10 Interesting Facts about Croatia

As Asia’s first Croatian restaurant, we are ambassadors to the region. We realise that many people don’t know Croatia very well, so we present to you these 10 interesting facts.

Hrvatska is the native name for Croatia. This is why Croatian websites end with ‘.hr’. Kvarner, Istria and Dalmatia are names of popular regions in Croatia.

Croatia has a very rich history, stretching back to as early as the 7th century. Over the ages, Croatia culture has been influenced by Romans, the Slavs and Hungarians. The Republic of Croatia today was founded on 25 June 1991.

Dubrovnik Old City

Croatia is home to 7 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Old City of Dubrovnik (which the restaurant is named after), the Diocletian Palace in Split and the Plitvice Lakes National Park

Croatian cuisine is a cuisine of regions, reflecting Croatian geography, history and culture. Hungarians brought goulash and paprikash (meat stew), the Turks left sarma (stuffed sauerkraut rolls), stuffed green peppers and rolled dough, while the Italians left their trace in various kinds of pasta.

Marco Polo (1254-1324), an adventurer, merchant and one of the best known world travelers, whose book “The Travels of Marco Polo” is the first tourist book in the world, comes from Korcula on Korcula island in Croatia.

The necktie, worn by businessmen around the world, is a product of Croatia. To celebrate World Tie Day, an enormous necktie was worn around the Arena in Pula, one of the cities in Istria.

Necktie around Pula Arena

The fountain pen and the technical pencil—the predecessor of the modern mechanical pencil—was invented by a Croat, Eduard Penkala, in 1906. The word ‘pen’ was derived from his family name.

Dalmatians, the breed of dog featured in the movie 101 Dalmatians, are named after Dalmatia, in which most of the Croatian Adriatic is located.

Dalmatian Dog

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), the father of alternative current electricity and technology of wireless communications, after which the unit for magnetic induction is named, was born in Croatia, and that he refused to receive the Nobel prize he had to share with T. A. Edison.

Croatians are accomplished sportsmen, excelling in soccer, tennis, skiing and basketball among many. Some popular athletes include Davor Suker, Niko Kovac, Goran Ivanisevic, and Toni Kukoc.

Croatia football team

If you would like to experience Croatian culture further, you’re in luck! The Contemporary Croatian Drawing exhibition is being staged at the National Art Gallery of Malaysia. This exhibition is supported by the Croatian Ministry of Culture and will be open from 9-31 October 2009. For more information, please call 03-4253 5340 or download the info kit.

Of course, you can also visit Dubrovnik Restaurant to experience Croatian culture through its cuisine. Make a reservation.