Background of the Croatian Flag - no they didn't get the idea from a picnic table .... hilarious.
There are the three equal horizontal bands of red, white, and blue - the Pan-Slav colors - that are superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms. The flag combines the colors of the flags of the Kingdom of Croatia (red and white), the Kingdom of Slavonia (white and blue) and the Kingdom of Dalmatia (red and blue). Those three kingdoms are the historic constituent states of the Croatian Kingdom. The combination of colors has been in use since 1848.
The coat of arms consists of one main shield (a checkerboard of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields) surmounted by five smaller shields that form a crown over the main shield; the five small shields represent five historic regions, they are (from left to right): Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia. This is the final evolution of the country's flag approved by the government on December 21, 1990. [RF 6] |
Milka Swiss Chocolate was named after a famous Croatian Opera Diva.
"Milka Trnina (or Ternina, 1863-1941); according to Giacomo Puccini, author of the famous opera Tosca, she was the best "Tosca" that he had opportunity to listen to (on the London première in 1900); only in Convent Garden in London Milka had 56 performances between 1895 and 1906. Also, she was the first Tosca in Great Britain and in the United States." One of the waterfalls in Croatia's Plitvica Lakes National Park was named after Trnina aswell. [RF 32]
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And a few more .... [RF 39]
- The first tie came from Croatia. "The cravat or tie has been a part of the Croatian national costume from ancient times. According to Croatian tradition, before a soldier set off for war, his girlfriend or wife would give him a narrow scarf to wear around his neck to remind him of her love. Its modern variety originated in the 1630’s, when Croatian mercenaries enlisted as a support to the reigning king Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu came to France. One particular detail of their military attire caught the Parisian attention. It was an unusual scarf knotted at their necks. The French readily accepted the new fashion and switched from ruffs to the new loose cravats under the shirt collar. The word cravat itself actually reveals its Croatian origin, since the French version cravate derives from the mispronunciation of the word Croat."
- Croatia is the homeland of Marco Polo. According to a local tradition, he was born on the island of Korčula in 1254 to a family of merchants. The surname is still found on the island.
- Dalmatian dogs originally came from Croatia. The breed takes its name from Croatia's region of Dalmatia, where it is supposed to have originated.
- "The White House was built of Croatian stone, from the island of Brač, as well as the New Palace (Vienna, Austria), the Parliament building (in Vienna, Austria), the Parliament Building (Budapest, Hungary) and the palace of Roman emperor Diocletian (Split, Croatia)."
- "Dubrovnik, an independent state at the time, was the very first nation to formally recognize the United States as a nation, when it declared independence from Great Britain."
- "The city of Zadar is home to the world's first Sea Organ that creates its music only by the action of the wind and waves."