Croatiaa land of thousand islands

An overview of its history, culture and natural beauty

By Zdeslav HrepicFort Hays State University

OVERVIEW

•General facts and Geography

•What we are proud of…

•History and Language

•Art and Architecture

•World heritage in Croatia (UNESCO’s list)

•Landscape

•Music and Dances

HOW TO GET TO CROATIA?

CROATIA ISOn the cross roadsbetweenCentral Europe and theMediterranean

GENERAL FACTS

Official name:

REPUBLIC OF CROATIAOfficial language:

CROATIANAlphabet:

LATINhttp://education.yahoo.com/reference/factbook/hr/map.html

POPULATION AND RELIGION

4,437,460 (2001. Census)Ethnic composition:

89,6% Croats 4,5% Serbs 0,5% Bosnians 0,4% Italians0,4 Hungarians

6,6% others

Religions:

87,8% R. Catholic1,3% Islam0,9% Orthodox0,4% Protestant3,9% Atheists

3.0% Agnostics 2,2% Atheists

CAPITAL - ZAGREB

Church of St. MarkOld town and Cathedral

COAT OF ARMS AND FLAG

~ 7 ct. ~ 16 ct.today

ECONOMY - TOURISM

ECONOMY - SHIPBUILDING

In the second half of the 1980-ties the Croatian shipbuilding industry was at the third place in the world,

(after Japan and South Korea).

Made in Split, Croatia

ECONOMY - AGRICULTURE

SOUTH CROATIA

ECONOMY - AGRICULTURE

NORTH CROATIA

RELIEF

ARCHIPELAGO

1,185 islands and rocks66 inhabited

One of 10 nations in the world with more than 1000 islands

Total Coastline length 5,835 km(Islands 70% - Mainland 30 %)

CROATIAN ARCHIPELAGO

According to American journal "Cruising World", together with the Caribbean, among the best sailing areas in the world.

BEACHES

BEACHES

LIGHTHOUSES

66 big stone lighthouses from 19 ct.

CROATIAN SHIPS

Sagina 10 –11 ct.

"Dubrovnik Nava" 16 ct.

FALKUSA

Croatian fisherman boat (18 ct.)

WHAT WE ARE PROUD OF…

SPORT - GORAN IVANISEVIC

..and welcome in his hometown - Split

Winner

WIMBLEDON CHAMPION 2001

NBA PLAYERS FROM CROATIA

Drazen Petrovic

Radja vs. Rodman

Toni Kukoc

Zan Tabak

Basketball team from Split - several times European champions.

NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM

Note: Croatia has less people than Brazil or Germany has registered soccer players and is a bit smaller in size than West Virginia!

C R O A T I AThe Third Best Team in the World

Davor Suker won the Golden Boot for scoring the most Goals (France 1998)

DALMATIAN DOG–NATIVE CROATIAN101 DALMATIAN

Dalmatia - the coastal part of Croatia

Recognized as Croatian autochthonous breed (FCI-153)

Croatian Mascot - 2000 Olympic games Sydney

CROATIA - HOMELAND OF CRAVATS

Every day worn by the 600 million men around the world. French - la Cravate

German- die Krawatte English – Cravat Italian - Cravatta Spanish - Corbata Portuguese - Gravata Irish - Carabhat Swedish - Kravatt Finnish - Kravatti Flemish - Krawaat Polish - Krawat Ukrainian - Kravatka Hungarian – Kravat Croatian - Kravata

CROATIA

A tradition introduced by Croatian soldiers who wore a small neckerchief of silk or cloth, tied in a knot around their necks.

Accepted in Europe during 1618-1648 when two regiments of Croatian soldiers were serving Luis XIV. After “la Cravate” become popular at French court, fashion spread fast further.

HOMELAND OF CRAVATS

OLDEST UNIVERSITIES

Bologna 1219Padova 1220Paris 1220Oxford 1249Lisabon 1290Rome 1303Cambridge 1318Florence 1321Praha 1348Krakow 1364Vienna 1365Heidelberg 1385

ZADAR 1396 and ZAGREB 1669

ZADAR 1396Rostock 1419Glasgow 1453Copenhagen 1479Mainz 1494Edinburgh 1582Dublin 1591Lwow 1661ZAGREB 1669

Göttingen 1736Erlangen 1743, Moscow 1775Berlin 1809Saint Petersburg 1819London 1825Helsinki 1826Kiev 1834Athens 1834Tokyo 1881Constantinople 1900…

INVENTORS - PARASHUTE

Faust Vrancic (1551-1617) from Sibenik invented and constructed a parashute and also performed a first jumps in order to test it.Wrote famous book on mechanics Machinae novae (61 constructions, Venice, 1595) - soon translated from Latin into Italian, Spanish, French and German A sketch of his well known Homo volans (parachutist) appearing in Machinae novae - often wrongly attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.

INVENTORS - PEN

Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (1871-1922) from Zagreb invented a mechanical ball pen which is bearing his name and now it is in everyday use.

NIKOLA TESLA (1856-1943)

Born in Croatia (at that time within Austro-Hungary)The father of alternating current technology, production and transmission of electrical energy as we know it today.Great contribution in high frequency technology and wireless communications More than 700 patents (manuscripts still top secret of US ministry of defense)Refused to receive the Nobel prize which he had to share with T.A. Edison. The unit for magnetic induction named after him

The Inventor Who Changed the World

NIKOLA TESLAWhen his mother died, in 1892, he paid a visit to Zagreb, Croatian capital, where he gave a lecture about alternating current. On that occasion he said:

Tesla’s monument, carved by Croatian sculptor Frano Krsinic, near Tesla's hydro power plant on Niagara Falls.

“I am equally proud of my Croatian motherland and Serbian descent”. N. Tesla

“As a son of my homeland I feel it is my duty to help the city of Zagreb in every respect with my advice and work” and suggested to build alternating current power plant.

TWO CROATIAN SCIENTISTS

Rudjer Boskovic (1711-1787), name of the mountain on the visible side. (forerunner of modern physics for two centuries – theory of atomic forces)

ON THE MAP OF THE MOON

Andrija Mohorovicic (1857-1936) name of the mountain on the dark side (discovered discontinuity in Earth crust named after him - Moho-layer or Moho-discontinuity.

CROATS – NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS

Lavoslav Ruzicka, of a Croat/Czech origin. Born in Vukovar, Croatia. Studied in Zagreb.

For discoveries in organic chemistry 1939. Ivo Andric, A Croat born in Dolac, Bosnia

and Herzegovina. Studied in Zagreb.

For literature, 1961. Vladimir Prelog, a Croat born in Sarajevo,

Bosnia and Herzegovina. Studied in Zagreb. For discoveries in organic chemistry, 1975.

FIRST PUBLIC THEATER IN EUROPE

In 1612 a theatre was built on the first floor of an existing building (from 13th century).

1612 - ON ISLAND HVAR

FIRST PUBLIC THEATER IN EUROPE

Built by the efforts and contributions of all the members of the community, regardless of class.

OPERAThree Slavic nations who have national operas:

1. Russians: (M. I. Glinka in 1836, 1842),2. Croats: Vatroslav Lisinski composed the first

Croatian national opera "Ljubav i zloba" ("Love and malice") in 1846.

3. Czechs: (B. Smetana in 1862),

The most famous Croatian opera: Ero s onoga svijeta, by Jakov Gotovac (1895-1982)It has been translated into 9 languages and performed in about 80 countries.

LEGACY – THE VINODOL CODE

One of the earliest and most important Croatian legal documents is The Vinodol Code, very different from the Roman law, written in the Glagolitic alphabet in 1288.

considered to be one of the most important documents of medieval Europe. Among the Slav Codes only the Rus Code “Pravda” is slightly older (1282).

It was unique in Europe by determining protection and integrity of women.

Introduces the institution of witnesses.

CITY OF DUBROVNIK

1317 - the first European pharmacy that has been working continuously till these days was opened there in in Franciscan monastery.

The first hospital (Domus Christi) in Dubrovnik was opened in 1347.

PEARL OF CROATIAN CULTURE

In 1296 Dubrovnik had a sewer system. In 1377 Dubrovnik had the first quarantene in

Europe. An organized production of soap started in 1417. The first orphanage was founded in 1432.

CITY OF DUBROVNIK

Dubrovnik have the oldest arboretum in Europe - Trsteno, founded in 1498, with many rare plants.

CITY OF DUBROVNIK

CITY OF DUBROVNIK

After Croatia joined in union with Hungary (1102) the Republic of Dubrovnik left the only really free part of Croatia and kept it’s freedom until Napoleon.

Upon arrival in 7th ct., Croatians founded the city on remainings of Roman settlement Ragusa. The city walls were built between the 8th and 16th centuries.

Ivan Gundulic (1589-1638) from Dubrovnik, one of the greatest Croatian poets wrote in Croatian language the well known patriotic verses devoted to Liberty:

Oh beautiful, oh dear, oh sweet liberty,the gift that Almighty God gave us…Neither all the silver and gold,nor all the human livescan be payment to your pure beauty!

Flag of the Republic of Dubrovnik:The word LIBERTAS (Liberty)

CITY OF DUBROVNIK

CITY OF DUBROVNIK

One of 8 books of Dubrovnik statute from 1272 contains exclusively regulations concerning Maritime Law, which is the oldest such document in the world.

Slave trade in the Republic of Dubrovnik was forbidden in 1418 (in the British Empire in 1833).

Dubrovnik's 1395 Insurance Law is the oldest in Europe. It had all aspects of contemporary maritime insurance. This law is three centuries older than Lloyd's insurance, London, which dates from the end of 17th century.

Republic of Dubrovnik built big fleet of sailing ships. In 16th century, years of biggest prosperity of Republic of Dubrovnik, their mercantile marine had 170-200 ships. Besides that, Dubrovnik had big armament navy.

CITY OF DUBROVNIK

"Dubrovnik Nava" 16 ct.

HISTORY - ORIGINSThe earliest mention of the Croatian name

as Horovathos (Horvat = Croat) - on two stone inscriptions in Greek language, from around the 200 A.D., found by the Black Sea (more precisely in the seaport Tanais on the Azov sea, Krim).

"Horoathos archon Tanaiton" (= Croat Mayor of Tanais) and "Synodos Horouathon“ (=Convention of Croats).

Both tablets are held in the archeological museum in St Petersburg, Russia.

INVITATION BY EMPEROR

Emperor Heraclius invites the Croats to settle in the Roman provinces of Pannonia and Dalmatia (as unable to defend the regions from the Avars)

This invitation was issued between 610 A.D. and 641 A.D., perhaps during the siege of Byzantium in 626. The migration was mostly complete by 678 when the Croatians sent a delegation to the Court of Constantinople.

Rome established contact with the Croatians at the same time and converted the tribes to Christianity through a treaty with Pope Agatho in 680, making Croatia one of the world's oldest Christian nations.

HERACLIUS

800 A.D.

http://www.euratlas.com/big/big0800.htm

A loose confederation of duchies ruled by Bans (Viceroys), began to take the shape of a unified state between 800 and 925.

UPON ARIVAL IN TODAYS HOMELAND

The earliest known Croatian duke was Borna, who ruled from around 812 to 821.

Duke Trpimir ruled from 845 to 864. In 852 he issued the oldest known governmental document in the Latin script, where the Croatian name was mentioned (dux Chroatorum)

In a letter from Pope John VIII to Prince Branimir, dated June 7th of 879 A.D., Croatia is mentioned as an independent, sovereign nation.

Figure of a Croatian Dignitary” (11th century) from Biskupija near Knin

KING TOMISLAV

Among all Slavic nations Croatians first had kingdom (925 AD Duvno)

The Emperor of Byzantium, Constantine Porphyrognet (913-959) recorded (about 950.) that

during King Tomislav's reign Croatia could raise overnight

100,000 armed soldiers and 60,000 horsemen

Tomislav - first Croatian King (910 –928)

10 c. NAVAL POWER

80 saginas (oared ships) with 40 fighters in addition to the crew and 100 konduras (oared ships smaller than saginas) with 10 to 20 fighters in addition to the crew. This was a force of about marine 5000 fighters, very respectable for that period.

In same document he also recorded the information about the naval power of Croatians numbering:

Sagina 10 –11 ct.

1000 A.D.

http://www.euratlas.com/big/big1000.htm

LANGUAGE AND SCRIPT Two national Scripts:Croatian Glagolitic older than a thousand years. The Our glagolitic books (written and printed) and other glagolitic monuments are scattered in many national libraries and museums in the world, in as many as 21 countries, in about 50 cities outside Croatia: and Croatian Cyrilic.

The Croats, using the Glagolitic alphabet, were the only nation in Europe who was given a special permission by Pope (Innocent IV in 1248) to use their own language and this script in Liturgy.

CROATIAN GLAGOLITIC SCRIPT

Missal from Vrbnik (15 st)

Angular and Round font

THE BASKA TABLET

An inscription written in the Croatian Glagolitic alphabet is a stone tablet - dating from the end of 11th century

Found near the town of Baska on the island of Krk. It contains about 400 Glagolitic characters (dimensions of the tablet: 2x1 sq.m, 800 kg).

precious stone of Croatian literacy

KING ZVONIMIR

Of particular interest is the third line of the Baska tablet, which mentions the Croatian King Zvonimir.

Z'V'NIM(I)R‘

KRAL‘

HR'VAT'SK'[I]

FIRST BOOKS PRINTED IN CROATIAN

In Glagolitic Script: 1483 “Missal” (440 pp, 19x26 cm) 28 years after Gutenberg's Bible 6 years after the first printed book in Paris and Venice 1 year before Stockholm, 58 years before Berlin and 70 years before Moscow. The Croatian Glagolitic Script was the fifth to appear in the history of European printing, very soon after the Latin, Gothic, Greek and Hebrew scripts.

In the Latin Script: 1495 “Lectionary of Bernardin of Split”, (published in Venice).

MAIN HISTORICAL PERIODS The arrival of the Croats to the Roman provincies Dalmatia

and Pannonia – the Beginning of the 7th century The period of Croatian dukes and kings of native birth (~

800 - 1102), Croatia sharing with Hungary a new state under common

Hungarian and Croatian kings (1102-1526), Croatia ruled by the Habsburgs, as a member of the

Habsburg crown (1527-1918), parts of Croatia under Venice, Turkish ottoman empire and France,

Croatia – part of kingdom of Yugoslavia and later republic within communist Yugoslavia ruled by Croatian Josip Broz Tito (1918-1991),

Internationally recognized Republic of Croatia (January 1992).

ART - ANCIENT CULTURES

Remains from locality of Pećani near Sibenik

The Copper Age - Vucedol culture near Vukovar, Croatia (2500 BC)

ANCIENT GREECE HERITAGE

Issa (Vis) –Afrodita’s

bronze head with silver

eyes

Tragurion (Trogir) - Cairos

Pottery and floor Issa (Vis)

ROMAN HERITAGE – ARENA IN PULAbuilt in the 1st century AD during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian, at the same time as the Colosseum in Rome the Amphitheatre could seat 20.000 spectators. In the Middle Ages it was the site of knight tournaments and fairs.

ROMAN HERITAGEDIOCLETIAN PALACE IN SPLIT

Peristyle – main square

Diocletians Aquaduct Still in use after 1700 years

CROATIAN ART – BEGININGS

An important monument with the interlace pattern which contains the name of Duke Branimir (9th century)

Represented by a rich ornamentation in interlace pattern

CROATIAN PRE-ROMANESQUE ART

baptismal font of Duke Viseslav from Nin (around 800 AD), with a interlace cross.

PRE-ROMANESQUE ART 9-11c

A ciboria from Biskupija (11th century) in Split Museum

Choir screen panel from Split, containing pentagram and interlace patterns, 11th century.

9 ct. CHURCH ARHITECTURE

Chapel of Holy Cross in Nin built around 800 AD a typical Pre-Romanesque church

in Dalmatia

About 150 Pre-Romanesque Croatian churches (9th to 11th century), built mostly along the coast. About 15 of them are still well preserved (some were completely destroyed during the aggression on Croatia in 1991-1995).

9 ct. CHURCH ARHITECTURE•Church of St. Donatus (9th century), in Zadar

•the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia

•one of the most important monuments of the Pre-Romanesque architecture in Europe

•one of the most impressive churches of the Carolingian centralized type in Europe

11 ct. CHURCH ARHITECTURE

St. Nicolas (11th century) - Split

Church of St. Nicholas near Nin (11th century); the octagonal tower was added in the 16th century to protect from the Turks

Stomorica – remains of church

12-13ct. ROMANESQUECHURCH ARHITECTURE

12-13ct. ROMANESQUE

St. Krsevan in ZadarSt. Anastasia [Sveta Stosija] Cathedral in Zadar

CHURCH ARHITECTURE

St. Jakob -Sibenik – cathedral 15 c.

Hvar – cathedral 15/16 c.

15-16 ct. RENAISSANCECHURCH ARHITECTURE

SCULPTRY – IVAN MESTROVIC

INDIAN WITH BOW 1926GRANT PARK CHICAGO, USA

CROATIAN HISTORY 1932SPLIT, CROATIA

CROATIAN NAIVE ART

Ivan Lackovic Croata“WINTER”

Ivan Rabuzin “FULLNESS OF THE

EARTH”

Today quite widespread and highly esteemed. First introduced by Croatian painter Krsto Hegedusic (1901-1971).

CROATIAN NAIVE ART

Ivica Fister“OUR ETERNAL LIGHT”

Ivan Rabuzin “DAWN”

LACE – ISLAND PAG

LACE - LEPOGLAVA

Another lace, from island Hvar, is unique as made of threads of Aloe Vera leaf

quickly while thread is still wet and flexible

CROATIA IN UN

Vineyards near Primosten – an glory to human labor

CROATIA IN UN

This photo of a victim of the fascist terror is exhibited in the building of UN in New York.Shows Stjepan Filipovic (1916 -1942), a Croatian antifascist born in Opuzen, in Dalmatian part of Croatia, in the moment before he was hanged in publicly in the city of Valjevo in Serbia by Serbian chetniks and German fascists.

SCULPTURY - CROATIA IN UN

A sculpture was created by Croatian sculptor Antun Augustincic (1900-1979).

It is situated in front of the UN main building in New York. The basement of the monument is made of the marble from the Croatian island of Brac (White house also built of it).

The Horsewoman (the Monument of Peace)one of the symbols of the United Nations

UN - WORLD HERITAGEDIOCLETIAN PALACE IN SPLIT

Peristyle - the center of the Diocletian's Palace

UN - WORLD HERITAGE

GAIUS AURELIUS VALERIUS DIOCLETANIUS (c 243-316) - born near the Salona, then capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. He was pronounced emperor on November 20, 284 AD.

DIOCLETIAN PALACE IN SPLIT

CATHEDRAL IN SPLITTHE OLDEST IN THE WORLD

UN - WORLD HERITAGEOLD CITY OF DUBROVNIK

Bernard Shaw:

Those who seek paradise on Earth

should come to Dubrovnik

and see Dubrovnik.

City walls 8-16 ct.

UN - WORLD HERITAGEOLD CITY OF DUBROVNIK

UN - WORLD HERITAGENATIONAL PARK PLITVICE LAKES

The living process of formation and growth of travertine cascade barriers

UN - WORLD HERITAGENATIONAL PARK PLITVICE LAKES

The brown bear - the largest mammal in this part of the world

UN - WORLD HERITAGEROMANESQUE TOWN TROGIR

UN - WORLD HERITAGEROMANESQUE TOWN TROGIR

Portal and choral seats of Trogir Cathedral

UN - WORLD HERITAGE

Euphrasius Basilica in Porec, Istria, built in the 6th century. Very important remain of Byzantine art in Croatia

BASILICA OF EUPHRASIUS IN POREC

UN - WORLD HERITAGE

Following the design of Juraj Dalmatinac (1441).East end of Cathedral

CATHEDRAL IN SIBENIK

Baptistery

UN - WORLD HERITAGECATHEDRAL IN SIBENIK