The Country
The Republic of Croatia is a unitary state using a parliamentary system of governance.
Croatia occupies the largest area of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea which, as a part of the Mediterranean Sea. Although its land area is not large (56,594 km², 19th in size among the countries of the European Union), it has an extremely varied relief, as it adjoins several large European relief forms. There are three main types of relief in Croatia: lowland Pannonian, mountainous Dinaric, and coastal Adriatic.
Croatian history can be traced back to prehistoric times. The first Croats settled in the area that is today called Croatia around A.D. 500. Croatia became part of the Hungarian Empire in 1091. When the Ottoman Empire began to expand in the 15th century, Croatians joined the Austrian Habsburg Empire. Along the coast, a different history was progressing. Dubrovnik was established in the 7th century. It then became part of the Byzantine Empire until 1205, after which it was taken over by Venice. In 1358, Dubrovnik gained independence, becoming the Republic of Ragusa.
Both the inland and coastal regions – the latter after the fall of Venice – were swallowed up by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the early part of the 19th century.
This lasted until World War II when it became part of Yugoslavia. When it ended, the Communist Party took control of the country of Yugoslavia.
On 25th June 1991, Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia. The consequences of the dissolution of Yugoslavia were armed conflicts till December 1995, when the Dayton Agreement was signed, bringing peace to the area at last.
In Croatia the warm Mediterranean blends with the freshness of mountains and the golden plains of Pannonia. Croatia is a rare European landscape which boasts as many as eight national parks in so small an area.