The Republic of Croatia is a crescent-shaped country in Europe bordering the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. In recent history, it was a republic in the SFR Yugoslavia, but it achieved independence in 1991. It is a candidate for membership of the European Union.
The Croats are largely Slavic people who lived in an area of what is today Galicia (in northwestern Ukraine and southern Poland). From there they migrated further south to present-day Croatia during the 7th century. Nominally under East Roman and then Frankish authority, Croatia eventually became a strong independent kingdom under king Tomislav in 925, but in 1102 the Croatians ended a decade-long dynastic struggle by agreeing to submit themselves to Hungarian authority.
By the mid-1400s, the Hungarian kingdom was gravely hurt by the Ottoman expansion as much of the mountainous country now known as Bosnia and Herzegovina fell to the Turks. At the same time, Dalmatia became mostly Venetian. Dubrovnik was a city-state that was firstly Byzantine (Roman) and Venetian, but later, unlike other Dalmatian city-states, it became independent as Republic of Dubrovnik, even if it was often under the suzerainty of neighboring powers.
Croatia is situated between central, southern and eastern Europe. It has a rather peculiar shape that resembles a crescent or a horseshoe which helps account for its many neighbours: Slovenia, Hungary, the Serbian part of Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Montenegrin part of Serbia and Montenegro, and Italy across the Adriatic. Its mainland territory is split in two non-contiguous parts by the short coastline of Bosnia and Herzegovina around Neum.
Croatia has a mixture of climates. In the north and east it is continental, Mediterranean along the coast and a semi-highland and highland climate in the south-central region.
The early middle ages brought the great migration of the Slavs and this period was perhaps a Dark Age in the cultural sense until the successful formation of the Slavic states which coexisted with Italic cities that remained on the coast, each of them were modelled like Venice.
By joining the Hungarian state in the eleventh century, Croatia lost its independence, but it didn't lose its ties with the south and the west, and instead this ensured the beginning of a new era of Central European cultural influence. Similarly, the beginning of the wars with the Ottoman Empire caused many problems but in the long term it both reinforced the northern influence (by having the Austrians as the rulers) and also introduced a distinct oriental cultural influence.
The turbulent twentieth century re-oriented Croatia politically on many occasions and affected it in many other ways, but it couldn't significantly alter its already peculiar position at the crossroads of many different cultures.
The original families are uncertain but their is some connection to Miljak and Milicic. There is said to be more than 100 original families of Croatia.
Each of the universities in Croatia is composed of many independent "faculties" (Croatian fakultet, meaning college or department). Each independent college or department maintains its own administration, professional staff (also known as a "faculty") and campus. The colleges focus on specific areas of learning: Natural Sciences, Philosophy, Law, Engineering, Economy, Architecture, Medicine, and so on. Although a university's colleges or departments are usually located in the same city as the administration of the university, sometimes they are not. For example, Zagreb University's Faculty of Metallurgy is located in the city of Sisak.
There are also a number of scientific institutes, including the Institute "Ruđer Bošković" in Zagreb that excels in physics, or the Energy Institute "Hrvoje Požar" also in Zagreb.
Things you should know when travelling to Croatia
Most Canadian visitors to Croatia do not experience problems. However, landmines and unexploded ordnance remaining from the 1991-95 Serbo-Croatian War are a serious risk along former front-line areas, especially in eastern Slavonia (Vukovar, Osijek) ,and the counties of Sisak-Moslavna, Zadar, Lika-Senj, Brodsko-Posavska, Karlovac, areas around the Plitvice Lake region, the border area with Serbia and Montenegro and south of Dubrovnik, near Konavle. The marking of mined areas is incomplete, and some signs indicating the presence of landmines have reportedly been removed. It is expected that de-mining operations will continue until at least 2010. Stay on paved roads and do not walk in ditches, open fields, or on the shoulders of roads not clearly marked as being free of mines. Seek local advice on the presence of unexploded landmines.
Petty crime is uncommon, and violent crime is rare. Do not show signs of affluence and ensure personal belongings, passports, and other travel documents are secure, particularly on public transportation. There are reports of gangs staging roadside emergencies (e.g., a smoking engine or flat tire) to persuade drivers to pull over. Thieves then steal personal belongings from the driver's car. In an emergency, call 92 for the police, 93 for the fire brigade, 94 for an ambulance, and 987 for roadside assistance.
