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Geography

The Republic of Croatia is bordered by Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Its long Adriatic coastline has over a thousand islands and islets - some of the larger islands are Brac, Krk, Cres, Hvar, Korcula and Mljet. Croatia is about the size of West Virginia. Zagreb is Croatia's capital city.

The Croatian landscape includes mountains and highlands, areas of karst (limestone), plains, rugged coastline and islands. Croatia has hot summers and cold winters. In winter it is milder along the Adriatic coast, particularly on the island of Hvar, known for its good weather.

 

Environment

Croatia has a beautiful rugged terrain. Fields of lavender, vines, olive trees, peach trees, laurel and cypresses are all part of Croatia's landscape.

Wildlife found in Croatia includes bats, foxes, deer, lynx, wild sheep and bears. The country's coastal waters are inhabited by a variety of fish, dolphins and other sea creatures.

 

Population

The population of Croatia was estimated at 4,494,749 in 2006. Most of the people are Croats with minorities of Serbs, Slovenians, Bosniaks, Hungarians and Czechs.

 

Languages

Croatian is the official language.

 

Food

Croatian cuisine includes seafoods from the coastal waters and meat dishes such as cevapcici (sausage-shaped minced meat), raznijici (grilled meat on skewers), sarma (minced rice and meat rolled in cabbage leaves) and djuvec (stew).

 

Religion

Over eighty-seven percent of the people are Roman Catholic and more than four percent are members of the Orthodox Church.

During the past several years, the religious situation in Croatia has changed considerably. During the long years of the Communist regime that began after World War II, all religious groups, large or small, were oppressed. Some were able to maintain their activities, under tight controls; others were simply forbidden. The Communist government strictly supervised all religious groups, through the government’s Committees for Relations with Religious Communities, backed up by the police and secret services. Today democracy has returned to Croatia, and freedoms have been restored.

For now, at least, freedom has meant a surge in religious activity. Groups which operated for so long under such strict control now find that they have ready access to social institutions. They are free to exploit the mass media, or even to open their own media outlets, if they have the financial resources necessary to sustain such an effort. In fact many new groups have chosen that route, and the airwaves are cluttered with appeals by astrologists, faith healers, and a variety of other New Age practitioners.

We need to reach them now with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is only one Independent Baptist Church in Croatia but with your help and support we hope to start new churches all over Croatia!