Croatian Territory Research Articles

Y Chromosome Story-Ancient Genetic Data as a Supplementary Tool for the Analysis of Modern Croatian Genetic Pool.

Due to its turbulent demographic history, marked by extensive settlement and gene flow from diverse regions of Eurasia, Southeastern Europe (SEE) has consistently served as a genetic crossroads between East and West and a junction for the migrations that reshaped Europe's population. SEE, including modern Croatian territory, was a crucial passage from the Near East and even more distant regions and human populations in this region, as almost any other European population represents a remarkable genetic mixture. Modern humans have continuously occupied this region since the Upper Paleolithic era, and different (pre)historical events have left a distinctive genetic signature on the historical narrative of this region. Our views of its history have been mostly renewed in the last few decades by extraordinary data obtained from Y-chromosome studies. In recent times, the international research community, bringing together geneticists and archaeologists, has steadily released a growing number of ancient genomes from this region, shedding more light on its complex past population dynamics and shaping the genetic pool in Croatia and this part of Europe.

Trend analysis and climatology of hail in Croatia

This study analyzed the hail climatology across Croatia using data from a national network of 199 stations, which recorded a total of 8551 hail cases. The spatio-temporal analyses were made for: (i) several different periods, (ii) five additional 121 year long data series and (iii) investigation of the connection between weather types and occurrence of hail. Due to high complexity of Croatian territory (which includes the northern lowland, the central mountainous area and the long Adriatic coast with numerous islands and the Istrian peninsula), the spatial and temporal variability of hail as well as the limited number of hail data, three types of stations were defined. The types represent sets of stations with similar annual cycles of hail occurrence. Trend analysis using Mann–Kendall trend significance tests with Theil–Sen trend estimates was performed for three periods: from 1900 to 2020, from 1964 to 2019, and from 1995 to 2019. The first two periods showed a negative and significant trend in the number of hail days, while the most recent one, 25-year-long trend showed a change in sign toward a positive but not significant trend.The northernmost parts of the coast (i.e., inner Istria) and lowland of Croatia had greater hail activity during summer. In contrast, along the southern and central Croatian coast, the highest hail activity was present in the colder part of the year. There was also a transitional area located in between, that recorded the most hail in spring and fall. Diurnal cycle of hail showed a shift in the daily maximum from morning to afternoon hours from the coast toward Croatian lowland.The coastal part of Croatia generally recorded higher hail frequencies than the continental part. The climatology of hail duration revealed a log-normal distribution pattern, further suggesting that most hail cases last between 1 and 5 min with peek duration of about 4 min. The most dominant air masses (over 80% of time) responsible for hail come from the SW, W and NW directions, and 83% of hail is associated with cyclonic influence in the region.

PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE GEOPOLITICAL POSITION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

This article analyses to what extent the Republic of Croatia has so far been able to use its favourable geographical position and other geographical features of its territory to improve its own geopolitical position. The article uses the method of neoclassical geopolitics. The conducted analysis shows that the geopolitical agents are aware of the potential of the Croatian territory and that some geopolitical goals are defined in the National Security Strategy. Consequently, Croatian transport infrastructure is constantly being built, modernized, and partly connects to the network of pan-European corridors. Croatia has been able to use its favourable geographical position in defining and implementing its foreign policy goals.

PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE GEOPOLITICAL POSITION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

This article analyses to what extent the Republic of Croatia has so far been able to use its favourable geographical position and other geographical features of its territory to improve its own geopolitical position. The article uses the method of neoclassical geopolitics. The conducted analysis shows that the geopolitical agents are aware of the potential of the Croatian territory and that some geopolitical goals are defined in the National Security Strategy. Consequently, Croatian transport infrastructure is constantly being built, modernized, and partly connects to the network of pan-European corridors. Croatia has been able to use its favourable geographical position in defining and implementing its foreign policy goals.

Croatian high-resolution monthly gridded dataset of homogenised surface air temperature

Homogenised climatological series and gridded data are the basis for climate monitoring and climate change detection. Considering this, monthly mean temperatures from 122 Croatian stations were homogenised, and high-resolution monthly gridded data were developed for the 1981–2018 period. Homogenisation needs to be performed on stations from the same climate region; therefore, hierarchical clustering is introduced to define those climate regions in Croatia. The breaks of homogeneity were detected by the standard normal homogeneity test on 54 stations. Regression kriging was applied to produce monthly grids for each month in the analysed period. The quality of the interpolation assessed by leave-one-out cross-validation resulted in a root mean square error of 0.7 °C. The quality of spatial interpolation is supplemented with normalised error maps. The derived homogenised station data and monthly grids are necessary for national climate monitoring, the production of climate normals and the estimation of trends. After 1999, average annual anomalies from the 30-year climate standard normal 1981–2010 were positive and up to 1.4 °C warmer than the average and only occasionally negative. The measured amount, sign and significance of the trend were accurately captured on the trend maps calculated from the monthly maps. Significant strong warming was observed and mapped over the entire Croatian territory in April, June, July, August and November. It was stronger inland than on the coast. Annual trends were significant and ranged from 0.3 °C/decade to 0.7 °C/decade. There was no observational evidence of enhanced elevation-dependent warming over elevations from 750 to 1594 m.

Neonicotinoid Residues in Earthworms and Ground Beetles under Intensive Sugar Beet Production: Preliminary Study in Croatia

Neonicotinoids are pesticides widely used for pest control in agriculture with undesirable effects on pollinators. However, other beneficial insects are exposed to insecticides that are not lethal to them but may accumulate and affect their vital characteristics. The objective of this study was to determine neonicotinoid residues in two types of beneficial soil organisms. The first group includes ground beetles (family: Carabidae, order: Coleoptera). They are important in the food web within existing ecosystems, especially in agricultural areas. The second group includes earthworms (family: Lumbricidae, order: Opisthopora) as humifiers, important members of the soil fauna. Fauna was collected at two sugar beet growing areas in Croatia under intensive sugar beet management. Ground beetles were collected from six plots of sugar beet fields treated with imidacloprid and thiamethoxam or left untreated with neonicotinoids. Earthworms were collected from the eight fields involved in four-year sugar beet crop rotation (sugar beet, maize, soybean, oilseed rape). Detection of neonicotinoid residues was performed by LC-MS/MS, SPE-QuEChERS method. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.001 mg/kg. In ground beetles, the highest concentration of imidacloprid was detected at 0.027 mg/kg, while the residues of thiamethoxam and clothianidin were below LOQ. The highest concentration of imidacloprid in earthworms was 0.2141 mg/kg, while residues of thiamethoxam did not exceed 0.0008 mg/kg. This is the first study of this kind on Croatian territory and provides a valuable first insight into the ecotoxicological status of beneficial soil fauna. More comprehensive studies are needed to assess the extent of accumulation in and to take further steps regarding conservation programs for beneficial soil organisms.

How Local People Living at the External EU Border Perceive Migrants

Research showed different results in the perception and acceptance of migrants in Croatia. Earlier research show that respondents perceive migrants as socio-economic and a socio-cultural threat while newer ones show mostly positive attitudes towards migrants and belief that there should be equal living conditions for all persons in Croatia. Considering that the integration takes place at the level of local community, the opinions and attitudes of the local population are extremely important. There is a need for continuous examination of public opinions and attitudes. The aim of this study was to research the perception of migrants in the adult population living at the external EU border, precisely, in the rural settlements of Split-Dalmatia County, near Bosnia and Herzegovina border. The research area is on the Southern Balkan migrant route. In recent years, irregular migrants have crossed Croatian territory on their way to Western countries. The local population who lives on migrant route is exposed to encounters and occasionally to incidents with migrants. The survey method was used. For the purposes of research, a questionnaire was designed. The research focus was on two questions: how do local people perceive migrants and did the vicinity of the migrant route and migrants influence their everyday life and safety? In general, the results showed intolerance, strong social distance, and stereotypes towards migrants. Due to the closeness of migrant route, the part of respondents feels unsafe while some of them change daily habits.

Slovenija i Hrvatska u izvješćima Arthura Wooda DuBoisa iz 1919. i 1920. godine

The paper is based on reports of the U.S. special representative on duty in Central Europe, Arthur Wood DuBois, on Slovenia and Croatia from December 1919 and May 1920. During his two visits, DuBois made four reports from the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes that specifically viewed the situation on Slovenian and Croatian territory, where his interlocutors were leading officials in the Provincial Governments in Ljubljana and Zagreb. His visits took place during two different and politically opposed governments, so DuBois had the opportunity to hear representatives of two political options, the centralists and the federalists. The emphasis of the paper is placed on DuBois’ account of difficulties in foreign policy relations of the Kingdom of SCS and Austria, communist activity, and differences in the political and national characteristics of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.

Operation Storm: Ending Humanitarian Disaster and Genocide in Southeastern Europe

Operation Storm was the single-most decisive battle of the Croatian War for Independence (1991-1995). Launched by the Republic of Croatia in August 1995, it was the largest European land battle since the Second World War. Outnumbered, outgunned, but not outmaneuvered, this tiny new democracy prevailed in a David versus Goliath encounter, a moral as well as military victory. Storm ended a massive humanitarian disaster and genocide. It led to the liberation of one third of Croatian territory, and made possible the Dayton Agreement that brought peace to the region. Based on interviews conducted with the American Ambassador to Croatia during the war years, military and political principals in the battle, noted scholars, security and intelligence agency officials, humanitarian leaders and journalists, this social scientific qualitative study examines the political and historical origins of the war and its aftermath. The article documents the events leading up to the war and surrounding this extraordinary military operation, providing strategic and political insights into the need for cooperation between democratic allies.

Obrazovanje o genocidu nad Romima u Drugom svjetskom ratu u Republici Hrvatskoj

The Roma population has been living in Croatian territories for more than six centuries and during that period was mostly persecuted by state and local authorities who sought to assimilate them. Such antigypsyism political practice was not unique only for the Croatian territory but was practiced in most other European countries. After World War II there was no commemoration and recognition of Roma victims in most European countries, including socialist Croatia (Yugoslavia). Such marginalization of the culture of remembrance of Roma war victims was reflected in the lack of education on this subject in the Croatian education system, where it is mostly mentioned in only a few words. The paper focuses on the analysis of how the issue of Roma suffering in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) and Europe is (un)integrated into the Croatian education system.

Udruženi zločinački poduhvat – Bosna i Hercegovina u hrvatskom velikodržavnom projektu

Udruženi zločinački poduhvat – Bosna i Hercegovina u hrvatskom velikodržavnom projektu

New Changes in the Croatian Patent Act

The modern-day territory of Croatia, throughout its history, has been fragmented and has formed a part of either city states or several federation-type states which regulated the protection of inventions. Although the protection of inventions was present in some parts of the territory as early as the 15th century, such as the Croatian province of Dalmatia, a part of the territory of the Venetian Republic, the first modern-day Patent Act1 was promulgated on 7 July 1895 by a decree of the common devolved Croatian-Hungarian Parliament as a part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and was applicable to the territory of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia (excluding the Croatian coastline, which was under the auspices of Austria and its Patent Act of 18972). Irrespective of the historical fragmentation of the Croatian territory and legislation, as well as the consequent federative associations of Croatia, the Patent Act 1895, which incorporated the principles contained in the Paris Convention,3 created the legislative bedrock of the modern-day Croatian patent system, which has been respected in continuity throughout the last 125 years. And although legislation and regimes have changed in the course of the last 125 years (e.g. Croatian’s independent Patent Act of 1999), the main ideas from the Patent Act 1895 have remained the same, with some politically and policy-driven variations.

Population dynamics of spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) in orchards in the Zagreb area

The invasive species Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931), the spotted wing drosophila, was first recorded in Croatia in 2010. Since then, it has spread on Croatian territory but its presence has not yet been confirmed in the City of Zagreb. In this research population dynamics of D. suzukii was investigated in three orchards in Zagreb (Maksimir, Jelenovac, Zelenjak) in the period from 20th of March to 27th of November 2017. Feeding traps with apple vinegar were used for catching D. suzukii. The flight began in the period from 27th of June to 11th of July and lasted until 27th of November. The total pest catches were 874 specimens (Jelenovac 187, Maksimir 232 and Zelenjak 455). From September to November there was a continuous flight and a large increase in the number of caught flies, suggesting the presence of more overlapping generations. Besides the host plants, the development of the pest in this area is also enabled by suitable climatic conditions. The present population in the City of Zagreb County poses a danger to fruit producers in the Zagreb County. The results of this research are a contribution to better understanding of the population and the spread of the pest in Croatia.

IVAN KUKULJEVIĆ SAKCINSKI U SLOVENSKOJ PRIJEVODNOJ KNJIŽEVNOJ KULTURI SREDINOM 19. STOLJEĆA: JURAN I SOFIJA ILI TURCI KOD SISKA I OBLIKOVANJE SLOVENSKOGA NACIONALNOG IDENTITETA

IVAN KUKULJEVIĆ SAKCINSKI IN THE CULTURE OF MIDNINETEENTH-CENTURY SLOVENE LITERARY TRANSLATION: JURAN AND SOFIA, OR THE TURKS AT SISAK AND THE FORMATION OF THE SLOVENE NATIONAL IDENTITY In 1850, Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski’s Illyrian-Croatian plays Juran i Sofija ili Turci kod Siska (Juran and Sofija, or the Turks at Sisak, 1839) and Stjepko Šubić ili Bela IV. u Horvatskoj (Štepan Šubic, or Bela IV in Croatia, 1841) were published in Slovene translation in the book Dve igri za slovensko glediše (Two Plays for the Slovene Theatre). First, the paper considers the plays in a wider context of contemporary Slovene-language drama of the same period, and then in a somewhat narrower context of dramatic works in the Slovene language in (South) Slavic literature, wherein the discussion takes into account the position of these two plays in the developing system of genres of translated drama, since these two works occupy a distinctive place because they representing model heroic plays. Special emphasis is placed on the first play, which is not only Kukuljević’s most well-known work, but was, generally speaking, better received in the Slovene context. This can be explained in a number of ways: 1) due to to specific socio-political conditions (the translation into Slovene is from the period of Bach’s s absolutism marked by increased German pressure on the Slovene and Croatian territory); 2) due to obvious social relevance of the Turkish topic (in the Battle at Sisak the Slovenes and Croatians behave heroically, independently and cooperatively); and 3) due to the play’s specific features, in particular its dramatic personae, setting, and Slavic character (in the play, Toma Erdödy, Juran and Andrej Turjaški act in accordance with Slavic reciprocity, and the setting of the play is Slavic). These features, in turn, enabled identification with the characters and promoted national emancipation. The genre of the heroic play filled the gap in the Slovene literature, which Fran Levstik anticipated in his 1858 Slovene literary programme, which is also the first Slovene programme of this type. Keywords: translation, adaptation, Slovene-Croatian relations, Turk

Climate change impacts on viticulture in Croatia: Viticultural zoning and future potential

AbstractSince changes in temperature and precipitation have different effects on (a) all developmental stages of grapevines in most of the wine regions worldwide (i.e., on their phenological characteristics) and (b) different varieties, a comprehensive database of bioclimatic indices has been calculated and analysed for Croatian wine producing regions. The database consists of the average growing season temperature, growing degree‐days, Huglin index, dryness index and cool night index that are based on all available meteorological measurements as well as the outputs of regional climate models (RCMs) from the EURO‐CORDEX database. The horizontal grid spacing of 0.11° from the RCM ensembles enabled a fine‐scale determination of bioclimatic indices for the present and future climate in Croatia. In addition, statistical analyses (standard statistical parameters and Bayesian method) were carried out to examine trends in sugar content, total acidity and date of harvest. Calculations were performed for the present and future climate on the basis of data from seven selected vineyards/wineries and four varieties (‘Graševina’, ‘Plavac mali’, ‘Chardonnay’ and ‘Merlot’). The results show whether the part of Croatia that is suitable for grape cultivation in the present climate will continue to be favourable in the future within the Mediterranean area. In general, projections suggest further warming and drying of the climate in Croatia and an earlier harvest, with some variations among varieties that show latitude dependence. Projections for the future climate also suggest that the existing viticultural zoning will be much less adequate for the Croatian territory because it reduces the economically sustainable production of wine in certain areas.

Pravno-povijesni prikaz razvoja regulacije instituta izmoljene posudbe u hrvatskom pravu

Nerijetko se u svakodnevnom govoru, čak i u pravnom kontekstu stavlja znak jednakosti između dvaju obvezno pravnih instituta izmoljene posudbe, tj prekarija i posudbe te se naglašava opozivost kao jedina okolnost njihova razgraničenja. Uvažavajući mišljenje pravnih teoretičara prema kojem se pravni učinak izmoljene posudbe može ostvariti primjenom pravila o posudbi, neke od modernih kodifikacija građanskog prava propustile su normirati izmoljenu posudbu kao samostalan pravni institut. Ipak, hrvatski je zakonodavac, vodeći se povijesnom primjenom austrijskog Općeg građanskog zakonika na hrvatskom području normirao institut izmoljene posudbe zasebnom zakonskom odredbom i time ga definirao podvrstom ugovora o posudbi. Vrlo rijetka uporaba ovog instituta u pravnoj praksi, kao i izostanak interesa za pravnu narav izmoljene posudbe u modernoj teoriji građanskog prava, čine prirodu ovog instituta i dalje nedostatno jasnom. Komparativnom analizom pravne teorije, ali i stranoga zakonodavstva koje je poslužilo kao podloga izradi zakonskog okvira posudbe u hrvatskom pravu nastojat će se utvrditi osobitosti izmoljene posudbe te ukazati na slučajeve u kojima je primjena ovog instituta, osobito oportuna. Unatoč sličnosti dvaju spomenutih pravnih poslova posudbe i izmoljene posudbe na koju će se ukazati u radu, temeljna je svrha ovog istraživanja naglasiti važnost svakoga instituta uzimajući u obzir osobitosti koje ih razgraničavaju te potvrđuju kako oba instituta imaju svoju zasebnu svrhu, praktičnu važnost i iskustvo postojanja u hrvatskom pravu.

Establishment of the inventory of the historic bridges analyzing the maps of Europe in the XIX. Century, in the area of Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia

Abstract. Croatia is a country rich with monuments, enchanting historic buildings, and rife cultural heritage. The paper presents main aspects of the research on the identifying the historic bridges built till the end of the Austro Hungarian monarchy (AHM) (till 1918), and by their identification, the inventory of these bridges was established. The Croatian territory, specifically, Dalmatia is brimming with rivers, lakes, streams, etc., so the bridge construction was indeed necessary and often in usage in this area. There are various reasons why all these bridges are not preserved until today. Because of this, authors found it important to define the total number of these bridges that will need further qualitative and sustainable preservation, remediation and management. The research started by collecting the data from various institutions and interviewing conservatives, historians, managers of these bridges and also the local habitants. When the data were collected, European maps from the XIX. Century were analyzed with the intention to find which of the identified bridges belong to the period of the AHM. Bridges found on those maps were later compared with modern maps to define how many of them still exist. The aim is to establish the inventory of the historic bridges built till the end of the AHM in the area of Split-Dalmatian County.

Body mass index trend as a new parameter for evaluating children's nutritional status

ObjectivesThe objective was to identify a body mass index (BMI) trend as a new indicator and predictor of children's nutritional status, replacing absolute BMI, and to demonstrate that a local BMI trend is more appropriate for this purpose than a national (or international) BMI trend. Study designAn entire school year group of primary school children were subject to a longitudinal 8-year cohort study. MethodsBMI was measured three times during primary school education—on enrolment to primary school, then in the fifth and eighth grades. The BMI values obtained were used to create gender- and age-based percentile curves for children born in 1998/1999 (Osijek Percentile Curves (OPC) study) in the Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia. Every BMI result obtained was linked to one of the five percentile ranks (PRs) according to threshold percentiles 3, 10, 90 and 97; hence, the PRs were <3, ≥3 to <10, ≥10 to <90, ≥90 to <97 and ≥ 97. Percentiles and PRs were specified for each BMI value in a dual fashion, i.e. according to OPC and the entire Croatian territory (Croatian Percentile Curves (CROPC)-2008) cross-sectional study. After integrating the BMI values at all three time points, two BMI trends appeared—one based on the OPC criteria and one based on the CROPC-2008 criteria. Individual trends were grouped into three descriptive BMI categories: ‘healthy’, ‘at risk’ and ‘unhealthy’. ResultsFor the OPC and CROPC-2008, the ‘healthy’ trend characterised 2097 (78.72%) and 1975 (74.14%) children, respectively; the ‘at risk’ trend marked 434 (16.29%) and 458 (17.19%) children, respectively; and the ‘unhealthy’ trend was found in 133 (4.99%) and 231 (8.67%) children, respectively. The biggest difference between the OPC-based and CROPC-2008–based results was detected in the ‘unhealthy’ trend. According to CROPC-2008, there were almost twice as many children in that category. For the purpose of study design and comparing results obtained based on OPC and those obtained based on CROPC-2008, the BMI of one boy was used. His BMI values on starting primary school, in the 5th and in the 8th grades were 19.05 kg/m2, 26.11 kg/m2 and 27.11 kg/m2, respectively. Analysis of PRs based on OPC and CROPC-2008 reveals that the same boy was represented by different trends: ‘<90 <90 <97’ and ‘<90 <97 <97’, respectively. In terms of residence, girls from urban areas have higher BMI values than rural girls when starting primary school. ConclusionThis study suggests that a BMI trend could be a better indicator and predictor of children's nutritional status than absolute BMI. In addition, a cohort study is preferential to a cross-sectional study as a trend in an OPC-based study can be personalised. Also, local BMI reference values defined for each generation of children are more advantageous in this context than national BMI reference values.

Ograničavajući čimbenici izostanka aktivnosti na šumoposjedima u Republici Hrvatskoj – MIMIC model

The purpose of this paper was to determine the share of active and inactive forest owners in Croatia and to identify potential causes for underuse of wood resources and their most important predictors based on inactive forest owners sample. We interviewed 1007 randomly selected forest owners on Croatian territory with a telephone survey. Of the total sample, 60% of forest owners believe that they efficiently manage their forests while 40% are inactive (Table 1). In order to determine the most important reasons and causes for inactive forest owners not cutting more, additional questions were asked. They were provided by 19 statements describing possible reasons for underuse of wood resources. Then, on Likert’s scale from 1 (not important at all) to 5 (very important) they expressed their level of agreement with a particular statement (Table 2). The statements were condensed into three dimensions by explanatory factor analysis with eigenvalue approach. Factors were interpreted as: (1) factor of qualifications and knowledge constraints, (2) factor of passiveness and forest conservation and (3) factor of physical constraints (Table 2). Statistically acceptable model was established by confirmatory factor analysis approach (Figure 2). The pronounced processes of structural changes in forest ownership composition, as well as in socio-demographic and forest property characteristics, are evident across Europe consequently influencing the intensity of private forest management. Within the aforementioned, we used gender, age, education, working status, the distance between the forest and the place of residence, the size of the settlement and the knowledge of forest property boundary lines as independent variables for management constraining factors model construction (Figure 1). Socio-demographic and forest property characteristics have been modeled with the extracted management constraining factors by applying a Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model (Figure 3). MIMIC model revealed that gender, age, and lack of boundary lines knowledge were the most important predictors for management constraining factors (Table 4). The notable part of forest owners in Croatia do not manage their forests because of insufficient knowledge and qualifications.

Simulation of an Alternative Realisation of the Croatian Height Reference System

The current Croatian height reference system (HVRS71) has been established using the so-called Second High Accuracy Levelling Network (IINVT) of the former Yugoslavia. This network survey was realised from 1970 to 1973. Today almost 50 years later, it is quite clear that a renewal of the Croatian height reference system is necessary. The survey and design of a new fundamental levelling network for the Republic of Croatia is an expected step. In Croatian particular case there is a significantly limiting key factor for the levelling network design. That limiting factor derives from the fact that the size and the specific shape of the Croatian territory in comparison with the standards of realization of levelling networks have a negative correlation. Considering the aforementioned facts, a careful and comprehensive analysis was conducted. As a basis for the analysis of this issue, a simulation of the new Croatian height reference system realisation was performed. The simulation is based on the grounds of IINVT network observations which had originally been used to create the current official height reference system of the Republic of Croatia, but with a modification of its geometrical configuration. In accordance with the need for continuous monitoring of height displacements of the same benchmarks that had been observed previously (the recent crustal movements issue), the principle of preserving as big as possible segment of the IINVT network configuration on the Croatian territory had been retained. One of the fundamental elements of the height reference system quality certainly is the quality of the absolute benchmark height positioning. In this paper it is shown how radical change of network configuration due to the adjustments to the specific shape of the Croatian territory affects the accuracy of the absolute benchmark height positioning.