Pula travel guide

Background

Some time during the fifth century BC, the Illyrian tribe of the Histri built a hilltop fortress on the present-day site of Kaštel. However, it was not until the time of the Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) that Pula was founded as a Roman colony, Colonia Julia Pollentia Herculanea. During the reign of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus (63 BC-AD 14), it developed into an important administrative and commercial centre of about 5000 inhabitants, complete with a forum and temples, town walls and 12 monumental gates, and a water supply and sewer system. In 539 the region was absorbed into the Byzantine Empire, and during the sixth and seventh centuries Pula became the main base of the Byzantine fleet on the Adriatic.

However, the tide of fortune was reversed in the late 13th century, when the city was hit by the plague: people were dying on the streets so fast that the corpses could not all be buried, inspiring the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) to mention Pula city graveyard in the Divine Comedy in the ninth cycle of Hell. Shortly afterwards, in 1331, the city fell to Venice. Losing its role as a major port, a period of decline set in, and by the time the Venetians left, in 1797, the population stood at only 600.

Under the Hapsburgs from 1813 to 1918, Pula was made the chief base and arsenal of the Imperial Austrian Navy, and thus entered its second golden age. The small city of fading antique splendour was transformed into an industrial port with a prosperous middle class, though apparently it did little to impress the Irish novelist James Joyce, who worked here briefly in 1904, teaching English to Austrian naval officers: he referred to Pula as a “godforsaken nest” and “Siberia upon sea”.

Under Italy in the run up to the Second World War, Mussolini came here in person to make a speech in the theatre and, as the war drew to a close, the city was badly damaged by Anglo-American bombing.

During the Yugoslav years Pula lived through a period of intense industrial development, with the shipyard becoming a major source of employment. The Pula Film Festival was born in the 1950s, regularly attended by Tito and his celebrity friends such as Sofia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Today, although it’s a popular sightseeing destination thanks to its Roman monuments, unemployment is high and it is still struggling to recover from the economic and social damage caused by the war.

Best time to visit

Being Istria’s economic and cultural centre, Pula is fairly lively throughout the year, though the most popular time to visit is July, when the Pula Film Festival and the Istra Etno Jazz Festival both take place.

Getting around

The historic centre is quite compact and the sights described below can comfortably be visited on foot. Verudela Peninsula, where many of the large commercial hotels and several good restaurants are located, is served by bus No 7.

Air

Through summer, Croatia Airlines operate regular international flights to and from Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Helsinki, London (Gatwick and Heathrow), Lisbon, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Rome, Sarajevo, Skopje, Stockholm, Vienna and Zurich. Internal flights link Pula with Dubrovnik, Osijek, Split, Zadar and Zagreb. The number of destinations and the frequency of flights are reduced in winter. Pula airport, T052-530105, www.airport- pula.hr.

Airlines offices

Croatia Airlines, Carrarina 8, T052-218909.

Bus

Pula bus station, T060-304090. Left luggage costs 10Kn per item, open daily 0430-2400.

Internal services include about 18 buses daily to Zagreb (4-5 hrs); 22 to Rijeka in Kvarner (2½ hrs); 3 to Zadar in North Dalmatia (7 hrs); 3 to Split in Central Dalmatia (10½ hrs); and 1 to Dubrovnik in South Dalmatia (14 hrs). There are also 4 international buses daily to Trieste (Italy) and 1 to Padova (Italy) stopping at Venice en route.

Car

Budget Cararrina 4, T052-218252, http://www.budget.hr; Hertz in Hotel Histria, Verudela bb, T052-210868, http://www.hertz.hr.

Ferry

Split Tours, http://www.splittours.hr, from mid-Jul to mid-Sep, operate a 5-times weekly service from Pula to Zadar (North Dalmatia), stopping on the island of Lošinj (Kvarner) en route. Venezia Lines, call centre T0039 041-242 4000, http://www.venezialines.com, operate a 3-times-weekly catamaran line, running between Venice (Italy) and Pula, mid-Jun to mid-Sep.

Taxi

Taxis are usually available at the bus station. The most central taxi rank is at Giardini, between the Arena and the Triumphal Arch of the Sergi, or call T052-223228.

Train

Pula train station, T052-541982. National train information, T060-333444, http://www.hznet.hr. Internal services cover the Istria region only, with regular daily trains from Pula to Buzet, stopping in Vodnjan, Kanfanar, Pazin and Lupoglav en route. From Lupoglav, Croatian Railways run a connecting bus to Rijeka.

Emergencies

Ambulance: T94; Fire: T93; Police: T92.

Internet

MMC Luka Multimedia Centre, Istarska 30, www.mm cluka.hr, with art and photography exhibitions.

Medical services

Hospital: Zagrebačka 30, T052- 376000 (24-hr casualty). Pharmacies: marked by a glowing green cross. The centrally located pharmacy at Giardini 15, T052-222551, non-stop 24 hrs.

Post offices

Danteov Trg 4, Mon-Fri 0700-2000, Sat 0700-1400; Čirilmetodske Družbe 1, Mon-Fri 0700-2000, Sat 0700-1400.

Telephones

If you prefer to

telephone from a peaceful phone booth, rather than calling on the street, go to the post office . Otherwise, you’ll find numerous phone kiosks dotted round town.