Croatia
From Wikinfo
Croatia (in Croatian: Hrvatska) is a small country in Europe bordering the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb.
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| Image:LocationCroatia.png | |||||
| Official language | Croatian | ||||
| Capital | Zagreb | ||||
| President | Stjepan Mesić | ||||
| Prime minister | Ivo Sanader | ||||
| Area - Total |
Ranked 123rd 0.01% |
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| Population - Total (2003) |
Ranked 119th 4,422,248 |
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| Independence | 1991 | ||||
| Currency | kuna | ||||
| Time zone | UTC +1 | ||||
| National anthem | Lijepa naša domovino | ||||
| Internet TLD | .hr | ||||
| Calling Code | 385 | ||||
Contents |
History
Main article: History of Croatia
- arrival of the Croats to the western Balkans at the beginning of the 7th century
- period of Croatian dukes and kings of native birth (c800-1102),
- Croatia sharing with Hungary a new state under common Hungarian and Croatian kings (1102-1526),
- Croatia ruled by the Habsburgs, as a member of the Habsburg Crown (1527-1918, Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867 to 1918), parts of Croatia under Venice, Turkish Ottoman Empire and France,
- From the dissolved Austria-Hungary, in 1918 Croatia becomes part of State of the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes, which in 1929 became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Croatia loses autonomy,
- Fascist (Ustaše) puppet-state during World War II called Independent State of Croatia,
- Yugoslavia restored as an independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal Tito, Croatia a Socialist Republic within Yugoslavia,
- In 1991, Croatia declares independence from Yugoslavia, followed by a war with the Serbs, conflict gets resolved by 1998.
Please see History of Croatia for details.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Croatia
Since the 1990s, Croatia has been a parliamentary democracy.
The Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski Sabor) is a unicameral legislative body of 152 representatives), all elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms.
The Government (Vlada) is the executive branch composed of the prime minister, four deputy prime ministers and twenty ministers in charge of particular sectors of activity.
The President of the Republic (Predsjednik Republike) is elected for a five-year mandate in which they have a limited executive jurisdiction but control the military.
Counties
Main article: Counties of Croatia
Croatia is divided into 20 counties (županije, županija - singular) and one city (grad - singular):
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1. Zagrebačka |
11. Požeško-slavonska |
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21. Grad Zagreb | |
See also List of cities in Croatia.
Geography
Main article: Geography of Croatia
Given its peculiar shape, Croatia includes flat areas in the continental north and northeast (Central Croatia and Slavonia, part of the Pannonian plain), which are connected via a mountainous region (part of the Dinaric Alps) to the coastal regions on the Adriatic Sea (Istria, Northern Seacoast and Dalmatia). Each of the three regions has a different climate, but none has any really extreme weather conditions.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Croatia
Croatia has a post-communist economy based mostly on various services and some, mostly light industry. Tourism is a notable source of income.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Croatia
Croatia is inhabited mostly by Croats. Minority groups include Serbs, Bosniaks, Hungarians and others. The demographic transition is completed -- the natural growth rate is minute. Life expectancy and literacy rates are reasonably high.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Croatia
Croat culture is based on thirteen century long history during which many monumental buildings and even monumental cities such as Dubrovnik or Split have been built and are now tourist attractions. Croatia includes six World Heritage sites and eight national parks. Interestingly enough, Croatia also has an place in the history of neckwear as the origin of the necktie (cravat).
The country prides itself in artists the likes of Ivan Meštrović, physicists like Ruđer Bošković and Nikola Tesla, Nobel prize winning chemists Lavoslav Ružička and Vladimir Prelog, inventors such as Eduard Slavoljub Penkala and its endured Parliament with champions like Stjepan Radić.
See also:
External links:
- Preromanesque art of coastal Croatia
- Croatia Arts and Literature
- Museum of Croatian Archelogical Monuments
- Online library of major Croatian literary works from Renaissance to Modernism. In Croatian only
- Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
| Date | English Name | Local Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | Nova Godina | |
| January 6 | Epiphany | Bogojavljenje | |
| ... | Easter Sunday and Monday | Uskrs i Uskršnji ponedjeljak | variable date |
| May 1 | May Day | Međunarodni praznik rada | |
| 60 days post Easter | Corpus Christi | Tjelovo | variable date |
| June 22 | Anti-fascist resistance day | Dan antifašističke borbe | |
| June 25 | Statehood day | Dan državnosti | |
| August 5 | Victory day and Homeland gratitude day | Dan pobjede i Dan domovinske zahvalnosti | |
| August 15 | Our Lady's assumption into Heaven | Velika Gospa | |
| October 8 | Independence day | Dan nezavisnosti | |
| November 1 | All Saints day | Dan svih svetih | |
| December 25 | Christmas | Božić | |
| December 26 | Saint Stephen | Sveti Stjepan |
Note: Citizens of the Republic of Croatia that celebrate different religious holidays have the right not to work on those dates. This includes Christians that celebrate Christmas on January 7th per Julian calendar, Muslims on the days of Ramadan Bayram and Kurban Bayram, and Jews on the days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Miscellaneous topics
- Croatian Wikinfo
- Communications in Croatia
- Transportation in Croatia
- Ministry of Science:the list of institutes and general survey
- Higher Education: Complete directory of higher education institutes in Croatia
External links
- General information about Croatia
- Map of Croatia showing cities
- History of Croatia
- World-wide press freedom index Rank 33 out of 139 countries (2 way tie)
- WWW.HR - Croatian Homepage
Former 6 republics and 2 autonomous provinces of Yugoslavia:
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosna i Hercegovina | Croatia Hrvatska | Montenegro Crna gora | Macedonia Makedonija | Serbia Srbija (Kosovo, Vojvodina) | Slovenia Slovenija
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Croatia" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia December 14, 2003
