Croatia resembles an arc, with a long Adriatic coastline forming the western leg, and the land between the rivers Drava and Sava forming the northern leg. The capital, Zagreb, sits on the intersection of the northern and western legs of the arc. The Adriatic coastline has as many as 1,185 islands, while the 1,500-meter high Dinaric Alps run the length of the country. The Styrian Alps run north to southeast down the northern leg of Croatia, descending to the Hungarian plain in the extreme east at Osijek; much of this land is lower lying than the rest of Croatia and includes areas of marshlands. The Dalmatian coast and islands are important to future economy.
The rivers in western Croatia tend to be small mountain streams. The Danube forms the eastern border with Yugoslavia (Serbia) while the other two large rivers, the Sava and Drava, form the southern and northern borders with Bosnia-Herzegovinian and Hungary respectively. The land area between the rivers is dissected by many other smaller tributaries.
The Adriatic coastline is the most prominent feature of Croatia. It runs the entire length of the western border, from the 430-km Istrian peninsula in the north to Dubrovnik in the south. The coast is highly indented with rocky cliffs and many small inlets.
Hvar receives 2724 hours of sunshine each year, more than anywhere else in the Croatia. Yet the island is luxuriantly green, with billiant patches of lavender, rosemary and heather. The sunny weather is so reliable that hotels giva a discount on cloudy days, and a free stay if you should ever see snow.
Illyrians, who fought numerous battles with Greeks colonisers, populated the island in 4th century arround Faros, on the place of present-day Stari Grad, and since then most of the interior villages are developed arround fertile Velo Polje which produces grapes, olives, figs and fruit. Lavender is cultivated on the slopes of the nearby hills.
In the 7th century Slavic tribes settled the island, and in 11th century it became part of Croatia under King Petar Krešimir. Venetian rule lasted since 13th century until 1797.
