Opatija (Italian: Abbazía) is a town in the Republic of Croatia, in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.
Etymology
The name Opatija comes from the Benedictine abbey, which was founded here in the 15th century. The Benedictines had several monasteries in this area, so in 1506 they built a church and a small monastery for their abbot, by the sea. They called it the abbey of St. Jakov, so the place around the building for centuries was called the Abbey of St. Jakov near Priluka.
Position
Opatija is located in the extreme northwestern part of Istria, along the coast of the Kvarner Bay of Kvarner and not far from Rijeka. It is, next to Dubrovnik, the largest and most famous Croatian coastal city. Opatija lies at 2-30 m above sea level, and above it rises the forested mountain Učka, 1396 m high. The city has a very pleasant climate, especially mild winters, so it is an excellent summer and winter resort, health resort and resort.
History
After the construction of the abbey, the settlement began to spread around the monastery and was called Opatija. As early as 1840, next to the church, there were about 35 houses with about 300 inhabitants. Although the natural conditions were not the most favorable for the construction of a permanent coastal settlement, the railway connection between Vienna and Trieste (1857) and Rijeka (1873) enabled the Austrian capital to get a coastal winter resort. Given the climatic conveniences of Opatija and the attractiveness of its surroundings, many representatives of the Austrian aristocracy became interested in building villas in Opatija. Before that, the patrician of Rijeka, Skarpa, built the villa Anđolina (1844) in the lush natural park of the Mediterranean vegetation of Opatija, which attracted many excursionists. Scarpa thinned the dense forest and planted exotic trees of redwood, cypress, magnolia, pine, cedar, etc. At the initiative of the Southern Railway Administration, Opatija began to be regulated as winter Vienna. The management bought the villa Anđolino, built a large hotel, so Opatija became a sea climate resort and health resort. Later, other hotels were built, so the settlement was built as a tourist place. Various ornamental plants have been planted around the buildings and in the squares.
In 1889, Opatija was declared a health resort. Before that, a fishing colony was formed in it, which consisted of the inhabitants of the neighboring, higher settlements. They descended and inhabited the new coastal settlement, so in 1880 Opatija had about 360 inhabitants. Along with the construction of the settlement, the coast was also arranged, along which a road leads along the sea. Hotels and summer houses used the neighboring shores for bathrooms and sports ports. The city bathroom has a central location. The port of Opatija consists of a pier and a saturated basin. [2]
Geography
Panorama of Opatija with Slatina beach
It is located in Kvarner, a mainland island area between the Istrian peninsula and the Velebit mountain.
Climate
ClimateMore and pleasant climate are the two main natural components that have encouraged tourism in Opatija. The average January temperature of 4.7 ° C and the ever-green surroundings of the settlement make Opatija an excellent winter resort. Mount Učka retains moisture and clouds, which are brought by westerly winds, so the amount of precipitation in Opatija is lower, and the sunshine is higher than in neighboring Rijeka. The average annual temperature in Opatija is 13.3 ° C (11.9 ° C in April, 22.2 ° C in July, 13.8 ° C in October). Opatija receives 1,800 millimeters of rain a year. It has 103 days a year with rain and 23 days a year with a storm, 3.7 snow days, but also periods with snow only every fifth year. From March to October, Opatija has 1,453 hours of sunshine and an average of 143 clear and 98 cloudy days. In winter, the bora usually blows, but it is significantly weaker in Opatija than in the direction Rijeka - Kantrida. Opatija is protected from the winds by the Učka mountain and the islands of Cres and Krk.
The sea in front of Opatija is calm on average 263 days a year, and 102 days rough. The sea water temperature in January is 7.3 ° C, in April 13.3 ° C, in July 26.5 ° C and in October 16.1 ° C. The salinity of sea water near Opatija is 27.8 per mille.
