The potential Sarmatian/ Alanian etymology puts the ethnogenesis of Croats in dispute. While it's traditionally believed Croats are South Slavic from Great Croatia, the linguistic connection to Sarmatiam Khoroáthos, (an Iranian equestrian tribes) has spawned a theory that Proto-Croats were Iranian Sarmatian-Alanic, not the Slavs.
Why It's Worth a Visit -
At the crossroads of Roman, Byzantine, European & Mediterranean cultures, Croatia boasts stunning Adriatic coastline with over a thousand islands and historic walled cities full of Austro-Hungarian charm, all at affordable rates with less crowds.
@ a glance essentials:
* Prices vary drastically - as low as $ away from the coast or as high as $$$$$ in the affluent tourist region & season of celebrity yacht parties
Language:
Croatian
-
Croation Kuna
Water safety
Safe to Drink
Most Locals in larger cities can speak some English.
Currency:
HRK
Local Transport
There are bus and ferry networks in large cities but smaller towns will require a car.
Nude beaches are common (marked 'FKK' – for German 'Frei-Körper-Kultur' = 'free body culture' – but topless bathing is common everywhere) Even if you choose to go sans swimsuits though you may want to wear swim shoes as many beaches are rocky and the home of stinging sea urchins
Hot Tip:
Croatia, inhabited since prehistory, has been at the center of conflict it's entire civilized history. In the 1st millennia BC Celts & Illyrians settled before being conquered by the Roman Empire in 9AD. The region then found itself at the geographical schism between 🔎Western Roman and Byzantine Empires, and again at the frontlines of the Ottoman invasions and much later it became the heart of modern Serbian-Croatian conflicts.
a bit of background...
........................ Croatia’s country code is HR because the Croatian endonym for the country is Hrvatska or Republika Hrvatska = Republic of Hrvatska.
FUN FACT:
By the 7th c. the Romans were displaced by 🔎South Slavs throughout the Balkans and the territory was organized into 2 duchies, including The Duchy of Croatia, (or Land of the Croats - encompassing present day Bosnia) The Duchy was then elevated in 10th c. to the 🔎Kingdom of Croatia
In 1102, with the Ottoman Empire expanding, the Croat Kingdom enter into a union with Hungary for protection. Some territory was lost over the centuries - resulting in today's hollow crescent shape - but unlike most of the Balkans, Croatia was never absorbed by the Ottomans. But in the 16th c. Hungary was conjoined to Austria and they split Croatia in into a Civilian territory and Military Frontier (under Austrian Habsburg control.) Later, during the 18th c. Napoleonic Wars the Austrians also annexed the Dalmatian Lands, (the Adriatic coast of Croatia,) forming a Kingdom of Dalmatia.
After WWI, Balkan Slove, Croats & Serbs were removed from the Habsburg Empire, and merged into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.,then in WWII incorporated into the Nazi puppet Independent State🔍 of Croatia. A resistance movement led first to the creation of the Socialist Republic of Croatia and then the Socialist Federal🔍 Republic of Yugoslavia after the war (fraught with ethnic Serb - Croat strife.) In 1991, Croats and Slove fought a War of Independence and became the first to break from Yugoslavia (concurrent with Slovenia) becoming the 🔎Republic of Croatia in 1995.
Must Try Local Cuisine:
Ćevapčići - grilled minced meat rolls & Ražnjići - grilled meat skewers ∞ Djuvec Rice - a mixture of rice & veg
Grah - white bean soup w/ beef, bacon or sausage ∞ Sarma - cabbage w/ minced meat, fried onions & egg
Brudet - tomato, wine/vinegar fish stew ∞ Soparnik - chard, parsley pie ∞ Sataraš - tomato, pepper stew
Čupavci (hairy ones) - sponge cake cubes in chocolate & coconut ∞ Krofne - deep-fried donut (no hole)
Gibanica - pastry filled w/ soft cheeses ∞ Paprenjaci - traditional Croatian spiced cookie w/ honey & walnuts
➿➰➿
I haven't yet had the opportunity to visit
Croatia
(but it's on the list!) - So I don't have any personal
(If you get there first send me your best finds !)
recommendations yet, but you can start with the most popular spots
below, and I'll update with my favorites, hopefully soon!
Most Known For:
♦️ Dalmatian Coast- w/ drunken mega-yacht parties in the Blue Lagoon (between Krknjasi &
Veliki islands) or the unusual lunar-like Pag Island, famous for Paški sir sheep cheese
🔸 Zagreb - with it's Kamenita Vrata (Stone Gate,) the Dolac Market, the Lotrscak Tower,
St. Mark’s Cathedral & the world’s shortest funicular
♦️ Stari Grad | Hvar Island with the world's oldest vineyard (planted by 4th century Greeks)
🔸 Ancient World Heritage site & cities like the Diocletian Palace | Split, 13th c. Dubrovnik†
and Trogir, with it's preserved Romanesque-Gothic architecture
♦️ National Parks like Croatia’s oldest, Plitvice, with lakes, 90+ waterfalls & 18+ km of trails,
or Kornati - a sea🔍 park in the Adriatic of ~150 karst islands called ‘crowns’.
🔸 Šibenik - the oldest town in Croatia, dating to 1066 AD
♦️ Fairytale Istrian Villages like: Motovun, Grožnjan, Hum or Pula with the Pula Arena Roman amphitheater
🔸 The Dinaric Alps🔍
† GAME OF THRONES' King’s Landing was filmed in Old Town & the original GOT Iron Throne is on display on Lokrum Island
🍿
👀 NOTABLE CROATIANS:
💡Nikola Tesla | Inventor 🎻🎻 Luka Šulić & Stjepan Hauser | 2Cellos 👤 Oscar Nemon | Portrait Sculptor
(ethnicly Serbian)
👣
🌀 Pula's Visualia (September) or Zagreb's Festival of Lights (March) - light show over the whole city w/
animated installations, interactive elements & sometimes short film scenes projected on buildings
🌀 Procession of (Kra)Ljelje & Kraljice (Pentecost Sunday) - girls split into ‘queens," in traditional costume
& 'kings", in men’s clothing† to parade house to house, singing & dancing w/ bagpipers & tambura/
gajde players. Once widely celebrated, today it's only found in the small village of Gorjani.
🌀 Half New Years’ Eve (June 30th) - the week prior hosts street performances, a masked parade, traditional
sword dances & festival food. On the night of the 30th turns into a dance floor & all-night party w/ fireworks
🌀 Rijeka Carnival - w/ parade floats, daily themed masked dancers, (eg, a parade day w/ men dressed
in animal skin chasing away evil spirits w/ loud bells) Practiced in the 1800s but forgotten - until
groups of masked men revived it in 1982, paraded down main street to amuse their neighbors
† Tradition says the woman dressed as men to make soldiers believe they were ghosts (ostensibly of lost war colleges(?))
Site Key:
Five Star Recommend
Make the Time!
Worth the Effort/ $
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