TIE - KRAVATA - CROATA

This time I offer you a unique story, the story of the tie.


Did you know that the tie, a universal symbol of sophistication and culture, originates from the Croats?

As a fashion accessory, the Croats spread it throughout Europe in the 17th century. At the beginning, the Croatian soldiers wore a scarf round the neck. The scarf was named after them - the cravat (the tie) - and it was their recognizable trait. Therefore, in the year of 1667 a separate regiment was formed. It was named the «Royal Cravates», after the Croats.When the thirty-year war (1618-1648) was raging in Europe, Croatian soldiers were also drawn into this tragedy. Under the leadership of their Vice-Roys (Croatian ban) they arrived as far as Paris.

The Croatian traditional military dress included picturesque scarves tied round the neck in a distinctive manner.
This handsome «Croatian style» captivated the fastidious French so that, during the reign of Louis XIV, they, too, adopted new fashion item worn «a la Croate». This expression soon become the root of the new French word «cravate». Thus the tie entered the bourgeois fashion of the time as a sign of cultivation and elegance and went on to conquer the whole Europe and, today, the entire civilized world.As all the great stories, this is a story about love. Croatian folk tradition can be our source to find out the reason why they put scarves. Fiancées gave their fiancés scarves as token of mutual fidelity, especially in crucial moments of their lives.I hope this story will become a constant reminder of my beautiful country and one of her most recognizable symbols - the cravat.


CRAVAT AROUND ARENA



After two years' preparation, in the afternoon of Saturday 18th October the knot of the largest cravat in the world was tied around the Pula Arena. The creator of this grandiose art installation was prof. Marijan Busic, the head of the non-profit making establishment "Academic Cravatica", which promotes the cravat as part of the Croatian and world cultural heritage.

This world scale "mega-tie" is of incredible dimensions: it is 808 m long, and at its widest it measures 25 m. The knot of the cravat is 15 m long, at its widest it is 16.5 m wide and at its most narrow point it is 5.4 m wide. The height of the cravat from the narrowest to the widest part is 3.5 m.


The creator of the installation Marijan Busic spoke about the motives for his preoccupation with the cravat and the message of this art installation and amongst other things said, "While I was still in high school I realized that Croatia, the home of the cravat (cravat), could best be presented to Europe and the world by means of the tie, as a worldwide symbol of dignity, formality and success".

In the capital city of Croatia, the prestigious company Potomac Ltd. follows the time-honoured tradition of manufacturing this article of clothing. Passed on from generation to generation, the CROATA necktie has become Croatia's national cultural symbol.


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