Page 71 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia

ISTRIA AND THE K V ARNER AREA  69

Villa Angiolina in Opatija, surrounded by a splendid park
20th-century Secessionist A few years later the Austrian d Kastav
villas (see p27), surrounded by Empress Maria Anna stayed here Map B2. * 10,000. k Rijeka, 20 km
lush gardens. and her visit was immediately (12 miles), island of Krk. £ Rijeka,
followed by visits from other 11 km (7 miles). @ Rijeka, 11 km
R St George court dignitaries. More luxury (7 miles). n Matka Laginje 5, (051) 691
Open Jul & Aug: 7–9:30pm Mon, hotels and villas were then built 425. _ Bela nedeja, wine festival (first
Wed & Fri. and the small town became a Sun in Oct). ∑ kastav-touristinfo.hr
fashionable turn-of-the-century
a Tour of the resort. Tourism in Opatija was On a hill a short distance from
given a boost by the construc-
Rijeka is the town of Kastav,
Fortified Towns tion of the railway line which which originated in the early
linked Austria with Rijeka, with Middle Ages. The castle was
See pp70–71.
a tram line to Opatija. the residence of the local lord
The Emperor Franz Joseph of the manor until the 16th
s Opatija also stayed at a hotel here, often century, and later the home
for long periods during the of the Austrian governor. In
Map B2. * 13,000. k Rijeka, 40 km
(25 miles), island of Krk. £ Rijeka. winter in order to enjoy the mild Lokvina square stand the
@ Rijeka. n Local: Vladimara Nazora climate of the area. Today the church of St Anthony of the
3, (051) 271 710; Regional: Nikole Tesle coast is still lined with luxury Desert, which dates from the
2, (051) 272 988. _ Carnival of the late-19th-century hotels and 15th century, and a loggia from
Riviera (Feb); Coffee Festival (Apr); villas surrounded by parks and 1571, restored in 1815. By the
Gourmet Story (May); Summer Festival gardens. However, it is no longer water trough a plaque recalls
(May–Sep); Opatija-Imperial City (Jul); the height of fashion, although the drowning in 1666 of
Liburnia Jazz Festival (Jul); Chocolate older visitors are drawn by its Captain Morelli, guilty of
Festival (Dec). ∑ visitopatija.com comparative tranquillity. imposing excessive taxes.
The resort of Opatija takes its
name from a 14th-century
Benedictine abbey, around
which a village was built. On
the site of the monastery now
stands the Church of St James
(Sv. Jakov), built in 1506 and
enlarged in 1937.
Tourist interest began to
grow in around 1844 when a
nobleman from Rijeka, Iginio
Scarpa, built the grand Villa
Angiolina here. The villa is
surrounded by a large park
and became the first hotel. Opatija, once a royal haunt and now a popular tourist destination

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