Croatia is the southern most Central European country which is situated between the Pannonian plain and the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of Croatia is Zagreb. Croatia is also the member of NATO and the Organization for the security and co-operation in Europe.
Croatia shares its borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east, Slovenia and Hungary to the north, Serbia to the northeast, and Montenegro to the southeast.
Croatia Etymology:-
The country’s name Croatia is originated from the word “Hrvat” which is a Sarmatian word means “herdsman” or “cowboy” which in turn related to the tribes of Alan.
Croatia History:-
In earlier history the first people who settled in Croatia were Illyrians and after that in 4th BC Celts and Greeks made their colonies there. Croats divided the area into two Duchy’s namely Pannonian duchy in the north and Dalmatian duchy in the south when they came to the country in 7th BC and ruled by Duke Branimir.
Under the king of Trpimirovic dynasty named Tomislav the two duchies were united and created a state. The result of the union led to the rise of noble families called Frankopan and Subic and Croatia came under the control of Subic. As a result of which the war between the Subic and Croatia takes place but unfortunately Croatia was defeated by the Ottoman Empire of the Turks and the Ottoman Empire ruled most of the country.
At last the Ottoman Empire was thrown out of the country by the Austria and began to rule over the country. After the revolutions of 1848 the Croatia completely loses its power but it was regained with the Hungarian-Croatian settlement.
In 1918 finally Croatia got independence from Austria Hungary and became a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The first democratic elections held in the country in 1991 but the war with the local Serb majority is still on. At last Croatia won the battle and declared independent on June 25, 1991.
Croatia Politics and government:-
After the adoption of the constitution in 1990 the country became the democratic republic and a semi-presidential system is followed. From 2000 when the parliamentary system takes place the President who is elected for five years became the head of the state as well as the commander in-chief of the armed forces. The president resides on the islands of Vanga and Hvar in summers whereas his official residence is Predsjednicki dvori.
The parliament of Croatia consists of one chamber legislative body known by the name Sabor whose members vary from 100 to 160 and are elected for four year term limit. The government of Croatia known by the name Vlada is ruled by the prime minister under whom the two deputy ministers and fourteen other ministers work.
The judicial system of the country consists of the Supreme courts, County courts and the Municipal courts.
Croatia Geography:-
The country is located between 45 degrees 48 minutes North latitude and 16 degrees east longitude and is somewhat like the horseshoe. The land of Central Croatia consists of lands, mountains, and rolling hills and densely wooded mountains are a part of the Diranic Alps which is the highest peak of the country situated at 1831 mts above the sea level.
Pannonian mixed forests, Dinaric Mountains mixed forests and Illyrian deciduous forests are the ecoregions in which the territory is subdivided and it is also famous for the national parks.
The climate of the country is of mixed type as it is continental in the north and east, Mediterranean on the coast and highland in south-central region.
Croatia Currency:-
Kuna is the currency which is basically used by the people of the country.
Croatia Economy:-
The economy of Croatia is stable and it is clearly seen by the GDP data which shows that nominal GDP stood at US$50.053 billion. Also the unemployment rate continuously falls from 14.7% to 9.1%.
Mostly the rise in the economy is due to the agriculture, tourism, industry and service sector. Every year over 10 million tourists arrived in the country. Textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels are the major exports and lubricants and machinery are the major imports of the country. The trading partners for the exports and imports of the country are Bosnia, Germany, Austria, and Russia.
Croatia Demographics:-
Approximately 4,491,593 people are residing in the country and most of them are Croats. Twenty other minority groups also exist there out of which 4.5 % of the total population is occupied by the Serbs minority. Due to the Croats living in the country the major religion followed by the people of the country is Catholicism and the language spoken by them is Croatian.
Croatia Culture:-
Special cuisine is made for special festival like Kulen is made in the harvesting seasons, sarma is made on Christmas, pork is made for New Year, cakes and biscuits like breskvice, ginger biscuits and plain flitters are served on weddings. Wines, brandies, fruit juices, beers and mineral watrs are also served in the parties but Bevanda and Gemisht are the popular wines which are served in the northwestern regions.
Croatian culture is known for many cities and monuments like seven World Heritage Sites which include Arena, the amphitheatre in Pula, historic city of Trogir, Old city of Dubrovnik etc and eight national parks out of which Plitvice lakes national park is very famous. Also there are the famous persons and the inventors who are awarded by the Nobel Prize.
The neckties and fountain pens were firstly originated in Croatia.
Sports like handball, football, basketball, water polo, and tennis are the famous sports of Croatia. The country’s national football and basketball team won the third prize in FIFA and FIBA championships respectively. |
