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.

Croatian emigrants on board ship heading for Canada, 1923. According to estimates, the Croatian diaspora, from Europe across North and South America to Australia, comprises over two and a half million people.

Fallow deer in Brijuni National Park. Apart from its unspoiled nature, this park is also a place steeped in history, since the Declaration establishing the Non-Aligned Movement was signed there in 1956, during the Cold War.

Detail in Croatian Glagolitic of the Reims Gospel (1395), also known as “Texte du Sacre”, upon which the kings of France were wont to swear their coronation oath. It is kept in the Carnegie Library in Reims (France).

The Pula Film Festival, held every summer in the Pula Arena, was launched in 1954 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world. Croatian cinemas hosted more than 4 million viewers in 2012.

Traditional culture

Traditional Croatian culture is characterised by exceptional diversity. Ecological conditions and the influences of the cultures with which the Croats have come into contact through history (Mediterranean, Central European, Ancient Balkan, Oriental, etc ...

Demographic picture

With a population density of 76 per km², Croatia is one of the more sparsely populated European countries, along with Norway, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland and Bulgaria. In the last 150 years, several factors have influenced population ...

Legislative power

In accordance with legal tradition, the Croatian Parliament is traditionally titled the Sabor. The oldest preserved records of sessions of the Sabor date back to 1273. Until the 16th century, the Slavonian and Croatian Sabors sat separately, but from 1681 ...

Climate

Thanks to its position in the moderate climate belt along the 45th parallel, Croatia enjoys a predominantly moderate climate, with four clearly marked seasons. Local climate differences are determined primarily by the diversity of the relief ...

Ancient times and the early Christian period

Thanks to trade routes and communications, the ancient peoples of the Bronze and Iron Ages living in the land which is present-day Croatia were in touch with the artistic output of the Greek and Etruscans ...

Theatre and ballet

The earliest examples of theatrical life in Croatia, as in other Western countries, were liturgical dramas in Latin. However, secular theatre appeared as early as the beginning of the 14th century in Dubrovnik, which over the next centuries emerged as the ...

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 ...

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 ...