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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
Euphrasian Basilica
The Euphrasian Basilica is a minor basilica in Porec, Croatia.
It is a UN World Heritage Site.
The basilica was built in the first half of the 6th century
during the period of Bishop Euphrasius. It was built over
the site of an even older basilica, dating back to the 4th
century. The complex is one of the best examples of early
Byzantine art in the region.
Trogir (Italian Traù, Latin Tragurium, Greek
Tragurion)
Trogir is a historic town and harbour at the Adriatic coast
in Croatia, in Split-Dalmatia county, 27 km west of Split,
with population 10,907 (2001), total municipality population
13,322 (2001), geographically located at 43°31'N 16°16'E.
In the 3rd century BC, Tragurion was founded by Greek colonists
from the island of Vis, and it developed into a major port
until the Roman period. Sudden prosperity of Salona deprived
Trogir of its importance. During the migration of Slavs the
citizens of the destroyed Salona escaped to Trogir. From the
9th century Trogir was paying tribute to the Croatian rulers.
The diocese of Trogir was established in the 11th century
(abolished in 1828) and in 1107 it was chartered by the Hungarian-Croatian
king Coloman, gaining thus its autonomy as a town.
In 1123 it was conquered and almost completely demolished
by the Saracens. However, Trogir recovered in a short period
to experience a powerful economic prosperity in the 12th and
the 13th centuries. In 1242 King Béla IV found refuge
there as he was running from the Tatars. In the 13th and the
14th centuries the members of the Šubic family were most
frequently elected dukes by the citizens of Trogir; Mladen
III (1348), according to the inscription on the sepulchral
slab in the Cathedral of Trogir, called "the shield of
the Croats", was one of the most prominent Šubics.
In 1420 the period of a long-term Venetian rule began. On
the fall of Venice in 1797 Trogir became a part of the Habsburg
Empire which ruled over the city until the 1918, with the
exception of French occupation from 1806 to 1814. After World
War I, Trogir, together with Croatia, became a part of State
of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and subsequently Kingdom of
Yugoslavia. During the World War II Trogir was occupied by
Italy, and the citizens were mainly on the Allies' side and
it was liberated 1944. Since then it belonged to the second
Yugoslavia, and from 1991 to Croatia.
Split / Palace of Diocletian
Split (Italian: Spalato) is the largest and most important
city in Dalmatia, the administrative center of Croatia's Split-Dalmatia
county. It is situated on a small peninsula on the eastern
shores of the Adriatic Sea. Absolute majority of its citizens
are Croats with 95.15% (2001 census).
Situated on a peninsula between the eastern part of the Gulf
of Kastela and the Split Channel. A hill, Marjan (178 m),
rises in the western part of the peninsula. The ridges Kozjak
(780 m) and Mosor (1,330 m) protect the city from the north
and northeast, and separate it from the hinterland. Split
has the Mediterranean climate: hot dry summers (average air
temperature in July reaches 36°C) and mild, humid winters
(average annual rainfall is 900 mm). Split is one of the sunniest
places in Europe. Vegetation is of the evergreen Mediterranean
type, and subtropical flora (palm-trees, agaves, cacti) grows
in the city and its surroundings. Marjan is covered with a
cultivated forest.
Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (245?–312?), born
Diocles, was Roman Emperor as Diocletian from November 20,
284 to May 1, 305. Diocletian brought to an end the period
popularly known to historians as the "Crisis of the Third
Century" (235–284). He established an autocratic
government and was responsible for laying the groundwork for
the second phase of the Roman Empire, which is known variously
as the "Dominate" (as opposed to the Principate),
the "Tetrarchy", or simply the "Later Roman
Empire". Diocletian's reforms helped ensure the survival
of the Roman imperium, in the East at least, for several centuries.
Dubrovnik (Latin Ragusa)
Dubrovnikis an old city on the Adriatic Sea coast in the
extreme south of Croatia, positioned at 42°39'N 18°04'E
at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one
of the most prominent tourist resorts, a seaport and the center
of the Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its population was 43,770
in 2001, 49,728 in 1991, and the majority of its citizens
are Croats with 88.39% (2001 census). Dubrovnik is nicknamed
"Pearl of the Adriatic".
The city of Ragusa/Dubrovnik was based on maritime trade;
in the Middle Ages, it became the only eastern Adriatic city-state
to rival Venice. Supported by its wealth and skilled diplomacy,
the Latin/Slavic Ragusa/Dubrovnik achieved a remarkable level
of development during the 15th and 16th century. Dubrovnik
was one of the centers of the development of the Croatian
language and literature, home to many notable poets, playwrights,
painters, mathematicians, physicists and other scholars.
Plitvice Lakes
The Plitvice Lakes are a national park in Croatia, situated
at 44.85° N 15.62° E. The river Korana has formed
20 lakes across the limestone and chalk barriers. Between
the lakes there are many marvellous waterfalls and cascades.
One of the last old-growth forests in Europe, it features
an amazing ability to heal itself.
The lakes are divided in two major groups: the Upper and
the Lower ones.
Larger upper lakes include:
Prošcansko
Ciginovac
Okrugljak veliko
Galovac
Gradinsko
Bigger lower lakes are:
Kozjak
Milanovac
Plitvice have been on the UNESCO world heritage list since
1979.
In Spring 1991, during the break-up of Yugoslavia, the park
was the site of Plitvice Bloody Easter, first armed confrontation
to result in fatalities.
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