The Continental Croatia

Although the Adriatic coast is the most known part of Croatia among foreigners, most of the country is located inland. Zagreb, the capital and the largest city (800,000 people, 1.2 million including the wider urban area), is in the region of Northern and Central Croatia. It is the political, economic, cultural and scientific centre of the country, with many sights worth seeing. Some interesting towns in continental regions are Samobor (a beautiful town in the outskirts of Zagreb, famous for its carnival, delicious pastries Samoborska kremšnita and rudarska greblica, and a unique spiced wine bermet), Karlovac (a town on four rivers, founded as a renaissance fort against Ottoman raids), Osijek (the largest city of Slavonia, the country’s easternmost region), Varaždin (a baroque town in Northern Croatia) and others. Tasty food, cultural heritage and hospitable people are the reasons why continental Croatia should be visited. There are also many places of natural beauty and significance, such as the national parks of Plitvice Lakes (a series of 16 cascade lakes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Paklenica and Northern Velebit (famous for their karst geology; all three are located in Lika, a mountainous region in the Adriatic hinterland), the nature parks of Kopački rit and Lonjsko polje (vast swamplands with high biodiversity) and of Medvednica and Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje (the mountains in Zagreb region, famous for their beauty and geological phenomena).