Opatija

Opatija

Opatija, Italian Abbazia, resort town, one of the best-known coastal resorts in Istria, western Croatia. It is situated at the head of the Kvarner, a gulf of the Adriatic Sea along the eastern side of the Istrian peninsula.

The town’s name derives from the old Benedictine opatija (“abbey”) of San Giacomo al Palo, situated in the main park. Besides remains of medieval walls and the town gate, there are striking villas built by Austrian and Hungarian nobility in the 19th century.

A part of Austria-Hungary before World War I, Opatija was ceded to Italy in 1919 and to Yugoslavia after World War II. The Opatija Riviera developed as a tourist and vacation centre in the latter half of the 19th century, stimulated by the rail line between Trieste (Italy) and Rijeka in 1873; the resort still draws great numbers of tourists annually. Pop. (2001) 12,719; (2011) 11,659.