Croatia Tourism culture and History tour
Croatia overview
In the period prior to 1991, Croatia (then part of Yugoslavia, now Serbia and Montenegro) was the way to becoming the new Costa del Sol Many planes loaded with passengers from Western Europe (10 million per year) landed on the shores of the Adriatic in search of sun, a low cost of living, and perhaps some curiosity medieval nude beach. But with the push Croatian independence during the violent separation of Yugoslavia, the war turned that dream into a nightmare tour. Despite recent tragedies, the charms of Croatia remain free and the country has been converted into a magnet for tourism.
His aura still lingers in the medieval cobbled streets of Rovinj and the Stari Grad (Old Town) from Dubrovnik, recently restored. Croatia is also home to some of the best Roman ruins in Europe, including the immense palace of Diocletian in Split. The climate and the beaches are still superb, and if one may want to practice nudism
best time to travel Croatia
Taking into account the weather, the months of May through September are the best to visit the country, although in July and August, the Adriatic coast can accommodate an excess of visitors. September is perhaps the most propitious time since the influx of tourism has declined, the prices are adapted to the low season and plenty of figs and grapes. In April and October you can too cold to camp, although the climate of the coast is usually benign and easy to find accommodation. One can swim in the sea from mid-June to late September
Croatia Holidays and festival
From March 21 to April 4, Zagreb is the pace of Spring Time Jazz Fever, only surpassed by the International Days of Jazz, held in mid October in the capital. Also worth a pop group acting Dalmatian style at the Split Summer Festival in July, held at the same time as the Summer Festival in Zagreb, where you can enjoy traditional Croatian music. The Dubrovnik Summer Festival, which celebrates in July and August, has the great classical and country music stars. In these same months, the tambura Omis park to host a festival of singing a capella.
Zagreb organized during the month of June, the European theater festival Eurokraz addition to the International Animation Festival and the International Folklore Festival in July. That same month Opatje enjoy the traditional music of Istria, the Slovenian culture shift arrives in September in the Golden Strings Festival (festival golden string) Pozega. In Sibenik, June brings the International Children's Festival
Croatia best places to travel
Zagreb
The capital of Croatia since 1557 has retained much of its medieval quarter. The city suffered a bombing in 1995, but the damage was minor and the recovery has been rapid, its people have regained their habits and enjoy the new city. Even many museums are closed, some for renewal. There are several elegant and expensive hotels near the train station, it is difficult to find accommodation at affordable prices.
The two twins neogothic capitals of St. Stephen's Cathedral was built in 1899, but you can still find remnants of the old medieval cathedral that was previously in place. Particularly interesting are the frescoes of the thirteenth century, Renaissance chairs, marble altars and the baroque pulpit. From the tower Lotrsac, northwest of the historic center, you can enjoy a 360 ° panoramic view of the city, another point of interest is unavoidable Muzejski Prostor, which offers splendid art exhibitions. Are also in the church of San Marcos, with sculptures by Ivan Mestrovic and colorful tiles; the Museum of Natural History, the Historical Museum of Croatia and the City Museum, located in a former convent.
The bottom is formed by a variety of museums: the Exhibition Pavilion hosts temporary exhibitions of contemporary art, the gallery maintains Strossmayer of Old Master paintings and an inscription in old Croatian, the Archaeological Museum with prehistoric and medieval artifacts, in addition of Egyptian mummies and is in the rear, a garden decorated with Roman sculptures.
To the west lies the Museum Mimara, one of the best art galleries of Europe. Housed in a neo-Renaissance building, retains the private collection of Ante Topic Mimara, who donated thousands to her hometown of objects of incalculable value. The main attraction is the Italian paintings, Spanish and Dutch, but also provides examples of glassware, sculpture and Oriental art. Another wonder of Zagreb by the Mirogoj located to the north, one of the most beautiful cemeteries where rest of the continent proud mausoleums, the layout of the site follows the English style and is surrounded by an arcade-style neo-Renaissance of the nineteenth century.
Dubrovnik
Founded 1300 years ago, the charm of Dubrovnik lies in the old neighborhood of Stari Grad, with its marble floors, its steep cobbled streets, high houses, convents, churches, palaces, fountains and museums, all carved in the stone clear tone. The ancient city wall, near the renovated old town after the earthquake of 1667, keeps away the drivers. Thanks to its location at the southern end of the Adriatic coast, the city has a pleasant climate and lush vegetation. Although suffered heavy bombing in 1991, Dubrovnik has an ambitious restoration plan coordinated by Unesco, the ancient city had added to its catalog in 1994. Travelers who have recently visited the state now offers a better look, especially because it has not yet returned to suffer the invasion of tourists.
Plate, its beautiful promenade stretching from the bus stop is outside of the door pillar to the clock tower, across the city. Inside the door pillar of the Franciscan monastery houses a pharmacy that carries released from 1391. At the opposite end of the plate is the church of San Blas, beautiful building of Italian Baroque and Gothic palace of the rectory, built in 1441. This palace is now a museum with furnished rooms, baroque paintings and historical exhibitions. Is located just opposite a lively market that opens in the morning.
The walls of Dubrovnik was built between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries and have remained intact until today. It is probably the world's most magnificent fortress, measuring more than 2 km long and 25 m high, with 16 towers. No other place offers a landscape like this. A walk around the wall is one of the greatest pleasures this city offers.
You can enjoy the sun on its beaches, but travel by ferry to the island of Lokrum may be a more interesting alternative. The entire island is classified as national park, with a rocky beach for nudists, a botanical garden and the ruins of a Benedictine monastery. The cheapest way to stay in Dubrovnik supposed to accept the offer of private accommodation on offer at the ferry terminal, since the hotels are much more expensive.
To get there you can catch a plane in Zagreb, a bus at one of the many towns that have this service or on a ferry Hvar, Split, Zadar and Rijeka. The boats are more expensive but much more comfortable than the bus. The bus crossed the border town of Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina where it reaches the Adriatic coast, separating the southern Croatian coast the rest of the country.
Split
Located 150 km north of Dubrovnik, Split appears as the center of the province of Dalmatia. It is the largest city in the Croatian Adriatic coast. Founded in the fourth century, when the Emperor Diocletian, known for his habit of throwing the followers of Jesus to the lions, he built his summer palace. When the barbarians left the nearby Roman colony of Salona, many of its inhabitants fled to Split and hid behind the high walls of the palace. Split has become an industrial city, but the old town, which I felt the joy and the many attractions it offers make it one of the most fascinating cities of Europe.
Diocletian's palace stands as one of the remains of Roman architecture in the world most impressive. In fact, it was more of a fortress than a palace, its wall measuring 215 by 180 m past, inside it was the imperial residence, the temples and a mausoleum. You can still appreciate the original hall of the palace, the square with a colonnade, the temple of Jupiter and the remains of the Diocletian's mausoleum, now converted cathedral. In the few medieval buildings remain outside, including the City Council of the fifteenth century. You could walk for hours by the complex historical World Heritage Site in 1979, where the vibrant daily life seems to be developing into an outdoor museum.
Maritime Museum, one of the most interesting of the city, is located inside the fortress of the XVII century. It houses a large collection of maps, artifacts and models. It is also worth visiting the Archaeological Museum, part of his collection is exposed on the outside. Mestrovic Gallery has an extensive collection, well organized Croatian sculptor's most important.
It is rather difficult to find accommodation in Split, as many of their hotel stay for refugees and the business of renting private houses, which sank during the war, is still trying to overcome. Can be reached by plane or by train from Zagreb, by bus from anywhere in the country by ferry from several ports on the continent and islands, including Dubrovnik, Hvar and Korcula.
Rovinj
The quiet Rovinj be highlighted by a picturesque town of cobblestone streets along the coast of Istria, a heart-shaped peninsula situated to the northwest, bordering Slovenia. The population is surrounded by wooded hills and small hotels; thirteen wooded islands of the archipelago of Rovinj offer wonderful marine scene. This active fishing port is located within walking distance of the historic shipping port of Trieste Italian, which explains the presence of a significant Italian community.
The Cathedral of St. Euphemia dominates the city from its 57 m tall, and is considered the largest Baroque building in Istria. Rovinj was built when served as a bulwark for the Venetian fleet. The remains of St. Euphemia was moved from Constantinople in the year 800 AD, five years after he was martyred, and each September 16 devotees gather around his grave.
Rovinj Aquarium, more than a century old, houses an excellent collection of local marine wildlife, including poisonous scorpion fish and anemones of many colors. The forest park Punta Corrente, the South is an ideal place for swimming and the sea. You can get to Rovinj by bus from the majority of Croatian cities, and in summer, by ferry from Trieste (Italy)
Rab
The island of Rab, near the center of the archipelago of the Kvarner islands, to the northwest of Croatia, is considered one of the most seductive of the Adriatic. Its northwest corner is desert and rocky, while the far southwest is covered by a lush pine forest. The medieval town of Rab, one of the most beautiful in the region, is built on a narrow peninsula that encloses a well protected port, numerous stone buildings overlooking the sea rising from the port towards the cliff. Rab was dominated by Venice and Austria, at present it is usual to hear in both German and Croatian.
It is easy to recognize the four towers of the churches of the mass of red tile roofs of the city. The monastery of San Antonio was built in 1175, the Romanesque cathedral has a pleasant terrace overlooking the sea, and the church of Santa Justina has become the headquarters of a small museum of religious art. All that survives of his oldest church is the tower and foundation. To enjoy a spectacular view, we should not miss the walk around the wall or stroll in the shadow of City Park, further north. On the island of Rab is reached by ferry from the port and bus Jablanac.
Korcula
The island of Korcula is populated with abundant vineyards and olive trees make up the southern coastline with small beaches and quiet coves. City Korkula appears as a typical medieval Dalmatian town, with defensive towers and red roofs crowded houses also colorados.
In the plaza of the cathedral is sensed a strong Venetian influence, even has its own cathedral of San Marcos, with two paintings by Tintoretto. Next to the museum stands the palace of the abbey, from the fourteenth century, where the treasure of the city, just opposite the palace is Gabriellis (XV century) where it is now located the Museum of the City, in laying out objects of Greek pottery, Roman pottery and furniture. According to the local tourist office, Marco Polo was born in the city, and until you can look at the house where he lived.
Since the city can move to Lumbarda, a picturesque town in the southeast of the island, which offers a beautiful beach and is surrounded by vineyards producing a dry white wine. It can also be reached by outboard Badija to the island, where there is a nudist beach. Overnight at Badja includes the experience of spending the night in a XV century monastery, now converted into a hotel.
Korcula is located approximately 20 km from the southern Croatian coast, halfway between Dubrovnik and Split. The ferry makes the trip from both ports to the island.
Solin
Among the vineyards northeast of Split are scattered the ruins of the ancient city of Salona (today Solin), the most interesting archaeological environment of Croatia. Salona was the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia from the time of Julius Caesar to the year 614 AD, when he fell into the hands of the barbarians.
In Manastrine, outside the old town, were buried the first Christian martyrs, one can admire the tombs excavated in a rock-century basilica V. At the top of the cemetery is the Archaeological Museum. In the south lie the ruins of an ancient center of Christian worship and a V-century cathedral with three aisles, restrooms and a small baptismal font. At the western end stands a huge amphitheater of the second century which was destroyed by the Venetians in the seventeenth century to the Turkish brigands not used as a shelter. From Split you can go to Solin and visit one day.
Island of Mljet
One third of the narrow island of Mljet is a national park. Among its main attractions are two salt water lakes surrounded by small hills covered with pines. Can be visited in one day but if you spend the night on the island, you can enjoy alone. In the middle of the lake is located a larger island to reach it mean to enjoy a lunch in the twelfth century Benedictine monastery, now converted into the hotel to the park. Mljet is an ideal place to swim and sunbathe or rent a bike and take a stroll through the park. Located some 15 km from the southern Adriatic coast of Croatia, between Korcula and Dubrovnik, where you can also get a ferry
Croatia activities
The long and steep mountainous islands of the Croatian coast is a paradise for walking on a yacht. The coast is formed by numerous deep channels, picturesque ports and is plagued by constant winds. It is also a great place to go canoeing, especially around the islands and Kornati Elafiti. Croatian diving industry has just been born and have started to appear the first specialty shops in cities like Hvar and the island of Rab, but if a team has, the country offers plenty of water and marine animals to watch. For freshwater fishermen, nature parks of Paklenica Risnjak and excellent hiking trails home
History of Croatia
In the year 229 BC, the Roman Empire wrested the land from the native Illyrian Croatia, in the year 285 AD, Emperor Diocletian built the fortress in Split, today one of the most popular Roman ruin in eastern Europe. The fall of Western Roman Empire was in the V century, and around 625 Slavic tribes migrated to Croatia from Poland today. The Croatian tribe, who arrived in what is now known as Croatia, the former occupied the Roman provinces of Dalmatian Croatia and Pannonian Croatia, the Northeast. The two counties joined together in forming a single 925 kingdom flourished in the twelfth century.
A Tatar invasion devastated Croatia in 1242. In the sixteenth century, following the Turkish threat to invade the Balkans, Croatia went to the Habsburgs of Austria for protection, and was under his influence until 1918. In parallel, the Dalmatian coast was taken by Venice in the early fifteenth century, which lasted until the seventeenth century, when Napoleonic France was with her to incorporate it into the Illyrian Provinces, along with Istria and Slovenia.
The Croatian political and cultural life experienced a rebirth in 1835 was freed the slaves and the north was being ruled by Hungary, which gave internal autonomy. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire was defeated in World War I, Croatia joined the kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was reduced to name Yugoslavia in 1929. Croat nationalists did not accept the appointment of Belgrade as the capital of the union and with the help of the Macedonian separatists, prepared the assassination of King Alexander I in 1934 in protest.
In 1941 Germany invaded Yugoslavia and Croatia established a fascist puppet government (the Ustasa) who tried to expel the Serbs from Croatia, to fail, introduced ethnic cleansing killing 350,000 Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. Part of the Croats differ from this policy, and many joined the Communist partisans to defeat Ustasa. At the end of the contest about one million people had died in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After the war, Croatia was the status of republic within the Yugoslav Federation ruling Communist Marshal Tito. To excel economically to the republics of the South, demanded more autonomy and more obligations imposed on its residents in the 1970s. When Tito died in 1980 established a political system that was inconsistent in the annual rotation of presidency among the republics, which plunged the booming Croatian economy into a deep recession.
In the late eighties, the harsh repression of the Albanian majority in the Serbian province of Kosovo led to a fear of Serbia, which sought to impose on the rest of the Federation. While communist governments fell in Eastern Europe, the Croats launched a campaign for autonomy and the end of communism. In 1990, the Croatian Democratic Union of Franjo Tudjman won the elections. We wrote a new constitution that changed the situation of Serbs in Croatia, became a "national minority" instead of an "integrated nation. The new constitution guaranteed the rights are not Serbs, many of whom lost their government jobs.
In June 1991 Croatia declared its independence from the Federation and the Serbian enclave of Krajina was also independent Croatia. There was a bitter fight across the country and the Yugoslav People's Army, dominated by the Serb community, spoke in favor of them. The situation worsened when Croatia agreed to suspend its declaration of independence for three months. However, the struggle continued and one quarter of the country fell into the hands of the militia and the federal army serbia. In October 1991 the federal army and advanced towards Dubrovnik shelled the presidential palace in Zagreb, at the beginning of European Union sanctions against Serbia. In November, the Serbs went on to control of Vukovar after a siege of three months. In half a year ten thousand people died, hundreds of thousands had fled the country and tens of thousands of houses had been destroyed.
After several unsuccessful attempts to cease-fire in January 1992, the UN deployed a protection force in Croatia occupied by Serbs. The federal army withdrew, and in May the same year was admitted to the United Nations after changing its constitution to protect minority groups and human rights. Serbian paramilitaries remained in power in Krajina and in January 1993, Croatia launched an attack in the area. Krajina declared independent republic, and responded by reducing their population by 98% Croatian. In 1994 Krajina signed a cease-fire in May 1995 but returned to the violence erupted. Krajina lost the support of Belgrade, Croatian troops overran the area and, therefore, 150,000 Serbs fled, leaving behind many homes in which their ancestors had lived for centuries.
The Dayton in December of 1995 finally provided a relative stability to the country and let the government handle the situation of unemployment among ex-soldiers, housing for displaced Croats and its infrastructure severely damaged.
President Franjo Tudjman died in December 1999 and a month later, his party, the Croatian Democratic Union, which had ruled since 1990, was defeated by a coalition of center-left. The charismatic and practical Stipe Mesic was elected president. The new government has promised to improve international relations, freedom of the press, the economy and reduce the record of atrocities against human rights that the country possesses. In the 2005 elections, Stjepan Mesic was re-elected
Croatia people and culture
The sculptor Ivan Mestrovic is more valued in the arts Croatian. The traveler can appreciate your work in most places in the country, in addition to several impressive buildings such as the Croatian History Museum in Zagreb. Among the great literary figures include the sixteenth-century playwright Marin Držić and novelist, playwright and poet Miroslav Krleza of the twentieth century, whose latest work, The Banner, the work of several volumes, novel life in Croatia during the turn of the century.
The traditional music comes from a mixture of styles. Slavonic kolo dance is performed in a circle accompanied by violinists and gypsy style of the tambura, a Croatian mandolin. Dalmatian soft guitar and accordion bands reflect a strong Italian influence.
Most Croats profess Catholicism, while virtually all Serbs are Orthodox. Besides doctrinal differences, Orthodox Christians venerate icons, allow priests to marry and do not follow the principles papal.
Catholicism is coming back strongly after being suppressed during the communist Yugoslavia, the Sunday services are coming under increasing influx of devotees. Muslims constitute 1.1% of the population and Protestants, 0.4%. Zagreb is also home to a Jewish minority.
Cuisine abounds in oil, as in the delicious Burek, a cooked cake from layers of meat or cheese and Piroska, a cheese donut from the Zagreb region. The Adriatic coast offers excellent seafood, regional dishes include fried shrimp, the prstaci (shellfish) and the Dalmatian brodet (several varieties of fish stewed with rice). Inland, Excel manistra specialties od bobica (beans and corn soup) or struckle (curd cakes). Almost all regions produce their own varieties of wine
Croatia Map
