Opatija travel guide

Background

Opatija was named after a Benedictine Abbey (opatija means ‘abbey’ in Croatian) that was built here in the 15th century, though all that remains of it today is the reconstructed chapel of Sveti Jakov (St James), on the seafront. The settlement that grew up around the abbey was no more than a sleepy fishing village until 1844 when a wealthy Rijeka businessman, Iginio Scarpa, bought a piece of land close to the church and built a villa there. He named it Villa Angiolina, after his wife, and used it for entertaining the Central European elite of that time, including the Hapsburgs.

In 1882, with the opening of a railway linking Rijeka to Budapest and Vienna, the Society of Southern Railways bought Villa Angiolina and built the Hotel Kvarner next door, thus establishing the area as a winter health resort. They also initiated the building of the 12-km-long coastal promenade, Šetalište Franza Josefa. By the early 20th century, Opatija had become one of Europe’s most elegant and fashionable seaside destinations, with a string of villas and hotels built in extravagant Viennese Secessionist style. Illustrious visitors included royalty and artists: Emperor Franz Josef, Wilhelm II of Germany and Prussia, Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, Carol I of Romania, Oscar II of Sweden, and the Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini, the Irish novelist James Joyce, the Russian novelist Anton Chekhov and the American dancer Isadora Duncan.

Bus

Opatija is linked to Rijeka by local bus No 32 which runs every 20 mins takes 30 mins. There is also a double decker tourist bus, with a guide, running several times daily between Opatija and Rijeka.

Intercity buses travelling between Rijeka and Pula also stop here taking 2 hrs to get from Pula to Opatija.