The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the oldest in Southeast Europe (1866) and has up to 160 full members (academicians) in its 9 departments. It also encompasses several scientific-research and art institutes, as well as numerous scientific boards and councils.

Ivan Meštrović, Fountain of Life, a sculpture in front of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. Life expectancy in Croatia is 80 years for women and 73 years for men.

The Baška Tablet, one of the earliest preserved written monuments in Croatian, dated about 1100. This white limestone tablet, which measures 199 x 99.5 x 9 cm, contains the first mention of the word Croatia in Croatian – in the title given to Zvonimir, 'king of the Croats'.

Banski Dvori, the seat of the Government, on St. Mark’s Square in Zagreb; this historical building was the residence of the Croatian bans (governors) until 1918. Until the shelling in 1991, during the Homeland War, Banski Dvori was the seat of the President of the Republic. According to 'Twiplomacy 2013', an annual global study of world leaders on Twitter by Burson-Marsteller, with 33.8 tweets per day, the Croatian Government (@ VladaRH) is third in the world among the most active on Twitter.

Ivo Pogorelić (1958) has become prominent due to his expressly personal style of interpretation of the pianist’s standard repertoire. Pogorelić is the first artist named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador (1988).

Between Venice, Vienna and Pest

In the Great (Viennese) War (1683–99), large parts of Croatia and Slavonia were liberated from Ottoman rule and the border of the Dubrovnik Republic was finally determined. The Venetian Republic, which had established ...

Nature protection

A large number of protected natural areas and features show that Croatia is a country of exceptional, diverse, and comparatively well-preserved natural beauty, of which some examples, such as the Plitvice Lakes, are famous ...

Did you know?

The tie (cravat), today an essential fashion accessory for men and women, was named after an item in the uniform of Croatian soldiers during the Thirty Years War? As part of their uniform, they tied an eye-catching length of fabric around their necks ...

Relief

Although the land area of Croatia is not large (56,594 km², 19th in size among the countries of the European Union), it has an extremely varied relief, as it adjoins several large European relief forms. There are three main types of relief in Croatia...

Contemporary Croatia

The process of the emergence of the contemporary state of Croatia began with the crisis in Communism in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s, the strengthening of democratic movements and the restoration of multi-party systems. Such movements ...

Branches of the economy

Croatia does not have large quantities of mineral resources. Coal and other mines (bauxite) were closed in the 1970s and 1980s. There are significant sources of non-metal minerals, which are used as raw materials ...

Executive power

The President of the Republic represents and acts for the Republic of Croatia at home and abroad. The President is elected pursuant to universal and equal suffrage by direct election for a period of five years. The President of the Republic provides ...

Croatia in brief

Croatia has been present on the contemporary international political stage since its independence from the Yugoslav Federation, i.e. for a little over two decades, but in terms of history and culture, is one of the oldest European countries ...