Think of Croatia as…
The capital of the Seven Kingdoms
Think of Croatia. And now think of the mega popular fantasy series Games of Thrones. Feel lost? Maybe you need 101 dalmatians, a dog breed which originated in Croatia, to find the trail for you? Indeed, many scenes in the TV series from Season 2 onwards were filmed on the Dalmatian coast. The famous medieval walls of the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, the most preserved fortification system in Europe, were used to represent King’s Landing’s (the capital of the Seven Kingdoms) exterior.
Homo erectus and Jason and the Agonauts at the Pula Arena
Let us leave the Kingdoms of Westeros and travel to Pula, a city on the tip of Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula, where evidences of the presence of Homo erectus 1 million years ago has been found and the city’s founding is mythologically attributed to Jason and the Agonauts. The city hosts a Roman amphitheatre which today is the only remaining one to have four side towers and with all three rows entirely preserved.
An Egyptian sphinx guarding one of the oldest Catholic cathedrals
And while gladiators were fighting at the Pula Arena, Emperor Diocletian, the only Roman Emperor to ever retire, chose to do so in Split (the second-largest city of Croatia nowadays) where in his Palace (a UNESCO World Heritage Site today), a black Egyptian sphinx brought from Luxor in Egypt circa 15BC had to adorn the entrance to the Emperor’s tomb. However, what was once the emperor’s mausoleum is today one of the oldest Catholic Cathedrals in the world, The St. Duje Cathedral.
The Croatian roots of the master of the electricity, the fountain pen and…… surprise – Marco Polo
One of the most famous inventors and geeks, Nikola Tesla, born in Croatia, wore both a necktie and a neck bowl with an equal magnetic appeal appropriate for a master of the electricity. The necktie was part of the wardrobe of yet another Croatian inventor, Slavoljub Penkala, who invented the ball-point pen and the first solid-fountain pen.
And there are strong ties which suggest that the Venetian traveller Marco Polo was actually born in the Croatian Island of Korčula.
A country of 1000 islands, smallest town, biggest emigration; but thriving economy
The Island of Korčula is one of the 1246 islands of Croatia. However less than 50 of the islands are inhabited and only 15 have an area greater than 50km2 and a population of over 1000. Hum in Istria, with less than 20 permanent residents, is the alleged smallest town in the world. And while Croatia is one of the countries with the highest emigration rate in the world, its economy is thriving, boosting key sectors as tourism, shipbuilding, agriculture and chemicals.
If you are interested in placing or expanding your business on the Croatian map, consult EVS Translations to find out about our Croatian translation and Croatian interpreting and localisation services.
