Magic Istria

The eastern coast of Istria (the so-called Liburnia, ie the cities of Brseč, Lovran, Opatija, Volosko, Matulji, Kastav), or the western part of the Kvarner Bay gravitate to Rijeka, so when the counties were created in 1993, that part of Istria was administratively assigned to Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. Most of the Croatian part of Istria that gravitates to Pula is administratively located in the County of Istria, which covers an area of 2,813 km2.

The most important cities and municipalities in Istria are Pula, Pazin, Poreč, Rovinj, Opatija, Buje, Umag, Novigrad, Labin, Buzet, Motovun (all in Croatia), and Koper and Piran in Slovenia.

The name Istria comes from the name of the prehistoric tribe / people Histri, who lived in the area. The Romans describe the Histrians as infamous pirates who knew how to take advantage of the fact that they are very dangerous for navigation due to the numerous shallows of the Istrian coast. The Romans conquered Istria only after two military campaigns – in 178 and 177 BC. Kr. when they are defeated by Consul Manlia Vulzon.

The last resistance was offered by the Histrians at their headquarters Nesactium near Pula. According to Titus Livius, the last defenders, including the last king Epulon, took their own lives by throwing themselves off the city walls. By this event Nesactium is often compared to Masada.

In Istria, a part of Croatia can be singled out that covers about 90% of the Istrian peninsula and is inhabited mostly by Croats with about 75% of the population while minorities make up about 25% of the population of which Italians 7% and the rest various other peoples.

Istria as part of Slovenia covers about 9% of the Istrian peninsula, and Slovenes are the absolute majority population. Istria, which is part of Italy, covers less than 1% of Istria and includes only two small municipalities near Trieste, one of which is predominantly Slovene and the other Italian.

The vast majority of the inhabitants of the Croatian part of Istria speak the Chakavian dialect of the Croatian language. In some of these speeches (near the border with Slovenia) the interrogative pronoun “kaj" is used, so they are often mistaken for Kajkavians. The structure and characteristics of these speeches are distinctly Chakavian.

In some cities on the west coast, and in some villages in the Buje region, there is an Italian minority (7% of the population) who speak Italian. In the Slovene part of Istria, the Slovene language is spoken, and similarly to the Croatian part of Istria, the Italian minority is represented in small numbers.

In the east of Istria, at the foot of Ćićarija, in several smaller villages live Istro-Romanians or Ćići, a population of Romanian origin who speak their own (Istro-Romanian) language which is a mixture of Romanian and Croatian and today they are mostly Croats.