Croatia is a beautiful county with rich cultural and historical monuments. You can find different influences from different eras and a huge range of different cultures. Influence of eternal Rome of Venice Republic of Ottomans of Hungarians….Even Alfred Hitchcock said that Croatia is the place of the most beautiful sunset on planet. Here are some interesting things that you should know about this incredible country.
– Croatians invented the tie – Croatian soldiers mercenaries during the war in Europe (year 1600) were wearing ties on their necks ( red ties and that was their symbol ). That kind of new fashion was something really interesting for France and Paris and very soon they started to copy that fact calling it “a la croata ” (Croatian way). Also the French king started to wear the tie.
– The first country in the world to recognize the independence of the United States, was the Croatian Republic of Dubrovnik.
– Croat Slavoljub Penkala in 1906 invented the mechanical pencil, called Penkala. The patent has been registered in 35 countries, and his company TOZ Penkala still works in Zagreb.
– Faust Vrancic the first in the world invented the parachute. Lot of inventors were studying the early Leonardo da Vinci’s work and sketches about parachutes but Faust was first who succeeded in this fact.
– Croatia is known as one of the most successful sporting nations of the world-just remember famous tennis player Goran Ivanisevic or NBA players (Toni Kukoc, Dino Rada, Drazen Petrovic)…soccer, handball, water polo….
ISLANDS – Croatia has 1246 islands, islets and bays
KUNA – Croatian national currency has the name of the animal curse, because before this animal fur traders used as currency of exchange for other goods.
NATIONAL PARKS
Croatia has eight national parks, four of which are located in the mountain region (Paklenica, Plitvice lakes, Risnjak and Velebit ) ,and four in the costal region (Brijuni, Kornati, Krka and Mljet ).
CITY OF PULA
The amphitheater of Pula (called also Arena of Pula) is one of three best preserved in the world because is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers. It is also the sixth largest amphitheater that exists.
HUM
Hum is known as the smallest town in the world. It has only 30 inhabitants and has all institutions that also other cities have . It is located in the central part of Istria, 14 kilometers from Buzet.
ZADAR
In the city of Zadar there are sea organ, which play under the influence of waves. It’s the first experimental natural instrument. It has some holes under the marble steps near the sea and every time that waves “touch” them (depends on intensity ) it creates different and incredible sounds that only nature can create.
Besides that near the Sea organs in city of Zadar there is one small square where they’ve put some solar lights (colored)…so when the night comes there is like discotheque floor full of lights… Again nature and the sun are the artists and creators.
GAME OF THRONES
Not everybody knows that King’s Landing from your favorite HBO series in reality is the Croatian city of Dubrovnik.
Also Game of Thrones was filming in the cities of Split, Trogir, Kastela and many others.
DALMATIAN COAST
I cannot write only about Game of Thrones but for many people Croatia became famous for that fact. Beside some great film locations Dubrovnik, Split and many other Dalmatian cities are rich of incredible things to see and to visit. They are under UNESCO protection…
In Split take a walk around Diocletian’s palace… He was an ancient Roman emperor who decided to retire and spend his last days in this wonderful place created by God.
Dubrovnik– too many things to say about that beautiful town. Needs to be visited and Dubrovnik has big walls like Chinese wall so prepare to make a nice exercise if you visit it. But it is worth every effort and every step you take (even though I was totally exhausted but will never forget it). It’s heaven on earth
Don’t forget Trogir, islands…..The beach that changes shape (Bol island of Brac ). The beach Zlatni rat is one of the most beautiful in the world and the island of Brac is among the 10 most desirable places to live. The form of the beach changes depending on the wind and the waves, which makes it one of the most spectacular beaches in the world.
When you finish with the Bol beach you Must visit characteristic places like Supetar, Sutivan or Milna. When you come in those places you will go back in time. Beautiful small houses made of white characteristic stone. Places where fishermen live and you can buy a fresh fish everyday and every time you like it. If you’re searching for peace and nature you will completely enjoy this island. It’s far away from chaos that we have to live during the year.
This is a list of just a few interesting things that this little country has to offer. I always say that Croatia is as big (talking about the population ) as half city of London. Croatia has 4500000 inhabitants and London arround 8 million. So see by yourself. So much beauty and intelligence and incredible things concentrated in this small piece of World. And proudly I’m one of them. I’m Croatian but I have so much to learn and so many thing to see..
