land and people
As early as the 18th century, there were workshops in Croatia for the manufacture of utilitarian and ornamental items (stoves, stoneware, glassware, ceramics, furniture). In 1882, thanks to the efforts of architect Herman Bollé, the School of Crafts...
Although Croatia has inherited a tradition of sporting competition dating back to Roman times, or medieval knights’ tournaments, the beginnings of organised sport in the country can be traced to the late 19th century, when the first sports associations were founded.
The beginnings of schools and education in Croatia date back to the 10th century, and up to the 18th century were linked to the Church and priesthood. Systematic education of the people began during the reign of Maria Theresa, who issued an Edict...
With about 4.3 million inhabitants, Croatia is 21st among the members of the European Union. For the past twenty years, the population has been decreasing. Croatia has this in common with Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania, Estonia, Hungary, Poland...
The region of modern Croatia covers a large number of historical and geographical regions of different origins and size. These reflect the political fragmentation of the Croatian lands in the past, and partly also the position of Croatia at the meeting-point of...
The names Croat and Croatia in the country as it is today have gradually superseded the ethnically wider concept of the Slavs and their first territorial groupings, Sklavonija, Slovinje (Sclaviniae), and the individual names of the ancient Illyrian tribes...
Although the land area of Croatia is not large (56,594 km², 19th in size among the countries of the European Union), it has an extremely varied relief, as it adjoins several large European relief forms. There are three main types of relief in Croatia: lowland...
The Croatian economy is one of the strongest in Southeast Europe, and in terms of its GDP (51.6 billion euros in 2018) is even stronger that the economies of some members of the European Union. After the collapse of the socialist system, it underwent transition...
Croatia does not have large quantities of mineral resources. Coal and other mines (bauxite) were closed in the 1970s and 1980s. It does have significant sources of non-metal minerals, which are used as raw materials in construction (gravel, sand, marl...
The earliest traces of human presence on Croatian soil ate back to the Palaeolithic Age. In Šandalja Cave near Pula, and in Punikve near Ivanec, flints made by pre-Neanderthal people have been found, while the remains of Neanderthal prehistoric humans have been...
The tie (cravat), today an essential fashion accessory for men and women, was named after an item in the uniform of Croatian soldiers during the Thirty Years War? As part of their uniform, they tied an eye-catching length of fabric around their necks...
Croatia has been present on the contemporary international political stage since its independence from the Yugoslav Federation, i.e. for a little less than three decades, but is one of the oldest European countries in terms of history and culture.
