Culture in Croatia |
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Croatian culture is based on a thirteen-century-long history during which the country has attained many monuments and cities, which gave birth to a good number of brilliant individuals. The country includes six World Heritage sites and eight national parks. Two Nobel prize winners came from Croatia, as did numerous important inventors and other notable people — notably, some of the first fountain pens came from Croatia. Croatia also has a place in the history of clothing as the origin of the necktie (cravat). The country has a long artistic, literary and musical tradition. Of particular interest is also the diverse cuisine. HistoryThe 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:
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 twelfth 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. EducationCroatia has six universities in six larger cities:
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 "Ruđer Bošković" 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. PeopleSome of the people Croatians take special pride in include:
PlacesThe UNESCO has marked six places in Croatia as World Heritage:
As far as natural beauty goes, Croatia has eight national parks, mostly situated along the Adriatic coast. |
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