The Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Dolazak Hrvata (Arrival of Croats), painting by Oton Iveković, representing the migration of Croats to the Adriatic sea
The range of Slavic ceramics of the Prague-Penkovka culture marked in black, all known ethnonyms of Croats are within this area. Presumable migration routes of Croats are indicated by arrows, per V.V. Sedov (1979).
Arrival of the Croats to the Adriatic Sea by Oton Iveković
Coronation of King Tomislav by Oton Iveković.
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. Its coast lies entirely on the Adriatic Sea. Croatia borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Italy to the west. Its capital and largest city, Zagreb, forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, with twenty counties. Other major urban centers include Split, Rijeka and Osijek. The country spans 56,594 square kilometres, and has a population of nearly 3.9 million.
Coronation of King Tomislav by Oton Iveković
Ban Josip Jelačić at the opening of the first modern Croatian Parliament (Sabor), June 5, 1848. The Croatian tricolour flag can be seen in the background.
Mass protests in Zagreb against the unification of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs with the Kingdom of Serbia in 1918.
Stjepan Radić, leader of the Croatian Peasant Party who advocated federal organisation of the Yugoslavia at the assembly in Dubrovnik, 1928. His death at the end of the same year as a result of an assassination in the National Assembly by NRS member, Serbian nationalist politician Puniša Račić, leads the country to a serious political crisis.
