Croatia (modern World Nations)

CH.WN.Cro.aFM.Final.q 8/12/02 6:12 PM Page 1 AFGHANISTAN AUSTRIA BAHRAIN BERMUDA CHINA CROATIA CUBA EGYPT ENGLAND ETHIOPIA REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA GERMANY KUWAIT IRAN IRAQ ISRAEL MEXICO NEW ZEALAND PAKISTAN RUSSIA SAUDI ARABIA SCOTLAND SOUTH KOREA UKRAINE CH.WN.Cro.aFM.Final.q 8/12/02 6:12 PM Page 2 CH.WN.Cro.aFM.Final.q 12/7/07 3:19 PM Page 3 Croatia Zoran Pavlovic´ Series Consulting Editor Charles F. Gritzner South Dakota State University CH.WN.Cro.aFM.Final.q 12/7/07 3:19 PM Page 4 Frontispiece: Flag of Croatia Cover: Dubrovnik, Croatia. Croatia Copyright © 2003 by Infobase Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 ISBN-10: 0-7910-7210-X ISBN-13: 978-0-7910-7210-3 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pavlovic, Zoran. Croatia/Zoran Pavlovic. p. cm. —(Modern world nations) Includes index. ISBN 0-7910-7210-X 1. Croatia—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series. DR1510 .P38 2002 949.72—dc21 2002011526 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Series and cover design by Takeshi Takahashi Printed in the United States of America Bang 21C 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 This book is printed on acid-free paper. CH.WN.Cro.aFM.Final.q 8/12/02 6:12 PM Page 5 Table of Contents 1 Introducing Croatia 9 2 Physical Environment 13 3 Croatia Through Time 29 4 People and Culture 43 5 Government and Economy 59 6 Regions and Cities 73 7 Future of Croatia 89 Facts at a Glance History at a Glance Further Reading Index 94 96 98 99 CH.WN.Cro.aFM.Final.q 8/12/02 6:12 PM Page 6 CH.WN.Cro.aFM.Final.q 8/12/02 6:12 PM Page 7 Croatia CH.WN.Cro.C1.Final.q 8/12/02 5:19 PM Page 8 Throughout its history, Croatians have been attracted to the sea. Today, the lure of the Adriatic continues to draw thousands of tourists to the coastal region with its many natural land cultural attractions. CH.WN.Cro.C1.Final.q 8/12/02 5:19 PM Page 9 1 Introducing Croatia A map of Europe looks much different today than it did just a decade or two ago. In the late 1980s, Europe was divided into two political spheres—the democratic West and the Sovietdominated East. Only a few countries were neutral in this Cold War, or ideological conflict, between Eastern and Western Europe. Today, the Soviet Union no longer exists. Neither does the former Soviet-era country of Yugoslavia. Nearly 20 new countries have risen from the ashes of their remains. Croatia is one of these newly independent states. As one of the six former Yugoslavia’s socialist republics, Croatia gained its independence after the fall of Communism. Many people place Croatia in the western part of a region iden