| Croatia is a
medium-size European country; in its
position both Central European and Mediterranean, as well as Pannonian-Adriatic. Its constitutional tradition dates back to the medieval duchy (AD 791-924) and kingdom (AD 925-1102) all to the contemporary Republic of Croatia, proclaimed on 25th June, 1991. Following the model of modern European states, Croatia is, pursuant to its Constitution (1990), defined as a unitary and indivisible democratic and social state. The government is based on the division into the legislative, executive and judiciary powers. It is applied in the parliamentary form in the variant of a semi-presidential system. The flag of the Republic of Croatia is a red-white-blue tricolour with the historic Croatian chequered coat of arms (25 red and white fields) and a stylized crown with five smaller shields featuring coats of arms (the oldest Croatian coat of arms, the coats of arms of the Dubrovnik Republic, Dalmatia, Istria and Slavonia). The tricolour principle of the flag of the Croats came into being after the revolutionary 1848 when the old, mainly heraldic features, were abandoned. The red-white chequered coat of arms on a shield has been the symbol of Croatian statehood ever since the early times. The field of the coat of arms features five rows and five columns of red and white squares in the usual pattern of 5 by 5. The beginnings of the coat of arms date back to the 11th century - stone plastic from the period of the Croatian kings (Zadar, Baška on the island of Krk). The Act on the Coat of Arms was passed by the Diet (Sabor) of the Republic of Croatia on 21st December, 1990. The Croatian anthem, Lijepa naša (Our Beautiful Homeland) - written in 1835 (A. Mihanovic) and set to music in 1846 (probably by J. Runjanin) - gained the official status of the anthem only in 1974, but ever since the period of the Croatian national revival its lyrical power have gradually turned it into the symbol of the entire national being. The official Croatian currency is Croatian Kuna - HRK (HRK 1 = 100 lipa). The area of Croatia comprises the mainland part, covering an area of 56,538 sq km (65 %), the coastal sea - comprising the interior and territorial sea, covering an area of 31,139 sq km (35 %), which totals in 87,677 sq km. Croatia has a population of 4,784,265. The capital is Zagreb. The total length of the mainland border of the Republic of Croatia is 2,028 km. It borders with Serbia in the north-east (241 km), Hungary in the north (329 km), Slovenia in the north-west (501 km), with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the total length of the lower part of the crescent (932 km), with Montenegro in the extreme south (25 km), and with Italy and Slovenia on the sea (approximately 930 km). Most of today's border of the Republic of Croatia is identical to the internationally defined borders of the Croatian countries created long before the establishment of Yugoslavia. The sovereignty of the Republic of Croatia refers to the total sea area from the border of the territorial waters, limited only by the right of harmless transit of all ships from all countries (the territorial sea is 12 Nm wide, measured from the straight starting line). The sea border of the Republic of Croatia is approximated to 930 km, and the sea area included into the territory of the Republic of Croatia accounts for about 33,200 sq km. Within a wider area of the Croatian countries several centres have developed in the history - civilizational, national and political (Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, Italian, German, Hungarian, Turkish) as well as religious (Catholic, Orthodox, Islamic). In the division of Europe, brought about by the schism of Christianity and the deep Islamic- Turkish penetration in Europe exactly on the Croatian territory, Croatia turned to the western circle, constituting at the same time its eastern border (antemurale) and protecting thus its own political and cultural identity. Instability of the eastern borders, caused by the long-lasting invasion of the Ottoman Turks, migration waves of the Serbs and the Vlachs, generally accompanying the Turkish raids, as well as religious (Orthodox and Islamic) factors of the later national orientations resulted in a reduction of the Croatian national area (Bosnia). The Austro- German interest in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor as well as Hungary's interest in the access to the sea were also directed over the Croatian territory. Croatia was also in the centre of lively interest of the Italian expansionism with active penetration zones (some of the islands and a part of the coast). Within Yugoslavia, Croatia, as one of the republics, could develop its statehood and democratic institution only to a limited extent. For the first time in a democratic process and through the defence war, as a sovereign, internationally recognized state, Croatia is again a country of contacts, intermingling and contrasts of the strategies of the West and the East. In terms of natural features, the area of the Republic of Croatia is divided into the lowland basin between the Sava and Drava rivers, the mountainous-karst region and the littoral part. The mountains and hills between the Sava and the Drava expand in the north, and are called accordingly the mountains of the Sava-Drava basin. The mountains of the lower part of the Kupa basin (although in terms of geological formation they should belong to the Dinaric Alps) and the Baranja Triangle in the north-east are also included into the group. The expansion is predominantly of the parallel type, following the course of the border rivers. The border rivers are accompanied by the flat belts of Posavina and Podravina which continue into the east Croatian plain of Srijem. The Gorski Kotar - Kordun - Banovina plateau represents a transition to the mountainous region, mainly constituted of the Old Mesozoic, with Palaeozoic bedrock emerging in places. Mountains of the Dinaric range constitute the central karst mountain belt, continuing to the eastern slopes of the Julian Alps in the northwest, to expand to the southeast in a narrow belt which belongs to Croatia. The Dinaric mountains are of a more recent origin (Trias, Jurassic, Cretaceous), mostly rugged, forming long ranges with the northwest-southeast extension just like Dinara Mountain after which the whole of the mountain range was named. The mountains rise from the sea to the interior (Dinara, the highest peak, attains 1,831 m). They are formed predominantly of easily erodible sediment rocks of limestone and dolomite, easily deformed and worn away by water rich in dissolved carbonic acid, creating thus a variety of karst forms on the surface and in the interior. Caves represent a special form in this region. They are being formed by melting of limestone underneath the surface where intense vertical circulation of water occurs, forming frequently very large halls. Croatia is distinguished by a specific littoral form. From the estuary of the Dragonja river to Cape Oštro on the Prevlaka Peninsula the coastline attains 1,778 m in length, displaying a high indentation index. There are 1,775 offshore islands and rocks. The coast expands from the northwest to the southeast, following the basic extension of the Dinaric system. Very interesting is the area of Hrvatsko Primorje from the Rijeka (Kvarner) Gulf to Cape Ploee in the Rogoznica littoral, where the islands extend along the coast (the Adriatic type of coast), separated by channels which are interlinked by straits. Southeast of Cape Ploee, the coast and the islands of eiovo, šolta, Hvar, Brae, Koreula, Vis and Lastovo extend from the west to the east (the Hvar direction). The island of Mljet, together with the Dubrovnik littoral, has a typically Dinaric extension. The 45th parallel of the northern latitude runs through Croatia, which means that Croatia is half-way to the North Pole and the Equator. Much of Croatia exhibits moderate continental climate, while mountain climate is found in higher mountains (Velebit, Risnjak, Snježnik). The littoral and hinterland south of the island of Rab have the Mediterranean climate. The region of the northern Adriatic (Istria, the Kvarner Littoral and islands) displays also features of moderate continental climate. The mean temperature in January attains in the littoral from 2 °C in the north to 9 °C in the south, decreasing from the coast towards the interior (isothermal lines follow the course of the coast) and from the south to the north. The mean temperature in January in the continental part ranges mostly from 0 °C to -2 °C, with the exception of the peaks of the Slavonian mountains and the top of Medvednica Mountain which have a temperature between -2 °C and -4 °C. The mean temperature in the mountainous part of Croatia attains from -2 °C to -4 °C in winter, whereas the mountains above 1,500 m have a temperature from -4 °C to -6 °C. The mean temperature in July in the continental part of Croatia is 22 °C. The temperature in the Slavonian mountains, on Medvednica Mountain and in the Zagorje Hills is somewhat lower (20 °C), and slightly higher (22 °C) in the eastern parts (Srijem). The mean temperature in the mountainous parts of Croatia attains in July between 10 °C and 18 °C, and the fields in the karst as well as river valleys have a temperature from 18 °C to 20 °C. The littoral region has a mean temperature in July between 24 °C and 26 °C. The interior of Istria is somewhat cooler (22 °C). The average annual rainfall ranges between 600 mm and 3,850 mm; eiaarija Mountain, the mountains of the north-western part of the region of Gorski Kotar, Biokovo and Velebit mountains as well as the surroundings of Dubrovnik have the heaviest rainfall (3,200-3,850 mm) while the lowest rainfall is found in the eastern parts of the country (600 mm). Most of the continental Croatia has an annual rainfall between 700 mm and 1,000 mm. The versatile climate underlies the variety of vegetation. Around 36 % of the total area is forested. The forests of common oak are predominant in the continental lowlands in the north, while the forests combined with the grassland in the lower regions of Podravina and Baranja have been mostly felled and turned into arable land. Forests of durmast oak and hornbeam occupy the mountainous belt of the continental part, while beech forests grow only in the higher mountain belts (žumberaeka Gora, Medvednica, Ivaneica, Papuk). The regions of Lika and Gorski Kotar are characterized by forests of beech and fir; the pre-Alpine forests of beech are found above them, and only the highest peaks of the western Dinaric range (above 1,400 m) are under mugho pine. The southern part of the Dinaric range, the area along the Adriatic Sea and the islands are covered with the sub-Mediterranean and Mediterranean vegetation. The sub- Mediterranean deciduous trees of pubescent oak with oriental and hop hornbeam cover the interior and higher littoral hills, and evergreen forests of holm oak as well as macchia and forests of Aleppo pine are typical of the coastal belt and the islands. Sixty-two percent of the rivers in the Republic of Croatia belong to the Black Sea basin and 38 percent to the Adriatic basin. The widest and longest rivers, with a highly developed network of running waters, run into the Black Sea. The most important river among them is the Sava with its tributaries. The most important among the left, shorter tributaries are the Lonja, eesma, Ilova and Orljava with their respective basins, while the most important river on the right is the Kupa with the Korana. The Drava plays the most important role in the north of the country, running through Croatia in a length of 505 km. The Danube flows in the east in a total length of 188 km. The rivers of the Adriatic basin are considerably shorter, with a more prominent descent and a small number of tributaries; the Cetina, Krka, Zrmanja and Rjeeina rivers are the longest among them. Some of the karst rivers are distinguished by geomorphologic and hydrologic phenomena - waterfalls. The most famous are the Topoljski Waterfall on the Kreia near Knin, Roški and Skradinski Buk on the Krka, waterfalls on the Plitvice Lakes, the waterfall above Zeleni Vir near Skrad. The largest natural lakes lie in the littoral belt of the Adriatic (Vransko Lake near Biograd na Moru, 30.7 sq km; Vransko Lake on the island of Cres, 5.8 sq km; Baeinska Lakes, 1.9 sq km). The most popular among them are the Plitvice Lakes (1.98 sq km) and the Mljet lakes (2.01 sq km) which enjoy special protection (national parks). The small lakes in the Dinaric karst (the Imotski lakes, etc.) are of particular importance. Storage lakes on the rivers Cetina, Lika, Lieanka and Lokvarka were created to supply the hydroelectric power plants with water. They include: Peruea (13 sq km), Krušeica (3.9 sq km), Lokvarsko Lake (2.1 sq km), Sabljaeko Lake (1.2 sq km), etc. Croatia has several mineral springs (Jamnieka Kiselica near Pisarovina, Lipik) and even more thermal mineral springs, most of them found in the region of Hrvatsko Zagorje (Tuheljske, Krapinske, Sutinske, Varaždinske Toplice, all of them spas), in northern Croatia (Lipik, Daruvar, Bizovac), and those in the littoral belt (Split, Istarske Toplice near Livade). All these spas are now specialized health resorts. The name of the Adriatic Sea dates back to the ancient times. The geographers of the ancient Greece named it after the town of Adria at the estuary of the Po river, which must have been an important harbour at the time. The Adriatic Sea is in fact a large gulf of the central Mediterranean region, separated from the whole by the Apennine peninsula. It expands in the direction northwest-southeast in a length of around 8,670 km, with an average width of 160 km. The 70-km wide Strait of Otranto connects the Adriatic with the Mediterranean Sea. The Adriatic represents the most deeply protruding arm of the Mediterranean into the European continent, which makes it extremely important in terms of traffic. The Adriatic is a small and relatively shallow sea. Its area of 138,000 sq km accounts for less than 5 % of the total Mediterranean, and around three-fourths of the Adriatic attain a depth of up to 200 m. The Adriatic Sea consists of two essentially different parts, separated from each other by the Palagruža ridge. The north-western part is shallow, with a depth mainly below 100 m, whereas the south-western part, accounting for more than 90 % of the total Adriatic Sea volume. This is where the deepest point of 1,233 m has been measured. The Adriatic is a warm sea with its temperature in the deepest layers never falling below 11 °C. During the summer the sea temperature on the surface is between 22 and 25 °C, which is of great importance for tourism. The average salinity is 38 ‰. The sea currents along the Croatian coast flow slower than along the Italian part of the Adriatic coast because of a great number of islands. The tidal wave enters the Adriatic through the Strait of Otranto. It runs counter-clockwise around the Adriatic basin for 12 hours. Tidal fluctuations in the whole of the Adriatic are insignificant; from 25 cm by the Strait of Otranto to 80 cm in the extreme north. Of all the winds on the Adriatic, the bora, the sirocco, the westerly wind (maestral) and the south-westerly wind (lebie) raise highest waves. High waves, lifted predominantly by the sirocco and sometimes by the bora, can cause difficulties in sea traffic. Croatia has 33,200 sq km of the Adriatic. The total length of the mainland and island coastline is 5,790.1 km, with 1,777.7 km (30.7 %) accounting for the mainland coast and 4,012.4 km (69.3 %) for the total coastline of the islands. There are 718 offshore islands, 389 rocks (with their tops above the sea level) and 78 reefs (with their tops above the sea level). These rocks and reefs have a permanent population of 129. About 50 islands are permanently inhabited. The islands of Koreula, Krk, Brae and Hvar have the largest population. There are 746 protected objects in the Republic of Croatia, 321 of which are physical objects with a total area of 440,146 hectares, accounting for 7.8 % of the total area of Croatia. They include two strict reserves comprising an area of 2,395.35 hectares in total, seven national parks with a total area of 69,420 hectares, six nature parks occupying in total 317,502 hectares, and 690 special reserves expanding over a total area of 30,371.97 hectares. Under protection are also 23 park-forests covering a total of 7,659.91 hectares, 28 landscapes with a total of 17,544.52 hectares, 72 nature monuments occupying in total 82.87 hectares as well as 114 horticultural monuments with a total area of 912.43 hectares (see Natural Heritage under Protection). Exhaustion by wars and devastation (from the 15th c. onwards), accompanied by refugee crises, epidemic diseases and occasional famine, underlie a slow population growth (up to the year of 1880); in 1780 there were 1,476,000 inhabitants on the present territory of the Republic of Croatia, and in 1880 only 2,506,228. The population of Croatia experienced the most rapid growth at the turn of the 20th century (1880- 1914), when the annual population growth rate was over 1 . The birth rate continued to be high (around 40 births per 1,000 population), and the death rate decreased (less than 30 per 1,000 population) so that the nation saw a sudden population boom. On the eve of the First World War the population was over 3.5 million. Up to the outbreak of the First World War many Croats emigrated to overseas countries, and after the war emigration to Europe started. The loss of population due to world wars was also an important factor of the slow population growth after 1914. No sooner than on the eve of the Second World War had the population of Croatia attained 4 million. In the last century the process of demographic transition from the high birth-rate and death-rate reproduction type to the low-rate type was concluded in Croatia. The Patriotic War 1991-1992 brought new human losses as well as new migration forms (displaced persons, refugees), which additionally affected the already existing unfavourable demographic processes. The population structure according to literacy and the level of education had a positive trend, not only because of an increase in the number of persons with higher-level education but also because of the tendency of balancing both sexes in the structure. The ethnic structure of the population of the Republic of Croatia exhibits both a high and a stable homogeneity. The majority are Croats (3,736,356 or 78.1 %). Other population include ethnic groups or minorities accounting for a low proportion: Serb (581,663), Muslim (43,469), Slovenian (22,376), Italian (21,303), Czech (13,087), Slovakian (5,606), Ruthenians (3,253). Some Croatian citizens are Albanian, Austrian, German, Ukrainian, Gypsy, Jewish, etc. by origin. The rights of all minority groups are regulated by a special constitutional law; all ethnic groups are entitled to cultural autonomy and are represented in the Diet (Sabor) as well as in other governmental bodies. The majority of the population of the Republic of Croatia are Roman Catholic (76.6 %), followed by 11.1 % Orthodox, while other religions account for 12.3 % (other Christian sects, 7.2 % Muslim, 3.9 % atheist). Today the Catholic church in the area of the Republic of Croatia is territorially divided into 11 (arch)bishoprics forming three metropolitan provinces: the Zagreb, the Split and the Rijeka provinces and one independent archbishopric: the Zadar Archbishopric. The Zagreb metropolitan province includes the Zagreb Diocese, and the dioceses of Varaždin, Požega, ?akovo-Srijem and Križevci (Uniate). The Split metropolitan province comprises the Split Archbishopric and the dioceses of šibenik, Hvar, Dubrovnik and Kotor (the latter outside the Republic of Croatia). The Rijeka metropolitan province consists of the Rijeka-Senj Archbishopric and the dioceses of Krk and Porec-Pula. The Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences (HAZU) plays a prominent role in the cultural and scientific life of the Republic of Croatia; founded in 1861, comprising nine classes as well as numerous scientific units, museums and galleries (institutes, centres, scientific councils, etc.). The Lexicographic Institute "Miroslav Krleža", established in 1950, is a unique scientific and cultural institution in Croatia. It has published 176 encyclopaedic editions; Encyclopaedia Croatica, today the central project of the Institute. Scientific activities are developed at four universities; the Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek universities, as well as at 26 public (state) institutes. The strategy of science is defined by the National Scientific Council appointed by the Diet (Sabor) of the Republic of Croatia. Distinguished cultural and art institutions of the Republic of Croatia include: the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, the Split Summer, the Music Biennial in Zagreb, the Croatian Film Festival in Pula, the International Children's Festival in šibenik, the Folklore Show in Zagreb, etc. There are many archives in Croatia today (20-odd) as well as museums, galleries and church collections (more than 200), and libraries (over 500). Today the Republic of Croatia has several professional and amateur theatres; secular theatre emerged in the 16th century in northern Croatia, and Dubrovnik and Hvar were the theatrical centres during the Renaissance period. Development of the Croatian sport intensified at the end of the 18th century (the first shooting societies), and in 1874 the sports society "Hrvatski Sokol" was established (when sports were introduced in schools). The first track-and-field race took place in 1905, the first football match also in 1905, the first tennis match in 1904, the first basketball match in 1929, the first handball match in 1930, etc. Today, the Croatian sports occupy the leading positions in the world in tennis, water-polo, handball, basketball, football. The umbrella sports organization is the Croatian Olympic Committee. In 1991 Croatia had 6,694 statistically independent settlements; 204 of them are towns accounting for 54 % of Croatia's total population. The largest city is Zagreb. The number of places was increasing from the mid-19th century; in 1857 there were 5,444 of them. The concentration of population in larger places (with over 5,000 inhabitants) started to increase, and the number of inhabitants in the places with a population of less than 1,000 started to decline. In the last one hundred years the towns with a population of more than 20,000 saw a most rapid development; the population of such places in the Pannonian part of Croatia increased more than 10 times, and in the littoral region around five times. The coastal towns have the longest urban tradition. They belong to the Mediterranean architectural circle. Most of them developed on the sites of ancient towns. The towns in the continental Croatia developed under the influence of Central European architecture. Although the basic urban network has a long tradition, the contemporary system of centres largely is a consequence of industrialization after the Second World War. Villages are classified into two major types: condensed and scattered. Scattered villages are typical of the regions of Lika, Dalmatinska Zagora, žumberak and partly of the Zagorje region. Condensed villages are centred around the churches, on the rims of valleys or karst fields, along the river banks or, mostly, along the road. In terms of international traffic, Croatia is a transit country; its position is defined by intersections of major traffic routes, since it connects Central Europe with south-eastern Europe and Asia. The total length of classified roads is around 27,380 km. The longest road section runs along the Sava valley, and from Zagreb towards Rijeka and Split. The railway network attains a total length of 2,700 km. Zagreb has railroad connections with Istria, running partly through Slovenia, and the railway through Bosnia and Herzegovina operates between Zagreb and Split (currently out of operation).
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