Croatian Fraternal Union

The Croatian Fraternal Union Logo

The Croatian Fraternal Union (Hrvatska bratska zajednica), oldest and largest Croatian organization in North America, is a fraternal benefit society of the Croatian diaspora based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Its founders were Croatians from Allegheny City, Pennsylvania who sought to create an organization which could aid sick workers and help others cover funeral expenses. It was formed on September 2, 1894 as the Croatian Union of the United States (which was subsequently renamed a year later to the National Croatian Society). In 1925, the National Croatian Society merged with several other Croatian fraternal organizations to form the present day Croatian Fraternal Union. After this merger, the organization was able to offer better, more efficient service to its members.

The CFU currently offers a wide variety of insurance plans. However, it has been an important group in preserving Croatian culture in North America, by supporting Croatian roots, and traditional tamburitza groups. The "Zajedničar", the CFU's newspaper, has been in circulation since 1904 and currently provides insurance information, as well as providing details about CFU cultural events from around the continent.

A street in Croatia's capital, Zagreb, is called Street of the Croatian Fraternal Union. The National University Library, one of Croatia's central cultural insititutions, is located in that street. Josip Marohnić, founding father and first president of the CFU, also has it street in Zagreb.