by croatiaweek
May 30, 2025
in
Croatia celebrates Statehood Day
ZAGREB, 30 May 2025 – Croatia is marking its 34th Statehood Day (Dan državnosti) today, a national holiday commemorating a defining chapter in the country’s history—the declaration of independence from the former Yugoslavia.
On 25 June 1991, the Croatian Parliament formally adopted a resolution to sever ties with the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, setting the country on its path to sovereignty.
This move followed a referendum held on 19 May 1991, in which 94% of voters supported independence—a powerful democratic mandate that signalled the will of the Croatian people.
Statehood Day serves as a reminder of that critical turning point, which laid the foundation for the modern Croatian state. While the declaration of independence occurred in June, the holiday is now officially observed on 30 May, a date that also holds deep symbolic significance.
Statehood Day was originally celebrated on 30 May to mark the inaugural session of the first democratically elected multi-party Croatian Parliament in 1990.
However, in 2002, the date was changed to 25 June to align more directly with the day of the independence declaration. For several years, 30 May was relegated to a lesser-known holiday status.
That changed in 2019, when the Croatian Parliament enacted new holiday legislation, restoring 30 May as the official date for Statehood Day. This decision was widely welcomed as a return to tradition and a reaffirmation of the country’s democratic foundations.
To honour the day, Croatia’s top state officials will participate in solemn ceremonies in Zagreb, including the laying of wreaths at key memorial sites. These include the common grave of unidentified victims from the 1991–1995 Homeland War, the Wall of Pain, and the monument to fallen Homeland War soldiers.
These acts of remembrance pay tribute to those who gave their lives for Croatia’s independence.