Rijeka

"Fiume" redirects here. For other uses, see Fiume (disambiguation).

This article is about the city in Croatia. For other uses, see Rijeka (disambiguation).

Rijeka
City
Grad Rijeka City of Rijeka
114px Rijeka photomontage
Flag
Nickname(s): Mayor of the Adriatic
Rijeka Location of Rijeka within Croatia
Coordinates:
Country	Croatia
County	Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Government
• Mayor	Vojko Obersnel (SDP)
• City Council	Six parties/lists •SDP, HNS, HSU, IDS, ARS, SDA, SDSS (18) • HDZ, HSS, HSP AS (6) • HL (2) • PGS, AM (4) • RI (2) • Independent (3)
Area
• City	44 km2 (17 sq mi)
• Urban	825 km2 (319 sq mi)
• Metro	1,665 km2 (643 sq mi)
Elevation	0–499 m (0 – 1,561 ft)
Population (2011)
• City	128,624
• Density	2,923/km2 (7,570/sq mi)
• Urban	213,666
• Urban density	259/km2 (670/sq mi)
• Metro	245,054
• Metro density	147/km2 (380/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	51000
Area code(s)	051
Website	http://www.rijeka.hr

Rijeka (Croatian pronunciation: [rijɛ̌ːka]; Italian: Fiumecode: it is deprecated , Slovene: Reka, German: Sankt Veit am Flaum, other names) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,624 inhabitants (2011). The metropolitan area, which includes adjacent towns and municipalities, has a population of 245,054 (2011).

Historically, because of its strategic position and its excellent deep-water port, the city was fiercely contested, especially among Italy, Hungary, and Croatia, changing hands and demographics many times over centuries. According to the 2011 census data, the overwhelming majority of its citizens (82.52%) are presently Croats, along with small numbers of Bosniaks, Italians and Serbs.

Rijeka is the main city of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The city's economy largely depends on shipbuilding (shipyards "3. Maj" and "Viktor Lenac Shipyard") and maritime transport. Rijeka hosts the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc, first built in 1765, as well as the University of Rijeka, founded in 1973 but with roots dating back to 1632 School of Theology.

Linguistically, apart from Croatian, the population also uses its own unique version of the Venetian language, (Fiumano), with an estimated 20,000 speakers among the autochtone Croats and various minorities. Historically Fiumano served as a lingua franca for the many ethnicities inhabiting the multicultural port-town.

Name

Historically, Rijeka was also called Tharsatica, Vitopolis, or Flumen in Latin. The city is called Rijeka in Croatian, Reka in Slovene, and Reka or Rika in other Croatian dialects. It is called Fiume[ˈfjuːme] in Italian. All these names mean river in their respective languages. Meanwhile, Hungarian has adopted the Italian name while in German the city has been called Sankt Veit am Flaum or Pflaum[pflaʊm].

Geography

Rijeka is located on the western Croatia, 131 km southwest of the capital, Zagreb, on the northern coast of Rijeka Bay (14 ° 26 'east longitude 45 ° 21' north latitude), as part of a larger Kvarner Gulf of the Adriatic Sea, which is a large bay Mediterranean Sea most deeply indented to the European mainland. Bay of Rijeka, which is across the Veli(between Istria and the island of Cres), medium (between Cres and Krk Island) and the small gate (between Krk and the mainland) is connected to the Bay of Kvarner, is deep enough (about 60 m) for the biggest sailing ships, the Rijeka to take over an important seaport. The City of Rijeka lies at the mouth of river Rječina into the micro-region Vinodol of Croatian coast. In Rijeka start two important land transport routes. The first advantage of the fact that the Rijeka is located in a region where Dinaridi narrowest is about fifty kilometers, which makes it easier to connect the Adriatic Sea and the Pannonian interior while the other rivers across the Postojna gate connected to the eastern area.

History

Main articles: History of Rijeka and Timeline of Rijeka

Ancient and Medieval times

Trsat Castle lies at the exact spot of an ancient Illyrian and Roman fortress

Though traces of Neolithic settlements can be found in the region, the earliest modern settlements on the site were Celtic Tharsatica (modern Trsat, now part of Rijeka) on the hill, and the tribe of mariners, the Liburni, in the natural harbour below. The city long retained its dual character. Pliny mentioned Tarsatica in his Natural History (iii.140).

In the time of Augustus, the Romans rebuilt Tharsatica as a municipium Flumen (MacMullen 2000), situated on the right bank of small river Rječina (whose name means "the big river"). It became a city within the Roman Province of Dalmatia until the 6th century.

Main street Korzo

After the 4th century Rijeka was rededicated to St. Vitus, the city's patron saint, as Terra Fluminis sancti Sancti Viti or in German Sankt Veit am Pflaum. From the 5th century onwards, the town was ruled successively by the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines, the Lombards, and the Avars. Croats settled the city starting in the 7th century giving it the Croatian name, Rika svetoga Vida ("the river of St. Vitus"). At the time, Rijeka was a feudal stronghold surrounded by a wall. At the center of the city, its highest point, was a fortress.

In 799 Rijeka was attacked by the Frankish troops of Charlemagne. Their Siege of Trsat was at first repulsed, during which the Frankish commander Duke Eric of Friuli was killed. However, the Frankish forces finally occupied and devastated the castle, while the Duchy of Croatia passed under the overlordship of the Carolingian Empire. From about 925, the town was part of the Kingdom of Croatia, from 1102 in personal union with Hungary. Trsat Castle and the town was rebuilt under the rule of the House of Frankopan. In 1288 the Rijeka citizens signed the Law codex of Vinodol, one of the oldest codes of law in Europe.

Rijeka even rivalled with Venice when it was purchased by the Habsburg emperor Frederick III, Archduke of Austria in 1466. It would remain under Habsburg overlordship for over 450 years, except for French rule between 1805 and 1813, until its occupation by Croatian and subsequently Italian irregulars at the end of World War I.

Under Habsburg sovereignty

The Baroque city clock tower above the arched gateway linking the Korzo to the inner city, designed by Filbert Bazarig in 1876

After coming under Habsburg rule in 1466, the town was attacked and plundered by Venetian forces in 1509. While Ottoman forces attacked the town several times, they never occupied it. From the 16th century onwards, Rijeka was largely rebuilt in its present Renaissance and Baroque style. Emperor Charles VI declared the Port of Rijeka a free port (together with the Port of Trieste) in 1719 and had the trade route to Vienna expanded in 1725.

By order of Empress Maria Theresa in 1779, the city was annexed to the Kingdom of Hungary and governed as corpus separatum directly from Budapest by an appointed governor, as Hungary's only international port. From 1804, Rijeka was part of the Austrian Empire (Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia after the Compromise of 1867), in the Croatia-Slavonia province.

In the early 19th century, the prominent economical and cultural leader of the city was Andrija Ljudevit Adamić. Fiume also had a significant naval base, and in the mid-19th century it became the site of the Austro-Hungarian Naval Academy (K.u.K. Marine-Akademie), where the Austro-Hungarian Navy trained its officers.

Adria Palace

Giovanni de Ciotta (mayor from 1872 to 1896) proved to be an authoritative local political leader. Under his leadership, an impressive phase of expansion of the city started, marked by major port development, fuelled by the general expansion of international trade and the city's connection (1873) to the Austro-Hungarian railway network. Modern industrial and commercial enterprises such as the Royal Hungarian Sea Navigation Company "Adria", and the paper mill, situated in the Rječina canyon, producing cigarette paper sold around the world, became trademarks of the city.

The second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century (up to World War I) was a period of rapid economic growth and technological dynamism for Rijeka. The industrial development of the city included the first industrial scale oil refinery in Europe in 1882 and the first torpedo factory in the world in 1866, after Robert Whitehead, manager of the "Stabilimento Tecnico Fiumano" (an Austrian engineering company engaged in providing engines for the Austro-Hungarian Navy), designed and successfully tested the world's first torpedo.

Rijeka also became a pioneering centre for high-speed photography. The Austrian physicist Peter Salcher working in Rijeka's Austro-Hungarian Marine Academy took the first photograph of a bullet flying at supersonic speed in 1886, devising a technique that was later used by Ernst Mach in his studies of supersonic motion.

Casa Veneziana

Tram in Rijeka

Rijeka's port underwent tremendous development fuelled by generous Hungarian investments, becoming the main maritime outlet for Hungary and the eastern part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the fifth port in the Mediterranean, after Marseilles, Genoa, Naples and Trieste. The population grew rapidly from only 21,000 in 1880 to 50,000 in 1910. Major civic buildings constructed at this time include the Governor's Palace, designed by the Hungarian architect Alajos Hauszmann. There was an ongoing competition between Rijek and Trieste, the main maritime outlet for Austria - reflecting the rivalry between the two components of the Dual Monarchy. The Austro-Hungarian Navy sought to keep the balance by ordering new warships from the shipyards of both cities.

Apart from the rapid economic growth, the period encompassing the second half of the 19th century and up to World War I also saw a shift in the ethnic composition of the city. The Kingdom of Hungary, which administered the city during that period, favoured the Hungarian element in the city and encouraged immigration from all lands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1910, there were 24,000 Italian-speaking, and 13,000 Croat-speaking inhabitants of Rijeka (in addition to the 6,500 Hungarians and several thousands of other nationalities, like Slovenians, Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, Greeks).

The Italo-Yugoslav dispute and the Free State of Fiume

Main article: Free State of Fiume

Residents of Fiume cheering D'Annunzio and his Legionari, September 1919. At the time, Fiume had 22,488 (62% of the population) Italians in a total population of 35,839 inhabitants.

Habsburg-ruled Austria-Hungary's disintegration in the closing weeks of World War I in the fall of 1918 led to the establishment of rival Croatian-Serbian and Italian administrations in the city; both Italy and the founders of the new Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) claimed sovereignty based on their "irredentist" ("unredeemed") ethnic populations.

File:FIU-S108-Free State of Fiume (Provisional)-10 Kronen (1920).jpg

10 Fiume krone provisional banknote (1920)

After a brief military occupation by the Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes, followed by the unilateral annexation of the former Corpus Separatum by the Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes, an international force of British, Italian, French and American troops entered the city (November 1918), while its future was discussed at the Paris Peace Conference during the course of 1919.

Location of the Free State of Fiume (1920-1924)

Italy based its claim on the fact that Italians were the largest single nationality within the city (65% of the total population). Croats made up most of the remainder and were also a majority in the surrounding area, including the neighbouring town of Sušak. Andrea Ossoinack, who had been the last delegate from Fiume to the Hungarian Parliament, was admitted to the conference as a representative of Fiume, and essentially supported the Italian claims. Despite these claims, in the city there was a strong and very active Autonomist Party, which also had its delegates at the Paris conference and was represented by Ruggero Gotthardi.

On 10 September 1919, the Treaty of Saint-Germain was signed declaring the Austro-Hungarian monarchy dissolved. Negotiations over the future of the city were interrupted two days later when a force of Italian nationalist irregulars led by the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio seized control of the city without casualties and acclaimed by a part of the population. Because the Italian government didn't want to annex Fiume in order to respect the international agreement, d'Annunzio and the intellectuals at his side eventually established a state, the Italian Regency of Carnaro, a unique social experiment for the age and a revolutionary cultural experience to which various international intellectuals of diverse walks of life took part (like Osbert Sitwell, Arturo Toscanini, Henry Furst, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Harukichi Shimoi, Guglielmo Marconi, Alceste De Ambris, Léon Kochnitzky). Among the many political experiments that took place during this period, d'Annunzio and his men undertook a first attempt to establish a movement of non-aligned nations in the so-called League of Fiume, an organization in antithesis to the wilsonian League of Nations seen as a mean to perpetuate a corrupt and imperialist status quo.

The organization was meant to help all oppressed nationalities in their struggle for political dignity and recognition, establishing links to many movements on various continents, but it never found the necessary external support and its main legacy remains today the Regency Of Carnaro's recognition of the Soviet Union, first state entity in the world to have done so.

Rijeka in 1937

The resumption of Italy's premiership by the liberal Giovanni Giolitti in June 1920 signalled a hardening of official attitudes to d'Annunzio's coup. On 12 November, Italy and Yugoslavia concluded the Treaty of Rapallo, under which Rijeka was to be an independent state, the Free State of Fiume, under a government acceptable to both. d'Annunzio's response was characteristically flamboyant and of doubtful judgment: his declaration of war against Italy invited the bombardment by Italian royal forces which led to his surrender of the city at the end of the year, after five days' resistance (known as Bloody Christmas). Italian troops freed the city from d'Annunzio's militias in January 1921.

The subsequent democratic election brought the overwhelming victory of the Autonomist Party and the election of Rijeka's first president Riccardo Zanella, officially recognized and greeted by all major powers. The creation of a constituent assembly for the new country did not put an end to strife within the city: a brief Italian nationalist seizure of power was ended by the intervention of an Italian royal commissioner, and a short-lived local Fascist takeover in March 1922 ended in a third Italian intervention. Seven months later Italy herself fell under Fascist rule and the fate of Rijeka was set, the fascist party being among the strongest proponents of the annexation of Rijeka to Italy.

Capuchin Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

A period of diplomatic acrimony closed with the Treaty of Rome (27 January 1924), signed by Italy and Yugoslavia but unrecognized by all other powers, which assigned Rijeka to Italy and Sušak (Porto Barros) to Yugoslavia, with joint port administration. Formal Italian annexation (16 March 1924) inaugurated twenty years of Italian government.

Roman arch (Rimski luk) is the oldest architecture monument in Rijeka and entrance to the old town

Rijeka in World War II

Rijeka under aerial bombardment by the Royal Air Force, 1944

File:HNK.JPG

Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka

At the beginning of World War II Rijeka immediately found itself in an awkward position. The city was overwhelmingly Italian, but its immediate surroundings and the city of Sušak, just across the Rječina river (today a part of Rijeka proper) were inhabited almost exclusively by Croatians and part of a potentially hostile power – Yugoslavia. Once the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, the Croatian areas surrounding the city were occupied by the Italian military, setting the stage for an intense and bloody insurgency which would last until the end of the war. Partisan activity included guerrilla-style attacks on isolated positions or supply columns, sabotage and killings of civilians believed to be connected to the Italian and (later) German authorities. This, in turn, was met by stiff reprisals from the Italian and German military. On 14 July 1942, in reprisal for the killing of 4 civilians of Italian origin by the Partisans, the Italian military killed 100 men from the suburban village of Podhum, resettling the remaining 800 people to concentration camps.

After the surrender of Italy to the Allies in September 1943, Rijeka and the surrounding territories were annexed by Germany, becoming part of the Adriatic Littoral Zone. The partisan activity continued and intensified. On 30 April 1944, in the nearby village of Lipa, German troops killed 263 civilians in reprisal for the killing of several soldiers during a partisan attack.

Transadria building

Because of its industries (oil refinery, torpedo factory, shipyards) and its port facilities, the city was also a target of frequent (more than 30) Anglo-American air attacks, which caused widespread destruction and hundreds of civilian deaths. Some of the worst bombardments happened on 12 January 1944 (attack on the refinery, part of the Oil Campaign), on 3–6 November 1944, when a series of attacks resulted in at least 125 deaths and between 15 and 25 February 1945 (200 dead, 300 wounded).

The area of Rijeka was heavily fortified even before World War II (the remains of these fortifications can be seen today on the city outskirts). This was the fortified border between Italy and Yugoslavia which, at that time, cut across the city area and its surroundings. As Yugoslav troops approached the city in April 1945, one of the fiercest and largest battles in this area of Europe ensued. The 27,000 German and additional Italian troops fought tenaciously from behind these fortifications (renamed "Ingridstellung" – Ingrid Line – by the Germans). Under the command of the German general Ludwig Kübler they inflicted thousands of casualties on the attacking Yugoslav partisans, which were forced to charge uphill against well-fortified positions to the north and east of the city. Ultimately the Germans were forced to retreat. Before leaving the city, in an act of wanton destruction (World War II was almost over), the German troops destroyed the harbour area and other infrastructure with a number of big explosive charges. However, the German attempt to break out of the partisan encirclement north-west of the city was unsuccessful. Of the approximately 27,000 German and other troops retreating from the city, 11,000 were killed (many were executed after surrendering), while the remaining 16,000 were taken prisoner. Yugoslav troops entered Rijeka on 3 May 1945. The city had suffered extensive damage in the war. The economic infrastructure was almost completely destroyed, and of the 5400 buildings in the city at the time, 2890 (53%) were either completely destroyed or heavily damaged.

Aftermath of World War II

Riva promenade

The Governor’s Palace, Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral

The city's fate was again resolved by a combination of force and diplomacy. This time the city of Rijeka became part of Yugoslavia (within the federal state of Croatia), a situation formalized by the Paris peace treaty between Italy and the wartime Allies on 10 February 1947. Once the change in sovereignty was formalized, 58,000 of the 66,000 Italian speakers were gradually constrained to emigrate (they became known in Italian as esuli or the exiles from Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia) or endure a harsh oppression by the new Yugoslav communist regime during the first decade of its existence, when the communist party adopted a Stalinist approach to solve the local ethnic question.

The discrimination and persecution many inhabitants experienced at the hands of the Yugoslav populace and officials in the last days of World War II and the first years of peace still remain painful memories for the exiled ones and somewhat of a taboo for Rijeka's political elites which still deny the events. Summary executions of alleged fascists (often well-known anti-fascists or openly apolitical), aimed at hitting the intellectual class, Italian public servants, military officials and even ordinary civilians (at least 650 executions of Italians took place after the end of the war), and forced most ethnic Italians to leave Rijeka in order to avoid becoming a victim of harsher forms of ethnic cleansing. The removal was a meticulously-planned operation, aimed at convincing the hardly assimilable Italian part of the autochthonous population to leave the country, as testified decades later by representatives' of the Yugoslav leadership.

Saint Vitus Cathedral

Only one third of the original population (mostly Croats) remained in the city. Subsequently the city was resettled by many immigrants from various parts of Yugoslavia, changing the city demographics once again. A period of reconstruction began. During the period of the Yugoslav communist administration in the 1950s–1980s the city grew once again both demographically and economically thanks to its traditional manufacturing industries, its maritime economy and its port, then the largest in Yugoslavia. However, many of these industries were mostly a product of a socialist planned economy and could not be sustained once the economy transitioned to a more market-oriented model in the early 1990s.

In 1991 Yugoslavia broke apart, and the federal state of Croatia became independent during the Croatian War of Independence. Since then, the city has somewhat stagnated economically and its demography has plunged, with some of its largest industries and employers either going out of business (the Jugolinija shipping company, the torpedo factory, the paper mill and many other medium or small manufacturing and commercial companies, often in the midst of big corruption scandals and a badly planned privatization) or struggling to stay economically viable (like the city's landmark 3. Maj shipyards). A difficult and uncertain transition of the city's economy away from manufacturing and towards the service industry and tourism is still in progress.

Rijeka's International Carnival

The Rijeka Carnival (Croatian: Riječki karneval) is held each year before Lent (between late January and early March) in Rijeka,Croatia. Established in 1982, it has become the biggest carnival in Croatia. Every year there are numerous events preceding the carnival itself. First the mayor of Rijeka gives the symbolic key of the city to Meštar Toni, who is "the maestro" of the carnival, and he becomes the mayor of the city during the carnival, although this is only figuratively. Same day, there is an election of the carnival queen. As all the cities around Rijeka have their own events during the carnival time, Queen and Meštar Toni are attending most of them.

Rijeka Carnival

Also, every year the Carnival charity ball is held in the Governor's palace in Rijeka. It is attended by politicians, people from sport and media life, as well as a number of ambassadors.

The weekend before the main event there are two other events held. One is Rally Paris - Bakar. (after the Dakar rally). The start is a part of Rijeka called Paris after the restaurant located there, and the end is in city of Bakar, located about 20 km south east. All of the participants of the rally wear masks, and the cars are mostly modified old cars. The other event is the children's carnival, held, like the main one, on Rijeka`s main walkway Korzo. The groups that participate are mostly from kindergartens and elementary schools, including groups from other parts of Croatia and neighboring countries. In 1982 there were only three masked groups on Rijeka`s main walkway Korzo, since then the international carnival has over 15,000 participants from all over the world organized in over 200 carnival groups with over 100,000 people watching the carnival.

Demographics

Historical populations of the City of Rijeka
Year	Pop.	±%
1880	27,904	—
1890	38,959	+39.6%
1900	51,419	+32.0%
1910	66,042	+28.4%
1921	61,157	−7.4%
1931	72,111	+17.9%
1948	67,088	−7.0%
1953	73,718	+9.9%
1961	98,759	+34.0%
1971	129,173	+30.8%
1981	158,226	+22.5%
1991	165,904	+4.9%
2001	144,043	−13.2%
2011	128,624	−10.7%
Source: Naselja i stanovništvo Republike Hrvatske 1857–2001, DZS, Zagreb, 2005

In the census of 2011, city proper had a population of 128,624, which include:

• Croats: 106,136 (82.52%)
• Serbs: 8,446 (6.57%)
• Bosniaks: 2,650 (2.06%)
• Italians: 2,445 (1.90%)

Other groups, including Slovenians and Hungarians, formed less than 1% each.

The following tables list the city's population, along with the population of ex-municipality (disbanded in 1995), the urban and the metropolitan area.

Year	City Proper	Municipality	Urban	Metro
2011	128,624	185,125	213,666	245,054
2001	144,043	191,647	220,538	252,933
1991	165,904	206,229	236,028	268,016
1981	158,226	193,044	222,318	251,768

	Population	Area (km2)	Density
City proper	128,624	44	2,923
Ex-municipality	56,501	473	119
Subtotal	185,125	517	358
Urban area	28,541	308	93
Subtotal	213,666	825	259
Metro area	31,388	840	37
Total	245,054	1,665	147

• Ex-municipality: consists of other cities and municipalities (outside Rijeka city proper) in a former official union of adjacent settlements which was disbanded in 1995. It includes cities and municipalities of Kastav, Viškovo, Klana, Kostrena, Čavle, Jelenje, Bakar and Kraljevica
• Urban area: considered as adjacent area. It includes the ex-municipality along with cities and municipalities of Opatija, Lovran, Mošćenička Draga, and Matulji, which form urban agglomeration.
• Metro area: considered territory of consolidated expansion. It includes cities and municipalities of Crikvenica, Novi Vinodolski, Vinodolska, Lokve, Fužine, Delnice and Omišalj, which all gravitate to the City of Rijeka.

Panoramic view

Panoramic view at night

Some notable people from Fiume/Rijeka:

• Umberto D'Ancona Italian Biology Professor at the University of Padua and founder of the Hydrobiological Station in Chioggia, Italy.
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Psychology Professor at Claremont Graduate University, known as the architect of the notion of flow
• Diana Haller, opera singer
• János Kádár, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Communist Party, served for more than 30 years as leader of Hungary
• Ödön von Horváth, playwright, author of the Tales from the Vienna Woods
• Leo Valiani, Italian historian, politician and journalist
• Ivan Zajc, Croatian composer
• Robert Ludvigovich Bartini, Italian aircraft designer and scientist
• Giovanni Luppis, was a Croatian-Italian officer of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, inventor of the torpedo
• Ezio Loik, Italian footballer, member of the Grande Torino team which won 5 consecutive Serie A titles in the 1940s
• Petar Radaković, Croatian footballer of the 1960s
• Ulderico Sergo, Italian professional boxer, gold medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin
• Paul Felix Nemenyi, Hungarian mathematician and physicist, probable biological father of world chess champion Bobby Fischer
• Janko Polić Kamov, Croatian writer and poet
• Abdon Pamich, Italian race walker, gold medalist at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics
• Josip Bozanić, Croatian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
• Dino Ciani, Italian pianist
• Orlando Sirola, Italian tennis player

Tower centar Rijeka

Main sights

Sanctuary of the Madonna of Trsat, oldest Marian shrine in Croatia

• Tvornica "Torpedo" (the Torpedo factory). The first European prototypes of a self-propelled torpedo, created by Giovanni Luppis, a retired naval engineer from Rijeka. The remains of this factory still exist, including a well-preserved launch ramp used for testing self-propelled torpedoes on which in 1866 the first torpedo was tested.
• Svetište Majke Božje Trsatske – the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Trsat. Built 135 m (443 ft) above sea level on the Trsat hill during the late Middle Ages, it represents the Guardian of Travellers, especially seamen, who bring offerings to her so she will guard them or help them in time of trouble or illness. It is home to the Gothic sculpture of the Madonna of Slunj and to works by the Baroque painter C. Tasce.
• Old gate or Roman arch. At first it was thought that this was a Roman Triumphal Arch built by the Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus but later it was discovered to be just a portal to the pretorium, the army command in late antiquity.
• Rijeka Cathedral, dedicated to St. Vitus.

Climate

Platak ski resort, north of Rijeka

The terrain configuration, with mountains rising steeply just a few miles inland from the shores of the Adriatic, provides for some striking climatic and landscape contrasts within a small geographic area. Beaches can be enjoyed throughout summer in a typically Mediterranean setting along the coastal areas of the city to the east (Pećine, Kostrena) and west (Kantrida, Preluk). At the same time, the ski resort of Platak, located only about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) from the city, offers alpine skiing and abundant snow during winter months (at times until early May). The Kvarner Bay and its islands are visible from the ski slopes.

Rijeka has a Humid subtropical climate with warm summers and relatively mild and rainy winters. Snow is rare (usually 3 days per year, almost always occurring in patches). There are 20 days a year with a maximum of 30 °C (86 °F) or higher, while on one day a year the temperature does not exceed 0 °C (32 °F). Fog appears in about 4 days per year, mainly in winter. The climate is also characterized by frequent rainfall. Cold (bora) winds are common in wintertime.

Climate data for Rijeka (1971–2000, extremes 1948–2014)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	20.0 (68)	21.4 (70.5)	24.0 (75.2)	28.9 (84)	33.7 (92.7)	36.7 (98.1)	40.0 (104)	39.2 (102.6)	34.8 (94.6)	28.8 (83.8)	25.5 (77.9)	20.4 (68.7)	40.0 (104)
Average high °C (°F)	9.1 (48.4)	9.9 (49.8)	12.6 (54.7)	15.9 (60.6)	21.1 (70)	24.6 (76.3)	27.9 (82.2)	28.1 (82.6)	23.5 (74.3)	18.5 (65.3)	13.2 (55.8)	10.1 (50.2)	17.9 (64.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)	5.8 (42.4)	6.3 (43.3)	8.8 (47.8)	12.0 (53.6)	16.8 (62.2)	20.3 (68.5)	23.1 (73.6)	23.1 (73.6)	18.8 (65.8)	14.2 (57.6)	9.6 (49.3)	6.8 (44.2)	13.8 (56.8)
Average low °C (°F)	2.9 (37.2)	3.2 (37.8)	5.5 (41.9)	8.4 (47.1)	12.8 (55)	16.0 (60.8)	18.6 (65.5)	18.6 (65.5)	14.9 (58.8)	10.9 (51.6)	6.6 (43.9)	4.0 (39.2)	10.2 (50.4)
Record low °C (°F)	−11.4 (11.5)	−12.8 (9)	−7.7 (18.1)	−0.2 (31.6)	2.1 (35.8)	7.4 (45.3)	10.4 (50.7)	9.1 (48.4)	4.8 (40.6)	−1.2 (29.8)	−4.5 (23.9)	−8.9 (16)	−12.8 (9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	128.7 (5.067)	104.1 (4.098)	113.0 (4.449)	113.8 (4.48)	103.3 (4.067)	119.9 (4.72)	70.1 (2.76)	101.5 (3.996)	156.5 (6.161)	203.9 (8.028)	181.9 (7.161)	155.6 (6.126)	1,552.4 (61.118)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	10.7	8.5	10.3	12.6	12.5	12.3	8.8	9.0	10.6	12.1	11.7	11.2	130.1
Average snowy days (≥ 1.0 cm)	0.8	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	1.4
Average relative humidity (%)	65.1	60.3	60.4	62.6	63.7	62.4	56.4	56.0	63.7	67.4	67.3	66.4	62.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours	111.6	135.6	155.0	171.0	232.5	249.0	297.6	279.0	201.0	161.2	111.0	99.2	2,203.7
Percent possible sunshine	41	50	47	47	57	61	71	71	58	51	42	40	55
Source: Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service

Transport

See also: Port of Rijeka

Rijeka international Airport

Railway in Rijeka.

Ferry in Rijeka harbour.

The Port of Rijeka is the largest port in Croatia, with a cargo throughput in 2013 of over 9 million tonnes, most of which was oil, general cargo and bulk cargo and 131,310 TEUs. In 2008 the Port of Rijeka recorded 4376 ship arrivals. The port is managed by the Port of Rijeka Authority. The first record of a port in Rijeka date back to 1281, and in 1719, the Port of Rijeka was granted a charter as a free port. Good ferry connections with the surrounding islands and cities within Croatia exist in Rijeka, but no direct foreign passenger ship connections. There are coastal lines to Split and onwards to Dubrovnik operated twice a week, which has international connections. Pula offers more direct southward connections from northwestern Croatia.

Rijeka has efficient road connections to other parts of Croatia and neighbouring countries. The A6 motorway connects Rijeka to Zagreb via the A1, while the A7 motorway, completed in 2004, links Rijeka with Ljubljana, Slovenia via Ilirska Bistrica and Italy. The A7 acts as the Rijeka bypass motorway and facilitates access to the A8 motorway of the Istrian Y network starting with the Učka Tunnel, and linking Rijeka with Istria. As of August 2011, the bypass is being extended eastwards to the Krk Bridge area and new feeder roads are under construction.

The city is difficult to get to by air; the city's own international airport, Rijeka Airport is located on the nearby island of Krk across the tolled Krk Bridge. Handling only 140,000 passengers in 2013, the facility is more of a charter airport than a serious transport hub, although various scheduled airlines have begun to serve it.

Rijeka is integrated into the Croatian railway network and international rail lines. A fully electrified railway connects Rijeka to Zagreb and beyond towards Koprivnica and the Hungarian border as part of Pan-European corridor Vb. Rijeka is also connected to Trieste and Ljubljana by a separate electrified line that extends northwards from the city. Rijeka is has direct connections by daily trains to Vienna, Munich, and Salzburg, and night trains running through Rijeka. Construction of a new high performance railway between Rijeka and Zagreb, extending to Budapest is planned, as well as rail links connecting Rijeka to the island of Krk and between Rijeka and Pula.

European Coastal Airlines, a seaplane operator introduced daily scheduled flights from Rijeka Airport to the island of Rab, Croatia and to Ancona.

Sports

Rijeka was host to the 2008 European Short Course Swimming Championships. In its more than 80 years of history, LEN had never seen so many records set as the number of them set at the Kantrida Swimming Complex. A total of 14 European Records were set of which 10 World Records and even 7 World Best Times. This championship also presented a record in the number of participating countries. There were more than 600 top athletes, from some 50 European countries. Swimmers from 21 nations won medals and 40 of the 51 national member Federations of LEN were present in Rijeka.

New Kantrida Pool, site of the 2008 European Short Course Swimming Championships  Stadion Kantrida  Sports Hall Zamet

HNK Rijeka is Rijeka's main football team, currently playing in the first Croatian division. Rijeka's other important sports clubs are RK Zamet (handball), VK Primorje EB (waterpolo), KK Kvarner (basketball) and ŽOK Rijeka (women's volleyball).

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Croatia

Twin towns — Sister cities

Lantern, a gift from the Japanese city Kawasaki to the city of Rijeka

Rijeka is twinned with:

Bitola, Republic of Macedonia Faenza, Italy Este, Italy Genoa, Italy Imola, Italy Rostock, Germany Neuss, Germany Hamburg, Germany

Ljubljana, Slovenia Kawasaki, Japan Yalta, Ukraine Cetinje, Montenegro Qingdao, China Pittsburgh, United States Dalian, China Ningbo, China

See also

• Charter of Carnaro was the constitution of the Italian Regency of Carnaro, a short-lived government in Fiume (Rijeka)
• Drenova, Rijeka
• Fiume (disambiguation)
• Ilario Carposio
• Karlići
• List of governors and heads of state of Fiume

External links

• Rijeka travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website
• Port of Rijeka Authority
• Old Postcards of Fiume
•