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 Croatia
(Hrvatska) has come a long way since the summer of 1991, when foreign
tourists fled from a region standing on the verge of war. Now that
stability has returned, visitors are steadily coming back to a country
which boasts one of the most outstanding stretches of coastline that
Europe has to offer. This return to normality has been keenly awaited by
Croats, but patriotism - and a sense of the nation's place in history -
remains a serious business here. Croatia was an independent kingdom in
the tenth century, fell under the rule of Hungary in the eleventh, and
was subsequently absorbed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire before becoming
part of the new state of Yugoslavia in 1918. Croatian aspirations were
frustrated by a Yugoslav state which was initially dominated by Serbs,
and then (after 1945) ruled by Communists. Croatia's declaration of
independence on June 25, 1991 was fiercely contested by a Serb-dominated
Yugoslav army eager to preserve their control over portions of Croatia
in which groups of ethnic Serbs lived. The period of war - and fragile,
UN-supervised ceasefire that followed - was finally brought to a close
by Croatian offensives during the summer of 1995.
Croatia's capital, Zagreb , is a typical central-European metropolis,
combining elegant nineteenth-century architecture with plenty of
cultural diversions and a vibrant café life. At the northern end of the
Adriatic coast, the peninsula of Istria contains many of the country's
most developed resorts, with old Venetian towns like Porec and Rovinj
rubbing shoulders with the raffish port of Pula . Further south lies
Dalmatia , a dramatic, mountain-fringed stretch of coastline studded
with islands. Dalmatia's main town is Split , an ancient Roman
settlement and modern port which provides a jumping-off point to the
most enchanting of Croatia's islands, Brac , Hvar , Vis and Korcula ,
where you'll find lively fishing villages and the best of the beaches.
South of Split lies the walled medieval city of Dubrovnik , site of an
important festival in the summer and a magical place to be whatever the
season.
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Bol |
Dubrovnik |
Hvar Town |
Komiza |
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Stranded on the far side of the Vidova Gora mountains, there's no
denying the beauty of BOL 's setting, or the charm of its old stone
houses.
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DUBROVNIK is a beautifully preserved fortified town
pressed against the sea within magnificent medieval walls.
Considered the jewel
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The best view of HVAR TOWN is from the sea, the tiny town centre
contoured around the bay, grainy-white and brown with green splashes
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Three times a day the bus leaves Vis harbour for the 25-minute drive
to KOMIZA , the island's main fishing port - a compact and intimate
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| Korcula Town |
Porec |
Pula |
Rijeka |
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KORCULA TOWN sits on a beetle-shaped hump of land, a medieval walled
city ribbed with a series of narrow streets that branch off the
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Regular buses head north from Rovinj towards POREC , Istria's
largest and busiest resort. Another peninsula town with an ordered mesh
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Once the chief port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, PULA
is an engaging combination of working port, naval base and
brash riviera town.
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Travelling from Istria towards Zagreb or Dalmatia, most
routes lead through the brusque port city of RIJEKA , hardly
worth a stopoff in
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Rovinj |
Split |
Supetar |
Vis Town |
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There are few more pleasant towns in Istria than ROVINJ , which lies
forty kilometres north of Pula. Its harbour is a likeable mix of fishing
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By far the largest city in Dalmatia, and its major transit point,
SPLIT is one of the most enticing spots on the Dalmatian coast; a hectic
city,
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Though the largest town on the island of Brac, SUPETAR is a rather
sleepy village onto which package tourism has been painlessly grafted
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VIS TOWN is attractively sited, a sedate arc of grey-brown houses
stretching around a deeply indented bay, above which looms a steep
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| Zagreb |
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| Capital of an independent state since 1991, ZAGREB has
served as the cultural and political focus of the nation
since the Middle Ages. The city
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