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131-624: Opatija is located 18 km (11 mi) northwest of the regional capital Rijeka , about 90 km (56 mi) from Trieste by rail and 82 km (51 mi) from Pula by road. The city is geographically on the Istrian peninsula, though not in Istria County . The tourist resort is situated on the Kvarner Gulf, part of the Adriatic coast, in a sheltered position at the foot of Učka massif, with

262-541: A constituent assembly for the state did not put an end to strife within the city. A brief Italian nationalist seizure of power ended with the intervention of an Italian royal commissioner, and another short-lived peace was interrupted by a local Fascist putsch in March 1922 which ended with a third Italian intervention to restore the previous order. Seven months later the Kingdom of Italy itself fell under Fascist rule and Fiume's fate

393-451: A Safari Park, which holds animals given to Tito, such as Sony and Lanka, two Indian elephants donated by Indira Gandhi . Sony, who was donated to Tito in 1970 as a two-year-old calf, died in 2010. The International Brijuni Polo Tournament, dating back to Karl Kupelwieser 's Austro-Italian Brijuni in 1924, was relaunched in 2004. Most of the flora on the archipelago of the Brijuni islands has

524-573: A brief military occupation by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, followed by the unilateral annexation of the former Corpus Separatum by Belgrade, an international force of British, Italian, French and American troops entered the city in November 1918. Its future became a major barrier to agreement during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The US president Wilson even proposed to make Rijeka

655-775: A destination for the Viennese upper class, people of industry and cuture and were visited by members of the Imperial family. During The Great War the Austro-Hungarian navy had a submarine base here. In 1918 after World War I - Paul Kupelwieser died 1919 in Vienna - Brijuni became part of the state of Italy . Karl Kupelwieser , the son of the founder of the estate tried to maintain the former splendor, but more international. He invited wealthy European bourgeois and aristocrats. Brioni should be an isle of sports, he organised international games on

786-615: A few weeks later, on November 12, 1918, starting a long period of instability and uncertainty for the city. Habsburg-ruled Austria-Hungary's disintegration in October 1918 during the closing weeks of World War I led to the establishment of rival Croatian-Serbian and Italian administrations in the city; both Italy and the founders of the new Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) claimed sovereignty based on their " irredentist " ("unredeemed") ethnic populations. After

917-515: A first attempt to establish a movement of non-aligned nations in the so-called League of Fiume , an organisation antithetic to the Wilsonian League of Nations, which it saw as a means of perpetuating a corrupt and imperialist status quo . The organisation was aiming primarily at helping all oppressed nationalities in their struggle for political dignity and recognition, establishing links with many movements on various continents, but it never found

1048-480: A free city and the headquarters of the newly formed League of Nations . The main problem arose from the fact that Rijeka was not assigned either to Italy or to Croatia (now Yugoslavia) in the Treaty of London which defined the post-war borders in the area. It remained assigned to Austria-Hungary because - until the very end of WWI - it was assumed that the Austro-Hungarian empire would survive WWI in some form and Rijeka

1179-550: A good standard of living, with endless possibilities for making one's fortune. The Pontifical Delegate Celso Costantini noted in his diary "the religious indifference and apathy of the town". The further industrial development of the city included the first industrial scale oil refinery in Europe in 1882 and the first torpedo factory in the world in 1866, after Robert Whitehead , manager of the " Stabilimento Tecnico Fiumano " (an Austrian engineering company engaged in providing engines for

1310-513: A number of warships and submarines like the U-27-class submarines , the Novara-class cruisers , the large battleship SMS Szent István and others. In total, between the early 1900s and 1918 the city's shipyards produced 1 battleship, 2 cruisers, 20 destroyers, 32 torpedo boats and 15 submarines for the navy. Rijeka was also the main center for the production of torpedoes. However, a lot changed with

1441-471: A promontory by the Juraj Šporer art pavilion. It has turned into one of symbols of Opatija. A gilded variant of the statue Madonna, that once stood here but was demolished by communists after the end of World War II, now stands in front of Saint Jacob's Church. The town park Angiolina contains many species of plants from all over the world. It has been protected since 1968. Close-by, vis-a-vis Hotel Imperial, stands

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1572-551: A separate tax treatment from the rest of Italy and a continuous inflow of investments from the Italian state (although not as generous as previous Hungarian ones). The city regained a good level of economic prosperity and was much richer than the surrounding Yugoslav lands, but the economic and demographic growth slowed down if compared to the previous Austro-Hungarian period. At the beginning of World War II Rijeka immediately found itself in an awkward position. The city's largest demographic

1703-525: A socialist planned economic model were not able to survive the move to a market-oriented economy in the early 1990s. As Yugoslavia broke up in 1991, the former Federal State of Croatia became independent and, in the Croatian War of Independence that ensued, Rijeka became part of the newly independent Croatia . Since then, the city has stagnated economically and its demography has plunged. Some of its largest industries and employers have gone out of business,

1834-473: A taboo topic for Rijeka's political milieu, which is still largely denying the events. Summary executions of alleged Fascists (often well-known anti-fascists or openly apolitical), aimed at hitting the local intellectual class, the Autonomists, the commercial classes, the former Italian public servants, the military officials and often also ordinary civilians (at least 650 executions of Italians took place after

1965-718: A threat by the Republic of Venice and during the War of the League of Cambrai the Venetians raided and devastated the city with great loss of life in 1508 and again in 1509. The city did however recover and remain under Austrian rule. For its fierce resistance to the Venetians it received the title of the "most loyal city" ("fidelissimum oppidium") as well as commercial privileges from the Austrian emperor Maximilian I in 1515. While Ottoman forces attacked

2096-634: A wheat elevator and mill, the Ganz-Danubius shipbuilding industries, a cocoa and chocolate factory, a brick factory, a tobacco factory (the largest in the Monarchy), a cognac distillery, a pasta factory, the Ossoinack barrel and chest factory, a large tannery, five foundries and many others. At the beginning of the 20th century more than half of the industrial capacity in Croatia (which was at that time mostly agrarian)

2227-685: A work of the sculptor Hans Rathausky. In 1887, Heinrich von Littrow established the "Union Yacht Club Quarnero" in Opatija (founded in June/July 1886); this was the first sailing club on the Adriatic coast. In 1889 the Cisleithanian government officially declared Abbazia (Opatija) the first climatic seaside resort ( Seebad ) on the Austrian Riviera, rivalled by Brioni , Duino , Grado , and Portorož . After

2358-596: Is an area within the Safari park presenting a typical Istrian homestead with its autochthonous animal species. Istrian ox (a descendant of the Aurochs ), Istrian sheep, donkeys and goats. It is intended both as a habitat and presentation of domestic animals of Istria . In addition, the chital deer , fallow deer and mouflons were introduced to the Veliki Brijun Island in the early 20th century. Their numbers increased in

2489-527: Is bordered by Vela Vrata (between Istria and the island of Cres ), Srednja Vrata (between Cres and Krk Island) and Mala Vrata (between Krk and the mainland) is connected to the Kvarner Gulf and is deep enough (about fifty metres or 160 feet) to accommodate large commercial ships. The City of Rijeka lies at the mouth of the river Rječina and in the Vinodol micro-region of the Croatian coast. From three sides Rijeka

2620-769: Is called Rijeka in Croatian , Reka in Slovene , and Reka or Rika in the local dialects of the Chakavian language. It is called Fiume in Italian and in Fiuman Venetian . All these names mean 'river' in their respective languages. Meanwhile, in German the city has been called Sankt Veit am Flaum / Pflaum ( lit.   ' St. Vitus on the Flaum/Pflaum ' , with

2751-462: Is found in the east of the White Villa. Because of the millennial presence of men on the archipelago of Brijuni, the animal world on the islands, especially Veliki Brijun , besides the autochthonous species, was enriched by many imported species that are not congenial to this habitat but got acclimated to it thanks to the almost ideal microclimatic conditions. Inside the park there is an ethno park

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2882-460: Is held each year before Lent (between late January and early March) in Rijeka, Croatia. Established in 1982, it has become the biggest carnival in Croatia. Every year there are numerous events preceding the carnival itself. First the mayor of Rijeka gives the symbolic key of the city to Meštar Toni, who is "the maestro" of the carnival, and he becomes the mayor of the city during the carnival, although this

3013-518: Is only figuratively. Same day, there is an election of the carnival queen. As all the cities around Rijeka have their own events during the carnival time, Queen and Meštar Toni are attending most of them. Also, every year the Carnival charity ball is held in the Governor's palace in Rijeka. It is attended by politicians, people from sport and media life, as well as a number of ambassadors. The weekend before

3144-470: Is rocky and picturesque, and contains several smaller winter resorts. Opatija was included in the territory of the Liburni , a pre-Roman Illyrian tribe. In Roman times, the area was home to several patrician villas connected to the nearby town of Castrum Laureana , the modern Lovran . Croats settled in the region from about 700 AD onwards. Conquered by King Pepin of Italy , son of Charlemagne , in 789,

3275-458: Is surrounded by mountains. To the west, the 1,396-metre (4,580 ft) Učka range is prominent. To the north/north-east there are the Snežnik plateau and the 1,528 m (5,013 ft) Risnjak massif with the national park . To the east/south-east there is the 1,533-metre (5,030 ft) Velika Kapela range. This type of terrain configuration prevented Rijeka from developing further inland (to

3406-733: Is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split ). It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Bay , an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and in 2021 had a population of 108,622 inhabitants. Historically, because of its strategic position and its excellent deep-water port , the city was fiercely contested, especially between the Holy Roman Empire , Italy and Croatia, changing rulers and demographics many times over centuries. According to

3537-696: The 1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement yet the City of Belgrade was ultimately selected due to Brijuni's insufficient venues and concentration of the international communication and media facilities in the capital city of Yugoslavia. Brijuni hosted the 1987 Mediterranean Non-Aligned Countries Ministerial Meeting as well. In 1991 Croatia gained independence and made the Brijuni Islands an International Conference Center (see Brioni Agreement ). Four hotels on Veliki Brijun Island were re-opened, as well as

3668-576: The 2011 census data , the majority of its citizens are Croats , along with small numbers of Serbs , Bosniaks and Italians . Rijeka is the main city and county seat of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The city's economy largely depends on shipbuilding ( shipyards " 3. Maj " and " Viktor Lenac Shipyard ") and maritime transport. Rijeka hosts the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc , first built in 1765, as well as

3799-581: The Brijuni Islands (also known as the Brionian Islands ; Italian : Isole Brioni ) are a group of fourteen small islands in the Croatian part of the northern Adriatic Sea , separated from the west coast of the Istrian peninsula by the narrow Fažana Strait (a.k.a. Fasana Channel). The largest island, Veliki Brijun Island (also known as Italian : Brioni Grande or Croatian : Veli Brijun ), (5.6 km ), lies 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) off

3930-462: The Brioni Declaration which served as the foundation for the policies the movement would follow. Another event which took place on the islands was the 1991 Brioni Agreement . The Brijuni islands were called Pollariae or Pullariae (Πολλάριαι) by the ancient Greeks, and later, they were called Brioniano. The Brijuni Islands had some Ancient Roman settlements, but up to the late 19th century

4061-474: The Free State of Fiume , under a government acceptable to both powers. D'Annunzio's response was characteristically flamboyant and of doubtful judgment: his declaration of war against Italy invited the bombardment by Italian royal forces which led to his surrender of the city at the end of the year, after five days' resistance (known as Bloody Christmas ). Italian troops freed the city from D'Annunzio's militias in

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4192-794: The Hotel Quarnero (Kvarner Hotel) and the Hotel Kronprinzessin Stephanie (present-day Hotel Imperial), and also was responsible for the unique lungomare and parks (the Company engaged Carl Schubert, director of the Viennese Emperial-Royal Society for the construction of parks). The Villa Angiolina was later run by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits . In the Angiolina Park today stands Schüler's bust,

4323-1418: The Hungarian plain to the sea. It also makes Rijeka the natural harbour for the Pannonian Basin (especially Hungary ). The other route runs north-west across the Postojna Gate connecting Rijeka with Slovenia and further through the Ljubljana Gap with Austria and beyond. A third more coastal route runs east-west connecting Rijeka (and—by extension—the Adriatic coastal cities to the south) with Trieste and northern Italy . [REDACTED] Kingdom of Croatia pre-1102. Kingdom of Croatia - Kingdom of Hungary :1102–1466 [REDACTED] Holy Roman Empire ( Habsburg monarchy ), 1466–1809 [REDACTED] First French Empire , 1809–1814 [REDACTED] Austrian Empire , 1814–1867 [REDACTED] Austria-Hungary ( [REDACTED] Transleithania ), 1867–1918 [REDACTED] Italian Regency of Carnaro , 1919–1920 [REDACTED] Free State of Fiume , 1920–1924 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Italy , 1924–1943 [REDACTED] OZAK , 1943–1945 [REDACTED]   Yugoslavia ( [REDACTED]   SR Croatia ), 1945–1991 [REDACTED]   Croatia , 1991–present Though traces of Neolithic settlements can be found in

4454-551: The Italian Regency of Carnaro , a unique social experiment for the age and a revolutionary cultural experience in which various international intellectuals of diverse walks of life took part (like Osbert Sitwell , Arturo Toscanini , Henry Furst , Filippo Tommaso Marinetti , Harukichi Shimoi , Guglielmo Marconi , Alceste De Ambris , Whitney Warren and Léon Kochnitzky). Among the many political experiments that took place during this experience, D'Annunzio and his men undertook

4585-771: The Kingdom of Hungary and governed as corpus separatum directly from Budapest by an appointed governor, as Hungary's only international port. From 1804, Rijeka was part of the Austrian Empire ( Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia after the Compromise of 1867 ), in the Croatia-Slavonia province. During the Napoleonic Wars , Rijeka was briefly captured by the French Empire and included in the Illyrian Provinces . During

4716-471: The Treaty of Saint-Germain was signed, declaring the Austro-Hungarian monarchy dissolved. Negotiations over the future of the city were interrupted two days later when a force of Italian nationalist irregulars led by the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio captured the city. Because the Italian government, wishing to respect its international obligations, did not want to annex Fiume, D'Annunzio and the intellectuals at his side eventually established an independent state,

4847-509: The University of Rijeka , founded in 1973 but with roots dating back to 1632 and the local Jesuit School of Theology. Apart from Croatian and Italian, linguistically the city is home to its own unique dialect of the Venetian language , Fiuman , with an estimated 20,000 speakers among the local Italians, Croats and other minorities. Historically Fiuman served as the main lingua franca among

4978-476: The Vojak peak reaching at a height of 1,401 m (4,596 ft). as of 2021 census, the municipality had 10,661 inhabitants in total, of which 5,715 lived in the urban settlement. The town is a popular summer and winter resort, with average high temperatures of 10 °C in winter, and 32 °C in summer. Opatija is surrounded by beautiful woods of bay laurel . The whole sea-coast to the north and south of Opatija

5109-521: The peace treaty with Italy ; most of the Italian-speaking population emigrated to Italy. In 1963 the Hotel Adriatic, by the architect Andrija Čičin-Šain and his team was completed. Hotel "Adriatic" was the first hotel built in Opatija after the Austro-Hungarian era. The rooms of hotel "Adriatic" have been described as novelties in the hospitality industry. The "Casino Rosalia" was opened in Opatija –

5240-515: The 6th century. In this period the city is part of the Liburnia limes (system of walls and fortifications against raiding Barbarians). Remains of these walls are still visible in some places today. After the 4th century Rijeka was rededicated to St. Vitus , the city's patron saint , as Terra Fluminis sancti Sancti Viti or in German Sankt Veit am Pflaum . From the 5th century onwards, the town

5371-460: The Allies on 10 February 1947, despite both the complaints by the last democratically elected government and its president-in-exile Riccardo Zanella and the attempts of the experienced Italian foreign minister Carlo Sforza to uphold the previous Wilsonian plans for a multicultural Free State solution, with a local headquarters for the newly created United Nations . Once the change to Yugoslav sovereignty

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5502-522: The Austro-Hungarian Navy), designed and successfully tested the world's first torpedo. In addition to the Whitehead torpedo factory, which opened in 1874, the oil refinery (1882) and the paper mill, many other industrial and commercial enterprises were established or expanded in these years. These include a rice husking and starch factory (one of the largest in the world), a wood and furniture company,

5633-456: The Brijuni archipelago are important hatching grounds and representative marine parks for the typical marine organisms of the northern Adriatic. Of the marine organisms that are protected by the Law on Environmental Conservation in the waters of Brijuni you can find the pen-shell and the date-shell . Sea turtles and dolphins , the protected marine vertebrates, can also from time to time be seen in

5764-568: The French rule, between 1809 and 1813, the critically important Louisiana road was completed (named after Napoleon's wife Marie Louise ). The road was the shortest route from Rijeka to the interior ( Karlovac ) and gave a strong impulse to the development of Rijeka's port. In 1813 the French rule came to an end when Rijeka was first bombarded by the Royal Navy and later re-captured by the Austrians under

5895-444: The Germans). Under the command of the German general Ludwig Kübler they inflicted thousands of casualties on the attacking Partisans, which were forced by their superiors to charge uphill against well-fortified positions to the north and east of the city. The Yugoslav commanders did not spare casualties to speed up the capture of the city, fearing a possible English landing in area which would prevent their advance towards Trieste before

6026-417: The Greek geographer and astronomer Ptolemy in his Geography when describing the "Location of Illyria or Liburnia, and of Dalmatia" (Fifth Map of Europe). In the time of Augustus , the Romans rebuilt Tarsatica as a municipium Flumen (MacMullen 2000), situated on the right bank of the small river Rječina (whose name means "the big river"). It became a city within the Roman Province of Dalmatia until

6157-399: The Hotel Icicii was converted to a military hospital. The accompanying pictures show the nursing staff and wounded at lunch, on the grounds, and receiving care. [1] In 1920 Opatija was assigned to Italy. The upper floor of Villa Amalia was built in 1930, and the building was renovated to become the summer residence of the House of Savoy . In 1947 Opatija was given to Yugoslavia as part of

6288-433: The Istrian peninsula up to the Kvarner Gulf was incorporated into the Carolingian March of Friuli by 803. In the east, it bordered on the medieval Kingdom of Croatia established by King Tomislav about 925. Having invaded Italy , King Otto of Germany made the Istrian lands part of the vast March of Verona and Aquileia ; from the 11th century onwards, the Imperial estates were held by the Patriarchs of Aquileia . In

6419-627: The Italian government due to the bankruptcy, and they remained part of Italy until the capitulation in 1943. German soldiers were there from 1943 until end of the war. In 1945 after World War II the Brijuni became part of Yugoslavia and President Marshal Josip Broz Tito made the Brijuni Islands his personal State Summer Residence. Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik designed a pavilion for Tito. Almost 100 foreign heads of state visited Tito on his islands, along with film stars including Elizabeth Taylor , Richard Burton , Sophia Loren , Carlo Ponti , and Gina Lollobrigida . Tito died in 1980, and by 1983

6550-433: The Italian military, setting the stage for an intense and bloody insurgency which would last until the end of the war. Partisan activity included guerrilla-style attacks on isolated positions or supply columns, sabotage and killings of civilians believed to be connected to the Italian and (later) German authorities. This, in turn, was met by stiff reprisals from the Italian and German military. On 14 July 1942, in reprisal for

6681-413: The Middle Ages the current town's territory was divided between Veprinac (now a locality of Opatija, perhaps home to a small fishing port) and Kastav , where the fisherman village of Veprinac. The small hamlet of Opatija itself developed around a Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saint Jacob , which was first mentioned in 1453. While western Istria was gradually conquered by the Republic of Venice by 1420,

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6812-483: The Opatija-Rijeka region, is the conceptual prequel of the international TV Series "Sport Crime". Opatija is twinned with: 45°20′N 14°18′E  /  45.333°N 14.300°E  / 45.333; 14.300 Rijeka Rijeka ( Croatian: [rijěːka] ; Slovene : Reka ), also known as Fiume ( Italian: [ˈfjuːme] ; Fiuman : Fiume ; Hungarian : Fiume ; outdated German : Sankt Veit am Flaum ),

6943-406: The bathing beach in Opatija) , and Peter von Radics wrote a guidebook simply titled Abbazia . In 1908 a tramway line was opened, running from Matulji station along the coast via Opatija down to Lovran in the south. Opatija is best known nowadays as the venue for a 1912 chess tournament devoted to the King’s Gambit . The Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I used to spend several months there during

7074-414: The branch line from Pivka to Rijeka via nearby Matulji and thus opened the path for the development of tourism in Opatija and neighbouring Lovran . In 1882, the railway company purchased the Villa Angiolina, where it accommodated the crown princely couple Rudolf and Stéphanie . At the time, Friedrich Julius Schüler (1832–1894), the Managing Director of the Southern Railways, started the construction of

7205-423: The center of the city, its highest point, was a fortress. In 799 Rijeka was attacked by the Frankish troops of Charlemagne . Their Siege of Trsat was at first repulsed, during which the Frankish commander Duke Eric of Friuli was killed. However, the Frankish forces finally occupied and devastated the castle, while the Duchy of Croatia passed under the overlordship of the Carolingian Empire . From about 925,

7336-477: The city (which had been legally granted a fully bilingual status after the occupation in 1945), eventually also 'de facto' (but not 'de jure') deleting bilinguilism, except in a handful of selected bilingual schools and inside the Italian Community's own building. After the war the local ethnic Italians of Rijeka left Yugoslavia for Italy ( Istrian-Dalmatian exodus ). The city was then resettled by immigrants from various parts of Yugoslavia, once more changing heavily

7467-417: The city had a Slavic majority at the beginning of the 19th century, because the 1851 census reported a Croatian majority. However, this census is considered not very reliable by Italian historians. At the last Austro-Hungarian census in 1910, the corpus separatum had a population of 49,806 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: By religion, the census of 1910 indicates that - from

7598-401: The city had to be almost completely rebuilt. In 1753, the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa approved the funding for rebuilding Rijeka as a "new city" ("Civitas nova"). The rebuilt Rijeka was significantly different - it was transformed from a small medieval walled town into a larger commercial and maritime city centered around its port. By order of Maria Theresa in 1779, the city was annexed to

7729-494: The city hospital to this day). On 10 February 1918 the Italian navy raided the nearby bay of Bakar causing little material damage but achieving a significant propaganda effect. As the war dragged on, the city's economy and the living standard of the population deteriorated rapidly. Due to a maritime blockade , the port traffic suffered a collapse - from 2,892.538 tons in 1913 (before the war) to only 330.313 tons in 1918. Many factories - lacking manpower and/or raw materials - reduced

7860-406: The city started, marked by major port development, fuelled by the general expansion of international trade and the city's connection (1873) to the Austro-Hungarian railway network. Modern industrial and commercial enterprises such as the Royal Hungarian Sea Navigation Company " Adria ", a rival shipping company the Ungaro-Croata (established in 1891) and the Smith and Meynier paper mill (which operated

7991-419: The city was also a target of more than 30 Anglo-American air attacks, which caused widespread destruction and hundreds of civilian deaths. Some of the heaviest bombardments happened on 12 January 1944 (attack on the refinery, part of the oil campaign ), on 3–6 November 1944, when a series of attacks resulted in at least 125 deaths and between 15 and 25 February 1945 (200 dead, 300 wounded). The area of Rijeka

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8122-434: The city's demographics and its linguistic composition. These years coincided also with a period of general reconstruction and new program of industrialization after the destruction of the war. During the period of the Yugoslav Communist administration between the 1950s and the 1980s, the city became the main port of the Federal Republic and started to grow once again, both demographically and economically, taking advantage of

8253-414: The city). The legend of Karolina is warmly remembered by the population even today. She became a folk hero Karolina Riječka (Caroline of Rijeka) and has been celebrated in plays, movies and even in a rock opera. In the early 19th century, the most prominent economical and cultural leader of the city was Andrija Ljudevit Adamić . Fiume also had a significant naval base, and in the mid-19th century it became

8384-401: The city, 11,000 were killed or executed after surrendering , while the remaining 16,000 were taken as prisoners. Yugoslav troops entered Rijeka on 3 May 1945. The city had suffered extensive damage in the war. The economic infrastructure was almost completely destroyed, and of the 5,400 buildings in the city at the time, 2,890 (53%) were either completely destroyed or damaged. The city's fate

8515-426: The city, they were eventually all assassinated by the Yugoslav secret police OZNA in the days leading up to the Yugoslav army's victorious march into city and its aftermath. In subsequent years, the Yugoslav authorities joined the municipalities of Fiume and Sušak and, after 1954, less than one third of the original population of the now united municipalities (mostly what was previously the Croat minority in Fiume and

8646-417: The coast. The second-largest island is Mali Brijun with an area of 1.07 square kilometres (0.41 sq mi), and twelve much smaller islands. Known for their scenery, the islands are a holiday resort and a Croatian National Park . The islands gained worldwide fame in 1956 during the Brioni Meeting when the main leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement met with the host, Yugoslav president Tito , to form

8777-427: The command of the Irish general Laval Nugent von Westmeath . The British bombardment has an interesting side story. The city was apparently saved from annihilation by a young lady named Karolina Belinić who - amid the chaos and destruction of the bombardment - went to the English fleet commander and convinced him that further bombardment of the city was unnecessary (the small French garrison was quickly defeated and left

8908-428: The end of the war ) eventually forced most Italophones (of various ethnicities) to leave Rijeka/Fiume in order to avoid becoming victims of a harsher retaliation. The removal was a meticulously planned operation, aimed at convincing the hardly assimilable Italian part of the autochthonous population to leave the country, as testified decades later by representatives of the Yugoslav leadership. The most notable victims of

9039-399: The first European golf course with 18 holes (1922) and a polo court. Professional players lived in the hotels and horses werde waiting permanent for guests, a Casino with high taxes by Italy made great financial problems. The estate went bankrupt and Karl committed suicide in 1930. The heirs were three sisters, the granddaughters of Paul Kupelwieser. 1936 ownership of the islands was acquired by

9170-506: The first casino in Eastern Europe. In 1981 the Hotel "Admiral" and marina (200 berths and 40 dry berths) were completed. After the breakup of Yugoslavia which began in 1991, the town became part of Croatia. The 14th-century Benedictine abbey , Opatija Sv. Jakova ("Abbey of Saint Jacob"), from which the town derives its name ( opatija means " abbey " in Croatian ) is located in Park Svetog Jakova or Saint Jacob's Park. Saint Jacob's church, built in 1506 and enlarged in 1937, now stands on

9301-424: The first steam engine in south-east Europe), situated in the Rječina canyon, producing cigarette paper sold around the world. The second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century (up to World War I) was a period of great prosperity, rapid economic growth and technological dynamism for Rijeka. Many authors and witnesses describe Rijeka of this time as a rich, tolerant, well-to-do town which offered

9432-631: The following decades and can be seen roaming freely around the island. In the late 19th century and early 20th century the European hare , the chital, the fallow deer and the mouflon were imported, so their descendants still adorn the forests, parks and glades of Brijuni and are part of its identity. The autochthonous birds are quite well represented. Some of the smaller islands are excellent habitats where gulls and sea swallows nest, as well as some rare genera of cormorants . The Brionian islands are also important seasonal habitats of northern bird species and

9563-651: The hotels, the building of villas started, for the needs of more demanding noble guests. The first Villa Amalia, in the immediate vicinity of the Hotel Quarnero, was built in 1890 as the hotel's annex. Opatija's first guide was published in 1883 in Vienna with the title Abbazia, Idylle von der Adria . The same year saw the publication of Abbazia und seine Umgebung ( Opatija and its Environs ) by Heinrich Noe, who in 1884 published his Tagebuch aus Abbazia (Diary from Opatija) . Joseph Rable printed Curort und Seebad Abbazia (Spa and

9694-478: The independentist candidates of the Autonomist Party. Fiume became consequently a full-fledged member of the League of Nations and the ensuing election of Rijeka's first president, Riccardo Zanella , was met with official recognition and greetings from all major powers and countries worldwide. Despite many positive developments leading to the establishment of the new state's structures, the subsequent formation of

9825-627: The islands were declared a National Park of Yugoslavia . In mid-July 1956, President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser , Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru , and President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito met here to discuss their opposition to the Cold War . These ideas later crystallized into the Non-Aligned Movement . Vijay Prashad has compared this meeting to the Yalta Conference . Brijuni Islands were initially considered to host

9956-488: The islands were mainly used for their quarries , which have been worked on for centuries. The islands belonged to Venice from the Middle Ages , and stone from the islands was used to build the palaces and bridges of the city. The islands were part of the Illyrian Provinces after Napoleon's brief annexation. In 1815 the islands became part of the Austrian Empire , which later became Austria-Hungary . During this period

10087-453: The islands' quarries first supplied stone to Vienna and Berlin . With the erection of a naval base in the harbour of Pula , the Austrians built a strong fortress, "Fort Tegetthoff," on Veliki Brijun Island Island, together with minor fortifications on some of the others. The Austro-Hungarian Navy abandoned the fortress, and in 1893 the Viennese business magnate Paul Kupelwieser bought

10218-567: The killing of four civilians of Italian origin by Partisans, the Italian military killed 100 men from the suburban village of Podhum, resettling the remaining 800 people to concentration camps. After the surrender of Italy to the Allies in September 1943, Rijeka and the surrounding territories were occupied and annexed by Germany, becoming part of the Adriatic Littoral Zone . Partisan activity continued and intensified. On 30 April 1944, in

10349-401: The large scale corruption which marked Croatia's transition from socialism to capitalism as well as several years of war economy played a significant role in the collapse of the city's economy during the 1990s and early 2000s. A difficult and uncertain transition of the city's economy away from manufacturing and towards an economy based on services and tourism is still in progress. In 2018, it

10480-452: The last days of December 1920. After a world war and additional two years of economic paralysis the city economy was nearing collapse and the population was exhausted. In a subsequent democratic election the Fiuman electorate on 24 April 1921 approved the idea of a free state of Fiume-Rijeka with a Fiuman-Italo-Yugoslav consortium ownership structure for the port, giving an overwhelming victory to

10611-579: The last delegate from Fiume to the Hungarian Parliament, was admitted to the conference as a representative of Fiume, and essentially supported the Italian claims. Nevertheless, at this point the city had had for years a strong and very active Autonomist Party seeking for Rijeka a special independent status among nations as a multicultural Adriatic city. This movement even had its delegate at the Paris peace conference - Ruggero Gotthardi. On 10 September 1919,

10742-483: The local ethnic question, in particular after the Autonomist sympathisers gained massive support in the first local elections held on the city's territory between 1945 and 1946. The discrimination and persecution that many inhabitants experienced at the hands of Yugoslav officials, in the last days of World War II and the first years of peace, still remain painful memories for the locals and the esuli, and are somewhat of

10873-462: The main event there are two other events held. One is Rally Paris–Bakar (after the Dakar Rally ). The start is a part of Rijeka called Paris after the restaurant located there, and the end is in city of Bakar, located about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south-east. All of the participants of the rally wear masks, and the cars are mostly modified old cars. The other event is the children's carnival, held, like

11004-478: The main maritime outlet for Austria—reflecting the rivalry between the two components of the Dual Monarchy. The Austro-Hungarian Navy sought to keep the balance by ordering new warships from the shipyards of both cities. During this period the city had an Italian majority. According to the census of 1880, in Rijeka there were 9,076 Italians, 7,991 Croats, 895 Germans and 383 Hungarians. Some historians claim that

11135-547: The main maritime outlet for Hungary and the eastern part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . By 1913–14, the port of Fiume became the tenth-busiest port in Europe. The population grew rapidly from only 21,000 in 1880 to 50,000 in 1910. Major civic buildings constructed at this time include the Governor's Palace, designed by the Hungarian architect Alajos Hauszmann . There was an ongoing competition between Rijeka and Trieste,

11266-528: The main one, on Rijeka's main walkway Korzo. The groups that participate are mostly from kindergartens and elementary schools, including groups from other parts of Croatia and neighboring countries. In 1982 there were only three masked groups on Rijeka's main walkway Korzo. In recent years, the international carnival has attracted around 15,000 participants from all over the world organized in over 200 carnival groups, with crowds of over 100,000. Brijuni The Brijuni ( pronounced [brijǔːni] ) or

11397-707: The majority in Sušak) remained in the city, because the old municipality of Fiume lost in these years more than 85% of the original population. The Yugoslav plans for a more obedient demographic situation in RIjeka culminated in 1954 during the Trieste crisis, when the Yugoslav Communist Party rallied many local members to ruin or destroy the most notable vestiges of the Italian/Venetian language and all bilingual inscriptions in

11528-585: The many ethnicities inhabiting the multi-ethnic port city. In certain suburbs of the modern extended municipality the autochthonous population still speaks Chakavian , a dialect of Croatian. In 2016, Rijeka was selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2020, alongside Galway , Ireland . Historically, Rijeka was called Tharsatica , Vitopolis ( lit.   ' City of [Saint] Vitus ' ), or Flumen ( lit.   ' River ' ) in Latin . The city

11659-399: The most interesting is the locality of Saline. That is a very damp area with three marshy lakes of 8 acres (32,000 m ) of fenced area with the aim of forming an ornithology reservation. The biggest lake is overgrown with reed and is a good nestling ground for numerous types of birds. On the island there is also a Safari Park, it is home to a variety of exotic animals which were given to

11790-480: The most prominent among them being the Jugolinija shipping company, the torpedo factory, the paper mill and many other small or medium manufacturing and commercial companies. Other companies have struggled to remain economically viable (like the city's landmark 3. Maj shipyard). The number of people working in manufacturing dropped from more than 80,000 in 1990 to only 5,000 two decades later . Privatization scandals and

11921-757: The name of the river being derived from Latin flumen ). Rijeka is located in western Croatia , 131 kilometres (81 miles) south-west of the capital, Zagreb , on the coast of Kvarner Gulf , in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea . Geographically, Rijeka is roughly equidistant from Milan (485 km [301 mi]), Budapest (502 km [312 mi]), Munich (516 km [321 mi]), Vienna (516 km [321 mi]) and Belgrade (550 km [340 mi]). Other major regional centers such as Trieste (76 km [47 mi]), Venice (240 km [150 mi]) and Ljubljana (115 km [71 mi]) are all relatively close and easily accessible. The Bay of Rijeka, which

12052-554: The nearby village of Lipa, German troops killed 263 civilians in reprisal for the killing of several soldiers during a Partisan attack. The German and Italian occupiers and their local collaborators deported some 80 percent of the city's roughly 500 Jews to Auschwitz . A larger proportion of Rijeka's Jewish population was murdered in the Holocaust than that of any other city in Italian territory. Because of its industries (oil refinery, torpedo factory, shipyards) and its port facilities,

12183-545: The necessary external support and its main legacy remains today the Regency of Carnaro's recognition of Soviet Russia , the first state in the world to have done so. The Liberal Giovanni Giolitti became Premier of Italy again in June 1920; this signalled a hardening of official attitudes to D'Annunzio's coup . On 12 November, Italy and Yugoslavia concluded the Treaty of Rapallo , which envisaged Fiume becoming an independent state,

12314-476: The newly re-established hinterland that had been lacking during the Italian period, as well as the rebuilding after the war of its traditional manufacturing industries, its maritime economy and its port potential. This, paired with its rich commercial history, allowed the city to soon become the second richest (GDP per capita) district within Yugoslavia . However, many of these industries and companies, being based on

12445-519: The north) and the city mostly lies on a long and relatively narrow strip along the coast. Two important inland transport routes start in Rijeka. The first route runs north-east to the Pannonian Basin . This route takes advantage of Rijeka's location close to the point where the Dinaric Alps are the narrowest (about fifty kilometres or 31 miles) and easiest to traverse, making it the optimal route from

12576-459: The park as gifts from diplomatic partners. The nilgai , zebu and Asian elephant were donated as a gift from India , plains zebra and mountain zebra were given by Ahmed Sékou Touré from Guinea , waterbuck came from Ethiopia . . As Titos animals died one after the other - Indira Ghandis male elefant Sony died 2010, widow Lanka is now alone - they made an Ethnopark. No camels, antilopes, but more and more Istrian animals. The local seas of

12707-581: The political and ethnic repression of locals in this period was the Fiume Autonomists purge hitting all the autonomist figures still living in the city, and now associated in the Liburnian Autonomist Movement . The Autonomists actively helped the Yugoslav partisans in liberating the region from Fascist and Nazi occupation, and, despite receiving various promises of large political autonomy for

12838-490: The production or simply closed. Shortages of food and other basic necessities became widespread. Even public safety became a problem with an increase in the number of thefts, violent incidents and war profiteering. The crisis escalated on October 23, 1918, when the Croatian troops stationed in Rijeka (79th regiment) mutinied and temporarily took control of the city. Amid growing chaos, the Austro-Hungarian empire dissolved

12969-472: The region, the earliest modern settlements on the site were Celtic Tharsatica (modern Trsat , now part of Rijeka) on the hill, and the tribe of mariners, the Liburni , in the natural harbour below. The city long retained its dual character. Rijeka was first mentioned in the 1st century AD by Pliny the Elder as Tarsatica in his Natural History (iii.140). Rijeka (Tarsatica) is again mentioned around AD 150 by

13100-475: The region. It is interesting to point out that on the islands there are some plant species that are among the endangered plant species of Istria (marine poppy, wild cucumber, some grass species etc.), but on the islands they are quite widespread and develop freely. The most valuable part of the island from the point of view of vegetation stretches from the Villa Brijunka in the south, and the most lovely forest

13231-652: The remaining territory up to Opatija fell to the House of Habsburg and later was incorporated into the Austrian Littoral . The town's modern history began in 1844, when Iginio Scarpa (1794–1866), a wealthy merchant from Rijeka, had the Villa Angiolina manor built in an extended park, where he received notable guests such as Ban Josip Jelačić . In 1873 the Austrian Southern Railway company from Vienna opened

13362-402: The same level of prosperity. Initially there was a semblance of normalcy (the city was far from the frontlines), however - a growing part of the male population started to be mobilized by the army and the navy. The city's war-related industries continued to work full steam and contributed significantly to the Austro-Hungarian war effort, especially to the navy. The shipyard Ganz-Danubius produced

13493-516: The same spot. The neo-Romanesque Church of the Annunciation with its pronounced green cupola, was designed in 1906 by architect Karl Seidl. Another sight is the Villa Angiolina, built in 1844 by Iginio Scarpa. This villa, transformed into a museum. Since 1844. Villa Angiolina had many prominent guests Opatija is known for the Maiden with the seagull , a statue by Zvonko Car (1956), which is positioned on

13624-518: The seat of the newly formed Province of Fiume . In this period Fiume lost its commercial hinterland and thus part of its economic potential as it became a border town with little strategic importance for the Kingdom of Italy. However, since it retained the Free Port status and its iconic image in the nation-building myth, it gained many economic concessions and subsidies from the government in Rome. These included

13755-713: The site of the Austro-Hungarian Naval Academy (K.u.K. Marine-Akademie), where the Austro-Hungarian Navy trained its officers. During the Hungarian revolution of 1848 , when Hungary tried to gain independence from Austria, Rijeka was captured by the Croatian troops (loyal to Austria) commanded by Ban Josip Jelačić . The city was then annexed directly to Croatia, although it did keep a degree of autonomy. Giovanni de Ciotta (mayor from 1872 to 1896) proved to be an authoritative local political leader. Under his leadership, an impressive phase of expansion of

13886-555: The statue The Fountain - Helios and Selena , a work of the Austrian sculptor Hans Rathautsky from 1889. There is a 12 km-long promenade along the entire riviera, the Lungomare from Volosko , via Opatija, to Lovran and a 7 km-long forest path walk, the Šetalište Carmen Sylve , named after Elisabeth of Wied , Queen consort of Romania, widely known by her literary name of Carmen Sylva. Several scenes of " The Legacy Run " have been shot in Opatija. The movie, in good part shot in

14017-467: The territory of the small state. Most of the old Corpus Separatum territory became part of Italy, while a few Croatian/Slovenian-speaking villages to the north of the city were annexed by Yugoslavia. The annexation happened de facto on 16 March 1924, and it inaugurated about twenty years of Italian government for the city proper, to the detriment of the Croatian minority, which fell victim of discrimination and targeted assimilation policies. The city became

14148-698: The total of 49,806 inhabitants - there were 45,130 Catholics , 1,696 Jewish , 1,123 Calvinist , 995 Orthodox and 311 Lutheran . The Jewish population expanded rapidly, particularly in the 1870s-1880s, and built a large synagogue in 1907 (which would be destroyed in 1944, during the German occupation, concurrent with the murder of most of the city's Jewish residents). On the eve of WWI, there were 165 inns, 10 hotels with restaurants, 17 cafés, 17 jewellers, 37 barbers and 265 tailor shops in Rijeka. World War I put an end to Rijeka's "golden era" of peace, stability and rapid economic growth. The city would never quite recover to

14279-461: The town several times, they never occupied it. From the 16th century onwards, Rijeka's present Renaissance and Baroque style started to take shape. Emperor Charles VI declared the Port of Rijeka a free port (together with the Port of Trieste ) in 1719 and had the trade route to Vienna expanded in 1725. On November 28, 1750 Rijeka was hit by a large earthquake. The devastation was so widespread that

14410-522: The town was part of the Kingdom of Croatia , from 1102 in personal union with Hungary . Trsat Castle and the town was rebuilt under the rule of the House of Frankopan . In 1288 the Rijeka citizens signed the Law codex of Vinodol , one of the oldest codes of law in Europe. In the period from about 1300 to 1466 Rijeka was ruled by a number of noble families, the most prominent of which was the German Walsee family . Rijeka even rivalled Venice when in it

14541-477: The typical Mediterranean characteristics. On Veliki Brijun Island there are about 600 indigenous plant species. Here cedars, bamboos, and the pyramidal yew have become acclimatised, while on Vanga the dwarf spruce grows. There is also much exotic vegetation that Tito received from foreign statesmen. The most important plant associations of Veliki Brijun Island are: Maquis shrubland , Holm Oak , and Laurel forest , and Conifers , which are very characteristic of

14672-485: The variety of the sponge Ircinia variabilis fistulata . On the Brijuni there are several archaeological and cultural sites. At four sites on Veliki Brijun Island over 200 dinosaur footprints have been discovered, which can be traced to the Cretaceous Period from where Brijuni Cretaceous Park gets its name. The island encompasses several archeological sites. There is the 13th century AD St. Mary's Church which

14803-573: The war becoming a protracted conflict and especially with the Italian declaration of war on Austria-Hungary in May 1915. This opened a frontline only 90 km from the city and caused a pervasive sense of anxiety among the large Italian population. Several hundred Italians, considered disloyal (enemy non-combatants) by the authorities, were deported to camps in Hungary ( Tápiósüly and Kiskunhalas ), where many died of malnutrition and diseases. The torpedo factory

14934-482: The war was over. After an extremely bloody battle and heavy losses on the attackers side, the Germans were forced to retreat. Before leaving the city the German troops destroyed much of the harbour area and other important infrastructure with explosive charges. However, the German attempt to break out of the encirclement north-west of the city was unsuccessful. Of the approximately 27,000 German and other troops retreating from

15065-494: The war, most notably the possibility to be a state of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), the city was annexed by Yugoslavia and incorporated as part of the federal state of Croatia. All the many voices of dissent within the population were silenced in the 12 months following the end of the war. The situation created by the Yugoslav forces on the ground was eventually formalized by the 1947 Paris peace treaty between Italy and

15196-469: The waters of Brijuni. There are also some endemic species like the black tang , Jadranski bračić , and the Tunicate , Jadranski ciganin. The seabed abounds in sponges, shellfish, sea urchins, crustaceans, fish etc. In the past in the seas of Brijuni were found some species that were never seen in the Adriatic, as well as some species up to then unknown to scientists like the soft coral Alcyonium brionense or

15327-498: The whole archipelago and began to create an exclusive beach resort. In 1900 Kupelwieser invited Robert Koch , the renowned microbiologist, to conduct his malaria eradication experiments on Brijuni. Koch and his associates were successful, and in 1901 the island was declared malaria-free. The estate was supplemented with a harbour, water of the Istrian hills down under the sea, wonderful parks, vineyards, milk-oeconomy ("Imperial cheese"

15458-496: The winter. He met there with the German emperor Wilhelm II on 29 March 1894; other crowned heads seeking relaxation included Empress Elisabeth of Austria and the German empress Augusta Victoria , King Carol I of Romania and his consort Elisabeth , King George I of Greece , Albert, King of Saxony , William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg , and Prince Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš . Many of the late 19th-century luxury hotels and villas have survived to present times. During World War I

15589-581: Was heavily fortified even before World War II (the remains of these fortifications can be seen today on the outskirts of the city). This was the fortified border between Italy and Yugoslavia which, at that time, cut across the city area and its surroundings. As Yugoslav troops approached the city in April 1945, one of the fiercest and largest battles in this area of Europe ensued. The 27,000 German and additional Italian RSI troops fought tenaciously from behind these fortifications (renamed "Ingridstellung"—Ingrid Line—by

15720-497: Was Italian followed by Croatian constituting most of the remainder, but its immediate surroundings and the city of Sušak, just across the Rječina river (today a part of Rijeka proper) were inhabited almost exclusively by Croatians and part of a potentially hostile power— Yugoslavia . Once the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, the Croatian areas surrounding the city were occupied by

15851-481: Was announced that, 65 years after the abolition of Italian as the official language of the city, new Croatian-Italian bilingual signs will be placed back in the Fiume part of the modern united municipality. In 2020, Rijeka was voted the European Capital of Culture alongside Galway , with a planned program including more than 600 events of cultural and social importance. The Rijeka Carnival (Croatian: Riječki karneval )

15982-512: Was attacked by the Italian airship "Citta` di Novara" in 1915 (later shot down by Austrian hydroplanes) and suffered damages. As a consequence - most of the torpedo production was moved to Sankt Pölten in Austria, further away from the frontlines. The city was again attacked by Italian airplanes in 1916 and suffered minor damage. The Naval Academy ceased its activities and was converted to a war hospital (the ex-naval academy buildings are still housing

16113-515: Was built by the Knights Templar . There are also two ancient Roman villa remains, from the 2nd Century BC and remains of a Byzantine fort. The last remain is Hill-fort which indicates a Bronze Age settlement on the island dating back to 14th century BC. The island houses an exhibition dedicated to Josip Broz Tito , showcasing photographs of more than a hundred state visits to the island. According to an analysis of reviews, many visitors find

16244-597: Was famous, James Joyce enjoyed), first class hotels, a bath inside with warm saltwater, restaurants, beach resorts, tennis and a yacht harbour and became a focal point in social life on the Austrian Riviera . Many famous poets, actors, artists visited the isle (Hugo Charlemont painted about 150 pictures showing Brionian motives). Kupelwieser also established a sailing regatta and – due to the flourish of Austrian Culture – various musical concerts and literature events. The Brijuni islands (called always Brioni) became popular as

16375-479: Was formalized, and in particular in the years leading to the Trieste Crisis of 1954, 58,000 of the city's 66,000 inhabitants were gradually pushed either to emigrate (they became known in Italian as esuli or the exiled ones from Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia ) or to endure harsh oppression by the new Yugoslav Communist regime. The Yugoslav communist party opted for a markedly Stalinist approach to solving

16506-503: Was located in Rijeka. Rijeka's Austro-Hungarian Marine Academy became a pioneering centre for high-speed photography . The Austrian physicist Peter Salcher working in the Academy took the first photograph of a bullet flying at supersonic speed in 1886, devising a technique that was later used by Ernst Mach in his studies of supersonic motion. Rijeka's port underwent tremendous development fuelled by generous Hungarian investments, becoming

16637-463: Was once again solved by a combination of force and diplomacy. Despite insistent requests from the Fiuman government in exile collaboration with the partisans and calls to respect the city-state's internationally recognized sovereignty, and despite generous initial promises given by the Yugoslav authorities of full independence and later of extensive autonomy for the city-state (the locals were promised various degrees of autonomy at different moments during

16768-648: Was ruled successively by the Ostrogoths , the Byzantines , the Lombards , and the Avars . The city was burned down in 452 by the troops of Attila the Hun as part of their Aquileia campaign. Croats settled the city starting in the 7th century giving it the Croatian name, Rika svetoga Vida ("the river of Saint Vitus"). At the time, Rijeka was a feudal stronghold surrounded by a wall. At

16899-504: Was sold by Rambert II Walsee to the Habsburg emperor Frederick III , Archduke of Austria in 1466. It would remain under Austrian Habsburg rule for over 450 years (except for a brief period of French rule between 1809 and 1813) until the end of World War I in 1918 when it was occupied by Croatian and subsequently by Italian irregulars . Austrian presence on the Adriatic Sea was seen as

17030-481: Was therefore sealed, the Italian Fascist Party being among the strongest proponents of the annexation of Fiume to Italy. The Free State of Fiume thus was to officially become the first country victim of fascist expansionism. The period of diplomatic acrimony was closed by the bilateral Treaty of Rome (27 January 1924), signed by Italy and Yugoslavia. With it the two neighbouring countries agreed to partition

17161-402: Was to become its only seaport (Trieste was to be annexed by Italy). However, once the empire disintegrated, the status of the city became disputed. Italy based its claim on the fact that Italians comprised the largest single nationality within the city (46.9% of the total population). Croats made up most of the remainder and were a majority in the surrounding area. Andrea Ossoinack , who had been

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