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Istria (Istra, pronunciation: /'istra/ in Croatian and Slovenian; Istria, pronunciation: /'istrija/ in Italian, Istrian, pronunciation: /'istrijen/ in German) is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located in the north of the Adriatic Sea between the Gulf of Trieste and the Gulf of Kvarner.
Most of these Croatian The region is located in the Province of Istria (Croatian: Istarska županija, Italian: Regione istriana). A small part of Istria belongs to the Primorje-Gorski Kota County (Croatian: Primorsko-goranska županija).
The short coastal strip of Slovenia also called Istria. Here are the coastal towns and port cities liggen Izola (Isola), Piran (Pirano), Portoro (Portorosis), ankaran (Ancarano) and Copper (Capodistria), of which Koper is the only commercial port.
Also a corner Italy belongs to the area of Istria, including the town Muggia (Slovenian: Milje).
Istria traditionally attracts many tourists, the interest is not recent. Famous people like Dante, Jules Verne, James Joyce and Robert Koch have also been inspired by this area.
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History
Istria inherits its name from an Illyrian tribe the Histri, Strabo referred to them as the inhabitants of this region. The Romans knew them as a savage Illyrian tribe of pirates, for whom the rocky coast offered natural protection. After two Roman incursions, the Histri only gave in, in 117 BC.
There is still speculation about the connection between Histri and Istria with the Latin name Hister and the river Danube. It would split (according to ancient folktales) in two, with one branch ending up in the Gulf of Trieste (and the other in the Black Sea). However, this is a legend.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Goths and the Langobards plundered the region. And in 789 the region was annexed by the king of the Franks, Pepin the Short. The Margraviate of Istria was created during this period.[edit] The 20th century
The region has known many different rulers, so Istria has become an ethnically mixed region. During the Austrian rule in the 19th century, Italians, Croats, Slovenes and some Vlachs/Istro-Romanians belonged to the population. In 1910 the region was almost entirely mixed ethnically and linguistically. During the last period of the Habsburg dynasty, Istria was a popular inland tourist resort.
After World War I, Istria was occupied by Italians. The occupation was only subsequently legalized by the Treaty of Rapallo. With the rise of fascism, the Italianization of the Croatian and Slovenian population began in Istria. During this period, Croatian and Slovenian landowners were systematically expropriated, their own language prohibited (up to and including the chiseling of non-Italian family names on gravestones) and non-Italian intellectuals such as teachers and priests deported or murdered. For this purpose, the Gonars concentration camp and internment camps such as that of Medea were set up. More than 100,000 people were displaced from the occupied Slovenian territories alone between 1918 and 1941, mostly to Yugoslavia. Croats speak of the colonization of Istria -during the regime of Benito Mussolini- by more than 50,000 Italians (from Calabria and Sicily). This policy was called "ethnic bonus". The Nazi occupation during World War II further deteriorated the bond between the once tolerantly coexisting populations.
After World War II, most of Istria was assigned to Yugoslavia. After 1945, many people were still victims of revenge and purges by the new regime. These victims were mostly Italians who were accused of collaboration during the Italian occupation, but also Croats and Slovenians. Post-war propaganda, especially from Italian neo-fascists, has constantly talked about 15,000-20,000 murdered victims. [1] The joint Italian-Slovenian Commission of Inquiry has now estimated the number of victims at several hundred. The tracing of collaborators was sometimes carried out in collaboration with the PCI. Between 1945 and 1956 there was an exodus of (mainly) Italian citizens. About 30,000 Italians moved from Slovenia to Italy, from Croatian Istria and Dalmatia 170,000-200,000. This exodus led to a depopulation of Istria, which continues to this day in the interior of the region. Incidentally, the larger cities had quickly attracted new residents, including Serbs and Montenegrins.
Pula (Italian: Pola, a town in the south of the Istrian peninsula) was virtually depopulated between December 1946 and September 1947 when 28,000 of its 32,000 inhabitants left. Most of them left Pula on February 10, 1947, after the Peace of Paris, which stipulated that Pula would come under Yugoslav rule. The media worldwide covered the alleged martyrdom of the Italians who left Pula. Not only did they take all their belongings with them, they also saw no room for their dead in Pula.
Some well-known Istrians are the racing driver Mario Andretti, the singer Sergio Endrigo and the boxer Nino Benvenuti. Even though the majority of Istrians today are Croatian, there is a strong regional identity. In the fifty-second edition of the Great Forest Atlas, Istria is indicated as an area of "(strong) secessionist movements."[2]
The Croatian word for Istrians is Istrani or Istrijani (the latter name is Čakavian, a Croatian dialect). Today there is still an Italian minority, and although this is a small group, Istria is nevertheless bilingual.[3]
Since the multi-party system in 1990, the regional party of the Istrian Democratic Assembly (Croatian: Istarski Demokratski Sabor; Italian Dieta Democratica Istriana) has an absolute majority of the vote and has 4 seats in the Croatian Parliament. The Party strives for more autonomy for Istria, and as a result has many problems with the central authority in Zagreb.
Population
Like other areas in Central Europe, ethnically speaking, Istria cannot be summed up in a few words. To summarize the ethnicity of this group, nationalities such as “Italian, “Croatian” and “Slovenian” are used. However, these nationalities have only each had their influence on Istria, which has often developed uniquely in all areas, unique compared to the mentioned nationalities.
Viewed from Istria, for example, Italian can be seen as a name for the progeny of the immigrants who moved to Istria as settlers during the Mussolini regime. But it can also have another meaning. It can also refer to the native population who speak Venetian and who came to Istria during the time of the Republic of Venice. Or a name for the Slavo-Istrian population that was strongly influenced by Italian culture when they moved from the countryside to the more populated areas, or the wealthy group that left their farms and became part of the middle class.
Slovenia sees the Istrians with the Kajkavian dialect as Slovenians. Similarly, Croatia sees the Istrians with a Čakavian dialect as Croatian. Many Istrians see themselves as Istrians, and feel little for the central authority. The support for parties such as the Istrian Democratic Assembly shows this well. Others see themselves again as just part of the country to which they belong.
Language
Istria has two Romance languages of its own: Istriotic, an Italo-Western language, and Istro-Romanian, an Eastern language. The languages have 1,000 and 555 to 1,500 speakers respectively.
In 1910 the region was also linguistically almost entirely mixed. At the time, an Austrian census showed that of the 404 309 inhabitants of Istria, 168 116 (41.6%) spoke Serbo-Croatian, 147 416 (36.5%) Italian, 55 365 (13.7%) Slovenian, 13 279 (3 .3%) German, 882 (0.2%) (Istro-)Romanian, 2 116 (0.5%) spoke another language and another 17 135 (4.2%) were not included in the census because they were not civilians. It should be noted that the 1910 census was particularly controversial because of deliberate procedural negligence at the instigation of Italian irredentists. In large parts the count was even repeated (1911).
Geography
Istria has a coastline of 445 kilometers along with islands 539.9 kilometers. On the other side of the Adriatic Sea is Venice and above Istria is the Gulf of Kvarner. The region is not far from the Julian Alps. The westernmost point is Savudrija, the southernmost point is Premantura (Latin: Promontorio).
The soil consists of limestone plateau, with little water due to the karst topography. The northeastern part of Istria is an extension of the Dinaric Alps. The highest peak is Vojak on Mount Učka (Italian: Monte Maggiore, 1401 meters above sea level). Another mountain range is the Ćićarija.
Istria is also divided into Istria, the white mountain peaks; siva Istria the gray fertile interior and crvena Istria, the blood red area (terra rossa or crljenica) near the coastline.
Geology
Istria has several popular geological sites, including the Caves of Beredine near Poreč and an underground river in Pazin. The Limski Canal is the only place in Europe outside of Scandinavia that is characterized as a fjord. However, it is not a fjord, as the channel is not formed by a glacier. The quarry near Rovinj (Italian: Rovigno) is specifically intended for study in geology. The longest river in Istria is the Mirna (Mirna=She the calm one in Croatian and Slovenian). The river is 53 kilometers long and flows into Novigrad. Other rivers are the Dragonja, Pazinčica and the Raša.
The inland valleys and grasslands are mainly used for agricultural production, such as grains and vegetables. The red soil closer to the coast is used for growing grapes, olives, figs and for the vintage. Istrian agriculture focuses on growing ecological foods such as olives and quality wines. The coastline has a rich Mediterranean vegetation, with pine trees, the green macchi, (especially oak and strawberry tree). A third of the area is covered with forests (mainly oak and pine trees).
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| west coast of Istria (Croatia)from North to South |
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You may · Novigrad · Porec · vrsar · Rovinj · Fažana · Pula · Medulin |