Croats in Germany

Croats in Germany (Croatian: Hrvati u Njemačkoj; German: Kroaten in Deutschland) refers to persons living in Germany who have total or partial Croatian ancestry. They form the sixth largest ethnic minority in Germany.^[3] In 2021, there were 434,610 Croats holding Croatian citizenship and living in Germany. Croatia's State Office for the Croats Abroad, Croatian embassy in Berlin and Croatian Catholic Missions estimated that there are more than 500,000 Croats and their descendants living in Germany.^[1]

Croats in Germany

Hrvati u Njemačkoj (Croatian) Kroaten in Deutschland (German)
Total population
435.000-550.000 (2023) [1][2]
Regions with significant populations
Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Mannheim, Augsburg, Nuremberg
Languages
Croatian, German
Religion
Majority Roman Catholics
Related ethnic groups
Croats, Croatian diaspora

Demographics

According to the German Federal Statistical Office of Wiesbaden in 2021, there were 434,610 Croatian citizens living in Germany.^[4] According to data from church institutions there are about 310,000 to 350,000 Croatians living in Germany.

Numbers of Croats

In Germany per year

• 2021: 434,610
• 2020: 426,485
• 2019: -
• 2018: 395,665
• 2017: 367,900
• 2016: 332,605
• 2015: -
• 2014: 270,558^[3]
• 2013: -
• 2012: -
• 2011: -
• 2010: 220,199
• 2009: -
• 2008: -
• 2007: 225,309
• 2006: 227,510
• 2005: 228,926
• 2004: 229,172
• 2003: 236,570
• 2002: 230,987
• 2001: 223,819
• 1994: 176,251
• 1993: 153,146

Per federal state

In year 2019^[5]

Number of Croats per German federal state
#	Federal state	People
1.	Baden-Württemberg	122,835
2.	Bavaria	126,090
3.	Berlin	14,430
4.	Brandenburg	671
5.	Bremen	2,167
6.	Hamburg	6,630
7.	Hesse	53,785
8.	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	260
9.	Lower Saxony	9,429
10.	North Rhine-Westphalia	48,043
11.	Rhineland-Palatinate	8,668
12.	Saarland	1,205
13.	Saxony	714
14.	Saxony-Anhalt	435
15.	Schleswig-Holstein	3,229
16.	Thuringia	189

Cities

In year 2019

Number of Croats in larger cities
#	City	People
1.	Munich	39,637
2.	Frankfurt	16,751
3.	Stuttgart	15,268
4.	Berlin	14,430
5.	Hamburg	6,630
6.	Nuremberg	5,893
7.	Mannheim	4,565
8.	Augsburg	4,223
9.	Düsseldorf	3,720
10.	Cologne	3,569
11.	Karlsruhe	3,383
12.	Essen	2,880
13.	Offenbach	2,420
14.	Hanover	2,300
15.	Pforzheim	2,193
16.	Dortmund	2,153
17.	Duisburg	2,044
18.	Wiesbaden	1,967
19.	Ulm	1,557
20.	Lübeck	1,413

Among the German cities Stuttgart and Pforzheim had the highest share of Croats in 2011 according to German Census data.^[6]

Culture

Language

In July 2023, The Croaticum – Centre for Croatian Language and Literature was opened at the Regensburg University.^[7]

Events

The Croatian Cultural Association of Bremen organizes summer music and dance festival “Sommerfest in Hastedt”.^[8]

The annual concert of Croatian musicians known as ”Hrvatska noć” (Croatian Night) is one of the biggest gatherings of Croats. In December 2023 it took place at the Fraport Arena in Frankfurt am Main.^[9]

Academia

Croatian Academic Union Germany (Hrvatski akademski savez) is a network of students and academics in Germany who are Croatians or of Croatian descent.^[10]

Notable Croatians and people of Croatian descent in Germany

Werner Herzog

Niko Kovač

Vanessa Mai

Sandra Nasić

Jeremy Toljan

Jasmin Wagner

• Fredi Bobic, former footballer
• Stipe Erceg, actor
• Werner Herzog, film director
• Milko Kelemen, professor at the Stuttgarter Musikakademie Stuttgart
• Ivan Klasnić, footballer
• Niko Kovač, football coach and former player
• Robert Kovač, football coach and former player
• Vanessa Mai, singer
• Sandra Nasić, singer for the rock band, Guano Apes
• Ivo Robić, musician
• Zvonimir Serdarušić, handball coach
• Edin Terzić, football coach and former player
• Jeremy Toljan, football player
• Josip Stanišić, football player
• Jasmin Wagner, singer
• Nikki Adler, boxer

See also

• Croatia–Germany relations
• Croats
• List of Croats
• Immigration to Germany
• Germans of Croatia
• Croats of Switzerland

References

1. Fer Projekt, Put Murvice 14, Zadar, Hrvatska, [phone], www.fer-projekt.com. "Hrvatsko iseljeništvo u Njemačkoj" (in Croatian). Hrvatiizvanrh.hr. Archived from the original on 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2017-01-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
2. Hanza Media (2016-09-16). "Rekordan broj građana stranog porijekla u Njemačkoj, što se odnosi i na državljane RH -Jutarnji List" (in Croatian). Jutarnji.hr. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
3. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.bamf.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. German Federal Statistical Office, http://www.destatis.de/
5. "Federal Statistical Office Germany - GENESIS-Online". Genesis.destatis.de. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
6. "Kartenseite: Kroaten in Deutschland - Landkreise" (in German). kartenseite.wordpress.com. 2017-03-26. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
7. "First Croatian language centre in a German-speaking country opens". croatiaweek.com. Croatia Week. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
8. "How Croats in Bremen are preserving their cultural identity". croatiaweek.com. Croatia Week. 19 August 2024.
9. "The biggest Croatian concert outside the homeland to take place again in December". croatiaweek.com. Croatia Week. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
10. "Hrvatski akademski savez" (in Croatian and German). Archived from the original on 5 April 2008.

External links

• Kroatische Zeitung News about business, education, society, tourism and sports