Excursion "Kvarner" (Rieka - Trsat Castle - Opatija)

My favorite excursion, during which we will get acquainted with two cities of the Kvarner region: Rijeka and Opatija.

Rijeka is the European Capital of Culture 2020, a city that during the twentieth century was part of six different countries.

“I love my city that flows,” locals say of their favorite city, which means “river” in Croatian.

The heart of Kvarner, the third largest city in Croatia after Zagreb and Split, is located almost on the border with Slovenia, near the Italian city of Trieste.

Everything here is mixed: languages, customs, traditions, culture of different peoples.

Where did the popular saying “Rieka is a Hungarian city where Croats speak Italian” come from? We will find out about this while walking around the city.

The symbol and protective sign of the city of Rijeka is "Morčić" - the head of a black man in a turban in the form of jewelry made of silver or gold, covered with colorful enamel. The tradition of wearing "Morčić" came to Rijeka in the 17th century from Venice, where black servants were in vogue. These jewelry as a protective amulet was worn and worn until now in the form of earrings, rings, pendants and brooches of both women and men. In Rijeka, "Morcici" decorate the facades of houses, and are also a symbol of the famous winter carnival.

We begin our acquaintance with the city on a bridge over a mountain river that flows into the sea, where after the end of the First World War there was a border dividing the city between two states.

We will talk about the Italian writer, poet and politician Gabriel D Annunzio and his famous campaign to Rijeka in 1919, after which Rijeka received the status of an independent state for several years.

In the future, we will see the local “Leaning Tower of Pisa” – a medieval bell tower, popularly called the “Kosaya Tower”, the main pedestrian street of Korzo, which every winter becomes the center of the final procession of the Croatian carnivals, the theater square and the building of the Croatian folk theater, built according to the project of one of the best architectural bureaus of its time “Felner and Helmer”, we will learn why there are “Italian schools” in Rijeka and much, much more.

Well, we will finish our tour of Rijeka on the beautiful Trsat, located on a rock, at an altitude of 138 meters above sea level, from which there is a beautiful view of the city, and where there is a medieval castle built by representatives of the Croatian princely family Frankopan, and learn how the unknown princes, whose patrimony was the Croatian island of Krk, in the 15th century received from the Pope a new high-profile title and a beautiful surname “Frankopan”.

The most resistant will climb to Trsat along the “pilgrim path”: 564 steps lead from the city center to this place, which is the center of pilgrimage in the Catholic world. “Why?” we will find out during our walk around the city.

The next point of our route is the city of Opatija, which once was one of the most fashionable resorts in the kingdom of Austria-Hungary, and even now life is boiling in this city both in summer and winter. We will walk along the central embankment of Opatija, admire the local “Alley of Stars” and the view of Mount Uchka, towering over the city.

Further, our way lies in the Opatiysky parks, where we will see compositions by local sculptor Tatiana Kostanevich, which are dedicated to famous personalities of their time who came to the fashionable resort of Opatija.

On the paths of the Opatiysky parks you could meet Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth, Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf and his wife Stephanie, scientist Albert Einstein, writers Heinrich Senkiewicz, Vladimir Nabokov and Anton Chekhov, composer Gustav Mahler, dancer Isadora Duncan, the founders of cinema Lumière brothers and many other world famous people we will remember during our walk around the city.

How did the city get the name Opatija? Why has one of the oldest hotels changed its name five times? Where did the royals who visited Opatija stay? Does Opatiy have anything to do with Vladimir Nabokov’s “Spring in Fialta” story? What is the history of Villa Angiolina? Why are plants “from all over the world” gathered in Opatiysky Park? We will talk about this and more during the tour.

And of course, the “mandatory” part of the program includes a photo, especially beautifully obtained in the sunset rays of the Opatican sun setting behind the Uchka mountain, against the background of the sculptural composition “Girl with a Seagull” by the famous Croatian sculptor Zvonko Tsar, which is a symbol of Opatija.

Also a symbol of Opatija is Camellia, which appeared in an Opatija park in the mid-19th century as a gift from the botany-minded king of Saxony. He wondered how his beloved Camellia would behave in a Mediterranean climate. The Camellias loved Opatias!

These beautiful flowers were decorated with dresses and hairstyles of the ladies of the 19th century, including the main character of the novel “Lady with Camellia”, the prototype of which was the author’s beloved A. Dumas.