Croats - The People Group
The Croats are a Slavic people who moved to this region around 625 AD. Croatia first became a unified county under King Tomislav in 925 AD. In 1102 the country came under control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of WWI in 1918, a period of over 800 years. There were several attempts to unite the southern Slavic countries, with varying degrees of success. After WWII Tito formed Yugoslavia, in which Croatia was one of the six republics. Yugoslavia began to fall apart after president Tito died in 1980. In 1991 Croatia declared independence and regained its sovereignty under President Tudjman. Croats are a proud people with a long history. We encourage you to delve into learning about this wonderful place.

Croatia - The Culture
Croatia has a rich and expansive culture. Throughout its history, Croatia has come under three cultural and civilizing influences. From the west and south came the Roman and Catholic influence of the Mediterranean. from the north came the central European influence, a mixture of Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish, through the Austrians, Germans and Hungarians. The culture of Croatia has been shaped more by these nations than by any others. The third main influence came from the Balkans, Characterized by Orthodoxy and Islam. Muslim Turks held most of Croatia for 200 years.

Croatia - the country
Geography - the country has three distinct areas: The Dalmatian coast, the low mountains and highlands of the south, and the flat planes of the north. The region is subject to occasional, but very destructive earthquakes.
Area - 56,542 KM². it is slightly smaller than W. Virginia.
Population - 4,496,869 (July 2004 est.) Major Cities: (Est. as of 2002) Zagreb: 779,145 -- Split: 188,694 -- Rijeka: 144,043 -- Osijek: 114, 616 Religion - 87.8% Catholic, 0.3% Protestant, 4.4% Orthodox, 1.3% Muslim, 6.2% Other/Unknown
Economy - Croatia is an emerging democracy. Unemployment is about 17.4%, a typical wage $ 281 per month and per capita GDP $ 10,600.
Politics - The republic is officially a presidential/parliamentary democracy. The current President of Croatia is Stipe Mesic. The Prime Minister is Ivo Sanader

Language - Croatian

Brief Croatian language guide.

National holidays On the following days banks and most shops will be shut (there are other holy days but these do not affect day to day life):
January 1 - New Year's Day
January 6 - Three Kings
May 1 - Labour Day
June 22 - Croatia National Uprising Day (This commemorates the outbreak of resistance in 1941)
June 25 - Statehood Day
August 5 - Thanksgiving Day (This celebrates the liberation of the Krajina by the Croatian army),
August 15 - Feast of the Assumption
November 1 - All Saint's Day
December 25 and 26 - Christmas

For more information: Books: History - "Croatia: A Nation Forged Through War" by Marcus Tanner History and Culture - "A History of the Croats" by Ivo Peric War - "Death of Yugoslavia" by L. Silver, A. Little (accompanies the video)

Croats around the world

Total in the world        7,000,000
Croatia                   4,496,869
Bosnia                      761,000
USA                         545,000
Germany                     450,000
Australia                   300,000
Serbia                      149,000
Canada                      110,000