Istria - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Istria formerly Histria (Latin), is the largest peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

in the Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste

Gulf of Trieste

The Gulf of Trieste is a shallow bay of the Adriatic Sea, in the extreme northern part of the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Gulf of Venice and is shared by Italy, Slovenia and Croatia...

and the Bay of Kvarner. It is shared by three countries: Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

, and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

Geography

The geographical features of Istria include the Učka

Ucka

The Učka is a mountain range that rises behind Opatija riviera, on the Istrian peninsula, in northwestern Croatia. It forms a single morphological unit together with the Čičarija range which streches from the bay of Trieste to Rijeka...

mountain ridge, which is the highest portion of the Ćićarija

Ćićarija

Ćićarija is a mountainous plateau in the northern and north-eastern part of Istria peninsula, 45 km long and 10–15 km wide. It mostly lies in Croatia, while its northern part lies in Slovenia...

mountain range; the rivers Dragonja

Dragonja

Dragonja is a river in Slovenia, in the northern part of the Istrian peninsula. It is the third longest river in Istria, after Raša and Mirna.The river is in length and flows into the Gulf of Piran....

, Mirna, Pazinčica, and Raša

Raša (river)

The river Raša, in Croatian Istria is a major river of Croatia's Istria County. Its mouth is in the long ria of Raški zaljev/Porto d'Arsia, which is a drowned river valley scoured out when world sea levels were lowered, then drowned by the rising waters of the post glacial era...

; and the Lim

Lim (Croatia)

The Lim bay and valley is a peculiar geographic feature found near Rovinj and Vrsar on the western coast of Istria, south of Poreč, Croatia. The name comes from the Latin limes for "limit", referring to the landform's position at the border of two Roman provinces: Dalmatia and Italia.-Geography:The...

bay and valley. Istria lies in three countries: Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. By far the largest portion (89%) lies in Croatia. "Croatian Istria" is divided into two counties, the larger being Istria County

Istria County

Istria County is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula . The area of the county is called Istra in Croatian and Slovene...

in western Croatia. Important towns in Istria County include Pula

Pula

Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...

, Poreč

Porec

Poreč is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th century Euphrasian Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997....

, Rovinj

Rovinj

Rovinj is a city in Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea with a population of 13,562 . It is located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula and is a popular tourist resort and an active fishing port...

, Pazin

Pazin

Pazin is the administrative seat of Istria County in Croatia. The town has a population of 4,986 , the total Pazin municipality population is 9,227...

, Labin

Labin

Labin is a town in Istria, Croatia, with a town population of 6,884 and 11,703 in the greater municipality ....

, Umag

Umag

Umag is a coastal city in Istria, Croatia.The city hosts the yearly Croatia Open ATP tennis tournament on clay courts.-Geography:It is the westernmost city of Croatia, and the municipality includes Savudrija which is westernmost point of Croatia....

, Motovun

Motovun

Motovun is a village in central Istria, Croatia. The population of the village itself is 531, with a total of 983 residents in the municipality ; 442 of the residents have Italian as their mother language...

, Buzet

Buzet

Buzet is a town in Istria, Croatia, population 6,059 . Already at the time of Venetian rule, Buzet supplied military stations and the local population with potable water. Today the region of Buze-stina is the central area of the future Native Park of Istria...

, and Buje

Buje

Buje is a town situated in Istria, Croatia's westernmost peninsula, population 2,979 .Buje was known as the "sentinel of Istria" for its hilltop site located inland from the Adriatic sea. It still commands an excellent panorama. Buje has a rich history; traces of life in the region date back to...

. Smaller towns in Istria County include Višnjan

Višnjan

Višnjan is a village and municipality in Istria, Croatia. Višnjan is the site of Višnjan Observatory . The observatory is home of several long-running international summer programs for youth in astronomy, archeology, marine biology and other disciplines.-Geography:Višnjan is located 12 kilometers...

, Roč

ROC

Roc may refer to:*Roc , a mythical giant bird*Roc , a role-playing version of the mythical bird*Roc , an American television sitcom starring Charles S...

, and Hum

Hum, Croatia

Hum is a town in the central part of Istria, northwest Croatia, 7 km from Roč, 14 km southeast of Buzet on a hill above the Mirna valley. The elevation of the town is 349 m...

.

The northwestern part of Istria lies in Slovenia: it is known as Slovenian Istria

Slovenian Istria

Slovenian Istria often called Obala in Slovene is a region in southwest of Slovenia. It comprises the northern part of the Istrian peninsula, and it is part of the wider geographical-historical region known as the Slovenian Littoral . Its largest urban center is Koper. Other larger settlements...

, and includes the coastal municipalities of Piran

Piran

Piran is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give...

, Izola

Izola

Izola is an old fishing city and a municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast of the Istrian peninsula. Its name originates from the Italian Isola, which means island.- History :...

and Koper, and the Karstic municipality of Hrpelje-Kozina

Hrpelje-Kozina

Hrpelje-Kozina is a municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia. Its main settlements are Hrpelje and Kozina.A major border crossing to Italy is located in the municipality at the village of Krvavi Potok. It connects to Pese di Grozzana in the San Dorligo della Valle comune near Trieste on the...

. Northwards of Slovenian Istria, there is a tiny portion of the peninsula that lies in Italy. This smallest portion of Istria consists of the comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

s of Muggia

Muggia

Muggia is a small Italian comune in the extreme south-east of Trieste lying on the border with Slovenia.Muggia is the last and only flap of Istria still in Italian territory, after the dissolution of the Free Territory of Trieste in 1954....

and San Dorligo della Valle

San Dorligo della Valle

San Dorligo della Valle is a comune in the Province of Trieste in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 4 km southeast of Trieste, on the border with Slovenia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,019 and an area of 24.5 km²...

.

The ancient region of Histria extended over a much wider area, including the whole Kras

Kras

Karst ; also known as the Karst Plateau, is a limestone borderline plateau region extending in southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the valley, the westernmost part of the Brkini Hills, northern Istria, and the Gulf of Trieste...

plateau until the southern edges of the Vipava Valley

Vipava Valley

The Vipava Valley is a valley located in the Slovenian Littoral, between the towns of Nova Gorica and Vipava.-Geography:It is a narrow valley, serving as the main passage between Friulian lowland and central Slovenia, and thus also an important corridor connecting Northern Italy to Central Europe...

, the southwestern portions of modern Inner Carniola with Postojna

Postojna

Postojna is a town and a municipality in the traditional region of Inner Carniola, from Trieste, in southwestern Slovenia. Population 14,581 .-History:...

and Ilirska Bistrica

Ilirska Bistrica

Ilirska Bistrica is a town and a municipality in Slovenia. It belongs to the traditional region of Primorska.The town of Ilirska Bistrica is the major economic centre of the district of the same name...

, and the modern Italian Province of Trieste

Province of Trieste

The Province of Trieste is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Trieste.It has an area of 212 km², and a total population of 236,520...

, but not the Liburnia

Liburnia

Liburnia in ancient geography was the land of the Liburnians, a region along the northeastern Adriatic coast in Europe, in modern Croatia, whose borders shifted according to the extent of Liburnian dominance at a given time between 11th and 1st century BC...

n coast which was already part of Illyricum

Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum

The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided.The administrative centre of the prefecture was Sirmium , and, after 379, Thessalonica...

Climate

Central Istria (Pazin) has a Continental climate
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...

.
Slovenian coast of Istria (Koper, Izola, Piran) has a Sub-Mediterranean climate,
West and south coast (Novigrad, Rovinj, Pula) has a Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

.
East coast (Rabac, Labin, Opatija) has a Sub-Mediterranean climate with Oceanic climate
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...

influences.
The warmest places are Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...

, Rovinj
Rovinj
Rovinj is a city in Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea with a population of 13,562 . It is located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula and is a popular tourist resort and an active fishing port...

, while the coldest are Pazin
Pazin
Pazin is the administrative seat of Istria County in Croatia. The town has a population of 4,986 , the total Pazin municipality population is 9,227...

and Koper.

Early history

The name is derived from the Illyria

Illyria

In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....

n tribe of the Histri , which Strabo

Strabo

Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...

refers to as living in the region. The Histri are classified in some sources as a "Venetic" Illyrian tribe, with certain linguistic differences from other Illyrians. The Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

described the Histri as a fierce tribe of pirates, protected by the difficult navigation of their rocky coasts. It took two military campaigns for the Romans to finally subdue them in 177 BCE. The region was then called together with the Venetian part the X. Roman Region of "Venetia et Histria", the ancient definition of the northeastern border of Italy. Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...

refers to it as well, the eastern border of Italy per ancient definition is the river Arsia (Raša

Raša

Raša is a town and municipality in the inner part of the Raška Inlet in the south-eastern part of Istria, Croatia. Raša lies southwest of Labin at an elevation of ....

). The eastern side of this river was settled by people whose culture was different than Histrians. Earlier influence of the Iapodes was attested there, while at some time between the 4th and 1st century BC, the Liburnians

Liburnians

The Liburnians were an ancient Illyrian tribe inhabiting the district called Liburnia, a coastal region of the northeastern Adriatic between the rivers Arsia and Titius in what is now Croatia....

extended their territory and it became a part of Liburnia

Liburnia

. On the northern side, Histria went much further north and included the Italian city of Trieste and the region of Venezia-Julia. Today, Trieste and Venezia-Julia are not included in Istria for political reasons.

Some scholars speculate that the names Histri and Istria are related to the Latin name Hister, or Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

. Ancient folktales reported—inaccurately—that the Danube split in two or "bifurcated" and came to the sea near Trieste

Trieste

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

as well as at the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

. The story of the "Bifurcation of the Danube" is part of the Argonaut legend. There is also a suspected link (but no historical documentation is available) to the commune of Istria in Constanţa, Romania.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....

, the region was pillaged by the Goths

Goths

The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....

, the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Avars

Eurasian Avars

The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...

. It was subsequently annexed to the Lombard

Kingdom of the Lombards

The Kingdom of the Lombards or Lombard Kingdom was an early medieval state, with its capital in Pavia, established by the Lombards on the Italian Peninsula between 568-569 and 774 .Effective control by the rulers of both the major areas that constituted the...

Kingdom in 751, and then annexed to the Frankish kingdom by Pippin III in 789. In 799, on the border between Littoral Croatia and Carolingian Empire

Carolingian Empire

Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...

, there was a Siege of Trsat

Siege of Trsat

The Siege of Trsat was a battle fought over possession of the town of Trsat The city of Tarsatica, where the siege happened, was probably located at the present Old Town in Rijeka, not at Trsat itself, which is found on on a hill overlooking Rijeka on the other side of the Rječina River. Trsat was...

, where in a Croatian victory, Frankish commander Eric of Friuli

Eric of Friuli

Eric was the Duke of Friuli from 789 to his death. He was the eldest son of Gerold of Vinzgouw and by the marriage of his sister Hildegard the brother-in-law of Charlemagne....

was killed. Afterwards it was successively controlled by the dukes of Carantania, Merania, Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

and by the patriarch of Aquileia

Patriarch of Aquileia

The Patriarch of Aquileia was an office in the Roman Catholic Church. During the Middle Ages the Patriarchate of Aquileia was a temporal state in Northern Italy. The Patriarchate of Aquileia as a church office was suppressed in 1752....

, before it became the territory of the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

in 1267. The medieval Croatian kingdom

Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)

The Kingdom of Croatia , also known as the Kingdom of the Croats , was a medieval kingdom covering most of what is today Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.Established in 925, it ruled as a sovereign state for almost two centuries...

held only the far eastern part of Istria (the border was near the river Raša

Raša (river)

), but they lost it to the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

in the late 11th century.

Venetian Republic and the Holy Roman Empire

The coastal areas and cities of Istria came under Venetian Influence in the 9th century. On 15 February 1267, Parenzo was formally incorporated with the Venetian state. Other coastal towns followed shortly thereafter.

Austrian Empire (1797-1805)

The Inner Istrian part around Mitterburg (Pazin

Pazin

Pazin is the administrative seat of Istria County in Croatia. The town has a population of 4,986 , the total Pazin municipality population is 9,227...

), had been held for centuries by the Holy Roman Empire. In 1797, with the Treaty of Campo Formio

Treaty of Campo Formio

The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 18 October 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of revolutionary France and the Austrian monarchy...

, the Venetian parts of the peninsula also passed to the Holy Roman Empire.

Napoleonic Era 1806-1813

The Holy Roman Empire ended with the period of Napoleonic rule from 1806 to 1813, when Istria became part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy

Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)

The Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...

(1806–1810) after the Peace of Pressburg

Peace of Pressburg

The Peace of Pressburg refers to four peace treaties concluded in Pressburg . The fourth Peace of Pressburg of 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars is the best-known.-First:...

, and then part of the Illyrian provinces

Illyrian provinces

The Illyrian Provinces was an autonomous province of the Napoleonic French Empire on the north and east coasts of the Adriatic Sea between 1809 and 1816. Its capital was established at Laybach...

of the French Empire

First French Empire

The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...

(1810–1813) after the Treaty of Paris

Treaty of Paris (1810)

The Treaty of Paris, signed on January 6, 1810, ended the war between France and Sweden after Sweden's defeat by Russia, an ally of France, in the Finnish War of 1808-1809...

Austrian Empire (1814-1918)

After this short period, the newly established Austrian Empire

Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

ruled Istria as the so-called "Küstenland", which included the city of Trieste and Gorizia

Gorizia

Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...

in Friuli until 1918. At that time the borders of Istria included a part of what is now Italian Venezia-Giulia and parts of modern-day Slovenia and Croatia, but not the city of Trieste.

Italy 1919-1947

After World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

, Istria was given to Italy. After the advent of Fascism

Fascism

Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...

, the portions of the Istrian population that were Croatian and Slovene were exposed to a policy of forced Italianization

Italianization

Italianization or Italianisation is a term used to describe a process of cultural assimilation in which ethnically non or partially Italian people or territory become Italian. The process can be voluntary or forced...

and cultural suppression

Cultural suppression

Cultural suppression occurs when a culture is suppressed, usually coinciding with the promotion of another culture. It is often related to cultural imperialism....

. They lost their right to education and religious practice in their mother tongue. The organization TIGR

TIGR

TIGR, abbreviation for Trst , Istra , Gorica and Reka , with the full name Revolutionary Organization of the Julian March T.I.G.R. was a militant anti-Fascist and insurgent organization active in the 1920s and the 1930s in the eastern Italian border region known as the Julian March.The...

, founded in 1927 by Slovenian patriots from the western region of Primorsko

Primorsko

Primorsko is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, part of Burgas Province. A well-known resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, it is located on a gore 52 km south of Burgas and has a beach strip of about 1 km². The average temperature is 27°C in July, often reaching...

and regarded as the first armed antifascist resistance group in Europe, soon penetrated into Slovene and Croatian-speaking parts of Istria.

SFR Yugoslavia 1945-1991

After the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Istria was included into Yugoslavia

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

, except for a small part in the northwest corner that formed Zone B of the provisionally independent Free Territory of Trieste

Free Territory of Trieste

The Free Territory of Trieste was to be a city-state situated in Central Europe between northern Italy and Yugoslavia, created by the United Nations Security Council in the aftermath of World War II and provisionally administered by an appointed military governor commanding the peacekeeping United...

; Zone B was under Yugoslav administration and after the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

dissolution of the Free Territory in 1954 it was also incorporated into Yugoslavia. Only the small town of Muggia

Muggia

, near Trieste

Trieste

, being part of Zone A remained with Italy.

The events of that period are visible in Pula

Pula

. The city had an Italian majority, and is located on the southernmost tip of the Istrian peninsula. Between December 1946 and September 1947, a large proportion of the city's inhabitants emigrated to Italy. Most of them left in the immediate aftermath of the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty

Paris Peace Treaties, 1947

The Paris Peace Conference resulted in the Paris Peace Treaties signed on February 10, 1947. The victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of treaties with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland .The...

on February 10, 1947, which granted Pula to Yugoslavia. After 1954, the border between the Slovenia

Socialist Republic of Slovenia

The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1943 until 1990...

and Croatia

Socialist Republic of Croatia

Socialist Republic of Croatia was a sovereign constituent country of the second Yugoslavia. It came to existence during World War II, becoming a socialist state after the war, and was also renamed four times in its existence . It was the second largest republic in Yugoslavia by territory and...

ran along the river Mirna. According to the Croatian historiographer Stjepan Srkulj, this is the first time in Croatian history that Istria has been fully under Croatian jurisdiction.

After the breakup of Yugoslavia - after 1991

The division of Istria between Croatia and Slovenia runs on the former republic borders, which were not precisely defined in the former Yugoslavia. Various points of contention remain unresolved between the two countries regarding the precise line of the border. It became an international boundary with the independence of both countries from Yugoslavia in 1991. Since Croatia

Croatia

's first multi-party elections in 1990, the regional party Istrian Democratic Assembly

Istrian Democratic Assembly

The Istrian Democratic Assembly is a Croatian regional and social liberal political party in Istria. The hyphenated abbreviation IDS-DDI is most commonly used....

(IDS-DDI, Istarski demokratski sabor or Dieta democratica istriana) has consistently received a majority of the vote and maintained through the 1990s a position often contrary to the government in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

, led by the then nationalistic party Croatian Democratic Union

Croatian Democratic Union

The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...

(HDZ, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica), with regards to decentralization in Croatia and certain region

Region

Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...

al autonomy. However, that changed in 2000, when the IDS formed with five other parties a left-centre coalition government, led by the Social Democratic Party of Croatia

Social Democratic Party of Croatia

Social Democratic Party of Croatia , commonly referred to in Croatia as simply Social Democratic Party , is the largest centre-left political party in Croatia...

(SDP, Socijaldemokratska Partija Hrvatske). After the reformed HDZ won the Croatian parliamentary elections in late 2003 and formed a minority government, the IDS has cooperated with the state government on many projects, both local (in Istria County

Istria County

Istria County is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula . The area of the county is called Istra in Croatian and Slovene...

) and national. Since Slovenia's accession to the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

and the Schengen area

Schengen Agreement

The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...

, customs and immigration checks have been abolished at the Italian-Slovenian border.

Demographic history

The region has traditionally been ethnically mixed. Under Austrian rule

Austria-Hungary

in the 19th century, it included a large population of Italians, Croats

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

, Slovenes and some Vlachs

Vlachs

Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...

/Istro-Romanians

Istro-Romanians

Istro-Romanians / Istrorumeni are an ethnic group living in northeastern Istria, currently spanning over a small area of Croatia and a...

, Serbs

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

and Montenegrins; however, official statistics in those times did not show those nationalities as they do today.

In 1910, the ethnic and linguistic composition was completely mixed. According to the Austrian census results (Istria included here parts of the Karst and Liburnia which are not really part of Istria and excluded ancient Istrian parts, like Trieste), out of 404,309 inhabitants in Istria, 168,116 (41.6%) spoke Croatian

Croatian language

Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

, 147,416 (36.5%) spoke Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, 55,365 (13.7%) spoke Slovene, 13,279 (3.3%) spoke German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, 882 (0.2%) spoke Romanian

Romanian language

Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

, 2,116 (0.5%) spoke other languages and 17,135 (4.2%) were non-citizens, which had not been asked for their language of communication. During the last decades of the Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

dynasty the coast of Istria profited from tourism within the Empire. Generally speaking, Italians lived on the coast and in the inland cities of northern Istria, while Croats and Slovenes lived in the eastern and southeastern inland parts of the countryside.

In the second half of the 19th century a clash of new ideological

Ideology

An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...

movements, Italian irredentism (which claimed Trieste and Istria) and Slovene and Croatian nationalism

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

(developing individual identities in some quarters while seeking to unite in a Southern Slav identity in others), resulted in growing ethnic conflict between Italians on one side and Slovenes and Croats on the other side. This was intertwined with class conflict, as inhabitants of Istrian towns were mostly Italian, while Croats

Croats

and Slovenes largely lived out in the eastern countryside.

There is a long tradition of tolerance between the people who live in Istria, regardless of their nationality, and although many Istrians today are ethnic Croats, a strong regional identity has existed over the years. The Croatian word for the Istrians is Istrani, or Istrijani, the latter being in the local Chakavian dialect

Chakavian dialect

Chakavian or Čakavian is a dialect of the Croatian language. The name stems from the word for "what?", which is "ča" in Čakavian...

. The term Istrani is also used in Slovenia. Today the Italian minority is organized in many towns and consists officially of around 45.000 inhabitants. The Istrian county in Croatia is bilingual, as are large parts of Slovenian Istria. Every citizen has the right to speak either Italian or Croatian (Slovene in Slovenian Istria) in public administration or in court. Furthemore, Istria is a supranational European Region that includes Italian, Slovenian and Croatian Istria.

Ethnicity

As with many other regions in former Yugoslavia, common concepts about ethnicity and nationality fail when applied to Istria. Discussions about Istrian ethnicity often use the words "Italian," "Croatian" and "Slovene" to describe the character of Istrian people. However, these terms are best understood as "national affiliations" that may exist in combination with or independently of linguistic, cultural and historical attributes.

In the Istrian context, for example, the word "Italian" can just as easily refer to autochthonous speakers of the Venetian language

Venetian language

Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...

whose antecedents in the region extends before the inception of the Venetian Republic or to the Istriot language

Istriot language

Istriot is a Romance language spoken in the Western Region on the coast of the Istrian Peninsula, especially in the towns of Rovinj and Vodnjan , on the upper northern part of the Adriatic Sea, in Croatia.-Classification:...

the oldest spoken language in Istria, dated back to the Romans, today spoken in the southwest of Istria. It can also refer to Istrian Croats who adopted the veneer of Italian culture as they moved from rural to urban areas, or from the farms into the bourgeoisie. In fact most of the families in Inner Istria are of Croatian or Morlak

Morlachs

Morlachs were a population of Vlachs. In another version their name comes from the slavic terms of "morski-Vlasi" or Sea Vlachs...

origin.

Similarly, national powers claim Istrian Croats according to local language, so that speakers of Čakavian

Chakavian dialect

Chakavian or Čakavian is a dialect of the Croatian language. The name stems from the word for "what?", which is "ča" in Čakavian...

and Štokavian

Shtokavian dialect

Shtokavian or Štokavian is the prestige dialect of the Serbo-Croatian language, and the basis of its Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and Montenegrin standards...

dialects of the Croatian language

Croatian language

are considered to be Croatians, while speakers of other dialects may be considered to be Slovene. Those Croatian dialect speakers are descendants of the refugees of the Turkish invasion and Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

of Bosnia

Bosnia Eyalet

The Eyalet of Bosnia or Bosnia Beylerbeylik was a eyalet and beylerbeylik of the Ottoman Empire, mostly based on the territory of the present-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as most of Slavonia, Lika, and Dalmatia in present-day Croatia...

and Dalmatia

Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

in the 16 century. Often they were Croatianized Vlachs

Vlachs

and Morlachs

Morlachs

Morlachs were a population of Vlachs. In another version their name comes from the slavic terms of "morski-Vlasi" or Sea Vlachs...

. The government of the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

had settled them in Inner Istria, which had been devastated by wars and plague. Many villages have the Morlachian name like Katun

Katun

The Katun River is a river in the Altai Republic and the Altai Krai of Russia. It forms the Ob River as it joins the Biya River some 19 km southwest of Biysk. The Katun River is 688 km long, the area of its drainage basin is 60,900 km². It originates in the Katun glaciers on the...

. Like with other regions, the local dialects of the Croatian communities vary slightly across close distances. The Istrian Croatian and Italian vernaculars had both developed for many generations before being divided as they are today. This meant that Croats/Slovenes on the one side and Venetians/other Italians on the other side yielded to each other culturally while simultaneously distancing themselves from members of their ethnic groups living farther away. Another important Istrian community are the Istro-Romanians

Istro-Romanians

Istro-Romanians / Istrorumeni are an ethnic group living in northeastern Istria, currently spanning over a small area of Croatia and a...

in the east and north of Istria (Ćićarija

Ćićarija

Ćićarija is a mountainous plateau in the northern and north-eastern part of Istria peninsula, 45 km long and 10–15 km wide. It mostly lies in Croatia, while its northern part lies in Slovenia...

) and parts of neighbouring Liburnia

Liburnia

(the east coast of the peninsula, called Liburnia, is part of historic Istria).

Census

According to the 2001 Croatian census data for the Istria County

Istria County

Istria County is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula . The area of the county is called Istra in Croatian and Slovene...

, 71.88% of the inhabitants were Croats

Croats

, 6.92% were Italians, 3.20% were Serbs

Serbs

, 1.49% were Bosnians

Bosnians

Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...

, and 10.65% did not want to state their nationality. Those declaring themselves regionally as Istrians made up 4.3%. Other nationalities had less than 1% each. (Population according to ethnicity by towns/municipalities)

The data for Slovenian Istria is not as neatly organized, but the 2002 Slovenian census indicates that the three Istrian municipalities (Izola

Izola

Izola is an old fishing city and a municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast of the Istrian peninsula. Its name originates from the Italian Isola, which means island.- History :...

, Piran

Piran

, Koper) had a total of 56,482 Slovenes, 6,426 Croats and 1,840 Italians.

The small town of Peroj

Peroj

Peroj is a village in the Vodnjan municipality on the south-western coast of Istria, currently inhabited by ~400 inhabitants, dating back to the Copper age of prehistory, as testified by a necropolis within the old walls of the town. The town has been settled with families from a variety of origins...

has had a unique history which exemplifies the multi-ethnic complexity of the history of the region, as do some towns on both sides of the Cicarija mountains that are still identified with the Istro-Romanian people which the UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

Redbook of Endangered Languages calls "the smallest ethnic group in Europe".

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Geography

Climate

Early history

Venetian Republic and the Holy Roman Empire

Austrian Empire (1797-1805)

Napoleonic Era 1806-1813

Austrian Empire (1814-1918)

Italy 1919-1947

SFR Yugoslavia 1945-1991

After the breakup of Yugoslavia - after 1991

Demographic history

Ethnicity

Census

See also

Further reading

External links