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The culture of Croatia has roots in a long history: the Croats
have been inhabiting the area for thirteen centuries, but
there are important remnants of the earlier periods still
preserved in the country.
Some of the earliest remaining historical features include:
100,000 year old bones of a Neandertal man near Krapina (Krapina-Zagorje
county)
Neolithic excavation sites in Šcitarjevo near Zagreb,
Sopot near Vinkovci, Vucedol near Vukovar, Nakovanj on the
Pelješac peninsula and elsewhere
records of inhabitation of the island of Vis by ancient Greeks
(the queen Teuta of Issa)
many buildings and ruins from the ancient Roman period, including
many Roman cities throughout the Dalmatian coast, notably
the aqueduct of Salona, emperor Diocletian's Palace in Split,
Euphrasius' Basilica in Porec and the amphitheatre in Pula.
The early middle ages brought the great migration of the Slavs
and this period was perhaps a Dark Age in the cultural sense
until the successful formation of the Slavic states which
coexisted with Italic cities that remained on the coast, each
of them were modelled like Venice.
By joining the Hungarian state in the eleventh century, Croatia
lost its independence, but it didn't lose its ties with the
south and the west, and instead this ensured the beginning
of a new era of Central European cultural influence. Similarly,
the beginning of the wars with the Ottoman Empire caused many
problems but in the long term it both reinforced the northern
influence (by having the Austrians as the rulers) and also
introduced a distinct oriental cultural influence.
The turbulent twentieth century re-oriented Croatia politically
on many occasions and affected it in many other ways, but
it couldn't significantly alter its already peculiar position
at the crossroads of many different cultures.
the original families are uncertain but their is some connection
to Miljak and Milicic. There is said to be more than 100 original
families of Croatia.
Education
Croatia has six universities in six larger cities:
- University of Zagreb
- University of Split
- University of Rijeka
- University Josip Juraj Strossmayer, Osijek
- University of Zadar
- University of Dubrovnik
Each of the universities in Croatia is composed of many independent
"faculties" (Croatian fakultet, meaning college
or department). Each independent college or department maintains
its own administration, professional staff (also known as
a "faculty") and campus. The colleges focus on specific
areas of learning: Natural Sciences, Philosophy, Law, Engineering,
Economy, Architecture, Medicine, and so on. Although a university's
colleges or departments are usually located in the same city
as the administration of the university, sometimes they are
not. For example, Zagreb University's Faculty of Metallurgy
is located in the city of Sisak.
There are also a number of scientific institutes, including
the Institute "Ruder Boškovic" in Zagreb that
excels in physics, or the Energy Institute "Hrvoje Požar"
also in Zagreb.
The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb is a
learned society promoting language, culture, and science from
its first conception in 1836. (The juxtaposition of the words
typically seen in English as "Arts and Sciences"
is deliberate.)
The Roman Catholic Church was instrumental in the founding
of many educational facilities in Croatia. The Church continues
to maintain numerous seminaries and theological faculties
in the country, as well as the Pontifical Croatian College
of St. Jerome for Croatian students in Rome.
People
Some of the people Croatians take special pride in include:
- founder of the first Croatian kingdom King Tomislav
- statesman and soldier Nikola Šubic Zrinski
- poet Marko Marulic
- playwright and prose writer Marin Držic
- inventor of parachutes Faust Vrancic
- physicist and diplomat Ruder Boškovic
- army general and ban Josip Jelacic
- sculptor Ivan Meštrovic
- physicist and engineer Nikola Tesla (ethnic Serb)
- inventor of torpedoes Ivan Lupis-Vukic
- chemist Lavoslav Ružicka
- inventor of ink pens Eduard Slavoljub Penkala
- parliamentarian Stjepan Radic
- writer Ivo Andric
This list is far from inclusive: the list of Croatians includes
all the people who influenced the Croatian culture and history.
Places
The UNESCO has marked six places in Croatia as World Heritage:
- Episcopal complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the historic
centre of Porec
- the cathedral of St. James in Šibenik
- historic city of Trogir
- historic complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian
- old city of Dubrovnik
- Plitvice Lakes
As far as natural beauty goes, Croatia has eight national
parks, mostly situated along the Adriatic coast.
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