Croatia
This will give you a first impression of the Land on the Adriatic!C R O A T I A |
Total Area: 56,542 sq km Land Boundaries: 2,147 km Border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia 241 km, Montenegro 25 km, Slovenia 670 km Coastline: 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) Climate: Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers, cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast Population: 4,494,749 (July 2006 est.) Ethnic groups: Croat 89.6 percent, Serb 4.5 percent, other 5.9 percent (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, Roma) (2001 census) |
Did you know …
… that the origin of the word "cravat" comes from the word meaning "Croat"?
In the 17th century, Croatian soldiers wore fringed neckerchief to make themselves clearly distinguishable to each other. The word "cravate" was first used in the French encyclopaedia in the 17th century at a time when Croatian soldiers were be found at the court of Louis XIV in Paris. The French term for Croatians is "Croates", from where it is a short step to "cravate", or cravat in English.
… that the Republic of Dubrovnik was in 1776 the first country in the world to recognise the independence of the United States of America?
… that the name of the Croatian currency, the Kuna, derives from the medieval use of the skin of the marten (a carnivorous animal) for payments of taxes in the Croatian provinces?
The coat of arms of Slavonia still bears a marten. The Kuna was in fact legal tender in the Banovina of Croatia before the Second World War, and in the Independent State of Croatia during the war.
In 1994 the Kuna replaced the Croatian Dinar, a transitional currency introduced in 1991 following independence.
… that Croatia has six UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites?
1979 Historical complex of the town of Split with the palace of the Emperor Diocletian
1979, 1994 Old town of Dubrovnik
1979, 2000 National Park of the Plitvice Lakes
1997 Episcopal complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the centre of Porec
1997 Historical city of Trogir
2000 Cathedral of St James (Katedrala svetog Jakova) in Šibenik
Geographical location
The state of Croatia covers 87,609 km², of which 56,542 km² is land and 31,067 km² is sea. The historical borders of Bosnia-Herzegovina mean that the continental northern part is confined to a long coastal strip, which is divided in the south from the town of Neum (approximately 3 km), which belongs to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The territory of Croatia includes 1,246 islands, some of which remain undeveloped.
