land and people
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.
As an Adriatic, Central European country, and part of the Danube valley, Croatia enjoys a favourable geo-communication position. Thus, several pan-European transport corridors and their branches pass through Croatia, as defined at a ministerial...
Thanks to its position in the moderate climate belt along the 45th parallel, Croatia enjoys a predominantly moderate climate, with four clearly marked seasons. Local climate differences are determined primarily by the diversity of the relief and proximity to the...
Croatia is considered the home of many inventions which have transformed human existence, several of which are used in everyday life. Creative Croatian inventors, a century-old tradition of university technical education and science as well as...
Although Croatia cannot compare with major tourism powers such as France, Spain, Italy or Greece, with 17.4 million tourist arrivals in 2017 and a trend of increasing numbers for many years Croatia has certainly become one of the most popular countries on the...
Among European countries, Croatia has one of the most marked and longest traditions of emigration. The first great waves of emigration began as far back as the 15th century, due to the Ottoman threat from the southeast. The results of such emigrations...
About 62% of the territory covered by the branching river network belongs to the Black Sea catchment basin. The longest Croatian rivers, the River Sava (562 km) and River Drava (505 km) also belong to this catchment basin, as does the Danube, into which...
Because the Mediterranean Sea served as a geographical link, Croatian historical ties with the Iberian Peninsula were more developed with Spain than with Portugal. As an oceanic country first and foremost, Portugal was traditionally more oriented towards...
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...
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 first Slavic tribes arrived in the area which is modern-day Croatia in the 6th and 7th centuries, during great tribal migrations. Among them were the Croats, who are mentioned in sources in connection with a wider area, but were ethnically most...
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.
