FIRST CROATS
… Croats first settled the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea in the seventh century A.D. Tomislav, the first Croatian king, was crowned in the year 925 A.D.
MORE THAN 1000 ISLANDS
… More than 90% of the islands, cliffs and reefs found in the Adriatic Sea are in Croatia. According to latest data which amounts to 1244 islands, 66 of them are inhabited.
THE TIE COMES FROM CROATS
… The tie is originally a Croatian product which was spread throughout Europe in the 17th century through mediation of Croatian soldiers, visually recognizable by this distinct fashionable detail.
MECHANICAL PENCIL
… Penkala (mechanical pencil) was invented by Slavoljub Penkala in 1906, and the patent was registered in 35 countries through the world. Company TOZ – Penkala (Zagreb pencil factory), still exists today in Zagreb.
KING OF THE ELECTRICITY
… Nikola Tesla inventor of alternating current was born in 1856 in the small village of Smiljan in Croatia. Thanks to his invention we nowadays use everyday devices such as televisions, computers, and refrigerators, that is, almost everything that surrounds us.
DALMATIAN DOGS
… originate from Dalmatian Riviera, they were “spotted” in a 17th Century oil painting in monastery in Dalmatia – this is thought to be the first record of the infamous pooch.
THE FIRST TORPEDO
… was constructed by Ivan Lupis Vukić in the 19th century in the city of Rijeka, in its Whitehead factory.
THE WHITE HOUSE
… The marble stone which built the White House in Washington D.C. and Parliament in Budapest comes from the island of Brač.
FIRST IN THE WORLD
… Dubrovnik formally recognized the United States when it declared independence from Great Britan in 1776. At that time, Dubrovnik was an independent republic.
CROATIAN SPORT GIANTS
… That legendary Dražen Petrović (Real Madrid/NJ Nets) and Toni Kukoć (Chicago Bulls) – basketball players, Davor Šuker (Real Madrid), Zvonimir Boban (AC Milan) and Robert Prosinečki (FC Barcelona) – football players, Ivano Balić (Portland San Antonio) – handball player are considered one of the best European/Worldwide athletes of all times.
CRO COP
… Unique Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović was K-1 World Grand Prix champion (2012) and Pride World Grand Prix Open-Weight Champion (2006)…
WIMBLEDON SUCCESS
… Croatian tennis player Goran Ivanišević won Wimbledon in 2001 after entering the tournament on a wild card.
SNOW QUEEN
… The only woman in the world to win four gold medals in alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics (2002 and 2006), and the only woman to win three alpine skiing gold medals in one Olympics (2002) was Croatian champion in ski racing Janica Kostelić.
THE FIRST ELECTRIFIED CITY
… in Europe and 2nd in the world with public electric lights was Šibenik, in 19th century, according to invention of Nikola Tesla.
THE OLDEST CATHEDRAL
… in the world is situated in Split, as part of Diocletian palace. Saint Domnius cathedral was built as emperor’s mausoleum 1700 years ago.
THE MOST PRESERVED AMPHITEATER (AND LARGEST)
… The Amphitheater in Pula (Istria region) is one of only 3 preserved in the world, which was once the site of gladiator fights. Built in the 1st century AD during the reign of Emperor Vespasian, it is the 6th largest amphitheatre in existence.
EUROPE’S OLDEST PUBLIC THEATRE
… Hvar’s theatre was opened in1612 and from the very beginning it has been public theatre, which was almost unthinkable at the time. In the chronology of Europe’s oldest theatres it lands in third place.
THE SMALLEST TOWN IN THE WORLD IS IN CROATIA
… Hum, a city nestled in the Croatian region of Istria is actually the smallest city in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The last census states there were only 17 inhabitants.
THE SMALLEST STREET IN THE WORLD IS IN CROATIA
… According to the Guinness Book of Records, the smallest street in the world, Grškovićeva street, is in Croatia, within the city of Vrbnik on the island of Krk. The street is ten meters long, with houses on both sides and its width usually doesn’t exceed the width of a grown man’s shoulders.
DIOCELTIAN’S PALACE – THE BIGGEST AND WELL PRESERVED LATE ANTIQUE PALACE IN THE WORLD
… The city of Split, where Diocletian’s Palace is found, constructed around the year 295, actually is a city which was created from the palace. Diocletian’s Palace is maybe the only cultural monument in the world where people still actually live. The palace is included on UNESCO list of world heritage and it’s one of the most well preserved monuments of Roman construction in the world.
THE OLDEST PHARMACY IN EUROPE
… is placed in Trogir and third oldest is still working in Dubrovnik.
NEANDHERTAL MUSEUM
… In Krapina (near Zagreb), prof. Dragutin Gorjanović Kramberger discovered the richest collection of remains of Neanderthal people in the world on a site. The Krapina Neanderthal Museum covers a surface area of around 1,200 m² and is one of the most modern museums in Croatia and central Europe.
CROATIAN CSI GIL GRISSOM
… Ivan Vučetić – criminologist and anthropologist, was born on the island of Hvar (later emigrated in Argentina). He is a pioneer of scientific dactiloscopy (identification by fingerprints) and his methods of identification were and are used worldwide.
FAMOUS MAG-LITE FLASHLIGHTS
… Anthony Maglica, the owner of the well-known company Mag-Lite, comes from Zlarin island from Dalmatia. Mag-Lite flashlights are among the ten most famous American export products, used by astronauts and deep sea explorers, amongst others.
OUTSTANDING NATURAL BEAUTY
… Lim Chanel, also known as Lim Bay or Lim Fjord – only 20 minutes drive from Rovinj (Istria) is over 10 km long and has been declared “a special maritime reserve” and “an area of outstanding natural beauty”.
ONE OF THE DEEPEST CAVES IN THE WORLD
… The eighth deepest cave in the world, Luka’s cave (Lukina jama) with a total depth of 1,392 m is situated in the heart of the national park Sjeverni Velebit at an altitude of 1,475 m above sea level.
BEAR SHELTER
… The Velebit shelter for bear cubs in Kuterevo (Velebit Mountain in the Lika region), is the only project of its kind registered in Croatia.
YOU CAN FIND SEA ORGANS IN CROATIA
… Sea organs are different from classical organs by the fact that the energy for creating sound is given by the sea or more precisely, sea waves. You can find those organs on the seafront of the town of Zadar. On that part of the seafront it has cascaded levels 75 meters long (90 yards) with the tones and chords made on the matrix of Dalmatian song. Sea organs were opened in 2005 and their creator, engineer Nikola Bašić, won the European award for urban public space for that project..
MARCO POLO
… Croatia is the homeland of Marco Polo, the world renowned 13th century traveler, who was born on the Dalmatian island of Korčula.
FILM ABOUT WINNETOU
… the national parks Plitvice and Krka have been used as the locations for scenes in the film about the Indian Winnetou
FIRST OSCAR
… First foreigner to win Oscar for short animated film was Croatian cartoonist and director Dušan Vukotić with his Surogat (“Ersatz”) in 1961.
PAG ISLAND LACE
… The lace from the island of Pag is the “white gold” of the city of Pag and the fondest memory one can take from it. Pag island lace is a handcrafted decorative work from the island of Pag embroidered using a needle and delicate thread
RICHARD THE LIONHEART
.. on his return from the crusades in the year 1192 was saved off Dubrovnik
THE LARGEST TRUFFLE IN THE WORLD
… ever found was discovered by Giancarlo Zigante on November 2, 1999. It was 7.8 inches long, 4.1 inches wide and 5.3 inches tall.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
… Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was staged in Dalmatia.
VLADIMIR NABOKOV
… The writer Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita) always spent his summers in Opatija as a boy.
AGATHA CHRISTIE
… the most famous detective stories writer spent her second honeymoon in Dubrovnik and Split.
JAMES JOYCE TAUGHT IN PULA
… The writer James Joyce was a teacher of English in Pula from 1904 and 1905. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, but he is best known for his landmark novel Ulysses.