A prototype of a regional electric train by Končar – an electric vehicles transport company founded in 1921. Končar now has about 4,000 employees. Its annual turnover is approximately €320 million, of which more than half is made through export.

Ivan Meštrović, Fountain of Life, a sculpture in front of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. Life expectancy in Croatia is 80 years for women and 73 years for men.

The crowning of the Croatian king Tomislav, Oton Iveković (detail, 1904-1905). Tomislav was crowned as the first Croatian king in 925.

The most popular sports in Croatia are football, basketball, handball and water polo. According to the FIFA rankings in June 2013, the Croatian football team ranks 4th in the world, behind Spain, Germany and Argentina.

Rožanski and Hajdučki Kukovi Strict Reserve, part of the North Velebit National Park. The Velebit massif, spanning 145 km, is the longest mountain in Croatia and the fourth highest, culminating at 1,757 m, after Dinara (1831 m), Kamešnica (1809 m) and Biokovo (1762 m).

Sport

Croatians are a sporting nation; sport is part of the compulsory curriculum in schools at all levels of education. Many children and young people take part in extracurricular sporting activities, which are also seen as a way of life in recreational terms ...

Ancient times and the early Christian period

Thanks to trade routes and communications, the ancient peoples of the Bronze and Iron Ages living in the land which is present-day Croatia were in touch with the artistic output of the Greek and Etruscans ...

Legislative power

In accordance with legal tradition, the Croatian Parliament is traditionally titled the Sabor. The oldest preserved records of sessions of the Sabor date back to 1273. Until the 16th century, the Slavonian and Croatian Sabors sat separately, but from 1681 ...

Adriatic Sea and islands

The Adriatic Sea is the most indented section of the Mediterranean Sea on the continent of Europe. In its present shape, it was formed by the rising of the sea level by 96 metres following the last ice age ...

Economic transition

The Croatian economy is one of the strongest in Southeast Europe, and in terms of its GDP is even stronger that the economies of some members of the European Union. After the collapse of the socialist system, it underwent transition to an open market ...

Between Venice, Vienna and Pest

In the Great (Viennese) War (1683–99), large parts of Croatia and Slavonia were liberated from Ottoman rule and the border of the Dubrovnik Republic was finally determined. The Venetian Republic, which had established ...

Nature protection

A large number of protected natural areas and features show that Croatia is a country of exceptional, diverse, and comparatively well-preserved natural beauty, of which some examples, such as the Plitvice Lakes, are famous ...

Croatia in brief

Croatia has been present on the contemporary international political stage since its independence from the Yugoslav Federation, i.e. for a little over two decades, but in terms of history and culture, is one of the oldest European countries ...