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Croatia. (2023). In Q-files Encyclopedia, Geography, Europe. Retrieved from
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"Croatia." Geography, Europe, Q-files Encyclopedia, 11 Jan. 2023.
https://www.q-files.com/geography/europe/croatia.
Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
Croatia 2023. Geography, Europe. Retrieved 19 March 2024, from
https://www.q-files.com/geography/europe/croatia
Geography, Europe, s.v. "Croatia," accessed March 19, 2024.
https://www.q-files.com/geography/europe/croatia
Croatia
For centuries, different European powers have fought for control of Croatia's long Adriatic coastline. Today, this scenic region is one of the most visited in Europe, famous for its beautiful, white, sandy beaches. Just offshore the rugged coast lie thousands of islands. Inland, a mountain range, the Dinaric Alps, rises steeply to more than 1800 metres (6000 ft). Over time, erosion has carved deep caves in the limestone rock. Croatia’s interior consists of lush plains and low hills. The southern tip around Dubrovnik is separated from the rest of the country by a tiny strip of Bosnian land. Croatia has a warm, continental climate: winters are cool, while summers are hot and sunny, especially along the coast.
People
Unlike the other former Yugoslav territories, which generally have mixed populations, Croatia's population is mainly made up of ethnic Croats. Many non-Croats were forced to leave the country during World War II (1939–45). When the Yugoslav War broke out in the early 1990s, thousands of Serbs fled Croatia. Today, around 90% of the country’s people are Croat, Catholic and speak Croatian, a variety of Serbo-Croat.
Economy
Most people in Croatia work in services such as education, finance and tourism. But manufacturing is still important to Croatia's economy. Factories in and around the capital Zagreb, especially, produce cement, chemicals, steel and parts for ships. The country has valuable reserves of coal and bauxite, the ore of the metal aluminium.
Tourism is the country’s most important source of income—around 10 million tourists visit Croatia each year. Most stay in holiday resorts along the Adriatic coast. Some visitors arrive by yacht and stay in specially-built harbours called marinas. Croatia is well-known for this type of tourism, known as “nautical tourism”.
Dubrovnik
At the southern tip of Croatia, on the Adriatic coast, lies the medieval city of Dubrovnik. During the 15th and 16th centuries it was a powerful, rich seaport. Between 1358 and 1808 it even ruled itself as a tiny city-state. Huge walls were built around the city to protect it from the invading Venetians. These walls are almost two kilometres (1.2 miles) long and up to six metres (20 ft) thick in places.
After war broke out when Croatia declared independence from the rest of Yugoslavia in 1991, Dubrovnik came under attack once more. Yugoslav troops attacked the city, which lay close to the border, in what became known as the Siege of Dubrovnik. Thousands of refugees had to be evacuated by sea. Today, its medieval Old Town is one of Croatia’s most-visited places.
Consultant: Nicholas Harris
Facts about Croatia
Population 4,105,493
Area 55,974 sq km
Highest point Dinara 1831 m (6007 ft)
Capital Zagreb, population 790,000
Other major cities Split (pop. 178,000), Rijeka (129,000), Osijek (108,000)
Language Croatian (Serbo-Croat)
Religions Christian (Roman Catholic) 86%, Christian (Orthodox) 4%, Muslim 1.5%, others and none 8.5%
Ethnicity Croat 90%, Serb 4%, others (inc. Hungarian, Bosniak, Slovene, Czech, Roma) 6%
Currency Euro (EUR)
Chief exports machinery, textiles, transport equipment, chemicals, fuels
History of Croatia
11 BC–5th century AD
Romans rule the region, dividing it into two parts: Dalmatia at the coast, and Pannonia in the north
7th century
A Slavic people called the Croats move into the region and settle there
800
Frankish emperor Charles I (Charlemagne) conquers the region and introduces Christianity
9th century
Two dukedoms, Pannonia and Dalmatia, emerge once more
925
Tomislav unites Pannonia and Dalmatia and is crowned king of Croatia
1102
Croatia is formally united with Hungary. Over the next three centuries, conflicts break out with the Republic of Venice for control of the Dalmatian coast
1428
Venetians (Republic of Venice) rule most of Dalmatia; Ottoman Empire tries to take control of the rest of the region
1527
Croatia becomes ruled by the Habsburgs under Ferdinand I. It becomes part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
1797
Republic of Venice collapses and France and Austria fight for control of the Dalmatian coast. Eventually it is won by the Austrian Habsburgs
1918
At the end of World War I, Austro-Hungarian Empire breaks apart and Croatia becomes part of a new state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
1929
The Kingdom is renamed Yugoslavia
1941
During World War II, Nazi Germany invades and sets up a new fascist government. Under their regime, hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews are killed
1945
An anti-fascist group called the Partisans, led by Josep Broz Tito, push the Nazi-allied government out of Croatia. Croatia becomes one of six republics of socialist Yugoslavia, ruled by Tito
1945–91
Under socialism, Croatia becomes a modern industrial country; before World War II, most people worked in agriculture
1971
“Croatian Spring”: people protest at their lack of freedom to speak and write
1980
Tito dies
1989
Communism collapses in eastern Europe
1991–95
Croatian War of Independence is fought between Croat forces loyal to the government of Croatia, which wanted independence from Yugoslavia, and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav army; ethnic Serbs living in Croatia, supported by Serbia, oppose the secession and want Serb-majority areas to become part of a Greater Serbia
1991
Croatia declares independence from Yugoslavia. Croatian Serbs take over the eastern third of the country and drive out the region’s Croats
1992
United Nations (UN) troops are brought in to keep peace between Croats and Serbs. Croatia becomes involved in the Bosnian war, supporting the Bosnian Croats first against Bosnian Serbs and then Bosniaks (Muslims). Franjo Tudjman is elected Croatia’s president
1995
Croatian Serbs flee to Bosnia and Serbia
1997
Tudjman re-elected as president; he remains in office until his death in 1999
2001
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial at The Hague for war crimes in Croatia
2009
Croatia joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
2013
Croatia joins the European Union (EU)