) is the central bank of the Republic of Croatia.

HNB was established by the Constitution of Croatia which was passed by the Croatian Parliament on 21 December 1990. Its main responsibilities are maintaining the stability of the national currency, the kuna, and ensuring general financial liquidity within the country. HNB also issues banknotes and holds the national monetary reserves. In performing its duties HNB acts as an independent institution responsible to the Parliament. The bank has a share capital of 2,500,000,000 Croatian kunas (c. US$ 450 million). HNB acts in accordance with Law on Croatian National Bank. Read more...
An urbanized area in Croatia can gain the status of grad (which can be translated as town or city as there is no distinction between the two terms in Croatian) if it meets one of the following requirements:
1. is the center of a county (županija), or
2. has more than 10,000 residents, or
3. is defined by an exception (where the necessary historical, economic or geographic reasons exist)
A city (town) represents an urban, historical, natural, economic and social whole. The suburbs comprising an economic and social whole with the city, connected with it by daily migration movements and daily needs of the population of local significance, may also be included into the composition of a city as unit of local self-government. Read more...
"Constitution no. 1", which is kept in the great hall of the Palace of the Constitutional Court and is used on the occasion of the presidential inauguration

The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Ustav Republike Hrvatske) is promulgated by the Croatian Parliament. Read more...
Education in Croatia is a right defended by Article 66 of the Constitution which states that everyone is entitled to free compulsory education under equal conditions and in accordance with their aptitudes.
Education is mandatory for children aged 6 to 15.

The educational system in Croatia begins with preschools-kindergartens. Children start their compulsory eight year long primary education from the age of 6. After finishing elementary school, students can continue their education, based on grades in elementary school, in four year non-compulsory secondary schools that are divided by the curriculum into gymnasiums, vocational (technical, industrial, trade) and art (music, dance, art) schools. Since 2010, enrollment in higher educational institutions is determined by a student's scores on the Matura high-school exit exam. Institutions of higher education offer both university and professional studies. Higher education institutions are divided into polytechnics, colleges, faculties and academies of art. Since 2005, all study programs are aligned with the requirements of the Bologna Process. Five-year university programs enable students to work in science, education, business, the public sector, etc., and can be at undergraduate (BA), graduate (MA) or postgraduate (PhD) level. Professional studies last two to three years, and are offered at polytechnics and colleges. Upon completion, graduates get the title of professional bachelor (bacc). Read more...

For more information on main flags see article: Flag of CroatiaThis is a list of flags which have been, or are still today, used in Croatia or by Croats. Read more...

The following is a list of radio stations in Croatia. Read more...

Did you know...

... that Croatian theater director Saša Broz trademarked the name and signatures of her grandfather, Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito?
... that Croatia's first female general joined the army by mistake?
... that the Pragmatic Sanction of 1712, allowing a Habsburg princess to become Queen of Croatia, is evoked in the Constitution of Croatia as a demonstration of Croatian millennial statehood?
... that the first Croatian fictional film, Brcko in Zagreb, is now considered lost?
... that Croatian oceanographer Mira Zore-Armanda had difficulty gaining passage on research vessels because she was a woman?
... that biathlete Jakov Fak won a silver medal for Slovenia at the 2018 Winter Olympics, having previously won a bronze medal for Croatia in Vancouver?

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Selected images

Croatian ban Nikola Šubić Zrinski is honoured as a national hero both in Croatia and in Hungary for his defence of Szigetvár against the invading Ottoman Turks
Zlatni Rat beach on the Island of Brač is one of the foremost spots of tourism in Croatia.
Group photograph of European Union heads of government on occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome in Rome, Italy
Inside Croatian Parliament − Sabor
Bora 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, e.g. in the town of Senj
Panoramic view of the old city of Dubrovnik, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
People of Zagreb celebrating liberation from Axis powers on 12 May 1945
St. Mark's Square in Zagreb – Left-to-right: Banski dvori official residence of the Croatian Government, St. Mark's Church and Croatian Parliament
University Hospital Centre Zagreb.
Istrian vineyards; Wine is produced in nearly all regions of Croatia
Poljud stadium, Split was the venue of the 1990 European Athletics Championships.
Josip Broz Tito, a Croat by nationality, led SFR Yugoslavia from 1944 to 1980; Pictured: Tito with the US president Richard Nixon in the White House, 1971
Satellite image of Croatia
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
1st-century Pula Arena was the sixth largest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire
The Baška tablet, the oldest evidence of the glagolitic script
Seat of the Constitutional Court on the St. Mark's Square, Zagreb
Trakošćan Castle is one of the best preserved historic buildings in the country.
Wooden trail through nature park Kopački Rit in Osijek-Baranja County
Library of the University of Split
Rijeka has the largest and busiest container port in the country
The Arrival of the Croats at the Adriatic Sea by Oton Iveković
Ban Josip Jelačić fought Hungarians in 1848 and 1849
Lobster from Dalmatia
Historical nucleus of Split with the 4th-century Diocletian's Palace was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979
Kingdom of Croatia c. 925, during the reign of King Tomislav
Teran wine from Istria County
Arena Zagreb, one of venues of the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship.
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (no. 17) was an autonomous kingdom within Austria-Hungary created in 1868 following the Croatian-Hungarian Settlement
Croatia has over 1250 km of modern highways most of which were built in the early 2000s; Pictured: A1 motorway near Maslenica
Adolf Hitler meets fascist dictator Ante Pavelić upon his arrival at the Berghof for a state visit, June 1941
Köppen climate types of Croatia
Šibenik Cathedral has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2000
The Branimir Inscription is the oldest preserved monument containing an inscription defining a Croatian medieval ruler as a duke of Croats
Church of St Donatus (9th century) in Zadar is the second largest Pre-Romanesque rotunda in Europe
Flag hoisting ceremony at Ministry of Defence marking Croatian accession to the NATO in 2009
Croatian army soldiers - training exercise during the Immediate Response 2012 (IR12) training event held in Slunj
University of Zagreb is the largest Croatian university and the oldest university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe (1669)
Historic centre of Trogir has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Site since 1997s
Population pyramid 2016
University of Osijek
Croatia national football team came in second at the 2018 World Cup
Map of the dialects of Croatia
Telašćica Nature Park
Ivan Gundulić, the most prominent Croatian Baroque poet
Dinara is the highest mountain in Croatia (1831m)
National and University Library in Zagreb
Stjepan Radić, leader of the Croatian Peasant Party who advocated federal organisation of the Yugoslavia, at the assembly in Dubrovnik, 1928
Plitvice Lakes National Park
Radio Zagreb, now a part of Croatian Radiotelevision, was the first public radio station in Southeast Europe.
Paklinski Islands, located on the southwest coast of the island of Hvar
Croatia has over a thousand islands; Pictured: Adriatic Sea Dalmatia.
Zagreb Airport is the largest and busiest international airport in the country
Franjo Tuđman was the first democratically elected President of Croatia
Tanais Tablet B, name Khoroáthos highlighted
Marija Bistrica is Croatia's largest Catholic pilgrimage site
Croatia has been a member of the European Union since 2013.
Destroyed Yugoslav Army tank, a scene from the Croatian War of Independence
Croatian Air Force and US Navy aircraft participate in multinational training, 2002

In the news

22 January 2019 –: Five foreign demining experts, identified as two South Africans, one Croatian, one Bosnian and one Kosovar, are killed in an accidental explosion in Yemen. (BBC)