Croatia Travel Guide
When looking at a map and you see a
crescent-like shape land formation in Southern Europe, then
you have identified the Republic of Croatia. Although some
people might describe its outline similar to that of a
horseshoe, Croatia is further divided into three major
sections – the Northern, the Central and the Adriatic Coast.
The largest city is Zagreb, which is also the country’s
capital and has 20 other counties under its control. The
neighboring countries and sea that surround Croatia include
Hungary and Slovenia (north), Montenegro (far south),
Herzegovina and Bosnia (south and east), Adriatic Sea (west)
and Serbia (east). Italy can be found across the Adriatic
Sea.
With its estimated 4 million plus populace, Croatia boasts
of a few languages that are currently being used by its
citizens. The official language is Croatian but you can
still find several of its towns that utilize the following
languages – Istriot, Italian, Romanian, and Venetian. The
Dalmatian language is considered extinct while for those
that suffering from hearing disability can rely on the
Croatian sign language. The local denizens are referred to
as Croats and they comprise almost 90% of the total
population. The balance of 10% is composed of at least 20
minority groups with the Serbs having the predominant
percentage at almost 5%.
Historically, Croatia allied itself as part of some Kingdoms
such as Hungary and Yugoslavia in the early 20th century but
its independence was officially announced in 1991. A war
ensued between the Croats and the Serbian rebels after the
former’s declaration of independence, which ended only in
1995 when the Dayton Agreement was signed. Today, the
country enjoys a government that espouses a Democratic
republic system of governance. Majority of the Croats
practice the Catholic religion hence their official holidays
observe the usual Catholic celebrations like Easter, All
Saint’s day, Christmas, and New Year’s day, among others.
The alphabet being utilized in Croatia is in Latin. It has
an impressive literacy rate set at a high 97% and it has
produced a few famous scientists and inventors as well as
renowned artists. The parachute and the fountain pens are
the inventions attributed to Croatia. The literacy level,
however, should be used by the country to its advantage to
reduce its unemployment rate of 11.9% as reported in 2006.
Croatia’s economy is heavily dependent on its services
industry as it eats up the bulk of its recorded GDP of at
least 2/3 or 67%. Shipbuilding is its top sector but tourism
is another area, which the government is concentrating on to
change the current mix of revenue contributions.
Croatia enjoys a rich and diverse culture. It is popular for
its national parks and is a principal tourist attraction.
The weather differs among the three geographical segments
and the strong winds experienced each year impacts greatly
on the climatic conditions in each area. Temperature changes
are influenced by the following factors – altitude, land and
sea formations, to mention a few. Nonetheless, those who
have experienced the changing weather in this country notes
that the winter season is not that cold or the summer period
not that hot and humid.
