109 fun facts about Croatia. How many of these weird, puzzling, intriguing lies, myths & facts about Croatia do you know (or think I got wrong)?
How much do you know about Croatia? What is a fact, and what is fiction?
Croatia lies in the western Balkans and borders Slovenia, Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro. Croatia’s most exciting border, however, is the Adriatic Sea.
After all, the Croatian beaches, islands, and historic towns on the Croatia coast draw in the vast majority of tourists. But, how much else do you know about Croatia? Let’s see…
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Facts About Croatia
With 109 fun facts about Croatia, this list is just a drop in the ocean of how wonderful and interesting Croatia truly is.
1. Let’s start with an important historical fact about Croatia. King Tomislav was Croatia’s first king, crowned sometime before 925 A.D. you’ll find his name all over the country
2. Croatians settled on the Adriatic coast around the seventh century on the ruins of the Roman Empire.
3. The hit HBO series Game of Thrones was filmed on the Dalmatian coast in Split and Dubrovnik.
4. The fortified walls of Dubrovnik (where Game of Thrones was filmed) are one of Europe’s most preserved fortification systems. (And the most visited)
5. Once the home of bloody Roman gladiator fights, the amphitheater in Pula, Istria, is one of only three preserved in the world. It is also the 6th largest amphitheater in existence. How’s that for another exciting fact about Croatia?
6. The largest Croatian white truffle found weighed 1.31 kg (2 lb 8 oz) and was discovered by Giancarlo Zigante of Pototoska on 2 November 1999 near Buje, a town in Istria, Croatia.
7. A Croatian named Rudjer Boskovic suggested placing five concentric iron bands on the dome of St. Peter’s when a crack had been discovered. His suggestion was adopted and saved Michelangelo’s work from being ruined. This is prob my most fave fun fact about Croatia!
8. Spain and Croatia have the highest number of UNESCO Intangible Goods of any European country. Including lace-making, gingerbread baking, and wooden toy carvings.
9. Located in southeastern Europe, Croatia borders the Adriatic Sea between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia. It also has borders with Hungry and Serbia.
10. Ivan Vucetic- criminologist and anthropologist, was born on the island of Hvar (later emigrated to Argentina and was known as Juan) was the pioneer of scientific dactyloscopy (identification by fingerprints), and his methods of identification are used worldwide. Oh wait, maybe this has to be my fave fact about Croatia – as I live on a street named after this guy!
11. On the island of Susak, the women hold the title of having the only national costume that sits above the knee in Europe. I bet you didn’t know that fact about Croatia – huh?
12. The population of Croatia is 4.25 million (2013)
13. The population of Croatia is shrinking each census – 300k people have left the country since Croatia entered the European Union.
14. In Krapina, near Zagreb, professor Dragutin Gorjanovic Kramberger discovered the wealthiest collection of remains of Neanderthal people in the world.
15. Red Lake, near the city of Imotski, Croatia, is the deepest sinkhole in Europe, 3rd the largest in the world.
16. 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.
17. The longest word in Croatian is prijestolonasljednikovičičinima which means little heiress apparent to the throne.
18. There are two Croatians’ names on the Moon map. Scientists J. R. Boskovic and A. Mohorovicic.
19. Croatian Slavoljub Penkala invented a mechanical pencil called the Penkala in 1906. The patent was registered in 35 countries, and his company TOZ – Penkala is still in operation in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital.
20. Zagreb Christmas Markets won the Best European Markets 3 years in a row!
21. Inhabited for over 8,000 years, the eastern Croatian city of Vinkovci is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe.
22. Ivan Lupis Vukic constructed the world’s first torpedo in Rijeka in the 19th century.
23. DNA tests have proven that the yummy Zinfandel grape variety originates from Croatia. Wine lovers rejoice!
24. The most famous beach in all of Croatia is Bol, on the island of Brac. Zlatni Rat Beach changes in shape and color depending on the wind.
25. Founded in 1963 in Makarska, Southern Dalmatia is the world’s most comprehensive collection of shells and snails.
26. The majority of Croatians are Catholic.
27. The Catholic Cathedral in Zagreb is the tallest building in Croatia (108 meters).
28. Croatia has 1244 islands, isles, islets & reefs for you to sail through. Just 48 of them are inhabited.
29. The mainland covers 56,542 km², and the surface of the territorial sea is 31,067 km².
30. Croatia has an unknown number of dialects. Those dialects can make it difficult for Croatians to understand one another.
31. Zadar, the seaside town in Dalmatia, holds the title of the best sunset in the world, according to Alfred Hitchcock. Quoted as saying, ‘Zadar has the most beautiful sunset in the world, more beautiful than the one in Key West, Florida.’
32. The Croatian national flower is the iris. It is illegal to pick this protected flower.
33. Biševo island has just 13 residents.
34. The Griffon vultures on Cres are the only ones that roost by the sea anywhere in the world
35. Croatia has a leaning tower in Istria. The Belfry in Završje is 22 meters high and is tilted 40cm to the north.
36. Wine is produced in Croatia thanks to the influence of the Greeks from two and a half thousand years ago.
37. Croatia now has more than 300 geographically-defined wine-producing areas in Croatia.
38. Back in the 1960s, Paklenica National Park and Plitvice Lakes doubled as the American Wild West in 11 movies about the fictional Native American hero Winnetou.
39. Built in 1296, Dubrovnik still has in use today one of the first medieval sewage systems
40. In the Dinaric Alps in Croatia, Olm (Proteus anguinus); is the only cave-dwelling chordate species in Europe. This creature can survive ten years without food and lives blind and in the dark.
41. The Olm is known to locals as čovječja ribica, which translates to human fish—called so because of its skin color.
42. The oldest person in Croatia was Nena Tolj, who sadly passed away in 2011, aged 110.
44. Almost 10% of Croatia comprises 11 nature parks, eight national parks, and two nature reserves.
44. Eight thousand books, many of which are written in Glagolitic script, reside in a cave monastery on the Island of Brač known as Blaca.
45. Croatian writer Marko Marulić is credited with the first known use of the word psychology (in the title deeds Psichiologia de ratione animaeHumanae), meaning the science of the soul. Here is proof.
46. The largest island in Croatia is Krk (near Rijeka), with a 405 sq km land area.
47. You know the movie 101 Dalmatians? Well, here’s a fun fact about Croatia, that breed of dog is from the region of Dalmatia in Croatia.
48. But that’s not the only Croatian dog breed. There is also Croatian Sheep Dog, which is just as cute.
49. Croatia’s Bura wind – the northern to the north-eastern wind is so mighty. It was once recorded blowing on the Maslenički most at 248.4 kmph (21 December 1990).
50. The Rijeka Carnival is the biggest in Croatia and one of the most popular carnivals in Europe.
51. The necktie, worn by business people around the world, is from Croatia. As it was named, the cravat originated from Croatian soldiers who served as mercenaries for the King of France.
52. The last specimen of the Mediterranean seal lives in the Croatian aquarium.
53. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was staged in Illyria, an ancient region of the Western Balkans whose coast covered modern-day Croatia (Slovenia, Montenegro, and Albania).
54. From 1358 until its capture by Napoleon in 1808, the walled city of Dubrovnik was the center of a city-state known as the Republic of Ragusa.
55. As of Jan 1, 2023, the new Croatian currency is the euro. Previously it was the Kuna.
56. The Croatian euro coins feature Nikola Tesla
57. The Vucedol Culture Museum in Vukovar offers an astonishing collection of items, including a pot over 5,000 years old.
58. On the mountain Vidova Gora, located on the island of Brac, is the peak Sutvid, which is the highest peak in the Adriatic Islands
59. Although most of Croatia is very safe, some areas have hidden landmines that have yet to be removed.
60. The oldest Croatian text was written in 1100, and it is called the Baska tablet, which is about time under the reign of King Zvonimir.
61. Zagreb is Croatia’s capital city, but its first capital was Nin, close to Zadar in Dalmatia.
62. One-third of Croatia is covered in forest.
63. If you give birth on a Jadrolinija ferry from Hvar, your child will get free travel on the ferry for life.
64. The Sphinx in Split was brought over from Egypt for Diocletian and is over 4,000 years old.
65. The English poet Lord Byron called Dubrovnik the pearl of the Adriatic, which still holds this name today.
66. Croatia enjoys 2,715 hours of sunshine a year. That’s more than Sydney, Australia.
67. Irishman James Joyce was considered one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century. He was a teacher of English in Pula, Istria, in the early 20th century.
68. Croatian citizens can start voting at 16, provided they are employed. If not, they have to wait until they are 18.
69. Two winners of the Nobel Prize in chemistry came from Croatia – Lavoslav Ruzicka (1939) and Vladimir Prelog (1975)
70. The highest peak in Croatia is 1,831 m above sea level.
71 . The highest peak in Croatia is called Dinara
72. The oldest known European calendar is based on the constellation of Orion. It was found on a shattered pot in Vinkovci in 1978 (dates back to 2600 BC)
73. FORBES magazine ranked Croatia in the top 12 world’s best retirement havens. Describing Croatia as sitting across the Adriatic Sea from Italy, Croatia offers incredible beauty, a mild Mediterranean climate, ancient culture, tax breaks for retirees, and a low living cost. The Institute for Economics & Peace ·ranks it higher than the U.S. for safety and security.
74. The oldest university in Croatia is the University of Zagreb, established in 1669.
75. The Mag Light was invented by a Croatian named Maglica
76. Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of World War I in 1918; Croatia then joined Serbia, and Slovenia formed a kingdom known as Yugoslavia.
77. Post World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent Communist state
78. Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. From then, the Homeland war began with Serbia, lasting four years.
79. In Croatian, the country’s name is Hrvatska, and the language is called Hrvatski.
80. Croatia is the 127th largest country in the world.
81. In Ston, southern Croatia, you find over 5kms of the longest fortification walls in Europe.
82. Croatia is raked4th in the world for alcohol consumption per capita.
83. Each Easter, the island of Hvar holds a Passion procession through seven churches. This tradition began in the Middle Ages and the songs sung are considered to be the oldest Passion songs in Europe
84. Croatia’s drinking water has one of the highest quality standards in Europe.
85. Picigin is a traditional ball game played on the beach in Croatia. An amateur sport played in shallow water consists of players keeping a small ball from touching the water.
86. Croatia has 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
87. The most frequent Croatian family name in Croatia is Horvat (followed by Kovačević, Babić, Marić, Jurić, Novak, Kovačić, and then Knežević).
88. Agatha Christie spent her second honeymoon in Dubrovnik and Split.
89. Fiddler on the roof was filmed in Zagreb
90. Croatian-born Nikola Tesla invented the alternating current. (FYI, Tesla was born to one Serbian parent and one Croatian parent and was a citizen of Austria and then Austro-Hungary. He was educated in Graz and gained professional experience in Prague, Budapest, and Paris before moving to New York and becoming a U.S. citizen. Therefore by some accounts, people claim him to be Serbian, not Croatian) Extra fun fact: Tesla’s birthplace of Smiljan is present-day Croatia. He once said I am equally proud of my Serbian origin and my Croatian fatherland. You might want to check out the annual Nikola Tesla Electric Vehicle Rally when in Croatia at the right time.
91. In April 2011, the largest popcorn box was filled at the Cineplexx in Osijek. Measuring 52.59 cubic meters – the box of popcorn took almost 2 hours to fill
92. Hum, in Istria, is the world’s smallest town
93. Fausto Veranzio invented the parachute in 1617. Born in Šibenik, veranzio was said to be the first person to build and test a parachute. However, sketches of the parachute are also said to have existed prior, including one by Leonardo da Vinci.
94. On the island of Dugi Otok stands the lighthouse of Veli Rat. At 42 meters high, it’s the highest in the Adriatic & locals will tell you that the bright yellow color painted on the lighthouse is due to the 100,000 egg yolks mixed into the paint. Fact or fiction… you decide.
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Facts About Croatia – That Are Big Fat Lies
95. Near Zadar is the Holy Cross’s Church, the world’s smallest cathedral in Nin. Nope, untrue that Guinness World Record belongs to a cathedral in Missouri, USA.
96. The first hydropower plant was the Jaruga power plant, made in Šibenik and put on the river Krka in 1895. False. Niagara Falls started producing electricity all the way back in 1875.
97. Dubrovnik was once a country, and some people say it was the first country to recognize the independence of the United States. Wrong again. However, Morocco claims to have done so first.
98. The first pharmacy in Europe was opened in 1271 in the UNESCO list town of Trogir. As far as I can see, the first one was opened in 1241 in Trier, Germany
Facts About Croatia That Are Still Mysteries To Me
99. The stone that built the White House in Washington, D.C., comes from the island of Brac. Weeeeeeeeell, it’s not all true. It’s now widely accepted that part of the columns of the White House is made from Brac stone. But nobody knows for sure.
100. Croatia is said to be the homeland of the world-renowned traveler Marco Polo. It’s claimed he was born in Korčula in the 13th century. Korčula was then part of the Republic of Venice, but the actual location of his birth is a mystery and without any evidence to confirm or deny. So you decide if this is fact or fiction.
101. David Schwartz was a Hungarian-Croatian aviation pioneer of Jewish descent. He designed and constructed the first dirigible airship. Shortly after, David Schwartz died of a heart attack, and it’s claimed, but not known for sure, that Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin purchased the plans from his widow and constructed the airship that bore his name.
102. The first public theatre in Europe was opened in 1612 on the island of Hvar. But I can see a few other places which lay claim to such history, including London, which claims to have had one open in 1576 by James Burbage
103. Dubrovnik has the oldest law of insurance in Europe. Supposedly starting in 1395, that would make it three centuries older than Lloyd’s. Shame I can’t find any proof either way.
104. From the 9th century on, Croatians used their Glagolitic script. It was used in parallel with Latin script until the 18th century.
105. The last remaining European Griffon vultures in Croatia are located on the island of Cres.
106. Croatian Faust Vrančić designed the first wind turbine.
107. The world’s first pipe organ played by the sea’s rhythmic waves is in Zadar, on the Dalmatian Coast.
108. The eighth deepest cave in the world is in Croatia. Lukina cave is 1,392 m deep and lies in the Sjeverni Velebit National Park, 1,475 m above sea level.
109. The popular film Mamma Mia 2 was filmed on the Croatian Island, Vis – even though the movie is set in Greece.
Which facts about Croatia did I miss or get wrong? If you have any Croatia facts, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
My friend says an older relative always told her the Italians cut down Dalmatian trees to build Venice – can anyone confirm or deny?
I too have heard that, but when I have asked around no one can give me a straight answer… mystery :D
Im from Krk, my dad is 85 yrs old since I was a child I have been told this story by my dad and my grand mother whose father came from a small coastal area by Venice. That the (hrsti) oaks were cut down and brought to Venice. There is nothing in writing to confirm this except the old people i knew as a child that always spoke of this story.
True. Venice was built on Croatian and Bosnian maple which is, because of its qualitiy, now all gone
That is true. My generation was thought in school that it was Mlecani who were cutting Velebit’s forest to be used in Venice.
That’s a great list, but I have to point out two things:
Croatians are not Slavs and they did not come onto these lands in the 7th century A.D.
That is the what the old Yugoslavs wanted us to think. .
– Profesor Stojan Dimitrijević, at thePhilosophical University in Zagrebu, actually a Croatian Srb, produced evidence of the so named “vučedolskom” pottery that clearly showed the Croatian “šahovnica” (the checkered coat of arms) which dates between 2500 i 2000 years before Christ.
Point 2 – in between your number 70 and 71 you need to identify that there existed a free Croatian state between the two Yugoslavias. It was called NDH (Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska) and it was as real as the one we are living in now…..just with larger boarders.
And last but not least – Eric Bana is half Croatian! Yes, our Poiter is that good looking because he has Cro genes
NDH was not as real as the one we are living in now!
NHD was a nazi puppet state that existed for a little less than a month. Don’t equate it with the real Croatia.
One month aka three years. Your username describes you real well
Thank you
OMG….You are kidding, right?
The level of utter bull**it in you post is unmeasurable.
Everything you said is a bunch of brainless fiction made up in the 90’s by low educated people.
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Chackered coat of arms was in use long befor croats even existed as people.
From Celts, Romans, Vikings, Middle eastern civilisation….they all used Chackered coat as decoration.
Croats used it for the first time in 10th century as coat of arms of king Stjepan Držislav.
Vučedol findings have decorative lines, and that copper age culture has nothing to do with Croats.
It’s much older culture, like Ilirians in Dalmatia.
Stupidity of not-slavic descent of Croats……Cratian is slavic lenguage.
NDH was a fictional naci ‘puppet-state’ with no power or meaning.
All of Dalmatia was under fashist Italy rule, the rest of Croatia was under nazi Germany rule.
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I don’t know who tought you this brainless fictional facts, but if I were you, I would read a lot of real historical books, not stupidity made up in the 90’s.
You obviously know absolutely nothing about Croatian history, but have no problem telling ridiculous stories about it.
NDH was fictional? Unlikely Ante Pavelić was given most of his power by Hitler and the NDH was Croatia AND Bosnia and Hercegovina, also your spelling is horrendous, mate this blog is intended for positive information and some fun made by a fellow Aussie, if you don’t like it, then FUCK OFF! SIMPLE!
Actually Brett, what t0m1s7 wrote is correct. I think you just missed his point. NDH was an independent state run by nazis. But no croatian considers it their real state, or wants to be conected with it because of all the attrocities that regime did. Thats why fictional. And he is absolutely right about everything else, what Anna P. wrote is a complete bulshit. Stating that crats are not slavs in like stating chainese are not asians. And sorry for my spelling, english is not my first language and i am to laizy to use a dictionary.
Faust Vrančić from your fact #45 and lie #4 Fausto Veranzio are the same person, and that about parachute is not a lie, but fact. Leonardo did make those, but those were found much later than Faust’s work, and that proves they may have been “on the same page”. Faust’s exploration and work into area of wind is much known to be the best at that time, thus first turbine.
Please let me teach you some anthropology:
Nikola Tesla was born in Croatia. His mother was Croatian, his father was Serbian, so he comes from mixed marriage. Logically, he is from where he was born, thus Croatian.
Traditionally, in Balkans, national origins are attributed to fathers and women are ignored.
That is why Serbians can claim him being Serbian, on the father and tradition platform, and Croatians on the birth origin and mother. Americans can claim him since he died there, but their T. Edisson made sure his name was as unknown as possible there, since he was exploiting him and his work throughout his life there.
Danielle P., Ph.D.
Thanks, I never said it was a lie, it is in the mystery column. But thanks for shedding more light on the issue – for me it still remains a mystery.
Hmmm Tesla is complicated. Even as you state, there is no one answer. Each side has arguments. Regardless he was a brilliant man, to whom we should all be grateful. Thanks for reading Danielle.
No, it’s not complicated. I don’t know what about Tesla is complicated?! He was born in Smiljani which is in Croatia, he went to school in Croatia, on his passport he himself put that he is Croatian, so what confuses you exactly?
This argument can go on forever take for instance in the jewish religion you are of jewish heritage if your mother is jewish. In Regency England it went by the father. In my mothers own case during WWII being born in Croatia of Orthodox parents she was considered Serbian however after escaping the train to a concentration camp and making it to Serbia she was told in no uncertain terms she was not serbian. So the argument continues and probably will for a long time. In my mind the only certain thing is we are a complicated tribe of people and thats OK too. As for Mr. Tesla I’ll take him as Croatian.
Hi, kuna is the name of an animal, right?
BIngo! It sure is Aldenice.
That Croat dog watching at the sea… I don’t know why that photo touched me!
I can understand the negative rant, when you have as many relatives as I do, and see how corrupt the political system is, it’s sad. The economy is suffering, the employment rate is incredibly high, and well educated people in professional careers make very little in comparison. That does not sound like a that great a place to live. Unless you come over to Croatia with a whole lot of money, life will be a struggle for most people. That’s why they are flocking out of there, and the country is concerned that there will be too few Croations left in the county. That’s the truth, and I wouldn’t be saying that since this is my home country and I was born there and do love it dearly. I just don’t see it as great economy to live in.
Most of the land mines are left in Croatia during the serbian aggression in the 90’s…thank you for the great list and all the beautiful other stories about this sunny country in the heart of Europe!!
You are so very welcome, hope you enjoyed the list.
We were in Croatia in May-June of 2013 and again in 2014… in 2013, there were some very bad floodings along the Danube, from Austria to Serbia… but the ones in 2014 were even worse as those floodings unearthed many landmines in croatian and bosnian towns…
The clever Mr Penkala invented a lot of stuff.
Hot water bottle, a fountain pen that sucked up the ink and held it in a little reservoir and insect killing spray.
Washing powder was also invented by a Croat and made in a factory called Saponia i Osijek.
Croatia stood guard to the Christian Europe keeping the rise and power of Islam at bay for centuries.
Mp3 players were invented by Croatian engineers.
As for weather Nikola Tesla was a serb or Croat… his mother was Croatian and he was born in Croatia. as far as I am concerned Croatia has the real estate others can pick over the other stuff.
Really washing powder? I had never heard of that one, thanks!!
Ummmm,sorry,but the info about Nikola Tesla is not correct!!……If you look harder,and find out the exact date and time of his birth,you will see that he was born in Croatia.At this exact time of birth,Croatia was not ruled by any other countries,other than itself!!…it was called a time of Ban!!….so,in saying this,he was born from Serbian people,on Croatian-soil,which then makes him a CROAT. Just like I am born from Croat/Slovenian people in Australia,which then makes me to be an Australian!!….thats how human-being Identification really works!!….where you are born,is who you are!!,,,that’s why a humans I.D / Passport states where you are from/born as your identification,there is no alternative!!….The time of BAN in that area,says that he is then a Croatian,and not Austro/hungarian or serbian or anything else other than a CROATIAN!!!….simple
Wrong.
Kingdom of Croatia was since 1102. a part of joint Croatian-Hungarian kingdom, and later an administrative division that existed within Austro-Hungarian monarchy .
The Kingdom was a part of the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen (Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia, and sami-independent city of Rijeka), but was subject to direct Imperial Austrian rule for significant periods of time, including its final years.
From 1868. after the Austro-Hungarian compromise, the governor (ban) was appointed by Hungary, 55% percent of all tax money went to Budapest, and Hungary had authority over the biggest sea port of Rijeka.
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The story about opening of National theatar in Zagreb 16.10. 1895. is well known.
Emparor Franz Joseph I came to Zagreb 14.10.1895. to officially open the new theatre.
He came as ‘King of Croatia’, but the red carpet on which he came out from railway station, was covered with hungarian land, not croatian.
That enraged a lot of citisens of Zagreb.
A group of young students decided to somehow point out to him that the rule of Khuen Hedervary, apointed as Ban of Croatia from Budapest, was ruthless and vary bad for croatians.
On the last day of emperors visit, it was organised that he will have, among other dignitaries, a group of valedictorian students to walk in front of him from the old Town hall on Upper town (Gornji grad/Gradec) to the main square.
As they arrived on Zagreb main square, students took out hungarian flag, put it on four swards, and set it on fire shouting:
‘Long live Croatian king Franjo Josip (his name in croatian)’.
All that is a historical fact from Croatian history you learn in primary school in Croatia.
At least I did in 1980’s.
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Tesla was born in 1856. by croatian perents of orthodox religion, in then Austro-Hungarian monarchy, in the region of Croatia, wich is todays Republic of Croatia.
There was no independet state of Croatia since royal union with Kingdom of Hungary in 1102. (you can still see today in Hungarian Parliament in Budapest The Crown of st. Stephen that was used during coronations of Croatian and Hungarian kings and queens during period of joint kingdom, and later also Austrian kings and queens), until 1991.
Just like there were only colonial states under the rule of British empire until 1901., not Australia, until Sir Henry Parks brought all states in one union and got independence by Queen Victoria, which made the foundation of present australian system of government.
This discussion is pointless. Tesla was born in Smiljan, which is today Croatia, so he is Croatian. If he is Austrian, simply because at the time Croatia was under Austrian rule, then I’m not Croatian either. I’m Yugoslavian, because Croatia was a part of Yugoslavia at the time of my birth. Same point can be made that ban Josip Jelačić was also Austrian, and not Croatian, because at the time of his birth, Croatia was under Austrian rule. It’s stupid. He was born in Lika, his parents were born in Lika, his grandparents and so on, so he is Croatian. Period!
And those talks about him being Serb is ridiculous. He was orthodox and that is religion, not nationality. None of his ancestors were from Serbia.
On the brighter note, fun facts: Šibenik is the oldest town built by Croatians (1066 AD); Šibenik was the largest town in today’s Croatia until plague broke down in 14th century (from cca 12000 residents, it came down to about 2000); Faust Vrančić was from Šibenik and he did invented first parachute (from the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci); famous basketball player Dražen Petrović was born in Šibenik…
As you might have guessed, I’m from Šibenik. :D
On the note of Faust Vrancic….he is barried in churche on little island Prvic-Luka near Sibenik…my beautiful place of birth.There is a very nice museum dedicatet to Faust Vrancic on the island ….it takes only 15 minuts from Vodice by boat….
The Republic of Ragusa was the first state in all of Europe to ban slavery as far back as 1416 A.D.