Front: Rudjer Boskovic (1711-1787), mathematician, astronomer and philosopher

Boskovic was born in Dubrovnik. He studied at the famous Jesuit Collegium Romanum in Rome. After completing his theological training he became a priest. Boskovic visited all the important European countries and became a French citizen. He wrote and published scientific and philosophical works in Latin, Italian and French.

Back: Zagreb cathedral

Front: Frank Krsto Frankopan (1625-1671) and Petar Zrinski (1621-1671), Croatian patriots

Frankopan and Zrinski came from Croatian noble families. They were related by marriage. Zrinski married Frankopan's sister Katarina.

Croatia, located on the border of the gradually expending Ottoman Empire, was at that time ruled by Austria. Although the Austrian army was victorious against the Turks in 1664, Emperor Leopold failed to capitalize on the success. Instead he signed the Peace of Vasvár, which prevented Hungary and Croatia from regaining territory lost to the Ottoman Empire. This caused unrest among the Hungarian and Croatian nobility. Frankopan, Zrinski and other noblemen plotted against the emperor. They were caught and beheaded on April 30, 1671 in Wiener Neustadt.

Back: Fortress in Varazdin

Front: Ivan Gundulic (1589-1638), Croatian Baroque poet

Gundulic was born in Dubrovnik, Republic of Venice (now Croatia). He served in various government positions as a captain of the night, supervisor of the armament magazine, member of the Senate, and judge.

In his youth Gundulic wrote 10 plays, which were performed with musical accompaniment. His later works tended to be in the more solemn Baroque Catholic and spiritual style. His most famous work is the epic Osman, based on the defeat of Ottoman Sultan Osman II by the Poles at Chocim (now Ukraine) in Bessarabia in 1621.

Back: Aerial view of old Dubrovnik

Croatia, bounded by Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and the Adriatic Sea, was part of Yugoslavia. It declared independence in 1991. Shortly afterward, local Serbian forces proclaimed the area around Knin independent Serbian Krajina. Croatian forces overran the Serbian controlled area in 1995.

In the 1993 currency reform, Dinar was replaced by Kuna which is currently pegged to Euro.

For a more detailed country profile, see CIA World Factbook on Croatia.