Istria County
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Map showing the position of the Istria county within Croatia |
Istria county (
Croatian:
Istarska županija;
Italian:
Regione istriana) is the westernmost county of
Croatia which includes the biggest part of the
Istrian peninsula (2820 out of 3160
km²). Area is called
Istra in
Croatian and
Slovenian, and Istria in Italian. Its administrative center is
Pazin/Pisino.
Its coastline is 445
km long with islands making up 539.9 km. A smaller part of Istria also belongs to the
Primorje-Gorski Kotar county of Croatia. Mirroring the bay of
Venice across the
Adriatic and the
Gulf of Kvarner, the region is not far from the
Julian Alps. The western most point is at
Savudrija while the southern most is near
Premantura, (
Promontorio in
Latin), on the local
promontory Kamenjak.
The
terrain consists of a
limestone plateau, much of which lacks
water owing to its
karst topography. The northeastern section is an extension of the
Dinaric Alps. The highest point is
Vojak on
Učka mountain 1,401
m above
sea level while another range of mountains is
Ćićarija.
There are so called "bijela", "siva", "crvena" Istra, (white, grey and red Istria). White Istria is around the mountain peaks, Grey Istria is the fertile inner lands while Red Istria is
blood-red painted lands of
terra rossa or "crljenica" near the coastline.
Sites such as the
Grotto of Beredine near Poreč, the underground
river Pazincica (
Pazinčica) and the
karst Pazin pit (Pazinska jama, Foiba di Pisino) near
Pazin are popular geologic attractions. The
Limski Kanal is the only
fjord resembling
structure in
Europe outside of
Scandinavia. The
quarry near
Rovinj is specifically designed for studying
geology. The longest river, Mirna (
Croatian for "she, the tranquil one") is only 32 km long with its mouth near
Novigrad/
Cittanova. Other rivers that pass through Istria include the
Dragonja River and
Raša River.
The continental plains and valleys, are primarily utilized for
agricultural produce such as cereals and vegetables. Closer to the sea, red lands are used for cultivation of
grapes,
vine, olives and
figs. Agriculture and the production of ecological food, the
olive gardens, and the production of quality wines, is the focus of Istria's
agriculture sector. The
coastline and nearby islands are rich in
Mediterranean vegetation with
pine woods - the green
macchi, (mostly
holm oak and
strawberry tree). Woods, mostly
oak and
pine trees, cover a third of the territory.
The well-known natural reservations
national park Brijuni and nature park Učka are legally protected landscapes. Other interesting localities are Lim Kanal, wood near
Motovun, park woods
Zlatni Rt and
Šijana near Pula, protected landscape
Kamenjak in the extreme south of Istria, the reservation Palud, (
ornithology), near
Rovinj. Brijuni
archipelago is interesting as the habitat of about 680 plant species, also decorated by the most diverse vegetation and olive groves.
Protected from the north by the
mountain chain of
Alps as well the inner highland, the
climate is
Mediterranean, very pleasant, with the highest
air temperature averaging 24°C during August and lowest averaging 5°C, in January. Summers are warm and dry with over 10 hours of sunshine daily. Temperatures above 10°C last for more than 240 days a year. Excessive heats, (above 30°C), last for three weeks at most. Despite air temperatures being lower than those of in
Dalmatia, the
Adriatic sea is warmer, reaching up to 26°C in August, coldest in March, (9-11°C), while the freezing even in small, shallow bays is very rare. Two kinds of winds are here - the "bura" or "
bora" is bringing cold and clear weather from the north in winters, and the southern "Jugo", (jug=south) bringing
rain in summer. "'Maestral"' is the summer breeze blowing from the inland to the sea. The
salinity of the sea
water is 0.37
%.
Over 205 000 people or 4.65% of the nation's population live here. Population density is 73 inhabitants per km² with an average age of 40.2 years for the entire population. Beside
Pula/Pola which is the biggest urban area with 82 000, cities are
Porec/Parenzo,
Rovinj/Rovigno,
Pazin/Pisino,
Labin/Albona,
Novigrad/Cittanova,
Umag/Umago,
Buzet/Pinguente,
Buje/Buie,
Vodnjan/Dignano. About 70.7% of the population lives in the urban areas.
Municipalities are:
Bale, Barban, Brtonigla, Cerovlje,
Fažana, Gračišće,
Grožnjan, Kanfanar, Karojba, Kaštelir-Labinci, Castellier-Santa Domenica, Kršan, Lanišće, Ližnjan, Lupoglav, Marčana,
Medulin,
Motovun, Oprtalj, Pićan, Raša, Sveti Lovreč, Sveta Nedelja, Sveti Petar u Šumi, Svetvinčenat, Tinjan, Višnjan, Vižinada,
Vrsar, Žminj. Numerous are small municipalities and hamlets. In whole Istria there are actually more than 600 of them. So called smallest town in the world -
Hum, ("mound") is populated by just three families (22 people).
In everyday life here, the
Chakavian dialect is in use. As in the rest of Croatia official
language here is based on the
Shtokavian dialect. Note that words
cha and
shto equate to
what.
Italian is also recognized in the province as an official minority language, and is widely understood even by the majority Croats (due to the popularity of Italian television).
As for
2001 the population structure is:
*
Croats 148,328
*
Italians 14,284
*
Serbs 6,614
*
Bosniaks 3,077
*
Albanians 2,032
Today, one finds in this region a small community of people, that speak the ancient
Romanian dialect of
Istro-Romanian.
Due to its traditional bond with
Europe, its level of international
integration, in
1994 Istria was the first region from former
Yugoslavia to be officially designated as
Region of Europe. This might be the reason why
Istrians have second thoughts and are suspicious of official policies made in
Zagreb.
Istra is well connected with the rest of Croatia and Europe. Due to its connection with a wider European area, road development suitably covers all needs and contributes to a balanced development of the coastal area and the Istrian interior.
Initially, the need for
railroads in Istria was based upon fast development of industrial activities;
shipbuilding, construction material, machine and electric industries, as well as
Austrian military interests. After
Vienna and
Trieste were connected in
1876, the railway between
Divača, (in today's
Slovenia) and Pula, (122 km long with 21 km long branch
Kanfanar - Rovinj), was opened. Despite numerous initiatives, the western part of Istria have been connected with the railroad only at the turn of
20th century 1902, with construction of the narrow-gauge track Poreč - Trieste. The famous 123.1 km long "Parenzana", or
Parenzaner Bahn, was cancelled in 1935.
The nearest commercial
airport is in Pula.
The caves near Pula,
Lim fjord Sandalja and
Roumald's cave, house
stone age archeaological remains. Less ancient
stone age sites, from the period between 6000-2000
BC, can also be found in the area. More than 400 locations are classified as
bronze age, (1800 - 1000 BC), items. Numerous findings including
weapons,
tools, and
jewelry), which are from the earlier
iron era around the birth of
Christ.
The
Istria peninsula was known to
Romans as the
terra magica. Its name is derived from the
Illyrian
tribe called
Histri, who, according to geographer
Strabo, lived in the region. Romans described them as
pirates who were hard to conquer due to difficulties they experienced when navigating along their territory. After two
military campaigns, Roman legions finally subdued them in
177 BC.
With the
fall of the Western Roman Empire in
476, Istria was conquered by the
Longobards and the
Goths. With the end of the
6th century,
Croats arrived and built their first permanent settlement around the year
620. Istria was annexed by the
Franks during the reign of (
Pippin III) in
789, then successively controlled by various dukes, (
Carinthia,
Meran,
Bavaria), and the patriarchs of
Aquileia. Part of it became a territory of the republic of Venice in
1267 and then the whole passed to the
Habsburgs in
1797, (diverting temporarily to
Napoleon in
1805 -
1813.
Starting in
1861, the capital of
Istria and the seat to a Regional
Parliament in
Austro-Hungarian Empire was in Poreč. According to the peace treaty of
Rapallo, between
1920 and
1943, Istria was part of
Italy. Forced
italianization and later
Nazi occupation spoiled otherwise tolerant ethnic relations. After the
World War II, Istria was assigned to
Yugoslavia and in the process, from (
1945 -
1947), an estimated
15,000 Italian were killed while 300,000 survived, although most of them were forced to leave the place of their ancestors and sprlawled around the world. It was a real
ethnic cleansing. Some well known exiles from Istria include race driver
Mario Andretti, singer
Sergio Endrigo, and boxer
Nino Benvenuti.
Famous individuals like
Robert Koch and writer
James Joyce lived and worked in Istria. Writer
Jules Verne was inspired to write his novel "Mathias Sandorf" after hearing of (
quarry and
cave) in
Pazin and the poet
Dante Alighieri visited and wrote a few lines about Istria.
Well-developed are
processing industry, with traditional
agriculture, sea fishing and growing, construction and production of construction materials (
lime,
cement, brick, stone), trade and
transport. Most developed branches of
industry are
shipbuilding, (In the early 1970s its
shipyard Uljanik was building the biggest ships in the
world as
Berge Adria and others),
metal processing, Also the wood, furniture, automotive components,electric machines and appliances, glass, plastic, textile, tobacco. According to economic indicators, the leading activities are processing industry,
tourism, and
trade. Great attention is being given to agriculture and the production of ecologic food, the
wine and
olive growing.
Organized
tourism in Istria goes back to the Romans, when
emperor Vaspasian, for the
entertainment of that time, built the
amphitheater (
Arena) in Pula. During the reign of
Austro-Hungarian Empire in (
1866),
Austrian and
Hungarian royalty and
aristocracy started visiting local resorts and discovered Poreč. Significant efforts were made after
World War II, to develop the tourist infrastructure and to accentuate its importance. In combination with the natural beauties, rich
history and
cultural heritage, investments paid off and resulted in highly developed, competitive
service all along the western coast in
Poreč,
Pula,
Rovinj,
Umag,
Novigrad, and
Vrsar. In the eastern part, as part of another county, there are resorts like
Rabac,
Opatija. Istria was and still is the most important tourist destination in Croatia, hosting the western and central European visitors. Area is the most visited tourist region with 27% of all visitors and 35% of time spent in all of Croatia.
Istria county is divided:
* City of
Pula (Pola)
* City of
Pazin (Pisino)
* City of
Poreč (Parenzo)
* Town of
Buje (Buie)
* Town of
Buzet (Pinguente)
* Town of
Labin (Albona)
* Town of
Novigrad (Cittanova)
* Town of
Rovinj (Rovigno)
* Town of
Umag (Umago)
* Town of
Vodnjan (Dignano)
* Municipality of
Bale (Valle)
* Municipality of
Barban (Barbana)
* Municipality of
Brtonigla (Verteneglio)
* Municipality of
Cerovlje (Cerreto)
* Municipality of
Fažana (Fasana)
* Municipality of
Gračišće (Gallignana)
* Municipality of
Grožnjan (Grisignana)
* Municipality of
Kanfanar (Canfanaro)
* Municipality of
Karojba (Caroiba del Subiente)
* Municipality of
Kaštelir-Labinci (Castellier-Santa Domenica)
* Municipality of
Kršan (Chersano)
* Municipality of
Lanišće (Lanischie)
* Municipality of
Ližnjan (Lisignano)
* Municipality of
Lupoglav (Lupogliano)
* Municipality of
Marčana (Marzana)
* Municipality of
Medulin (Medolino)
* Municipality of
Motovun (Montona)
* Municipality of
Oprtalj (Portole)
* Municipality of
Pićan (Pedena)
* Municipality of
Raša (Arsia)
* Municipality of
Sveti Lovreč* Municipality of
Sveta Nedelja* Municipality of
Sveti Petar u Šumi (San Pietro in Selve)
* Municipality of
Svetvinčenat (Sanvincenti)
* Municipality of
Tinjan (Antignana)
* Municipality of
Višnjan (Visignano)
* Municipality of
Vižinada (Visinada)
* Municipality of
Vrsar (Orsera)
* Municipality of
Žminj (Gimino)
Current
Župan (prefect):
Ivan Jakovčić (IDS)
The county assembly is composed of 41 representatives, organized as follows:
*
Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) 27
*
Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) 7
*
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) 2
*
Croatian People's Party(HNS) 2
*
Istrian Democratic Forum (IDF) 1
*
Croatian Identity and Prosperity (HIP) 1
* independent representative 1
*
Istria*
Istra 3D*
Istra 3D*
Istra Global*
Istrian county*
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Destinations*
Istria.se
