Croatia is a country on the northeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, between central and southeastern Europe. It covers 56,594 sq km/21,851 sq mi (a little smaller than West Virginia), has a population of about 3.9 million (about the same as Oklahoma), and is bordered by Slovenia to the north, Hungary and Serbia to the east, and by Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro to the south. These countries form much of the Balkans region, named for the Balkans mountains which run northwest-southeast through southeastern Europe into Greece.
Political map of eastern Europe.
This region has one of the most turbulent and bloody histories on earth, like the Levant, full of ethnic and religious warfare and conquests from without, which has led to a small region full of very live conflict and hatred to this day. (If you’re willing to spend a few weeks on it, I can’t encourage you enough to read Rebecca West’s beautiful Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, a tourist’s profile of this area when it was forcibly unified as Yugoslavia).
Traces of inhabitation date back to the Paleolithic
Neanderthal age, and there are signs of almost continuous inhabitation
throughout the region leading up to historical times. The Romans conquered the
region (when it was known as Dalmatia) and established one of the larger cities
of their realm at Salona. It was near there that the emperor Diocletian (a
subject West treats gorgeously in her book) established (or tried to) his retirement
palace, more of an armed camp, at Split.
Croatia is a reasonably wealthy country, with per capita GDP estimated at 65% of the EU average. Its economy is dominated by tourism, centered on the Adriatic coast. It maintains large marine preserves and many highly-rated (“Blue Flag”) beaches free of industrial encroachment or construction. Its main industries include shipbuilding, IT manufacturing, pharamceuticals and timber.
Artist's reconstruction of the original apparance (it still exists!) of Diocletian's retirement palace in Split.
The Balkan Mountains, also known as the Dinaric Alps, begin in Croatia along the coast, and broaden to the south, separating southeast Europe from the Adriatic Sea. Northeast of these in Croatia is the Pannonian Basin, a major drainage zone which includes the Danube. Much of Croatia is marine limestone, which has become karst (deep cave) topography. Several of the world’s deepest-known caves occur there. Caves are known for their microclimates and isolated ecosystems. Croatia has a temperate maritime climate, grading to Mediterranean more inland, and becoming cooler and alpine in the mountains. Precipitation varies widely by region, from 60 cm/24 in to 350 cm/140 inches.
Roman amphitheater in Pula (sixth largest remaining from the Empire).
Tomorrow: the Balkans and climate change.
Be brave, and be well.
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