1. The Roman emperor Diocletian built a palace in Dalmatia in 305 A.D., which became the foundation of today’s city of Split.

2. The White House in Washington, D.C. was built with the stone brought from the island of Brac.

3. First hydro power plant in the world was ‘Iskrice‘, made in the city of Šibenik, o the river Krka in 1895.

4. Croatia’s currency, kuna, was named after a small agile animal with brown fur, marten in English, based on the use of marten pelts of value in medieval trading.

5. The parachute was invented and first trailed by the Croatian Faust Vrancic in the 17th century, who was also the designer of the first wind turbine.

6. Croatians have their own alphabet or set of letters called ‘Glagolitic’. It emerged in the 9th century and was in daily use, along with the Latin alphabet, up to the 18th century.

7. The necktie, worn by businessmen around the world, was invented in Croatia and is locally known as ‘cravat.’ To celebrate World Tie Day, a huge necktie was worn around the Arena in Pula, one of Istria’s cities.

8. Croatia used to be a Roman colony and many monuments are left from that period, mostly on coast.

9. The carnival in Rijeka is not only the biggest in Croatia but also one of the most enticing carnivals in Europe. The parade is made up of around 150 colorfully costumed groups from different countries. Of great interest is the impressive appearance of Zvončari or the bellmen, covered in sheep skins and dancing to the deafening noise of the bells so as to scare away evil spirits of winter, which is a stunning folk custom that makes for a world-class tourist attraction.

10. Croatia has 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Old City of Dubrovnik (1979); Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian (1979); Plitvice Lakes National Park (1979); Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the Historic Center of Porec (1997); Historic City of Trogir (1997); The Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik(2000); and Stari Grad (Hvar) Plain (2008).