We’ve all been asked the question “Where is your family from?” I get asked this plenty when I mention that my parents are immigrants. I’m an extremely proud Croatian-America, but Croatia seems to be the secret of Europe with a rich history that is lost and rarely spoken about.
The land that is now considered Croatia was once part of the Roman Empire. It wasn’t until about 7th century that it became settled by Croats. They established their own kingdom in 925, but later it would unite with the Hungarian monarch while still remaining independent. In 1867, Croatia officially became part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire until 1918 when Croatia declared independence and joined what would later become Yugoslavia with Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bosnia, and the Republic of Macedonia. What it looks like on my family tree is as follows: my grandparents were born under the Austrian-Hungarian empire, all of my aunts and uncles on my father’s side were born in Italy under the Italian rule of their peninsula of Istria (Yugoslavia took over Istria five years before my dad was born), but both my parents were born under Yugoslavia, and later officially changed their citizenship to Croatia. It makes the question “Where is your family from?” a little more difficult to answer but I tend to stick to the simple answer.
In 1941, Germany invaded Yugoslavia and led to Croatia becoming a Nazi state. This resulted in Croatian Fascists killing both Serbians and Jews during World War II. After the fall of Nazi Germany, Croatia became a Communist nation under the rule of Joseph Broz Tito. Although communism was viewed as evil to much of the western world, it was something that many people who lived under enjoyed and something that kept Yugoslavia united, which some people loved and still do until this day. But with the death of Tito came the death of Yugoslavia – and the bloody wars that would change the political landscape for its former members.
From 1991-1995, the Croatian War of Independence was fought because Croats wanted to leave Yugoslavia while Serbs living in Croatia wanted to remain in the federation, but with Serb-claimed lands to be in a common state with Serbia. Ethnic hatred grew rapidly. The Croats and Serbs would do just about anything to kill each other: the same people that were considered as one just a few years before. It is estimated that Croatia lost 6,800-8000 soldiers and 4,500-7,000 civilians while Serbian lost about 4,000 soldiers and 2,600 civilians. This was just one war of the many of former Yugoslavia. Of course the outcome is what we know of Croatia today: independence was successfully achieved, but not without destroying friendships, families, and cities. More recently, Croatia has recently joined the European Union and elected their first female President, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.
That is the simple version of the vast and complex history of Croatia. The culture of Croatia has been rooted in this history and has created a place full of rich and vibrant heritage. The location of Croatia makes it the crossroads between the west and east.
Music
Croatia’s music is majored by Central Europe and the Mediterranean, and often times even Middle Eastern influence can be heard as well. There are several categories of popular folk music including Ganga, Klapa, Tamburica, and Gusle. There are many string and woodwind instruments that are quite distinct in their sound and unique to Croatia.
Cuisine
The food of Croatia is best described as a cross between Hungarian and Turkish cuisine while towns on the coast has cuisine similar to Greek and Italian. Some popular Croatian dishes include Mijesano meso (also known as mixed meat, similar to kebabs and souvlaki), various seafood from squid to tuna, goulash (meat stew), grah (bean stew) and dishes such as stuffed cabbage and peppers.
Croatian Goulash
Sports
Like most European nations, Croatia values its national team very greatly. Handball, basketball, and water polo are other important sports to the Croats. Unfortunately, Croatia is in the news quite often for their rowdy soccer fans who throw flares on the field. These “fans” are in fact people who are protesting the corrupt history of Croatian soccer.
Hrvatski nogometni savez
Nature
There is no way I could write about Croatia without mentioning its never ending beauty. From Plitvice Lakes, to Dubrovnik, and everywhere in between, Croatia has surprisingly managed to remain under the radar for most tourists, but I’m sure this will change in the not so near future.
Plitvice Lakes, Croatia
As a Croatian-American, I understand much of the history is problematic but I understand that the nation has grown and developed from its humble roots. From speaking the language to eating the food, there isn’t a single day where I haven’t loved the land my family is from.