CROATIA

Geographical position:

Croatia extends from the furthest eastern edges of the Alps in the north-west to the Pannonian lowlands and the banks of the Danube in the east; its central region is covered by the Dinara mountain range, and its southern parts extend to the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

Population:

4,437,460 inhabitants; composition of population: the majority of the population are Croats; national minorities are Serbs, Slovenes, Hungarians, Bosnians, Italians, Czechs and others.
System of government: multi-party parliamentary republic.

Capital:

Zagreb (779,145 inhabitants), the economic, traffic, cultural and academic centre of the country.

Coastline:

5,835 km of which 4,058 km comprise a coastline of islands, solitary rocks and reefs. Number of islands, solitary rocks and reefs: 1,185; the largest islands are Krk and Cres; there are 50 inhabited islands.

Climate:

There are two climate zones; a temperate continental climate, locally also a mountainous climate, prevails in the interior, whereas a pleasant

Mediterranean climate prevails along the Adriatic coast, with an overwhelming number of sunny days, dry and hot summers, mild and humid winters; average temperature in the inland: January 0 to 2°C, August 19 to 23°C; average temperature at the seaside: January 6 to 11°C, August 21 to 27 °C; the temperature is about 12°C in winter, and 25°C in summer.

Currency:

kuna (1 kuna = 100 lipa). Foreign currency can be exchanged in banks, exchange offices, post offices, travel agencies, hotels, camps, marinas; cheques can be cashed in banks (1 € = 7,35 kuna).

The Adriatic sea:

The Adriatic sea got its name from an ancient port of the same name. The Adriatic spans from the Balkan to the Apennine peninsula. The part belonging to the Republic of Croatia is the eastcoast which extends all the way from Prevlaka in the south to cape Savudrija in the west,including all islands, islets and cliffs along the coast,and the archipelago of Palagruza (the number of islands, islets and cliffs is more than 1700).
This is a unique area in Europe forcruising with motor boats, speedboats, or sailboats, but also for enjoying the underwater world.

Croatian cuisine:

Croatian cuisine is heterogeneous, and is therefore known as "the cuisine of regions". Its modern roots date back to Proto-Slavic and ancient periods and the differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of cooking are most notable between those on the mainland and those in coastal regions.

Mainland cuisine is more characterized by the earlier Proto-Slavic and the more recent contacts with the more famous gastronomic orders of today - Hungarian, Viennese and Turkish - while the coastal region bears the influences of the Greek, Roman and Illyrian, as well as of the later Mediterranean cuisine - Italian and French.
A large body of books bears witness to the high level of gastronomic culture in Croatia, which in European terms dealt with food in the distant past, such as the Gazophylacium by Belostenec, a Latin-Kajkavian dictionary dating from 1740 that preceded a similar French dictionary.
There is also Beletristic literature by Marulic, Hektorovic, Drzic and other writers, down to the work written by Ivan Bierling in 1813 containing recipes for the preparation of 554 various dishes (translated from the German original), and which is considered to be the first Croatian cookery book.


RIJEKA

General information:

The geographical position of Rijeka is crucial for its tourist image. This is where a visitor in transit meets the sea for the first time, regardless of whether coming by road or rail.

The access to Rijeka is extremely attractive - both from the west

and from the east - and the access from the sea offers the most charming view on Rijeka. The natural and cultural features of Rijeka, the Mediterranean climate, and the closer and broader surroundings of the mountainous landscape of the Primorsko-Goranska County add to the value of the city. The area around Rijeka represents the most developed tourist region in Croatia, with a tradition dating back to the 19th century; more than a half of the foreign tourists visiting Croatia stay in Rijeka. The importance of industry in Rijeka does not allow the city to develop into a holiday centre. However, by being the second largest city in Croatia and an important business centre, Rijeka has developed into a strong centre of business tourism. It hosts important business events, such as: the Spring Fair (in April), Nautica, Automobile Fair (in May), the North Adriatic Fair (in October) and the Christmas Fair, so that, apart from business tourism, congress tourism increasingly gains on importance. Trsat, the centre of Marianism in this part of Croatia (10th of May, the Day of Our Lady of Trsat - and the Seafarer's Day, the Assumption on the 15thof August, and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on the 8th of August) make Rijeka the centre of religious tourism as well. Almost grown into one with Opatija - the oldest and the most renowned tourist centre in Croatia.

Apart from quality accommodation facilities, shops, theatres and other entertainment, visitors can attend important cultural events: the Biennial of Young Artists - international exhibition of young artists - painters, sculptors, alternative artists (1st of July - 30th of September), the Rijeka Summer, concerts and theatrical performances in the Old Town, on Trsat, in the cathedral of St. Vitus (in June and July), the Melodies of Istria and Kvarner (end of June), the Assumption - Trsat (15thof August), the Days of Zajc (in November), the Day of St. Vitus, the patron saint of Rijeka (15thof June), the Rijeka Carnival, the biggest carnival event in Croatia (in February), etc.

RIJEKA, a city and port in the Rijeka Bay, on the northern coast of the Kvarner Gulf, cutting deep into the mainland. An average temperature in January reaches 5 °C, and in July 22.8 °C. The annual rainfall is 1,600 mm; 2,120 hours of sunshine a year. Good connections with the hinterland, modern port facilities and strong naval and commercial tradition helped Rijeka to develop into Croatia's biggest port. It also represents an important European transit port. - The town saw a more intense development in the 18th century, increased by the construction of the Louise Road (1810, to Karlovac), the port and, particularly, the railroads to Budapest and Vienna. Between the two World Wars, as Rijeka was cut off from the immediate hinterland, the port of Rijeka lost its original importance, but its eastern part, the port of Susak, started to develop. After 1945 Rijeka restored its position as a large centre of commerce and maritime affairs (seating several shipping companies), with developed industry (shipyard, oil refinery, diesel engines, ship cranes, ship equipment, paper, etc.).

Rijeka is also a lively cultural and artistic centre, with a number of cultural and educational institutions and schools (several faculties). In Rijeka proper as well as in its surroundings, manufacturing industries, traffic and various services are concentrated, while tourism, farming, forestry and fishing represent chief occupations in its wider area. The main crossroads of the Adriatic tourist traffic, which flows from central Europe to the central and southern Adriatic.

It is also an important road traffic intersection, with roads connecting the city with the hinterland through Gorski Kotar, where the Dinaric barrier is only between 40 and 50 km wide. From Rijeka, roads lead to the north, the border with the Republic of Slovenia, towards Istria, and to the south. Important railway junction. The airport "Rijeka" is located near Omisalj on the island of Krk.

History:

The name Rijeka appeared in the records in the 13th century. In the Roman times there was Tarsatica (first mentioned in 60 BC), a key fortification and settlement on the borderline of the so-called Liburnian Limes (Illyrian Liburnia stretched from Plomin to the Krka river in Dalmatia). Tarsatica was last mentioned in AD 799. From the end of the 7th century under the Croatian rule; after that changed several rulers, and in 1466 fell under the rule of the Habsburgs, which helped them to spread their property to the Adriatic coast in the 15th century, which in turn resulted in conflicts with Venice (1509, Venetians turned the town into ashes). Rijeka gained autonomy at the end of the 16th century, and in 1719 was declared a free port by Emperor Charles VI. Under the rule of Maria Theresa (1776) Rijeka and a part of Primorje formed a special territorial unit within Croatia. -After the French and Austrian administration, it was included under the Croatian civil administration in 1822. In 1848 Rijeka supported the Hungarian Revolution, upon which the Croatian Viceroy Josip Jelacic became the Governor of Rijeka. In 1919 Rijeka was occupied by Gabriele d'Annunzio and his legionaries. According to the Treaty of Rapallo (1920), the State of Rijeka was established; pursuant to the Treaty of Rome, Rijeka fell to Italy (1924-43). In 1945 it was annexed to the parent country, Croatia.