Architecture
Croatia’s diversity of architecture is a result of its history and has seen a number
of influences, ranging from Venice to Vienna.
The Romans conquered the Adriatic coast in the 1st century BC, establishing their
province of Dalmatia and building cities at Pula and Zadar. The emperor Diocletian
was born in the Dalmatian city of Salona in AD 245 and later built his retirement
palace at Split.
After the Romans, Croatia was ruled by the Byzantine empire and Christianity became
the main religion. The Slavic tribes from Ukraine adopted Christianity and built
churches influenced by Greek, Latin and Celtic architecture.
The finest buildings on the Dalmatia coast were constructed during Venetian rule
between the 14th and 18th centuries in a transitional style that’s become known as
Gothic-Renaissance. The Sponza Palace and Rector’s Palance in Dubrovnic both symbolise
this style.
The extravagant Baroque style, characterise by its ornate, brightly coloured facades
was popular in Northen Croatia during the 18th century as a symbol of Catholicism
on the borders of the Ottoman empire.
In the 19th century the end of the Habsburg era was marked by grandiose public buildings
combining elements of classical, Gothic, Renaissance and baroque style.
Food and Drink
Croatian cuisine is one of regions, reflecting its history and geographic location.
Continental cooking is found in Slavonia - characterized by simple but ample dishes
rich in calories with a lot of seasonings (sweet and hot red pepper and garlic),
particularly in the northern and eastern parts.
Specialities include goulash, meat stew and fish paprikash, cold smoked ham, cured
bacon, sausages and kulen (a paprika-flavoured sausage), served with cottage or dried
cheese, onions and pickled vegetables. Cakes are often made from wheat flour and
yeast and filled with walnuts, poppy, cheese or plum jam. Slavonian plum brandy is
light, and the most popular wines are Graševina, Rhine Riesling, Chardonnay, Green
Silvanac, Zwegelt and White Pinot.
In Istria - on the coast the cuisine is based on fish, along with Istrian prosciutto,
olives, and shellfish, particularly mussels. Another favourite is posutice, a type
of pasta served with various side dishes, such as salted pilchards or chicken, or
venison stew. Istrian truffles are well known and other specialties include fried
eggs with asparagus or black bryony, maneštra (a thick soup of corn, fennel, chickpeas
and barley porridge) and winter maneštra with beans and cabbage, called jota. Istrian
wines, such as Malvazija, Teran, Merlot and Borgonja, are excellent.
Dalmatian and coastal cuisine is similar to the coastal parts of Istria - brodetto
(or fish stew) roast gilthead with chard, lobster, boiled scorpion fish, scampi
stew, squid stuffed with prosciutto and rice, black and white seafood risotto, and
octopus salad. The Adriatic Sea yields specialities such as Noah’s arks, mussels
and other shellfish, while dried codfish from the northern seas is traditionally
eaten on Good Friday and on Christmas Eve. Pilchards are the most frequent blue fish,
eaten grilled or salted in oil. Pasta, most often eaten with tomato sauce or in soups,
is seasoned with wild herbs and spices. Also highly valued are cooked lamb, lamb
soup, tomato soup, and thick vegetable soups (Dubrovnik green manistra), pašticada,
or a veal sauce , with gnocchi, and beans with pasta.
Zagreb has a long tradition of coffee houses. Popular spirits are brandies, liqueurs,
French cognacs and cocktails, while wines include those characteristic of northwestern
Croatia, such as Graševina, Rhine Riesling, Kraljevina, Frankovka and Portugizac,
as well as slightly stronger Dalmatian wines.
Population
The population of Croatia was estimated at 4,494,749 in 2006. Most of the
people are Croats with minorities of Serbs, Slovenians, Bosniaks, Hungarians and
Czechs.
Languages
Croatian is the official language.
Religion
Over eighty-seven percent
of the population is Roman Catholic and more than four percent are members of the
Orthodox Church.
In the northern part of Kvarner and the Highlands there is a transition between continental
and Mediterranean cuisine with short cooking times – mainly boiling – and an abundance
of fish, vegetables and olive oil. in the mountainous regions - lamb (roasted on
the spit), potato halves, sauerkraut and various types of cow and sheep milk and
mixed cheeses. The mountain rivers provide fish and the forests abound in game.
On the Islands - pogača (a round unleavened flat cake) is made on Vis and Komiža
and is similar to pizza. Korčula and Hvar - roast octopus, honey biscuits and wines
made from ancient, indigenous grapes.
Dalmatian prosciutto is very hard and distinctly red and is eaten with cheese and
olives.The most popular drinks are grape and herb-flavoured red brandies, sherry
and wines such as Dingač, Postup, Babić, Žlahtina, Vgava, Pošip, Maraština, Malvazija
and Grk.
Zagorje (north of Zagreb) - is best known for buckwheat, which can be eaten as porridge
with duck or goose or added to black sausages and soups. Strudel is made not only
from cheese, but also from buckwheat, potato, pumpkin, walnuts, poppy, nettles
and apples. Thick vegetable soups are popular, which are light in summer (pumpkin,
cucumbers, peas, runner beans and potato) and heavy in winter (sauerkraut with beans,
sour turnip with beans, and sarma ), which used to be prepared on important occasions
and are now usually cooked with dried pork hocks, sausages or ribs.
Zagreb has developed from the heritage of several regional continental styles of
cooking, particularly Viennese and Hungarian. It is characterized by the once–common
and now neglected seasonal vegetable soups (beans, beans and cabbage, turnip with
cabbage, barley groats), goulash and paprikash, roast meat, freshwater or saltwater
fish, excellent bread and rolls, and sweets (cream cakes, apple, cheese or pumpkin
strudels, pies, ring cake, walnut and poppy rolls).
- that the White House in Washington DC was built with stone from the island of Brac.
- that the tie developed out of a silk scarf, worn by Croatian officers in the Thirty
Years War (1618-48). The style was copied by French dandies at the court of Louis
XIV and became known as dressing à la croate - the origin of the modern word ‘cravat’.
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