Nobody would expect that this small country boasts of some Croatian inventions which made this country famous. I’ll tell you more about some of the distinguished Croatians who have invented important products changing the history of mankind
Sometimes we wonder who invented certain items that we use almost daily. Every country has something that distinguishes it from other countries or they are famous both for certain activities or products that have been invented there.
France is the home of high fashion, Brazil is a country of coffee, Switzerland produces high quality cheese and watches, Portugal is known for Porto wine, Italy is a home of pizza and Croatia by a piece of clothing detail that a man knows very well. It makes him important!
I’ve listed some of the most significant and most practical Croatian inventions, from tie (cravat), automatic pencil (penkala), alternating current, parachute. I didn’t miss also some famous and distinguish Croatians like Marco Polo.
Croatian Inventions – A Tie Or Cravat
Do you know that the first tie has been applied in Croatia? Find out how that happened and where you can buy authentic Croatian ties.
The word “croata” can be found in many languages as the root of words meaning “tie” or “cravat” (in English, German, French, Portuguese, Italian etc.). Croatia is the home of the tie.
The story of the tie first appeared among Croats several hundred years ago. It’s become the symbol of fidelity. According to the legend, girlfriends and wives, used to give to their boyfriends and husbands, who were going to war, a kerchiefs to remind them of their beloved to give them strength and courage in difficult moments while far from home.
By wearing a kerchief around the neck, a man was showing his respect towards his chosen one and in a symbolic way, it was a sign of fidelity to a woman emphasizing fidelity as a moral virtue.
Very soon this kerchief, a future tie has become an integral part of the national costumes and soldiers uniform. For those who are looking for an authentic Croatian necktie, all roads lead to Zagreb, a capital of a modern tie.
Faust Vrancic – Inventor Of The Parachute
Did you know that the inventor of the first parachute, Faust Vrancic, was born in Sibenik (Dalmatia) in 1551? This young man who, besides natural sciences, also engaged in lexicography and history, published an unusual scientific work in 1595.
In it, besides other technical inventions, he presents plans, as well as concrete solutions, for building the first parachute, which set the foundation for modern parachuting.
It’s one of Croatian inventions, that showed how far ahead Vrancic was from his time, because parachute jumps started to be frequent at the beginning of the 20th century.
Did you know that Vrancic also constructed a mill driven by tides, rope way, gave a new construction of metal bridges (suspended by iron chains, i.e. suspension bridges), described in his famous book on mechanics Machinae novae (61 constructions, Venice, 1595).
Marco Polo – World Traveler
Maybe, Italians do not accept the fact that Marco was born in Korcula, the capital of the same name island. Marco Polo, was born in 1254 in Korcula, where his family house still stands there.
At the time when the life and culture of exotic culture in the East were completely unknown to all of Europe, and no one had heard of paper money, the seventeen year old Marco Polo headed from Venice to China to the great Kublai Khan.
He became so fond of Marco Polo that he put him in charge of an entire region, which convinced Marco Polo to remain at the Mongolian court for 17 long years.
During that time, he traveled through and got to know a large part of Asia, which he later described in his well-known travel record “Milijun” (Million).
After having returned with extensive riches, he spent his life convincing friends of the accuracy of his unusual experience in the mysterious East. However, did you know what everyone has been grateful for is – pasta, which he brought to Europe from China. The only thing I can say is: Marco Polo, thank you for this gastronomic pleasure!
Nikola Tesla – Inventor of Alternating Current
It’s is undoubtedly the most important among Croatian inventions and Nikola Tesla is one of the world’s greatest inventors.
Nikola Tesla, was born in 1856 in the small village of Smiljan in the province of Lika, Croatia, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. His father was a Serbian Orthodox priest. Since he did not have enough money to continue his studies, after wandering around Europe, Tesla went to New York where he made a career in science.
Principally, he invented the multi-phase system of alternating currents, he solved the problems of transferring electric power, he discovered the principle of the rotating magnetic field and was among the first who experimented with electromagnetic waves.
If that is not enough, let’s remind you, he patented over 700 inventions. Most of these Croatian inventions , have application in our daily life as devices such as televisions, computers, refrigerators and many others. In short, in everything that surrounds us.
Edvard Slavoljub Penkala – The Great Inventor Of Writing Instruments
There are many practical and useful Croatian inventions but the patent for an automatic pencil (‘penkala’ in Croatian language), in all has overcome the usefulness as a tool for writing. I consider this invention as the most useful among all Croatian inventions.
Do you know that Croatia can be justly proud of Eduard Slavoljub Penkala, the extraordinary inventor and innovator. He was a man with great energy and enthusiasm, whose aim was to make practical devices simpler, more useful and of a higher quality.
I must say that this inventor wasn’t born in Croatia but in in Liptovsky St Mikulas (today in the Slovak Republic), to a Polish father and a Dutch mother.
As a young boy he already showed great interest in solving technical problems and was always repairing something at home in his own small workshop. His parents urged him to become a doctor, and he enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine in Vienna.
But usually as all future inventors, he was convinced he had made the wrong choice, and he moved to Dresden where he studied chemistry where he met his future wife, Emilija, a music student originally from Croatia.
After his graduation the young couple were married and in 1900 they moved to Zagreb. Penkala found the city stimulating, and he soon became a high ranking official in the Austrian-Hungarian Ministry of Finance. He was later appointed Royal Technical Controller. To mark his loyalty to his new homeland he took on the Croatian name Slavoljub.