Tourist
Info Rovinj and History of Rovinj
Rovinj is one of the most
picturesque Croatian Mediterranean towns
located on the western coast of Istria -
the biggest Adriatic peninsula. Rovinj is
only one hour ride away from Trieste, 270
km away from Zagreb, a little bit more than
500 km away from Vienna and around 700 km
away from Munich.
Rovinj has around 15.000 inhabitants and
most of them are largely engaged in tourism,
in the fishing trade and in agriculture.
The town has very rich history, as well
as interesting architectural buildings,
beautiful natural resources and industrious
people who are certainly worth your visit.
The Rovinj coastal area is very well articulated
with numerous bays, creeks, and capes. There
are places of great natural and ecological
value: Forest Park Punta Corente-Muntrav,
St. Andrea's archipelago, the Palud marsh,
the Limski kanal, and Monfiorenzo cave.
The most important places for you to visit
is definitely the cathedral of St. Euphemia
(built in 1736) which is the largest Baroque
building in Istria, together with the town's
museum and Rovinj Aquarium.
For the first time mentioned
in 7th century, Rovinj is today a treasury
of cultural and historical monuments: a
13th century Romanesque heptagonal baptistery,
the baroque Parish church of St. Euphemia
(1736), the church of St Francis and the
Franciscan monastery dating from the 18th
century with very rich library collections,
the Baroque town hall built a century before,
ornamented by the symbolic city clock, the
city museum, the Local Magistrate's Court,
and finally the city walls with the famous
Balbi's gate...
It is very likely that Rovinj is much older,
emerging somewhere at the turn of the 3rd
and the 4th century, and maybe even at an
earlier period. In the 1st and 2nd century
B.E. proofs of life on the island had been
found. «Castrum Rubini» was
certainly located at today's site of the
parish church of St.Euphemia. During this
period, Istria was under Roman rule that
stayed there until 476, when the invasions
of the Huns, the Ostrogoths and in 539 of
the Byzantine started. The inhabitants refuged
to the island of Rovinj which at that time
had around hundred inhabitants. After Byzant
(788) Istria fell under French rule. During
the 9th century, it was invaded from the
sea and from the mainland by various robbers
(Slavs, Croats, people who inhabited the
Neretva area, Saracens). Istria experienced
a very turbulent period between the 9th
and the 11th century, since the properties
often changed their owners and the cities
started their struggle for autonomy. For
this reason they founded a municipal structure
in opposition to Istria's church and feudal
ruler – the Aquileian patriarch. At that
time Venice, a very strong maritime republic,
grew stronger, under the power of which
Rovinj fell in 1283. In this way, the local
government in the town was limited and the
Venetians put their own man in the leading
role in the town. During Venetian times,
Rovinj was developing into a strong fishing,
ship building and maritime center, especially
in the 17th and 18th century when they had
the precedence over Istria. At that time
the town walls were secured, the town started
to expand itself to the mainland, so that
in 1763 the channel between the mainland
and the island was covered up and Rovinj
became a peninsula.
In the mid 18th century Rovinj had more than
eight thousand inhabitants and thus there
were also more houses than there used to be
in other similar towns at the Adriatic Sea.
Because of the high number of inhabitants
and pilgrims, today's parish church St. Euphemus
was built. In 1797 the Venetian republic lost
its power and for a short time Istria is first
under Austrian (until 1805) and then under
Napoleon's rule. From 1809 to 1813 Istria
was a part of Napoleon's Illyrian provinces.
In 1813 the Austrians took their power back
and a period of industrial and urban development
started. In 1852 Rovinj built cement production
facilities, in 1872 a tobacco factory followed,
in 1878 a wax factory was built and in 1882
a glass and sardine factory were erected.
At that time, the shipbuilding industry was
in full stride, and the southern part of the
town even had six smaller shipyards, of which
one is still working today. In 1865 Rovinj
built a theater as well, in 1888 a hospital
was built and in 1891 the construction of
a Sea biology institute followed.
Many inhabitants of Rovinj went to Pula in
the 19th century, which at that time was the
biggest naval port in the Austria-Hungary
monarchy.
When the monarchy fell apart, Rovinj fell
under the fascist Italy at the end of WW I
(1914 – 1918) and remained under that rule
until the capitulation in 1943, and by the
end of WW II the town remained under German
occupation.
In the second half of the 20th century Rovinj
was, like the whole of Croatia, a part of
Yugoslavia, which lasted until 1991, the year
of big political changes, when Croatia started
its journey towards independence and the acknowledgement
of which followed in January 1992. For the
past few centuries, the number of inhabitants
fluctuated between 12 and 15 thousand, and
today the town officially has a number of
14.234 citizens.
In the past 40 years Rovinj has developed
into a real tourist center thanks to its nature,
the well-indented coast and a large number
of islands, an interesting surrounding, its
pleasant Mediterranean climate, the variety
of accommodations and tourist attractions
and its cultural-historical values. All of
this makes Rovinj an ideal holiday destination,
which has been proven by many acknowledgements
by a large number of guests and by many awards
of various tourist associations and patrols.
