Much
has been said about the
beauty of Croatia. "Heaven
on Earth" has been
described in many books
by artists, in paintings
and countless photographs.
"God wanted to crown
his creation, so on the
last day he created the
Croatian Adriatic from
his tears, the stars and
sea breeze",wrote
an author long ago about
the splendour of this
most beautiful and preserved
ecological corner of the
modern world.
Long beaches, rocky mountains
within reach of the sea,
fervent summers, untouched
nature and unique city
monuments have turned
the vacations of many
travellers into an exceptionally
beautiful dream. It is
often said that most travellers
by chance stumble across
the Adriatic. Every other
visit discovers more of
the diversity, blessedness
and hospitality of this
land. It would seem that
we are not objective to
those who have not visited
this jewel of the Mediterranean.
The only way to prove
our objectivity is through
ones own experience of
the sea with its thousands
islands.
The Republic of Croatia
covers an area of 56538
km2, and its territorial
waters cover 31900 km2.
The coastline including
the islands is 5740
km long. According to
the latest census, Croatia
has a population of
4.8 milion. More than
78% are ethnic Croats
and Roman Catholicism
is the prevalent religion
(76.5 % of all inhabitants
are Roman Catholics).
The official language
is Croatian, written
in the Roman script.
In the northern regions,
the way of life is typically
Central European, Whereas
the South is Mediterranean.
Althrough there was
an independent Croatian
principality and Kingdom
from the 9th to the
12th century, todays
roatia is one of the
newest states in Europe.
It adopted its constitution
on 22nd December 1990,
and was recognised internationally
on 15th January 1992.
The international recognition
of its sovereignty and
its acceptance into
the membership of the
UN in 1992 marked the
end of a crucial period
in the establishment
of Croatia as a new
state in the European
and world community.
After the collapseof
the communist regime
in the democratic elections
in the spring of 1990,
Croatia became a parliamentary
democracy, with a political
system based on human
rights, the rule of
law, minority rights,
private property, private
enterprise and a free
market economy, social
justice and political
freedom. its legal system
conforms to modern European
standards.
Croatia is rich in natural
resources, and is determined
to build its future
on services and high
technology. Its priority
is the utilisation of
its maritime potential:
above all, tourism,
shipping and ship building.
The capital of Croatia
is Zagreb, a city of
one million inhabitants,
the hub of Croatian
culture, education and
trade. The cities of
Split, Zadar, Osijek
and Rijeka also have
universities.
The unit of Currency
is kuna (KN).
