Croatia is a mediterranean country with rich cultural and historical monuments. You can find different influences from different eras and a huge range of different cultures. Influence of eternal Rome of Venice Republic of Ottomans of Hungarians…. Here are some interesting things that you should know before you visit it this summer.

• Croatians invented the tie – Croatian soldiers mercenaries during the war in Europe (year 1600) were wearing ties on their necks ( red ties and that was their symbol ). That kind of new fashion was something really interesting for France and Paris and very soon they started to copy that fact calling it “a la croata ” (Croatian way). Also the French king started to wear the tie.
• The first country in the world to recognize the independence of the United States, was the Croatian Republic of Dubrovnik.
• Croat Slavoljub Penkala in 1906 invented the mechanical pencil, called Penkala. The patent has been registered in 35 countries, and his company TOZ Penkala still works in Zagreb.
• Faust Vrancic the first in the world invented the parachute. Lot of inventors were studying the early Leonardo da Vinci’s work and sketches about parachutes but Faust was first who succeeded in this fact.
• Croatia is known as one of the most successful sporting nations of the world-just remember famous tennis player Goran Ivanisevic or NBA players (Toni Kukoc, Dino Rada, Drazen Petrovic)…soccer, handball, water polo….
• ISLANDS – Croatia has 1246 islands, islets and bays
• KUNA – Croatian national currency has the name of the animal curse, because before this animal fur traders used as currency of exchange for other goods.

Source: Things To Know About Croatia Before You Visit It This Summer