Genernal Information
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Opatija (Italian Abbazia) is a town in western Croatia, just southwest of Rijeka on the Adriatic coast, population 7,850 (2001), total municipality population 12,719 (2001).
Opatija is situated in the Gulf of Kvarner (Quarnero or Carnaro) in a sheltered position at the foot of Učka mountain (Monte Maggiore), with Vojak peak at 1401 m. Opatija is located 90 km from Trieste by rail and 82 km from Pula by road. The city is geographically on the Istrian peninsula, though it is not in Istria county, but Primorje-Gorski Kotar county.
The seaside of Opatija at night.It is a popular summer and winter resort, with average temperatures of 10°C in winter, and 25°C in summer. Opatija is surrounded by beautiful woods of bay laurel. The whole sea-coast to the north and south of Opatija is rocky and picturesque, and contains several smaller winter resorts.
The old abbey, San Giacomo della Priluca, from which the place derives its name (abbazia and opatija mean "abbey" in Italian and Croatian, resp.) is located in Park Svetog Jakova or Saint Jacobs Park.
The city's most prestigious sight is the Villa Angiolina, which was built in 1844 by Ignio Scarpa, a rich merchant from Rijeka. The first hotel, the Hotel Kvarner, was built in 1884. Opatija is known for the Lady with the seagull, a statue which is positioned by the Juraj Šporer pavilion.
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The Angiolina park - Villa Angiolina
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Villa "Angiolina" is the building that certainly marked the beginning of the tourist epoch in the history of Opatija. Saint Jacob’s Church Pending its building in 1844. (actually a reconstruction of an older building owned by baron Haller von Hallerstein), Opatija was a relatively large settlement with about 120 houses, clustered mainly around plots further away from the sea coast and chiefly oriented towards fishing and seafaring. |
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The Park of Sv. Jakov
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The central Opatija park is a horticultural monument covering an area of 3.64 hectares. It is divided into 60 fields and about 159 plant species grow here. A great number of them originates from distant parts of the world and is not typical of this region. |
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The Fountain - Helios and Selena - work of the sculptor Hans Rathautsky from 1889
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Situated vis-a-vis Hotel Imperial, in the vicinity of the Church of St. Jakov. |
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Maiden with the Seagull
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Work of the sculptor Zvonko Car, placed near the sea in 1956. It is one of the symbols of Opatija. |
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Art pavilion "Juraj Matija Sporer"
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An exhibition space named after the physician dr. Juraj Matija Sporer (in 1859 he suggested the establishment of a society for the constuction of Opatija as a sea resort and a natural health centre) |
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St. Jakov's Church
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Built on the foundations of the past Benedictine monastery, it is mentioned for the first time in 1439. To the left, near the church, the monastery and the cloister are located , with a well in the middle. Between the church and the monastery stands the stone bell-tower. |
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Madonna
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A copy of the monument which the Kesselstatt family had erected in memory of their son who died tragically in 1891. |
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Monument to Friedrich Julius Schuller
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General Manager of the Southern Railways Association, with the capital of which he bought "Villa Angiolina", built "Hotel Kvarner", its annexes, other hotels and rest centres. He is considered to be the predecessor of the development of Opatija as a modern tourist resort. |
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Hotel Kvarner
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This was the first hotel in Opatija, and probably on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. |
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Hotel Imperial
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This was the second hotel to be built in Opatija. As soon as it became evident that the Kvarner would not be able to accommodate the steadily increasing number of guests, the Southern Railways began building a new hotel. |
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The Open Air Summer Theater
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Here, where motion pictures are shown today was, according to the plans of the Austrians, supposed to have been a huge “health resort palace” (Kurpalast) with dance and concert halls, a pool with simulated waves, shops and cafés. |
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Church of the Annunciation
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As early as 1906 the bishop of Trieste, Franjo Nagl, laid the foundationstone for the neo-Romanesque edifice with its pronounced green cupola that can be seen from afar. |
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Villa Amalia
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It was built in 1890 as an annex to the six years older hotel Kvarner. |
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The Port
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From the pier, which has for the townspeople of Opatija on several occasions in history been the scene of important events (the dismay caused by the arrival of the Italian navy in December of 1918, the celebration of the capitulation of Italy in September 1943), one has the best view of the entire “North Strand” (Nordstrand). |
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Lungomare (The Seaside Promenade)
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Built in phases, this path stretches from Preluka to Lovran and its total length is approximately 12 kilometers. |
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Reservation: reservation@lmho.net 
