AREA: about 3.6 thousands square kilometers or 6.3 percent of the total area of the Republic of Croatia
POPULATION: more than 305,000 citizens or 6.9 percent of the total population of Croatia. The largest city is Rijeka with a population of 144,000
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Croatian; in addition to the literary dialect, people use the Chakavian and the Kaikavian dialects as well
CONNECTING ROUTES: the area is excellently connected with the European emissive markets by road, air, sea and railroad
DISTANCE: Trieste 80 km, Ljubljana 127 km, Vienna 490 km, Munich 519 km, Budapest 528 km, Bratislava 555 km, Prague 736 km, Zuerich 777 km
HIGHEST MOUNTAIN TOPS: Risnjak (1528 m), Snježnik (1506 m), Viševica (1428 m) and Učka (1396 m)
LARGEST ISLANDS: Krk and Cres, both being about 406 square kilometers in area
LONGEST RIVER: Kupa with a current in the length of 29.6 kilometers running through this region
LARGEST LAKES: Vrana Lake on the island of Cres with an area of 5.5 sq km; Lokve Lake with an area of 2.1 sq km; Bajer Lake with an area of 1.2 sq km
CLIMATE:
The coastal region and the islands: Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters
The mountains: moderate continental climate and, in the higher regions, mountain climate with moderately warm summers and cold winters
AVERAGE AIR TEMPERATURE:
Coastal region: January 5.2°C, July 23°C
Islands: January 7.3°C, July 23°C
Mountains: -1.2°C, July 16.8°C
SUNNIEST ISLANDS: Lošinj, Cres, Krk and Rab with 217 sunny days per year
SEA TEMPERATURE: up to 26°C during the summer months, 16 °C in during the spring and fall months and 10°C during winter.
Culture, History and the Beginnings of Tourism
Due to its protected and attractive geographic position, the Kvarner Bay has from ancient times been an interesting target of numerous conquerors. Already in 1200 BC, an Illyrian tribe of Liburni inhabited the coasts of Kvarner where they traded in amber. The remnants of the walls of their forts have been preserved to this day. The Greeks, Romans, Eastern Goths, Slavic peoples, Francs, Byzantines, Hungarians, Venetians and Austrians came afterwards. All of them left inerasable traces of their civilizations. There are today in the Kvarner region 276 protected monuments of culture, of which 177 historic units and 161 historic buildings. The interested ones read the history of this region from those monuments and works of art just like from a book.
Tourism Development
1844 – Rijeka patrician Ignio Scarpa set the founding stone for the development of tourism in the region by building his Villa Angiolina summer mansion in Opatija. At that time, Opatija was a small fishermen’s village inhabited mainly in the area surrounding the Benedictine Monastery, i.e. the Church of St. Jacob (Crkva Sv. Jakova).
1878 – The Merzeljak Family built the first wooden bathing area in Novi Vinodolski.
1884 – With the opening of the Kvarner (Quarnero) Hotel in Opatija, the first modern hotel was put in operation.
1885 – The first tourists, Dr. Conrad Clar and his sick son, visited Mali Lošinj (Lošinj Island) where the son was cured.
1889 – On March 4, Emperor Franz Josef proclaimed Opatija a health resort.
Interesting Facts:
Winds
Bora: a dry, cold wind, mainly north-eastern, usually brings cold weather
Sirocco: a moist, warm south-eastern wind, brings rain
Maestral: a typical daily wind blowing from the west or north-west bringing nice, clear weather and making summer heat bearable
The sea quality is better than in other parts of the Adriatic (poorly inhabited area with almost no industry), so that many of the beaches are the proud holders of a Blue Flag – a symbol of cleanliness, quality of service and ecologically preserved environment.