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An aerial picture shows crowds of people, including foreign tourists, enjoying the sun and the sea in Split
Image: Damir Sencar/AFP/Getty ImagesImage: Damir Sencar/AFP/Getty Images

Croatia

Croatia is a Balkan country bordered by Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro and the Adriatic Sea. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb.

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All Content on this topic

A diver shines a light under the water

How climate change is affecting the Mediterranean Sea

Every day, marine biologist Gerwin Gretschel observes how rapidly the Mediterranean Sea is changing.
ClimateOctober 11, 202405:24 min
DW Podcast | Inside Europe | provisorisch f ROAD

Inside Europe 26 September 2024

Austrian elections, a pyrrhic victory for the SPD in Brandenburg, France's new government, Oslo Innovation Week. Also: Croatia’s bid to reverse its youth exodus, sun, sea and sustainable tourism, all aboard the newly extended Paris metro, and forbidden sounds: a world first for Spain’s Thyssen-Bornemisza museum.
PoliticsSeptember 26, 202455:00 min
Silhouettes of people visiting sea organ at dusk

Zadar's sea organ attracts tourists and locals alike

This musical seafront has become an increasingly popular spot, as a heat wave sweeps across the Balkans.
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 15, 202401:30 min
The Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic

Will Montenegro turn its back on the West?

Montenegro's new government includes pro-Russia and pro-Serbia parties that threaten to derail EU and NATO relations.
PoliticsAugust 4, 2024
Zheng Qinwen of China celebrates after the women's singles gold medal match of tennis against Donna Vekic of Croatia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, on Aug. 3, 2024.

Olympics: Zheng wins China's 1st tennis singles gold

Zheng Qinwen beat Croatia's Donna Vekic in straight sets in the women's singles final on the clay courts of Paris.
SportsAugust 3, 2024
Croation police vans at the border to Bosnia

Croatia: Several dead in nursing home attack

A gunman has shot six people dead in an elderly care home in eastern Croatia.
CrimeJuly 22, 2024
A tourist uses a map to cover her head from the sun as she waits with others to take a ticket for the Acropolis hill during a hot, windy day in Athens, Greece

Europe: Scorching heatwave bakes Greece, Balkan region

Greece, Italy Serbia are among countries grappling with an intense heat wave that has swept southern Europe.
ClimateJuly 17, 2024
Sanja Petrusic Goldstein, Principal of the Hugo Kon Elementary School in Zagreb, stands in a hallway with children's artwork lining the walls

Jewish school in Croatia's capital fosters tolerance

Jewish and non-Jewish children learn respect and tolerance side by side at the Hugo Kon Elementary School in Zagreb.
EducationJuly 12, 202404:21 min
Mirlind Daku of Albania shouts slogans after the UEFA Euro 2024 group stage match between Croatia and Albania.

Euro 2024: Albania's Daku banned over nationalist chants

UEFA has sanctioned Albania's Mirlind Daku with two-game ban over nationalist chants against Serbia and North Macedonia.
SportsJune 23, 2024
Cars pile up at a junction with Out-of-action traffic lights in Split, Croatia

Balkan countries suffer blackouts amid major heatwave

The first heatwave of the year in Southern Europe caused a spike in electricity use.
CatastropheJune 21, 2024
Bad Blue Boys celebrate Dinamo Zagreb winning the Croatian league in 2023-24

Are Croatian hooligans really right-wing extremists?

Croatian ultras are widely perceived as being violent, right-wing extremists. But is this reputation deserved?
SoccerJune 19, 2024
Luka Modric gestures in a Croatia jersey

Luka Modric in pursuit of elusive title with Croatia

Luka Modric remains the heart and soul of Croatia as he heads into what is likely his final international tournament.
SoccerJune 14, 2024
An older man stands in a courtyard in Zagreb

Jews in Croatia seek justice over confiscated property

Jewish Croatian families are still fighting for justice over property seized by the state before and after World War II.
SocietyMay 13, 202404:21 min
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party chief Andrej Plenkovic

Croatia: Ruling conservatives win elections without majority

Croatia's ruling conservative party won the most seats but fell short of a parliamentary majority.
PoliticsApril 18, 2024
A man walks past an election campaign billboard in Croatia

Croatia's election offers voters little prospect of change

Croatia'a upcoming election is coming down to two very similar candidates: the premier versus the president.
PoliticsApril 17, 2024
A photo of a man handing in his ballot for the Croatian parliamentary election on April 17

Croatia holds parliamentary polls amid PM-president rivalry

Croatia is holding polls marked by a bitter campaign between the present heads of state and government as candidates.
PoliticsApril 17, 2024
A middle-aged man dressed in a dark blue suit with a light blue tie, gesturing, while speaking next to the Croatian flag

Croatia's president powers ahead in bid to be prime minister

The Constitutional Court has rejected Zoran Milanovic's plans to run for prime minister, but he's charging ahead anyway.
PoliticsMarch 30, 2024
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (right) look at each other as they pose for a family photo with other leaders after the Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit in Tirana, Albania, February 28, 2024

Arms for Ukraine: Can the Western Balkans help?

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy would like to produce arms with the countries of the Western Balkans. Is this feasible?
PoliticsMarch 28, 2024
A boy walks past a light installation during the Festival of Lights in Zagreb, Croatia.

Zagreb light festival celebrates arrival of spring

During the five-day event, installations and performances illuminate the streets of Croatia's capital.
OffbeatMarch 23, 202401:14 min
A group of demonstrators walks down a street in Zagreb; one is holding up a red placard hinting at similarities between Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovic (left) and Serbian President Aleksander Vucic (right), Zagreb, Croatia, February 17, 2024

Is Croatia's new whistleblower law a danger for journalism?

Despite protests, lawmakers have passed a controversial whistleblower law making the work of journalists more difficult.
Press FreedomMarch 18, 2024
People gather at an anti-government rally organised by the opposition that seeks immediate elections in Zagreb, Croatia, February 17, 2024.

Croatia: Opposition protesters call for early elections

Saturday's protests were prompted by the appointment of a new attorney general, accused of complicity in corruption.
PoliticsFebruary 17, 2024
Two rows of solar panels can be seen between a fence and two wind turbines. There are mountains in the background. Zadar, southern Croatia

Croatia: Citizens push hard to kick-start energy sharing

Even though the relevant legislation is in place, Croatia still has no citizen energy communities.
Nature and EnvironmentFebruary 5, 2024
People gather around a sea of candles outside Charles University, while others lay flowers, Prague, Czech Republic, December 22, 2023

A million weapons: Arms and the Czech Republic

Czech citizens have the constitutional right to bear arms. Will December's mass shooting change that?
PoliticsJanuary 18, 2024
A health care worker dressed in white consults a mobile phone, next to an older woman holding an ID card

Croatia's islands suffer doctor shortage

At times there's just one nurse on hand, and doctors must travel by ferry, leading to problems for residents.
SocietyOctober 13, 202305:49 min
DW Sendung Fokus Europa | Ukraine Kinder Krieg

Focus on Europe: Spotlight on people

For children in Ukrainian frontline towns, war has become a dangerous part of their everyday lives.
SocietyOctober 12, 202326:05 min
Pro-choice protesters in Zagreb, Croatia hold up a pink sign

Why Croatia’s abortion debate is heating up

Abortion is legal in Croatia. So why are women having to travel to Slovenia to get one?
Human RightsSeptember 27, 202329:59 min
A man behind a solar array

Croatia's solar energy gets a citizen-led boost

Croatians battle old socialist stereotypes and government red tape to bring solar energy to their country.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 21, 2023
Tourists tour historical sights in the old city center in Dubrovnik

In Croatia, tourism boom has environmentalists worried

The introduction of the euro and joining the Schengen area have boosted visitor numbers. But that has its downsides.
TravelSeptember 19, 2023
DW Podcast | Inside Europe | provisorisch f ROAD

Inside Europe - 17 August 2023

The UK's new asylum barge has a German back-story, windfall taxes and how they work, the Asian migrants staffing Croatia's tourism boom, and an iconic Georgian brand takes sales hit. Also: George Soros and his relationship with Europe, African migrants bring in the Spanish harvest, the French ditch lawnmowers in favour of sheep, and British micro-breweries call last orders.
PoliticsAugust 17, 202354:59 min
A man lays flowers in memory of 29-year-old Michalis Katsouris, who died from stab wounds sustained during an attack outside the AEK Athens stadium, Nea Filadelfeia, Athens, Greece, August 8, 2023

Greece seeks answers after soccer fan violence

How could known soccer hooligans have been allowed to travel unhindered from Zagreb to Athens? And who is to blame?
SoccerAugust 12, 2023
Police escort Croatian football fans to bus; some of the fans are wearing their shirts over their heads to avoid being identified by media

Greece: Croatian football fans in court over deadly stabbing

A Greek man was stabbed to death in clashes between Dinamo Zagreb and AEK Athens fans.
SportsAugust 9, 2023
A view of a flooded road near Zagreb, Croatia

Slovenia's battle against debris and mud

Severe weather has caused heavy flooding and significant damage in Slovenia, Croatia, and Austria.
CatastropheAugust 8, 20239 images
A view of a damaged building in a flooded area in Slovenia, following heavy rains

Storms and landslides claim lives in Slovenia, Austria

In addition to the damage in central Europe, the Baltics and Scandanavia are also being impacted by extreme weather.
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 7, 2023
A combine harvester in a wheat field

Can Ukrainian grain be shipped to the world via Croatia?

Ukraine and Croatia struck an agreement in early August to circumvent Russia's blockade in the Black Sea.
Food SecurityAugust 5, 2023
Assorted pastries arranged behind glass with labels indicating prices in euros and Croatian kuna

Croatia learns to love the euro

Croatia introduced the euro at the beginning of 2023. The skepticism that preceded the currency's adoption has faded.
PoliticsAugust 3, 2023
Wildfire in Rhodes

Wildfires tear through Mediterranean tourist hot spots

Wildfires continue to rage throughout the Mediterranean from the Canary Islands to North Africa and Turkey.
CatastropheJuly 26, 2023
Living Planet: Podcast Picture Teaser

The power of solar

Solar energy is about to get a push in sunny Croatia. Could solar help in tackling food waste by powering cold storage?
Nature and EnvironmentJuly 20, 202329:59 min
A close up of a two year coin showing the country of Croatia

Croatia's ghost villages

This week, why are some of Croatia's towns have been all but abandoned. Plus, the first Westerner to study in Gaza.
Human RightsJuly 5, 202329:59 min
Former Serbian spy chief Jovica Stanisic escorted by police officer to court in The Hague

UN judges expand war crime conviction of ex-Milosevic aides

Former spy chiefs Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic received 15 years in prison.
Law and JusticeMay 31, 2023
An aerial photo shows flooded houses in Cesena, Northern Italy on May 16, 2023.

Italy: Severe flooding causes devastation

More than 10 people have died and cities in northern Italy are still inundated after severe storms and landslides.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 18, 202310 images
Croatian writer Dubravka Ugresic presented her book 'The Ministry of Pain' in Barcelona in 2006

Croatian author Dubravka Ugresic dies in Amsterdam

The Croatian author and essayist left her country in 1993 as Yugoslavia fractured into open conflict.
LiteratureMarch 17, 2023
A mural depicting mercenaries of Russia's Wagner Group that reads 'Wagner Group – Russian knights' on a wall in Belgrade, Serbia, September 20, 2022

Serbian, Croatian volunteers fight on Ukraine's front line

Is Russia's mercenary force, the Wagner Group, recruiting volunteers in Serbia to fight for Russia in Ukraine?
ConflictsJanuary 31, 2023
A small Black child holds a sign against human trafficking

The murky world of foreign child adoption in Africa

Four Croatian couples face child trafficking charges in Zambia after their adoption papers were found to be fake.
SocietyJanuary 20, 2023
Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen point in the same direction during a walk in Zagreb

EU Commission head lauds Croatia on eurozone, Schengen entry

Ursula von der Leyen has spoken of a "day for the history books" as Croatia adopts the euro and joins the Schengen Area.
PoliticsJanuary 1, 2023
Shiny new euros and cents on a table

EU member Croatia joins the eurozone

2023 rings in change for Croatia, with the country becoming the latest to join the eurozone and the Schengen area.
PoliticsJanuary 1, 2023
Euro coins in a plastic bag can be seen in the Croatian National Bank

Croatia adopts euro and borderless EU travel

Croatia's tourism sector believes adopting the euro will be a blessing. Others think it is going to be a curse.
BusinessDecember 30, 202203:02 min
Fußball WM Katar | Kroatien v Marokko

Croatia beat Morocco in entertaining third-place clash

Luka Modric and his teammates add another honor to their runners-up finish in 2018, finishing third in Qatar.
SoccerDecember 17, 2022
Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez celebrate a goal for Argentina

Messi and Alvarez send Argentina to World Cup final

Lionel Messi can end doubts about the greatest ever if he wins on Sunday, while Luka Modric’s Croatia are out of luck.
SoccerDecember 13, 2022
Fans in the stands at the Argentina Netherlands game at the World Cup 2022

World Cup 2022: Argentina's 'barras bravas' bring the noise

As Argentina have penetrated deeper into the tournament, their support in Qatar has changed. The volume has increased.
SoccerDecember 11, 2022
Queues of cars at the border between Croatia and Slovenia

Schengen zone: Croatia gleeful, Bulgaria, Romania dismayed

The EU has agreed to Croatia joining the Schengen zone, but Bulgarian and Romanian bids are blocked.
PoliticsDecember 10, 2022