Croatia

Republic of Croatia

Republika Hrvatska

FlagCoat of arms

Anthem:Lijepa naa domovinoOur Beautiful HomelandMore

Location of Croatia(green)

in Europe(dark grey) [Legend]

Capital(and largest city)Zagreb4548N 160E

Official language(s)Croatian

Ethnic groups(2001)89.6% Croats,

4.5% Serbs,

5.9% others and unspecified[1]

GovernmentUnitary parliamentary constitutional republic

-PresidentIvo Josipovi

-Prime MinisterZoran Milanovi

-Speaker of ParliamentBoris prem

-President of the Constitutional CourtJasna Omejec

Population

-2011census4,290,612[2]

-Density75.8/km2

196.3/sqmi

GDP(PPP)2011estimate

-Total$80.334 billion[3](75th)

-Per capita$18,191[3](48th)

GDP (nominal)2011estimate

-Total$63.842 billion[3](65th)

-Per capita$14,457[3](44th)

HDI(2011)0.796[5](very high)(46th)

CurrencyKuna (HRK)

(Croatian: Republika Hrvatska is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. has diverse,. The country's population is 4.29million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism.

Croatia today has a very high Human Development Index. The International Monetary Fund classified Croatia as an emerging and developing economy, and the World Bank identified it as a high income economy. Croatia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, NATO, the World Trade Organization, CEFTA and a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean. Croatia is an acceding state of the European Union, with full membership expected in July 2013. As an active participant in the UN peacekeeping forces, Croatia has contributed troops to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan and took a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 20082009 term.

The service sector dominates Croatia's economy, followed by the industrial sector and agriculture. Tourism is a significant source of revenue during the summer, with Croatia ranked the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world. The European Union is Croatia's most important trading partner. Croatia provides a universal health care system and free primary and secondary education, while supporting culture through numerous public institutions and through corporate investments in media and publishing. The nation prides itself in its cultural, artistic and scientific contributions to the world, as well as in its cuisine, wines and sporting achievements.

History

Main article: History of Croatia

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branimir_Inscription"

Branimir Inscription

The name of Croatia The origin of the name is uncertain, but is thought to be a Gothic or Indo-Aryan term assigned to a Slavic tribe.[7] The oldest preserved record of the Croatian ethnonym *xrvat is of variable stem, attested in the Baka tablet in style zvnmir kral xrvatsk ("Zvonimir, Croatian king").[8]The first attestation of the Latin term is attributed to a charter of duke Trpimir from the year 852. The original is lost, and just a 1568 copy is preservedleading to doubts on the authenticity of the claim.[9] The oldest preserved stone inscription is the 9th century Branimir Inscription (found near Benkovac), where Duke Branimir is styled as Dux Cruatorvm. The inscription is not dated accurately, however, Branimir ruled Croatia in 879892.[10]Prehistory and antiquity

Main articles: Prehistoric Croatia, Illyria, and Dalmatia (Roman province)

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanais_Tablets"

Tanais Tablet B, name Khorothos highlighted.

The area known as Croatia today was inhabited Neanderthals Much later, in 9AD the territory of today's Croatia became part of the Roman Empire.

Middle Ages

Main articles: Kingdom of Croatia (medieval) and Republic of Ragusa

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba%C5%A1ka_tablet"

Baka tablet, the oldest evidence of the glagolitic script.

the Croats had arrived in what is today Croatia in the early 7thcentury, however that claim is disputed and competing hypotheses date the event between the 6th and the 9th centuries.[22] Eventually two dukedoms were formedDuchy of Pannonia and Duchy of Dalmatia] christianization is associated with the 9th century.[25] The first native Croatian ruler recognised by the Pope was duke Branimir, whom Pope John VIII referred to as Dux Croatorum ("Duke of Croats") in 879.[10]

The walls of Dubrovnik, which helped the defence of Dubrovnik in the Middle Ages and the 19911992 siegeTomislav was the first ruler of Croatia who was styled a king in a letter from the Pope John X, dating kingdom of Croatia to year 925. The medieval Croatian kingdom reached its peak in the 11th century during the reigns of Petar Kreimir IV (10581074) and Dmitar Zvonimir (10751089).[27]

Habsburg Monarchy and Austria-Hungary

Main articles: Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), CroatianOttoman Wars, and Austria-Hungary

Ban Josip Jelai fought Hungarians in 1848 and 1849Following the decisive Ottoman victories, Croatia was split into civilian and military territories, with the partition formed in 1538. The military territories would become known as the Croatian Military Frontier and were directly controlled by the Austrian emperor..[32] The Ottoman wars instigated great demographic changes. Croats migrated towards Austria and the present-day Burgenland Croats are direct descendants of these settlers.[33] To replace the fleeing Croats the Habsburgs called on the Orthodox populations of Bosnia and Serbia to provide military service in the Croatian Military Frontier. Serb migration into this region peaked during the Great Serb Migrations of 1690 and 173739.[34]Between 1797 and 1809 the First French Empire gradually occupied the entire eastern Adriatic coastline. In response the Royal Navy started the blockade of the Adriatic Sea leading to the Battle of Vis in 1811.[35] The Illyrian Provinces were captured by the Austrians in 1813, and absorbed by the Austrian Empire following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. This led to formation of the Kingdom of Dalmatia and restoration of the Croatian Littoral to the Kingdom of Croatia, now both under the same crown.[36]

HSS leader Stjepan RadiDuring the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 Croatia sided with the Austrians, Ban Josip Jelai helping defeat the Hungarian forces in 1849, and ushering a period of Germanization policy.[38] By the 1860s, failure of the policy became apparent, leading to the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and creation of a personal union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. After Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina following the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, the Croatian Military Frontier was abolished. Renewed efforts to reform Austria-Hungary, entailing federalisation with Croatia as a federal unit, were stopped by advent of World War I.[42]Kingdom of Yugoslavia and World War II

Main articles: Creation of Yugoslavia, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Banovina of Croatia, Independent State of Croatia, and Yugoslav Front

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_Partisan"

Resistance leader and Yugoslav president Marshal Josip Broz TitoOn 29 October 1918 the Croatian declared independence and decided to join the newly formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs,[29] The political situation deteriorated further as Radi was assassinated in the National Assembly in 1928, leading to the dictatorship of King Alexander in January 1929.[45] The dictatorship formally ended in 1931 when the king imposed a more unitarian constitution, and changed the name of the country to Yugoslavia.[46] In April 1941, Yugoslavia was occupied by Germany and Italy. Following the invasion the territory, parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the region of Syrmia were incorporated into the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a Nazi-backed puppet state..[49] It is estimated that out of 39,000 Jews in the country only 9,000 survived; the rest were either killed or deported to Germany, both by the local authorities and the German Army itself.[50]

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franjo_Tu%C4%91man"

Franjo Tuman, 1st President of Croatia

Federal Yugoslavia and independence

Main articles: Socialist Republic of Croatia and Croatian War of IndependenceAfter the World War II, Croatia became a single-party Socialist federal unit of the SFR Yugoslavia, ruled by the Communists, but enjoying a degree of autonomy within the federation.

A Yugoslav tank destroyed during the Battle of VukovarIn the 1980s the political situation in Yugoslavia deteriorated with national tension fanned by the 1986 Serbian In January 1990, the Communist Party fragmented along national lines, As tensions rose, Croatia declared independence in June 1991, however the declaration came into effect on 8 October 1991.[69][70]The tensions escalated into the Croatian War of Independence. On 15 January 1992, Croatia gained diplomatic recognition by the European Economic Community members, and subsequently the United Nations.[74][75] The war effectively ended in 1995 with a decisive victory by Croatia in August 1995.[76]

Languages

Main article: Languages of CroatiaCroatian language is the official language of Croatia,] Minority languages are in official use in local government units where more than a third of population consists of national minorities or where local legislation defines so. Those languages are Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Ruthenian, Serbian and Slovakian.[175]

The flag of Croatia is one of the state symbols of Croatia. It consists of three equal size, horizontal stripes in colours red, white and blue. The flag combines the colours of the flags of the Kingdom of Croatia (red and white), the Kingdom of Slavonia (white and blue) and the Kingdom of Dalmatia (red and blue). Those three kingdoms are the historic constituent states of the Croatian Kingdom. In the middle is the coat of arms of Croatia.

The red-white-blue tricolour has been used as the Croatian flag since 1848. While the Banovina of Croatia existed within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, it had a similar flag without the modern crown above the chequy. During the Independent State of Croatia, flag was like the modern, but without crown and there was letter "U" at the top left of the flag. Also, first field of Croatian chequy was white. While Croatia was part of SFR Yugoslavia its tricolour was the same, but it had a five-pointed red star with a yellow border in place of the coat of arms. The star was replaced by the coat in May 1990, shortly after the first multiparty elections. The current flag and the coat of arms were officially adopted on 21 December 1990, about ten months before the proclamation of independence from Yugoslavia and a day before the Constitution of Croatia on 22 December 1990. The shield is in the red and white checks of Croatia. Above is a crown made of shields of its various regions. From left to right they are the ancient arms of Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia.

The coat of arms of Croatia consists of one main shield and five smaller shields which form a crown over the main shield. The main coat of arms is a checkerboard (chequy) that consists of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields. It's commonly known as ahovnica ("chessboard", from ah, "chess" in Croatian) or grb (literally coat of arms). The five smaller shields represent five different historical regions within Croatia.[edit]

History

The Croatian chequy, known in Croatian as the "ahovnica". "ahovnica" means "chessboard" in Croatian, but the term can also mean "chequy".

The checkerboard coat of arms (ahovnica) is first attested as an official symbol of the kingdom of Croatia on an Innsbruck tower depicting the emblem of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1499.[1][2] In 1525 it was used on a votive medal.[citation needed] It appeared on a seal from the charter that confirmed the 1527 election of Emperor Ferdinand I as king of Croatia at the Parliament on Cetin.[3][4][5]The origin of the design has often been purported as being medieval. Historic tradition states it to be the arms of Stephen Drislav in the 10th century.[6] Also, the falcons on a stone plate from the time of Peter Kreimir IV (r. 10581074/5) carry something that resembles a traditional Croatian chequy on their wings.[7]The size of the checkerboard ranges from 33 to 88, but most commonly 55, like in the current design. It was traditionally conjectured that the colours originally represented two ancient Croat states, Red Croatia and White Croatia, but there is no historical evidence to support this.[citation needed]Towards the Late Middle Ages the distinction for the three crown lands (Croatia 'proper', Dalmatia, Slavonia) was made. The ahovnica was used as the coat of arms of Croatia proper & together with the shields of Slavonia and Dalmatia was often used to represent the whole of Croatia in Austria-Hungary. It was used as an unofficial coat of arms of the Kingdom of Croatia adopted in 1848,[citation needed] and as an official coat of arms of the post-1868 Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. The two are the same except for the position of the ahovnica and Dalmatian coat of arms which are switched around & with different crowns used above the shield - the later employing St Stephen's crown (associated with Hungarian kings).

By late 19th century ahovnica had come to be considered a generally recognized symbol for Croats and Croatia and in 1919, it was included in the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) to represent Croats. When the Banovina of Croatia was formed, the ahovnica (chequy gules and argent) was retained as the official symbol.

The Ustashe regime which had ruled Croatia during the World War II superimposed their ideological symbol, the letter "U" above or around the ahovnica (upper left square white) as the official national symbol during their rule.

After the Second World War, the new Socialist Republic of Croatia became a part of the federal Second Yugoslavia. The ahovnica was included in the new socialist coat of arms with superimposed red star as a socialist ideological symbol.[8] It was designed in the socialist tradition, including symbols like wheat for peasants and an anvil for workers, as well as a rising sun to symbolize a new morning and a red star for communism.

During the change to multiparty elections in Croatia (as part of the collapse of Communist rule in Eastern Europe from the late 1980s), and prior to the establishment of the current design, the ahovnica, shedding the communist symbols that were the hallmark of Croatia in the second Yugoslavia, reappeared as a stand-alone symbol as both the 'upper left square red' and 'upper left square white' variants. The choice of 'upper left square red' or 'upper left square white' was often dictated by heraldic laws and aesthetic requirements.

[edit]

The current design

On 21 December 1990, the post-socialist government of Croatia, passed a law prescribing the design created by the graphic designer Miroslav utej, under the aegis of a commission chaired by Nika Stani, then head of the Department of Croatian History at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb.

The new design added the five crowning shields which represent the historical regions from which Croatia originated. They are, from left to right:

the oldest known Croatian coat of arms: a golden six-pointed star (representing the morning star) over a silver moon on a blue shield.

an older coat of arms of the Republic of Ragusa: two red stripes on a dark blue shield. The coat of arms on the flags and stone portals of Dubrovnik were painted black as a sign of grief by Dubrovnik' s citizens after the invasion by Napoleon.

the coat of arms of Dalmatia: three golden, crowned leopards, two over one, on a blue shield. This coat of arms originates from the Roman Emperor Diocletian who made his palace (the core of city of Split) the capital of the Western Roman Empire. His palace, to this day, still stands in Split.

the coat of arms of Istria: a golden goat with red hooves and horns, on a dark blue shield.

the coat of arms of Slavonia: two silver stripes on blue shield (representing the rivers Drava and Sava that mark the northern and the southern border of Slavonia), between them on a red field a black, running marten (kuna in Croatian - note national currency is related to the marten - Croatian kuna), above a six-pointed, golden star. This coat was to Slavonia was officially recognised by king Ladislaus Jagiello in 1496.

Some of the more traditional heraldic pundits have criticized the latest design for various design solutions, such as adding a crown to the coat, varying shades of blue in its even fields, and adding the red border around the coat. The government has accepted their criticism insofar as not accepting further non-traditional designs for the county coats of arms, but the national symbol has remained intact.

Unlike in many countries, Croatian design more commonly uses symbolism from the coat of arms, rather than from the Croatian flag. This is partly due to the geometric design of the shield which makes it appropriate for use in many graphic contexts (e.g. the insignia of Croatia Airlines or the design of the shirt for the Croatia national football team), and partly because the Pan-Slavic colours are present in many European flags.

[edit]

Gallery

Coat of arms of Croatia used in 1527 as part of a seal on a document.

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (18681918). The official version had St. Stephen's crown on it, symbolizing Hungarian ruler over Croatia.

Coat of arms of Hungary in 1910, before the Treaty of Trianon

Common coat of arms of Austria-Hungary 19151918

Austria-Hungary lesser version, around 1916

Kingdom of Yugoslavia (19181941)

Banovina of Croatia (19391943)

Banovina of Croatia greater version (19391943)

Federal State of Croatia (19431947)

Independent State of Croatia (19411945)

Socialist Republic of Croatia (19471990)

Republic of Croatia variant, adopted and used briefly in 1990.[9] According to constitutional changes which came into effect on 26 June 1990 the red star in the flag of SR Croatia was to be replaced by the "historical Croatian coat of arms with 25 red and white fields", without specifying order of fields.[10] The first-field-white variant was used at the official flag hoisting ceremony on 25 July and was later occasionally used on par with the first-field-red variant until 12 December 1990 when the current coat of arms was officially adopted.[11][10]

Republic of Croatia current coat of arms, adopted officially 21 December 1990

Lijepa naa domovino

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, searchLijepa naa domovino

English:Our Beautiful Homeland

National anthem of

Croatia

LyricsAntun Mihanovi, 1835

MusicJosip Runjanin, 1861

Adopted29 February 1972

Music sample

Lijepa naa domovino (instrumental)

"Lijepa naa domovino" ("Our Beautiful Homeland") is the national anthem of Croatia. It is often referred to as just "Lijepa naa" ("Our Beautiful") in Croatia, which is also a phrase widely used as a metonym for the country.

The original lyrics were written by Antun Mihanovi and first published under the title "Horvatska domovina" ("Croatian homeland") in 1835. The author of music has not been indisputably determined although the late 19th century tradition suggests that it might have been the music amateur Josip Runjanin (18211878). It has not been known what was the original form of the melody because the first copy has not been recovered to this day.

The complete song was reportedly scored and harmonized by Vatroslav Lichtenegger in 1861 and based on the singing of his students, trainee teachers. It was first performed as the Croatian anthem in the same year, under the title "Lijepa naa". The original anthem has 15 verses. Since then it has come to be known under the slightly longer present title and a few minor adjustments have been made to the lyrics.

Between 1918 and 1941, segments of the Croatian national anthem were part of the national anthem of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and it was unofficial hymn of Croats.

During World War II, in the Independent State of Croatia it was also used as state anthem, but never officially recognized as one.

Contents [hide]

1 Lyrics

2 Lyrics of "Horvatska domovina"

3 References

4 External links

[edit]

Lyrics

Monument to Croatian national anthem in Zelenjak

Croatian[1]English translation[2]

Lijepa naa domovino,

Oj junaka zemljo mila,

Stare slave djedovino,

Da bi vazda sretna bila!

Mila, kano si nam slavna,

Mila si nam ti jedina.

Mila, kuda si nam ravna,

Mila, kuda si planina!

Teci Dravo, Savo teci,

Nit' ti Dunav silu gubi,

Sinje more svijetu reci,

Da svoj narod Hrvat ljubi.

Dok mu njive sunce grije,

Dok mu hrae bura vije,

Dok mu mrtve grobak krije,

Dok mu ivo srce bije!Our beautiful homeland,

O so fearless and gracious.

Our fathers' ancient glory,

May you be blessed forever.

Dear, you are our only glory,

Dear, you are our only one,

Dear, we love your plains,

Dear, we love your mountains.

Sava, Drava, keep on flowing,

Danube, do not lose your vigour,

Deep blue sea, tell the world,

That a Croat loves his homeland.

Whilst his fields are kissed by sunshine,

Whilst his oaks are whipped by wild winds,

Whilst his dear ones go to heaven,

Whilst his live heart beats.

[edit]

Lyrics of "Horvatska domovina"

The composer Josip Runjanin

The song originally consisted of fourteen verses but today, only verses one, two, thirteen, and fourteen are part of the national anthem.

CroatianEnglish Translation

Lpa naa domovino,

Oj junaka zemljo mila,

Stare slave ddovino,

Da bi vazda estna bila!

Mila, kano si nam slavna,

Mila si nam ti jedina,

Mila, kuda si nam ravna,

Mila, kuda si planina!

Vedro nebo, vedro elo,

Blaga persa, blage noi,

Toplo lto, toplo dlo,

Bistre vode, bistre oi:

Vele gore, veli ljudi,

Rujna lica, rujna vina,

Silni gromi, silni udi;

To je naa domovina!

enju serpi, mau kose,

Dd se uri, snope broji,

kriplju vozi, brano nose,

Snaa predu mlo doji:

Pase marha, rog se uje,

Oj, oj zveni, oj, u tmine,

K ognju star i mlad etuje;

Evo t nake domovine!

Lu iz mraka dalko sija,

Po veseloj livadici,

Psme glasno brg odbija,

Ljubni poje k tamburici:

Kolo vode, ivo kolo,

I na berdu, i v dolini,

Pleu mladji sve okolo;

Mi smo, pobre, v domovini!

Magla, to li, Unu skriva?

Ni l to naiu jauk turobni?

Tko li mole smert naziva?

Il slobodni, il su robni?

Rat je, bratjo, rat junaci,

Puku hvataj, sablju pai,

Sedlaj konje, hajd pejaci,

Slava budi, gdi su nai!

Bui bura, magla projde,

Puca zora, tmina bi,

Tuga mine, radost dojde,

Zdravo slobost, duman lei!

Veseli se, tuna mati,

Padoe ti verli sini,

Ko junaci, ko Horvati,

Ljae kervcu domovini!

Teci, Sava hitra, teci

Nit ti Dunaj silu gubi,

Kud li umi, svtu reci:

Da svog doma Horvat ljubi,

Dok mu njive sunce grije,

Dok mu hrastje bura vije,

Dok mu mertve grob sakrije,

Dok mu ivo serdce bije!Our beautiful homeland,

O so fearless and gracious,

Our father's ancient glory,

May you be blessed forever.

Beloved, you are our sole glory,

Beloved, you are our only one,

Beloved, where you are plain,

Beloved, where you are mountain

Clear skies, clear forehead,

Mild personalities, mild nights,

Hot summer, hot work,

Clear water, clear eyes:

Great hills, great people,

Red faces, red vines,

Mighty thunders, mighty wonders; -

This is our home!

Sickles are reaping, scythe are waging,

Old man is in hurry, he counts the sheaves,

Stacked hay he rides, flour they are carrying

Bride knits and breastfeeds a child

Cattle is eating, horn is heard,

Oj, oj it rings, oj in blackness,

To fire, youth and elders are going;-

Here is our homeland!

Kindling wood from dark shines far,

All around cheerful meadow,

Songs are loudly echoed by hills,

In loved are singing to tamburica:

They lead kolo, cheery kolo,

On the hills, and on the valley,

Youth is dancing all around;-

We are, friend, in homeland!

Is it the fog what hides the Una?

Or it's of our people dreary scream?

Who prays for death?

Are the free ones or the slaves?

"It is war, brothers, war heroes,

Snatch your rifle, take a saber,

Saddle horses, go on foot,

May be glory, where ours are!"

Bora roars, fog is gone,-

Dawn breaks, blackness runs,-

Sorrow dies, joy comes,-

Hello freedom, - enemy is down!

Be happy, sad mother,

Your sons have fallen,

Like heroes, like Croats,

They poured blood for homeland!

Flow, fast Sava, flow,

Nor you Danube, lose your power,

Where you murmuring, tell whole world:

That a Croat loves his home,

Whilst the sun warms his fields,

Whilst winds lash his oak trees,

Whilst his lost ones are with grave covered,

Whilst his living heart beats.