1 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS

1. GEOGRAPHIC POSITION
EXTENT AND BORDERS
1. 1. BASIC TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE CROATIAN AREA IN EUROPE
1. 1. 1. Croatia – an Adriatic and Central European country

The regional diversity of the articulated western peninsula area of Eurasia forms the different situ-
ational features of the European countries, including Croatia. This is a consequence of the fact that the most
articulated part of the Eurasian continent is its western, European section.
According to their positions, certain European countries are situated within one or two larger European
regions, of which there are several. The basic division of Europe is drawn by fairly clear lines of demarcation
into Scandinavian (Northern), Atlantic (Western), Mediterranean (Southern) and Eastern Europe, al-
though other divisions are of course possible. Certain European countries belong wholly or partially to large,
naturally or culturally unique, European macro-complexes, determined by their positional definition. So the
Scandinavian (Northern European) countries can be clearly defined, as can the Atlantic (Western Europe-
an), Mediterranean (Southern European) and Eastern European countries, while it is also possible to sub-
divide them into smaller spatial units. The differentiated parts of larger geographical units, e.g. Atlantic and
Baltic Scandinavia, the North Atlantic and South Atlantic regions, the Western Mediterranean, Central Medi-
terranean, and particularly Eastern Mediterranean regions, define more precisely the locational features of
the countries which have emerged in these smaller European regional units. Some European countries belong
entirely to large or small, unified spatial regions (e.g. Norway belongs to Scandinavia, while Greece belongs
to the Mediterranean region). Others extend across several regions. Such ‘dual occupation’ is best seen in the
examples of France and Spain, which are both large Atlantic and Mediterranean countries.
Among the middle-sized European countries, Croatia is the most obvious example of a dual geographic
position. Like France and Spain, which are much larger, Croatia is an example of a country which, since
its emergence, has always been defined as connecting two completely different European spatial regions.
As with France and Spain, where the connection be-
Western Europe tween the Atlantic and the Mediterranean defines
Northern Europe their position, so it is with Croatia, where the link
Central Europe between the Central Mediterranean, Central Europe,
Norwegian Southern Europe
Sea
and the River Danube Basin determines its geo-
Southeast Europe
Eastern Europe
graphical position.
ATLANTIC Thus, Croatia is not entirely Pannonian, like Hun-
OCEAN gary. In comparison with Switzerland, for exam-
North
Sea ple, which is exclusively Alpine, or Norway, which
belongs to Atlantic Scandinavia, or Sweden and
Finland which are Baltic -Scandinavian countries,
Ca

Croatia belongs not only to Central Europe (includ-

sp
ian

Black Sea ing Pannonia and the Danube Basin) but also to the
Se

Mediterranean. The importance of the adjoining Al-

a

pine region in the northwest and the Balkans in the

0 600 1200 km
southeast should also be emphasised. So processes
Mediterranean Sea of permeation and complementarity have always
been significant features of Croatia’s spatial location.
Position of Croatia within Europe
They are encouraged even more by the diversity of

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 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS 1

the relief and hydrographic and climate characteristics within the

Pannonian plain
borders of the country. Croatia ranges over three basic natural ar-
eas: lowland or Pannonian, littoral or Adriatic, and mountainous or
Dinaric. The country has always been a place in which these areas
intertwine, interconnect and complement each other, and this is re-

Di
flected essentially in its social and economic development and geo- ar

n
ic
strategic significance. Al
ps
The only other country which may lay claim to a similar geo-
graphic position between the smaller and medium-sized countries
of Europe is neighbouring Slovenia, but the similarities are only su-
perficial. In comparing the significance of the dual positions of Croa-
European
tia and Slovenia, important differences can be highlighted which are Mediterranean
crucial for both nations. Slovenia only gained a strategic, economical-
ly important exit to the Adriatic (i.e. the Mediterranean) as a federal
state within Yugoslavia after the Second World War. Her coastal ter-
ritory consisted of a narrow tract between the urbanised Italian area Position of Croatia at the meeting-
of Trieste and Croatian Istria. The predominance of the Italian popu- point of the Mediterranean, Pannonian
Plain and Dinaric Alps
lation in this narrow tract, which was only replaced by a Slovenian
majority after 1953 (although there had been prominent Croatian
and Slovenian minorities previously), was important in defining the Slovenian Mediterranean presence.
The present population, which fosters a maritime tradition established only recently in the narrow Slove-
nian coastal tract, are mostly immigrants from Slovenia’s continental, Central European-Alpine region. In
historical terms, the process is relatively new. On the other hand, since its emergence in the Early Middle
Ages, Croatia has had an undeniable connection with most of the Eastern Adriatic, Mediterranean coastland
area. For over thirteen hundred years, this extensive, geographically unique, Northeast Adriatic front
has been the home of the Croats, the bearers of a crucial, Mediterranean, cultural maritime tradition. In
contrast to Slovenia, this is no recent development, but a process which has been going on for centuries.
The geographic position of Croatia, in relation to the immediately neighbouring, traditional, southeast
European Balkan area, is less important than its Mediterranean, or Central European position. There are

POLAND
GERMANY CZECH REPUBLIC

av
Dun UKRAINE
SLOVAKIA

AUSTRIA Dunav MOLDAVIA

HUNGARY

Sava Dra
SLOVENIA v a
ITALY ROMANIA
Kupa CROATIA
Sava

BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA SERBIA
Dunav

MONTENEGRO BULGARIA
KOSOVO

Croatia is a country in the Danube Basin

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 1 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS

many traces of different historical-geographic heritages and influences, often imposed invasively or aggres-
sively, which have affected Croatia’s size and strategic interests. Croatia’s vital connections with Europe and
the wider world have always been based on the prevailing Central European/Mediterranean economic and
cultural interchanges. Even today, the opinion is often expressed that Croatia should be considered part of
Southeast Europe, i.e. the Balkans, but this is firmly resisted by all who are aware of the position and role
which Croatia has held in the past, and still holds today.
So how should the geographical position of Croatia be defined? Since the Adriatic is the part of the
Mediterranean Sea which reaches farthest into the continent of Europe, while the central and Pannonian
Danube Basin is obviously the southernmost part of Central Europe, the briefest way to describe Croatia in
geographic terms is as an Adriatic and Central European country.
Although the Croatian Adriatic (littoral) area is the smallest component of the country, occupying only
a third of the total land surface area, it has a unique value. The maritime position of any state is a crucial
factor. Countries which have no sea borders are often hampered in geopolitical and economic terms, while
those with coastlines enjoy important advantages. The majority of world trade has always taken place via
traffic on the seas and oceans, as the best, cheapest and most freely available option. The importance of
global maritime commerce reached gigantic proportions in the twentieth century, and it is continuing to
grow. Today, four-fifths of world commerce is maritime, a proportion which continues to increase steadily.
The enormous technical advantages of ships as a form of transport mean that sending cargo by sea is
about eight times cheaper than overland, in the context of world trade. This means that it is possible to
trade overseas with a country 8,000 kilometres away for the same (or lower) price as with a country 1,000
kilometres distant by land. For some goods, for example coal, ores, or timber, transport by sea actually costs
less than one-eighth of the cost overland.
The importance of the seaboard is not only restricted to the effects and advantages of cargo transport.
The entire economic and cultural development of a country with a seaboard and its significance are gener-
ally different, usually more advantageous, when compared to countries without access to the sea, or with
limited access and no maritime tradition. In the regional differentiation of Croatia, this area is known as
Adriatic Croatia, the Croatian littoral, Croatian (Adriatic) coast, Croatian Adriatic area, etc.
The Croatian Pannonian area in the central Danube Basin, as the clearly demarcated, southwestern seg-
ment of Central Europe, is also small in terms of territory, but is uniquely important in terms of position.
However, it occupies about two-thirds of the Croatian mainland and is more densely inhabited than the
littoral. Its traffic routes are of vital importance, linking Central Europe and the Mediterranean directly
through Croatia.
In fact, much of the Sava, less of the Drava, and some of the immediate Danube Basins (i.e. the whole
of Continental Croatia, and the central Danube Basin) can be linked with the Adriatic through the unique,
ideally placed, rather narrow Dinaric area known as the Croatian (Mountain) Threshold. This is an easily
navigated pass through the mountains, which has shaped the destiny of Croatia and neighbouring countries
since before the Croatian state originated, determining the course of historic-geographic events, develop-
mental continuation, and the geostrategic basis for survival and development.

1.1.2. Meeting-point of two cultural worlds

The position of Croatia as an Adriatic/Central European country has formed the stage for the crucial
encounter of two cultural worlds, or rather three important European cultures and civilisational areas: 1)
Western European/Mediterranean, 2) Central European and 3) Southeast European. Other European
cultural spheres, such as the Eastern European and Northern European (Nordic) ones, have only been of
fleeting importance, or exercised sporadic influences on Croatia.
The first two cultural spheres belong to the European West, in the broadest sense, i.e. to the Roman
Catholic world, while the third is part of the separate, diverse, cultural and civilisational complex of the
European Southeast, in which Orthodoxy and Islam are dominant. Croatia is positioned on the border be-

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 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS 1

tween these two worlds, a fact which can be traced in its development, and has determined its geopolitical
position in Europe.

1.1.2.1. The West of Europe (Roman Catholic)

Western European-Mediterranean cultural area
The Western European-Mediterranean cultural area was formed in classical times, when the Roman
Empire was flourishing, with its heart in what is present-day Italy. The Roman base of its cultural core
gained new content with the development of Catholicism, i.e. Western Christianity, alongside the leading
economic and cultural importance of the Italian area.
The vicinity of the Apennine Peninsula, which was the most important hub of the entire Western Euro-
pean, Catholic world until the later Middle Ages, and the fact that Croatia had direct contact with it across
the Adriatic, were of vital significance. The Croatian area had been permeated since prehistoric times by the
cultural and civilisational effects of Romanised Southern European and other Western European peoples, and
had itself made a considerable contribution to the general development of the West.
The economic and cultural values of the leading Roman urban centres had a direct effect on the develop-
ment of Dalmatian Croatian coastal towns, which were the main mediators between the heart of Western
European-Mediterranean culture based in Italy, the immediate hinterland (the Danube Basin), and places
further afield.
Although the Italic culture began to weaken somewhat in significance after the transitional Renaissance pe-
riod took root, Croatia’s direct links with the wider Western European cultural milieu continued. This was still
evident in the connection from Atlantic Western Europe, via the Apennine Peninsula and Adriatic Sea, to Croatia.
It was later supported by the rapid development and strong influence of Western European countries in the
second half of the 20th century, including neighbouring Italy, more distant France and the United Kingdom, which
were among the most economically developed countries of the world.

Central European cultural area

In prehistoric times and the Roman era, the Central European cul-
tural area developed particular characteristics, again influenced by HUN
GAR
the development of Western Christianity, but in a mixed region ') IAN
ten EX
A Os O F C E N T R IT
populated by Germanic, Slavic and Hungarian peoples. In the P ch IT A L EUR
SPIR OPE

TO
'Dr URO
na

TH
circumstances of the time, the greatest influence on Croatia
ang
man LE

Catholicism

ES
(Ger MITTE

EA
was exerted by the Alpine, peri-Alpine and Pannonian ar- ism J
eas, and parts of the Western and central Danube Basin, PA NN
t

ud
tan

PS ON
ais
tes

covering the region from the Rhine area in the west, the
AL
Pro

I AN
BA S I

Baltic coast in the north, the Carpathians and Pannon-

Catholic

ian plain in the east, and the Adriatic in the south.

C HO ach Westen')
M EDI

The medieval German Holy Roman Empire greatly

LPS

R
MED

Isla
TER

LY W A

influenced the formation of a special cultural arena, in

CA

RA I
is

NEA AR
E

DIN
ITE

ENC
m

which the dominant actors were the economically and N

ISL 'Drang
RR
(T he

LU

culturally developed German towns and cities, which xy

AMI
AN

AN odo I
NF

Orth
an
Adr

AN
E

AF
to m

provided the models for similar centres built by the Cro- K

iat

F ILIA BA L
MA

sa
ic

(O t

n TION
RE
a

ats, Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians. The geopolitical units S T It a li m ') E

NO

RO an
sea b e n srau STAT
of the Hungaro-Croatian Kingdom, Poland, Prussia and Lithu- ) e
(n e w 'L R BIA N
R SE
ania were also responsible, at different times, for maintaining GREATE
and strengthening the civilisational foundations of
Geographic surroundings of Croatia Cultural-religious influences Geostrategic tensions
Western Europe, and for transmitting the influences
of the German, Slavic, Hungarian and Baltic peoples.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Protestant The Croatian area is permeated by the influences of
Reformation in what was previously unified Catho- various historical-geographical factors

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 1 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS

lic Central Europe, then the Counter-Reformation, which resulted in its shrinking, highlighted further the
specific nature of the southernmost central European cultural area, where it adjoined Croatia along the
southern Alpine/Pannonian zone. At this time, Judaism also exerted a certain influence, as small groups of
Jews settled in certain Croatian towns, contributing to their prosperity. Later geostrategic and economic
relations with rapidly developing, increasingly important Germany and its role in Europe were maintained
in Croatia through economic, transport, and various cultural links and influences.

1.1.2.2. The Southeast of Europe (Orthodox and Islam)

Southeast European cultural area

The Southeast European cultural area is the least demarcated spatially, the most complex regionally, and
the most subject to change in historic-geographic terms.
The oldest concept of the Southeast European cultural area was decided by the encounter between the
Roman West and the Greco-Roman East. The ancient administrative and political borderline between
the two, close to the line connecting Singidunum (a prehistoric settlement at the confluence of the Sava and
Danube) and Lake Skadar, a little later on the River Drina, was set in the fourth century, as an expression
of contemporary geostrategic efforts to determine the classical, cultural border between the Roman and
Greco-Roman (Hellenic) political worlds.
The peripheral influences of both were felt less in the Dinaric mountain range zone than in the more
accessible, broad depressions southeast of the Drina Basin. That is why this peripheral zone, where Rom-
anism and Hellenism met, became most pervasively imbued by the ancient, prehistoric Illyrian tradition.
The Byzantine Empire and its ecclesiastical structure did not succeed in permanently breaching the
old line of demarcation on the Drina. So it is understandable that Western European-Mediterranean Catho-
lic culture spread slowly and did not take root well in the inaccessible, border zone (Doclea, Rascia, etc.).
The revival of the old, indigenous Illyrian tradition in the Dinaric mountainous interior reached its full-
est expression in the Middle Ages, with the dissemination of the Patarene-Bogomil Heresy among the
Southern Slav and Early Croatian populations. The weakened structure of the indigenous church, which
had been greatly infiltrated by heretical influences, was an extremely prominent factor in this part of the
early Croatian, Bosnian and Herzegovinian territory.
The connection and intermingling of two Catholic cultural areas, the Mediterranean and the Central Eu-
ropean, finally prevailed over the traditional, indigenous Dinaric culture affected by the Patarene-Bogomil
heresy. Thus, the ancient, classical border on the Drina separating it from south-eastern, Serbian-Byzantine
Orthodoxy, was maintained during the developing Middle Ages, right up to the Ottoman era.
What had not happened in the Byzantine period was accomplished under the Ottoman (Turkish) Em-
pire, by pushing the ancient cultural and civilisational border further north and northwest, to the detri-
ment of the Catholic cultural area, i.e. the Croatian and Bosnian state territories. The new influence of an
Islamic-oriental civilisation and culture, under the auspices of the greatest world power of the time, was
accompanied by the spread of Byzantine-Orthodox influences, mostly through migrations of Eastern Wal-
lachs (Vlachs) assimilated by Serbs, members of the ecclesiastical, privileged Patriarchate of Peć.
Islamic oriental, and loyal, privileged Serbian Byzantine-Orthodox influences, began to form a grow-
ing dividing zone, right in Croatian state territory, between the Western European-Mediterranean and
Central European cultural areas. In geopolitical terms, it was reduced to a territory referred to as reliquiae
reliquiarum (“remains of the remains”) in what was usually named the Antemurale Christianitatis (bulwark
of Christianity).
As the Ottoman Empire began to lag behind economically and culturally from the 17th century onwards,
the notion of ‘Balkanisation’ began to be formed, i.e. the identification of the Balkans, referring to the orien-
tal Islamic region, with its close associate, the Serbian Byzantine Orthodox cultural world.
When some of the Croatian territories conquered by the Ottomans were handed back, some of the Serbs
who had been subject to Ottoman rule came under the administration of the Hungaro-Croatian Kingdom,

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 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS 1

i.e. the Habsburg Monarchy on one side, or the Venetian Republic on the other. Their ecclesiastical and cul-
tural autonomy, granted by the Ottomans, was confirmed by their new rulers.
Apart from indigenous Croats and those who had migrated there, and the non-Croatian, immigrant pop-
ulation (particularly the Wallachs), Serbs were also involved in the amalgamated Mediterranean/Central
European cultural area in Croatia. However, due to their ecclesiastical and cultural links with the Balkan
Ottoman (and later Serbian state) territory, the integration of the Orthodox imigrants (members of the Peć
Patriarchate, and varied ethnogenesis, later classed together as ethnic Serbs), was slow in the new Croatian
homeland, in comparison with the majority of other newcomers, whether Croats or others.
In more recent times, particularly following the escalation of “Greater” Serbian ambitions and the
independence of Croatia, including the reinforcement of its borders in the late twentieth century, the influ-
ence of this cultural area on Croatia has been redefined. Neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina became the
crisis area for the actual definition of the border, or meeting-point, between the European West and East.

1.1.3. Crucial significance of the Croatian Threshold

The geographic notion of a threshold defines it as the most suitable crossing-point in the relief between
two geographic entities separated by height. It was first used in France, the largest Western European coun-
try linking the Atlantic and Central European regions. The Aquitaine and Burgundy thresholds in France
are classic examples of very important, crucial links between the Atlantic and Central European areas and
the Mediterranean.
A completely different example is the natural difficulty of crossing north-south over the Alps barrier
via a few low passes on the most important river watersheds of Switzerland, Austria, Italy and France.
Presenting a huge challenge to the economically and culturally most developed countries of the Atlantic-
Central European region, they have been overcome by the successful construction of various transport
routes throughout history, culminating today in modern motorways, fast dual-track electrified rails, and oil
and gas pipelines.
In Croatia, there is a perfect example of a threshold. Although relatively recent, the modern motorway
links using tunnels (Sveti Rok, Mala Kapela, etc.) have greatly enhanced its importance. Up to the early 21st
century, many passes through the Dinaric Alps were used to connect the Danube Basin with the Adriatic,
categorised in two basic groups:
1) Those belonging to the greatest relief narrowing between the last, southern spurs of the eastern
Alps and the Dinaric mountain area
2) Those belonging to the wider Dinaric highland area in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The first group of passes; Vratnik, 694 m, Oštarijska vrata (Oštarije Pass) 928 m, Delnička Vrata (Delnice
pass) 742 m, Mali Alan 1044 m, Kapela 887 m, Prezid 766 m, etc., are linked to the watershed of the upper
Kupa (Pokuplje) and upper Una Basins (Pounje), and the northern Adriatic karst watercourses. This is a
unique zone, belonging to the extremely prominent relief narrowing between the spurs of the eastern Alps
in the northwest, and the wide, triangular Dinaric mountain area in the southeast.
The passes of this unique relief narrowing have facilitated the most direct, shortest and easiest connec-
tions between the central Danube Basin and the North and Central Adriatic. At the same time, the water-
sheds of the upper Una and Krka have allowed the simplest connection between the central Danube Basin
and the northern Adriatic littoral.
In the 18th century, the first modern road links were built at the narrowest point between the central
Kupa Basin and the Kvarner coast. In the latter half of the 19th century, the first railway line was added
(Rijeka-Zagreb, 1873), and in the late 20th century, a modernised road, electrified railway and oil pipeline
heralded the process of improving traffic circulation. This was lagging far behind the greatly advanced, dif-
ferent kinds of connections existing between the Atlantic-Central Europe region and the Central Mediter-
ranean, including the most economically developed region of northern Italy. In those places, technical solu-
tions (tunnels, etc.) were found to overcome the natural obstacles posed by climate and relief, conditionally

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 1 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS

speaking, even where this could not have been imag-

ined up to the mid-twentieth century, while in Croatia,
such complex undertakings (for example, modern mo-
torways and the tunnels through Velebit and Kapela)
were only achieved at the turn of the 21st century. Road
traffic conditions are now vastly improved, though the
Gornje railway system is still in urgent need of modernisation.
Delnice Pass
Jelenje 742 The second group comprises the many mountain
882 Tuhobić passes at the watersheds of the Vrbas and karst wa-
tercourses of the Cetina, the Vrbas and Rama with the
2141 m
Kapela Neretva, the Bosna with the Neretva, and the Drina with
887 Mala Kapela Tunnel the southern Adriatic karst watercourses in Bosnia and
5780 m Herzegovina. They are higher and, more importantly,
Vratnik much less accessible than the first group, from either
694 the coast or the continent.
The unique, narrow area of Dinaric Mountain-
ous Croatia (Gorska Hrvatska), with the first group of
passes, can thus be identified as the Croatian Thresh-
old, i.e. a geographically homogeneous, highly impor-
tant, ideally placed link between the wider Central Eu-
ropean, international area of the central Danube Basin
Oštarije Pass
and the Adriatic Sea.
928
Sveti Rok In comparison with the two main Western-Central
Tunnel European thresholds to the Mediterranean, or with the
5727 m Alpine passes, the Croatian Threshold has been some-
Prezid what less valorised in traffic terms in the past, which
766 is still partially true today. This is the consequence of
economic and geopolitical circumstances in Croatia in
the twentieth century, when the vital traffic infrastruc-
ture which could have increased the importance of the
threshold was not built. So, for example, the best route
Passes and tunnels in the area of the Croatian Threshold through the Kupa and Čabranka valley, which would re-
quire digging a tunnel under Risnjak massif, has still not
been exploited. The central highland plateau (Gorski Kotar plateau), although relatively well used for trans-
port even before the modern motorway era, used to lag well behind the advanced, improved and efficient traf-
fic links via Italy between the Atlantic-Central European region and the Western and Central Adriatic.
The main motorway route, electrified railway and oil pipeline through the central Gorski Kotar plateau
all emphasise its importance in the wider area of the Croatian Threshold.
The old Modruš-Senj and Plitvice-Senj routes traversing the shortest distance from the central Kupa and
Una Basins to the Adriatic, via the Croatian Threshold, were roads with certain traffic limitations in the past,
but they have now been rebuilt and have improved the quality of road transport, along with the motorway
and its modern tunnels (Mala Kapela, Sveti Rok and others). The creation of a new motorway route, from
Bosiljevo via Lika to North Dalmatia, is particularly important, as it provides an ideal link (along with the Ri-
jeka motorway) between Continental Croatia and parts of Central Europe, and the Adriatic, complemented by
the shortest connection with central Italy (the Zadar – Ancona ferry).
A railway which is little used (due to the state border) crosses the lowest watershed of the Una/Krka be-
tween the central Danube Basin and the sea, and there is a good modern road. Other, higher passes, through
the Una and South Lika karst basin watershed with the Zrmanja, are served by poorly equipped, regional, non-
electrified railway lines, which can only cope with limited traffic – the old Lika line and the newer Una line.
However, the modern motorway, with tunnels at Mala Kapela and Sveti Rok, has a very useful exit for Zadar
and continues to Split and Dubrovnik, providing new traffic opportunities.

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 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS 1

During the region’s historic-geographic de- Zagreb

Vukova KARLOVAC
velopment, the significance and role of major
Severin Gorica
passes has changed. A strategic threshold was Delnice
Gornje Jelenje (742 m) Skrad na Kupi Duga Resa
used to cross the eastern Alpine spur of the (882 m) Bosiljevo
prehistoric Amber Road route. During ancient RIJEKA Ravna Gora
Vrbovsko
Generalski Stol
Roman times, the mountain passes providing
good connections between Adriatic ports and
Bakar Fužine Mrkopalj

towns on navigable rivers (the Sava and Kupa) Ogulin Tounj

and the Danube border area (limes) were high- Josipdol
ly valued. In the Middle Ages, the rising aspi-
rations of the Hungarians also focused on the Kapela
(887 m)
Croatian Threshold, in the hope of gaining an
exit to the sea, resulting in a thousand years Karolina (1726 - 1732)
Vratnik
Jozefina (1770 - 1779) SENJ (694 m)
of pressure accompanied by resistance from Lujzijana (1803 - 1811)
Brinje
Žuta Lokva
the Croats. The crucial resistance to Ottoman Railway line (1873)

advances, which lasted three hundred years in Present motorway

the geostrategically significant Military Border, Zadar, Split

was conducted in front of the vitally important Main roads across the Croatian Threshold
Croatian Threshold area.
The marked process of littoralisation, i.e. the growth of economic activities and the population on the
coast, has significantly increased the importance of Croatia’s connective area, in both the national and in-
ternational senses. The diverse, indented, picturesque Croatian Adriatic coastline, which forms part of the
Mediterranean, is particularly important. There is an urgent need to foster and reanimate the maritime
Croatian orientation, which at the moment is being almost completely neglected. The Sava route, which is
the most developed and best equipped for traffic, and leads via the Croatian Threshold to the sea, provides
the opportunity to combine river, road and sea transport. This increases its international importance, since
the centres of gravity in terms of traffic connections are the Adriatic Sea, the developed Alpine area and
northern Italy (Piedmont) and the central and lower Danube Basins.
In the context of littoralisation, the social and economic valorisation of the Mediterranean coastland, of
which the Adriatic segment is a prominent component, reaching deep into the continent, is restoring the pre-
historic Amber Road and the routes of antiquity. The naturally serviceable, socially developed zone between
the Adriatic and the Baltic/Scandinavian areas has increasing traffic circulation, which spontaneously extends
to central and southern Adriatic Croatia. The trans-European route running southwest-northeast, between the
Mediterranean and capacious north-eastern Europe, is progressively gaining importance in terms of connec-
tions and cooperation, while one of the most important junctions for trans-European connections is located
in northwest Croatia. The main arteries of national and European life connect at the doorway to Croatia, as is
evident in the importance and development of the Zagreb traffic hub.
The geographic-traffic and natural characteristics of Croatia are convenient for transport connections
and can be valorised advantageously. An area which has often been neglected and isolated from modern
transport connections in the past is now prospering and assuming a crucial importance in wider regional
development.
Modern developments require further improvements to inherited situations, whether routes dictated
by natural geographic features, or others which are the result of technological progress and the need for
functional development. Technology allows the valorisation of routes which are more functional and effi-
cient, in terms of overall development, regardless of natural features, as is the case with modern motorway
connections.

1.1.4. Main traffic routes and the Zagreb traffic hub

All the main connections from the central Danube Basin to the Adriatic via the Croatian Threshold pass
through the Zagreb traffic hub. Zagreb is the state capital, an urban metropolis, and an agglomeration with

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 1 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS

a million inhabitants, but is also a large traffic hub in the entire central Danube Basin, and the one closest to
the Mediterranean. The other large cities of the central Danube Basin (Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade) are
located more than twice the distance of Zagreb from the Mediterranean.
The best, shortest connections with the largest, best equipped ports on the northern Adriatic lead from
Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and Belgrade through Croatia and Slovenia. There are alternative routes, for
example from Belgrade and Budapest, using much poorer connections through the extensive Dinaric moun-
tain area, and leading mostly to the southern Adriatic.
So the importance of Zagreb on these trans-European routes linking the central Danube Basin and the
Mediterranean is justified. The Zagreb hub provides the simplest connections, and is the ideal starting-point
for the construction of roads both to the north and towards the central Adriatic, via the Croatian Threshold.
Its significance, and the significance of Croatia as a whole, was recognised at a conference held in Helsinki in
1997, when the basic traffic corridors (Corridor X, branches Vb and Vc) through Croatia were designated (and
restored), although the issue of the Adriatic-Ionian traffic corridor remained unresolved.
The position of Zagreb is determined by the junction of four transcontinental traffic zones, defined by
current and potential traffic connections.
1st traffic zone: western part of Central Europe – Alpine passes – Zagreb
In this traffic zone, the most important, well built and equipped roads and railways are on the Munich -
Zagreb route, passing through Higher Tauern and the Karavanks. Other important routes are Vienna - Zagreb,
along the edge of the eastern Alps, and Linz - Zagreb, the newest major road under construction through
Pyhrn Pass. The Munich - Zagreb and Vienna - Zagreb air corridors complete this important traffic zone.
2nd traffic zone: Budapest – Zagreb – Rijeka – Pula/Trieste
This zone includes a series of connections in the ethnically heterogeneous eastern part of Central Europe,
using the shortest, easiest route (in terms of the relief) from the Danube Basin via Zagreb to the Croatian
Threshold and the Adriatic. The most important traffic connections in this zone are the direct link between
the Budapest and Zagreb hubs and the Adriatic, which in contemporary traffic terminology belongs to Euro-
pean alternative road corridor Vc. It consists mostly of modern railway and road routes and the first part of an
oil pipeline constructed via the Croatian Threshold from the Hungarian border, as well as transit gas pipelines.
The Budapest – Zagreb air corridor defines the shortest, straightest route in the zone. It should be emphasised
that along the route from the Hungarian border through Zagreb and Rijeka to Pula, intense economic and
demographic concentration, or polarisation has occurred, so that the western section is the most developed,
dynamic part of Croatia. This forms the Croatian axis of development, i.e. transversals which are increasingly
taking on the form of unbroken, developed areas.
3rd traffic zone: Atlantic Western Europe – Central and Eastern Mediterranean
This zone includes important land, sea and air connections between Atlantic Western Europe and
the Western Mediterranean on the one hand, and the Central and Eastern Mediterranean on the other. It

AUSTRIA 0 50 100 km AUSTRIA sea ports 0 50 100 km

HUNGARY HUNGARY airports HUNGARY

SLOVENIA AV 1
DR

A SLOVENIA river ports Zagreb

SERBIA

SERBIA

R
SERBIA

Zagreb O UTE Zagreb SLOVENIA

SAV Osijek
Karlovac
A RO
UT E Osijek Karlovac Vukovar
Rijeka Rijeka 2 Rijeka
AD

Bihać Pula
RI

BOSNIA Bihać
AT

Pula Pula BOSNIA

IC

AND HERZEGOVINA BOSNIA

-IO

Zadar AND HERZEGOVINA Zadar AND HERZEGOVINA

NI

Zadar Sarajevo
AN

Sarajevo
RO

Šibenik Šibenik Split

UT

Mostar Ancona
E

MONTENEGRO
MONTENEGRO

Ancona
MONTENEGRO

Ancona Split Split Mostar

Ploče
Ploče Ploče
ITALY
ITALY ITALY Dubrovnik Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik 0 50 100 km Pescara
Pescara Pescara

Longitudinal (a) and transverse (b) connection routes with the most important maritime ports, airports and river ports
(c): 1. European traffic corridor Vb, 2) European traffic corridor Vc

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 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS 1

has two branches. The first passes through Italy Brdovec

Jablanovec

and the Strait of Otranto, bypassing Croatia. The Bregana Zaprešić

second passes through Croatia and links the SESVETE
Strmec ZAGREB
Samobor Dugo Selo
Adriatic and Ionian coastlines directly. Via the Bestovje
Novaki

Croatian Threshold and Zagreb, all four zones Rude

Ivanja Reka
Sv. Nedelja Rakitje Sava
Velika
Mala Kerestinec Lučko Kosnica
are linked. This zone is potentially significant Gorica
Mičevec
G. Stupnik
for Adriatic-Ionian traffic connections from Tri- Rakov Potok Hrvatski
Leskovac
Buzin
Odra
Velika Mlaka
Hrašće Turop.
este to Rijeka (with the link to Zagreb), Zadar Odranski
Donja
Lomnica
Klinča Sela Obrež Gradići VELIKA
(linked to Zagreb via Lika), Split, Dubrovnik and Kupinečki
Lukavec
GORICA
further southeast. By 2014, most of the Croa- Kraljevec

Mraclin
Kuče

tian section of the motorway route had been Kupinec

Od
completed (two sections are still not finished;

ra
Buševec
Crna mlaka
Rijeka - Žuta Lokva and Ploče - Dubrovnik). The Lekenik

gas supply network along the coast is gradually Zagreb – the most important traffic hub in Croatia
taking shape, but modern railway connections
are still only on the drawing-board.
4th traffic zone: Sava Valley – Balkans – Near East
This links Southeast Europe and the Balkans, via Zagreb, with the previous two transcontinental zones, in the
simplest, easiest and best way, using well built traffic infrastructure. However, in the opposite direction, it forms
an important part of the transcontinental traffic zone from Western and Central Europe to the Balkans and Near
East. In contemporary traffic terminology it is known as European Corridor X (Munich – Salzburg – Ljubljana –
Zagreb, then on to Slavonski Brod – Belgrade – Sofia – Thessaloniki and Istanbul).
The key Croatian section of this traffic zone passes through the Sava valley plain, which means it is
ideal terrain for building simple, almost perfectly straight railway lines, roads, canals and pipelines under
the important Zagreb – Belgrade air corridor. The quality of this route and its equipment far surpass the
Budapest – Belgrade section, except in terms of river traffic, of course.
As the motorway, dual-track electrified railway and pipeline continue to be improved, along with the
modest, navigable section of the River Sava, this is not only the shortest, but the best link between Western
Europe and the Near East.
As well as the main Sava route, the complementary road/rail Drava route should also be mentioned,
along with the road link through the Požega Basin and the modern motorway link to Osijek and Pécs.
This traffic zone (Sava – Balkans – Near East), linking the Western Atlantic and Western Mediterranean
Europe with the central Danube Basin and Southeast Europe/the Balkans, is defined by the enormous im-
portance of the Croatian Threshold, directly linked to the Zagreb hub.
5th traffic zone: Pannonia – Dinaric Alps – South Adriatic
In line with European definitions of alternative connecting routes, this traffic zone is known as Vc and
connects basic Corridor V (Barcelona – Milan – Budapest – Kiev) with the Adriatic, starting in Budapest, via
Pécs, Osijek, Sarajevo and Mostar to Ploče, i.e. through Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1.2. BORDERS AND SHAPE OF THE STATE TERRITORY

The shape of the modern Croatian state territory is defined by the exceptional length of its borders,
which enclose a land surface area of 56,594 km² and a coastal sea surface area of 31,076 km², making
a total of 87,661 km². Historic-geographical developmental circumstances have determined the current
shape of the territory of the Republic of Croatia. It has changed from comprising almost the entire area
between the Adriatic and the Drava in the time of the Croatian Kingdom (10th to 11th century), shrinking
under the Ottoman invasions (16th and 17th centuries), to becoming what it is today, as the result of complex
geopolitical events in this part of Europe from the 17th to the 20th century. One consequence of the Otto-
man invasions is the modern shape of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which obviously affects the size and unu-

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 1 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS

Sv. Martin na Muri lat. 46º 33’ N

long. 16º 22’ E
HU
NG
IA 355 A R Y
V E Nkm 14. km
O 8 % 9%
S L 66 8.1
2
SERBIA
464 km 318 km
Savudrija
lat. 45º 29’ N 269 13.48%
long. 13º 30’ E
km
Ilok
lat. 45º 12’ N

458 km
long. 19º 27’ E
52

Co
a 7 BOSNIA

as
km

t
se AND HERZEGOVINA

Ep

l
a 1011 km

ico
42.6%

bo
nt

rd
in e

er
nt
al
Oštra peninsula and Cape Oštra, in the border area

490
zon
with Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor) in Montenegro

e b

km
ord
sual shape of contemporary Croatia (a crescent,

er
or swallow). Among the 45 countries of Europe,
Croatia is 25th in size and 28th in terms of popu- MONTENEGRO
lation (2011), which places it among the middle-
23 km
sized countries. In comparison with the countries Galijula Island
Cape Oštra
lat. 42º 24’ N
1%
ITALY lat. 42º 23’ N
of the world, Croatia is a small country. long. 16º 21’ E
long. 18º 32’ E

The total length of the Croatian border is 3,323 Size and extent of the Republic of Croatia
km; 2,375 km on land (including rivers) and 948 km
at sea. The length of the land border with Serbia (318 km or 13.4%), Hungary (355 km or 14.9%), and Slovenia
(668 km or 28.1%) amounts to 1,341 km. Along the Sava border demarcation from the mouth of the Una, the
length of the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina is half as long, while Croatia has the longest border with that
country (1,011 km or 42.6%). The shortest border, which is only 23 km long (1.0%), is with Montenegro. If the
territory of Croatia were to be placed in a perfect circle, it would have a diameter of 268.5 km and a radius of
134.3 km, while the circumference would be 843.2 km. So it is obvious that the actual border is almost two and
half times longer than that. In the narrow part of the geo-
Table 1 Basic spatial information on the size and strategically very sensitive Croatian territory between
extent of the Republic of Croatia the border with Slovenia in the northwest and the border
Total surface area 87.661 km 2 with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the southeast, the short-
est distance as the crow flies is only 47 km. In the nar-
Total land surface area* 56.594 km2
rowest part of Croatia, particular in Dubrovnik-Neretva
Surface area of territorial and inner sea 31.067 km2 County, the state territory between the coastline and the
Length of coastline 6278,4 km border with Bosnia and Herzegovina is very restricted
Length of mainland coastline 1880,0 km and is interrupted at Neum, where the state of Bosnia
Length of island coastline 4398,4 km and Herzegovina has a narrow exit to the sea.
Total economic maritime area 113.680 km2 The border with Slovenia is defined more or less ac-
cording to the ethnicity of the inhabitants on both sides,
Length of land borders 2375 km
and most of it was fixed in the Middle Ages or 16th cen-
- with Slovenia 668 km tury. More recent demarcations took place in Međimurje
- with Bosnia and Herzegovina 1011 km (1920) and on the coast, along the course of the River
- with Hungary 355 km Dragonja (in 1953, after the division of the Trieste Free
- with Serbia 318 km Zone, and in 1956). The border question remains unre-
solved around the mouth of the Dragonja and Savudrija
- with Montenegro 23 km
Bay, and in Međimurje (the meanders of the River Mura).
Length of maritime border 948 km In 1991, Slovenia took control of Croatian territory on
Source: Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Annals of the Sveta Gera. The border with Hungary on the River Drava
Republic of Croatia, 2012. Duljina obale otoka (Length of the island
coastline) Duplančić Leder et al, 2004 is extremely old, while on the River Mura it was only set
*According to HTRS96, the land surface area is 56,578 km². in 1920, after being moved several times, when the south

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 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS 1

Table 2 Farthest points of the Republic of Croatia

Direction Village Town County North φ East λ
North Žabnik Sv. Martin na Muri Međimurje 46°33’ 16°22’
South Island of Galijula (Palagruža) Komiža Split-Dalmatia 42°23’ 16°21’
East Ilok (Rađevac) Ilok Vukovar-Srijem 45°12’ 19°27’
West Bašanija (Cape Lako) Umag Istria 45°29’ 13°30’
Source: Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Annals, 2012

part of Baranya (Baranja) also was joined to the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Since 1945, the border has
been defined by the annexation of this part of Croatia. The southern section of the border on the Danube, once
with Hungary, but today with Serbia (Vojvodina), was established after the withdrawal of the Ottomans. The
northern, Baranya section was set in 1945, as was the southern section which divides Syrmia (Srijem). In 1739,
Syrmia belonged to Croatia as part of Vukovar County and part of the Petrovaradin Regiment within the Military
Border, but between 1929 and 1945, it was redefined several times. Today, Western Syrmia is in Croatia, Central
Syrmia is in Vojvodina, and Eastern Syrmia is in Serbia (the wider area of Belgrade/Zemun). There are several
contested points along the Danube section of the border (many Baranya river islands and those near Šarengrad
and Vukovar). The border with Bosnia and Herzegovina underwent many changes during the Middle Ages and
the period of Ottoman rule, and was mostly defined by treaties after the withdrawal of the Ottoman powers in
the late 17th and 18th centuries, particularly between 1739 and 1791 (the Belgrade Peace Treaty, the Svishtov
Peace Treaty). The Republic of Dubrovnik avoided having any direct land border with the Republic of Venice, so
it was arranged for the corridors around Neum and Sutorina to be the part of the Ottoman Empire, and later of
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sutorina was given to Montenegro in 1945, but before that, from 1929, it was annexed
to Zeta Banovina). There are several points of contention regarding border demarcation in the Neum area, on
land and at sea. The demarcation with Montenegro is more recent (1945), when the Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotor-
ska) and Sutorina corridor were assigned to Montenegro after the cessation of the Zeta Banovina and wartime
Montenegro. The sea border was disputed after Serbian and Montenegrin military attacks against Croatia in
1991, when the most southern part of Croatia, with Cape Oštra, was occupied by the former Yugoslav National
Army, and from 1992 to 2002, when it was under the supervision of UN forces.
Petišovci
Between the border rim formed in the east by the Danube, i.e. Ormož
Mursko Središče
Letenye
Otok Virje
the most easterly point of the border of divided Syrmia (1945), Gruškovje
Goričan
Berzence
0 50 100 km
Macelj
and the most westerly point of the land border at the mouth of Dubovac Gola
Lupinjak Udvar
the Dragonja, lies the northern part of Croatia, stretching west- Obrežje Barcs Dravaszabolcs Duboševica
Terezino Polje Donji Miholjac Bezdan
Bregana ZAGREB
east for 464 km as the crow flies. Metlika
Batina
Jurovski Brod Bogojevo
Jelšane
The other section of Croatian ter- Plovanija
Sečovlje Dragonja Starod Rupa Petrina
Kaštel Pasjak Brod na Kupi
Erdut
Vukovar Bačka
ritory, which lies northwest-southeast Umag Rijeka Bos. Kostajnica Palanka
Hrv. Kostajnica Bos. Šamac Ilok
from the mouth of the Dragonja to Cape Poreč Slav. Šamac Šid
Tovarnik
Rovinj Senj Bos. Dubica Bos. Gradiška Bos. Brod
Velika Kladuša Hrv. Dubica
Oštra at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor, Maljevac Slav. Gradiška Slav. Brod Novi Grad
Matijevići Orašje Batrovci
Županja Bajakovo
Izačić
is even longer. A straight line drawn between Pula
Raša
Ličko Petrovo Selo
Ripač
those two locations would measure 527 km. Užljebić Road crossings
Sea and river port crossings
A straight, generalised line from one end of the Mali Lošinj
Maslenica Bosansko Airport entry/exit points
Grahovo
coastline to the other measures 700 km. The ac- Božava
Strmica
Zadar
tual length of the land border on the Adriatic coast is Trnova Poljana
Border
Bili Brig
of course much greater, due to indentation. It is 1,880 Šibenik
Rašeljke
Kamensko crossings of
km long on the mainland, while the islands have 4,398.4 km of Split
Gorica the Republic
Primošten D. Vinjani
coastline, making 6,278.4 km in all. Crveni Grm of Croatia
Prolog
The borders of Croatia, like those of other countries throughout the Komiža Gabela
Metković
Ploče
world, have been only partially defined by the obvious features of the re- Neum 2
Korčula Neum 1 Zaton Doli
lief, such as watersheds or rivers, although that seem to be the case when Klek Orahov Do
Gornji Brgat
viewed on small scale maps (the Sutla, Drava, Sava, Danube, Una, and Žumberak, Dubrovnik Karasovići
Debeli Brijeg

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 1 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS

Snježnik, Ćićarija, Dinara, etc.). Exact border de-

Demarcation line of
epicontinental zone marcations are determined by bilateral state
Outer limit of territorial waters agreements. The borders of Croatia are relatively
Outer limit of inner waters stable and secure, internationally acknowledged
Adriatic/Black Sea watershed and mostly established or covered by different
agreements, contracts and treaties etc. However,
there are certain outstanding issues regarding ex-
act border demarcations in certain locations, due
to the demands of neighbouring countries, par-
ticularly Slovenia (Savudrija Bay/the Piran Gulf),
Serbia (the Danube border), Montenegro (the sea
border) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Neum
demarcation).
At sea, the Republic of Croatia extends over a
surface area contingent with the shore, and the
sea border is 948 km long. This area is divided
into the appropriate Adriatic marine zones:
1. Inner waters or inner sea, i.e. the section
Maritime area of of the sea which is bordered by a line enclosing
the Republic of the most prominent seaward capes and points
Croatia
of the open mainland coastline where there are
no islands, and the outer points of the islands.
This is also the line used to define the width of territorial waters, which every country defines according to
its own laws.
2. Territorial waters, i.e. an area of the sea 12 nautical miles wide (about 22.2 km), starting at the
borderline between the inner waters and the open sea. It is important to emphasise that most countries,
including Croatia’s Adriatic neighbours, define the width of their territorial waters.
The united surface area of inner waters and territorial waters, amounting to 31,067 km², is also referred
to as the coastal sea, and forms an integral part of Croatian territory with the mainland. Croatian laws and
regulations must be respected every time the border is crossed at sea, whether at surface level, under wa-
ter, or in the air above the coastal sea.
As in most countries throughout the world, the sovereignty of Croatia is not completely restricted to
the outer borderline of its territorial, i.e. coastal waters. Beyond that borderline lie the high seas (mare
liberum), in which international maritime laws apply, al-
though the legal supervision of the seas and the use of
Republic of Croatia Ecological natural maritime and underwater resources fall within the
and Fisheries Protection Zone competence of the state, regarding the extended maritime
area known as the epicontinental zone, or shelf, which is up
CROATIA to 200 m deep, pursuant to the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea (1982). This kind of aquatic region
is often referred to as an exclusive (pertaining) maritime
economic zone.
Since the Adriatic Sea as a whole forms only part of
the Southern European shelf, with two underwater basins
ITALY
deeper than 200 metres which are considered to be an in-
tegral part of it, the median line between the Italian and
Croatian epicontinental zones has been defined by bilateral
treaty. Accordingly, the Croatian marine zone covers a fur-
Ecological and fisheries
ther 21,000 km². Croatia has rights which primarily relate to
protection zone of the
Republic of Croatia the economic exploitation of the sea, sea bed and resources
beneath the sea bed, within its section of the epicontinental

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 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION, EXTENT AND BORDERS 1

zone. This is particularly important in relation to the right to establish and maintain various devices needed
for research and harnessing natural resources, particularly oil and gas, and includes specially designated se-
curity zones of up to 500 metres in a radius around them. Although more than 100 countries with coastlines
have already declared their economic zones, Croatia has yet to adopt such a decision (the only decision which
has been adopted relates to the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (ZERP) as part of Croatia’s Exclusive
(Maritime) Economic Zone).

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