Croatia

The Republic of Croatia is a country in southeastern Europe that was once a part of the communist state of Yugoslavia and has had a diverse history of religion, culture, and ethnic conflict. Its eastern coast covers the Balkan Peninsula and faces the Adriatic Sea. Zagreb is Croatia's capital. The earliest Croats were a community of Slavs who, leading a nomadic existence, eventually settled in their present homeland around the late sixth or early seventh century. Croatia's conversion to Christianity, on its greatest scale, took place in the ninth century, when Christian missionaries from Italy, Byzantium, and the Frankish state arrived on Croatian land. Christianization of the Croats developed from two cultural directions. Church rites in the Slavic language and script, which later developed into the Glagolitic script, were used by disciples of St. Cyril and St. Methodius of Salonika to convert the Croats. Also, the Latin language and liturgy were used, and spread, throughout Croatian territory by missionaries. Henceforth, Roman Catholicism would always play a major part in Croatian culture.

[Page 265]In 925 CE, Tomislav I was crowned the first King of Croatia, making Croatia an official kingdom. However, Croatia would not remain autonomous. In 1102, Coloman Arpad, of the Hungarian Arpad Dynasty, was crowned King of Dalmatia and Croatia, thus establishing a union between Croatia and Hungary. During the late Middle Ages, Catholicism continued to play an important role in cultivating Croatian culture. The mendicant orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans entered Croatia during this period, building monasteries and bringing Gothic styles to Croatian art and architecture, which was also promulgated by the formation of cathedrals in major cities such as Split and Dubrovnik.

The Protestant Reformation did not gain strong influence in Croatia, being swiftly subdued by the Counter-Reformation and, particularly, by the eclectic work of the Jesuits. The Jesuits came to Croatia in the mid-16th century, prominently utilizing education to revive Catholic thought and faith in Croatian society. In addition to establishing elementary schools in several Croatian cities, the Jesuits introduced the study of theology and philosophy by founding the Jesuit Academy in Zagreb in 1669, from which the University of Zagreb emerged, becoming the oldest and largest university of southeastern Europe. Many Jesuits played important roles in advancing science and culture in Croatia, thus also attracting support from Croatia's government. Consequently, in the early 17th century, the Sabor (the legislative body of Croatia) proclaimed Catholicism to be the only permitted faith in the country, thus rooting out Protestantism.

In 1526, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Habsburg was elected king by the Croatian nobility. Ferdinand's election was especially important in aligning Croatia with the Austrian Empire against the invading Ottoman Empire. More than two centuries of wars with the Ottomans had a monumental influence on European culture, leaving Croatia with a particularly iconic geographical position. After Austria and Russia went to war against the Ottomans in 1787, a peace treaty was reached in 1791 separating the Austrian and Ottoman empires through a marked boundary, which today constitutes the line between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, symbolizing the boundary where the Catholic West meets the Orthodox and Muslim East. Jewish immigration also spread to Croatia, beginning in the late 18th century and continuing to the early 20th, further diversifying the population.

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