Veliki Brijun (literally meaning Great Brijun, Italian: Brioni Grande) is an island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. It is located off the west coast of Istria in northern Adriatic and is the largest island in the Brijuni Islands (also known as the Brioni or the Brionian Islands) archipelago. Like most of the archipelago, Veliki Brijun is part of the Brijuni National Park, established in 1983.
The island lies 2km west of the mainland town of Fažana and is located some 6km away from the city of Pula. It is separated from mainland by the Fažana Channel (Fažanski kanal) which is only 12meters deep, and geological evidence suggests that until some 10,000 years ago the whole archipelago was connected to the Istria peninsula.[2] The island has an area of 5.72km²,[3] which makes it the 41st largest Croatian island, and its coastline is 23.41km long.[1]
History
Like most islands of the Brijuni archipelago, Veliki Brijun was settled since prehistoric times, with the earlies traces of settlements going back to 3000BC, or early Bronze Age.[4] The Illyrians lived on the islands from around 1500BC until Roman conquest in 177BC and remnants of five Illyrian fortified hill forts were discovered on Veliki Brijun.[4] The most important Roman site on the island is at Verige Bay, where the ruins of a 1st-century villa rustica, a luxurious summer residence, can still be seen.[5] After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, the whole area came under Ostrogoth control, and during the Gothic War in the 6th century the islands were taken over by the Byzantine Empire. In 1331 the Republic of Venice took over and the island was ruled by a few Venetian aristocratic families.[4] Starting in the early 14th century, regular outbreaks of plague and malaria decimated the local population, until the 17th century when the archipelago was de facto uninhabited. In the 19th century Austria-Hungary started fortifying the islands by building massive bastions and batteries, and two large forts on Mali Brijun and five smaller ones on Veliki Brijun had been constructed for the defence of the monarchy’s main naval base at Pula.[4]
Monument to Robert Koch and the fight against malaria at Veliki Brijun
In 1893 the whole archipelago, including Veliki Brijun, was bought by the Austrian steel industrialist Paul Kupelwieser.[5] Kupelwieser embarked on a project to transform the islands into an exclusive summer resort and health center. Construction works on promenades, swimming pools, stables, and sports grounds were started. However, the construction efforts were jeopardized by malaria outbreaks which occurred during summer months and even Kupelwieser himself fell ill with the disease.[5] At the turn of the century Kupelwieser had invited the famous physician Robert Koch, who at the time studied different forms of malaria and quinine-based treatments. Koch accepted the invitation and spent two years, from 1900 to 1902, on the Brijuni islands.[5] According to Koch’s instructions, all the ponds and swamps where malaria-carrying mosquitoes hatched were reclaimed and patients were treated with quinine. Malaria was thus eradicated by 1902 and Kupelwieser erected a monument to Koch, which still stands in vicinity of the 15th century Church of St. Germanus on Veliki Brijun.
The first guests came to Veliki Brijun in 1896, but the surge in number of tourists occurred after malaria was eradicated, from 1903 onwards.[4] Although Kupelwieser already had acquired two boats to connect the islands to mainland, a more luxurious ship was needed to accommodate the wealthy customers, so Kupelwieser ordered a new ship powered by a fixed diesel engine which was the first of its kind in the shipbuilding world.[4] The ship called Brioni III had provided postal and local travel services in the following decades and even survived both World Wars and was in service well into the 1960s.[4] By 1913 the construction of hotel complex (with the total capacity of 320 rooms) and 10 villas was completed.[4] Next to all these a new quay was built, along with a post office & telephone switchboard, some 50km of roads and paths and a large beach. Also, an indoor swimming pool with heated sea water, a casino, and various sports grounds were built, including the largest golf course in Europe, with 18 holes and 5,850meters of paths.[4] The resort became a popular refuge for European elites, and news of arrivals of notable members from the aristocratic, cultural, scientific, and industrial circles of the time were regularly published in the island newspapers which were printed between 1910 and 1915.[6]
Early 20th century postcard showing the holiday resort
Although the islands soon gained popularity as an exclusive summer resort, Kupelwieser's plans for further development were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I, when some 2,600 Austro-Hungarian soldiers were stationed in the islands.[4] When the war ended in 1918 the whole of Istria including its islands came under Italian sovereignty but the Brijuni archipelago remained the possession of the Kupelwieser family. Due to the increasing and stronger tourist competition Kupelwieser’s enterprise went bankrupt in 1936 and the islands came under the jurisdiction of the Italian Ministry of Finance.[4] Soon after that a daily seaplane service to Brijuni was introduced but then World War II abruptly ended this new period of prosperity. The archipelago was turned into a naval fortification again and came under aerial attacks several times in the wake of World War II. In a bombing raid on 25 April 1945 two hotels, many houses and a large part of the quay were either badly damaged or completely destroyed.[4]
After World War II, the island was turned into Josip Broz Tito's luxurious summer residence. Tito used the island from June 1947 to August 1979 for entertaining a great number of foreign ministers, dignitaries and heads of state.[7] Since 1984 a permanent exhibition titled Josip Broz Tito at the Brijuni is housed on the island, where visitors can see a gallery of pictures documenting famous visitors entertained on the island. The exhibition includes pictures of visiting heads of state from 60 different countries, from the first such visit in 1954 by the Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie I to the last one, the Guinea-Bissau's president Luís Cabral's visit in 1979.[7] Other notable guests who visited the island in that period include Gamal Abdel Nasser, Jawaharlal Nehru, Eleanor Roosevelt, the Italian actress Sophia Loren and the novelist James Joyce.[8]
In 1978 a safari park was created on the northern part of the island, covering an area of 9hectares.[9] The park is used as home to a number of exotic animals, most of which were brought to Tito as gifts from heads of states who were members of the Non-Aligned Movement. These include Nilgai antelopes (given by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959), the Kob antelopes (given by Zambia in 1962), Somali sheep (given by Ethiopia in 1959), Zebus, zebras, Indian Elephants and llamas.[9] In addition, the chital deer, the Fallow deer and mouflons were introduced to the island in the early 20th century.[10] Their numbers increased in the following decades and can be seen roaming freely around the island.
Veliki Brijun beach
In October 1983 the whole archipelago was turned into a legally protected national park. Since the early 1990s the villas on the islets of Ganga, Galija and Madona west of Veliki Brijun are used as the summer residence of Croatian presidents, and are guarded year-round by the small army garrison stationed on the islands.[11] However, due to the lack of government investments in the existing infrastructure and the prohibition on new construction due to the island's status as a national park and protected reserve, the facilities at Veliki Brijun and the Brijuni archipelago fell into a state of disrepair by the 2000s.
As of 2009, there are plans to upgrade existing hotels to at least a four-star rating, and to modernise the outdated sewer system and power grid. The plan, devised as part of the Brijuni Rivijera project, includes developing the Brijuni archipelago as a luxury tourist resort with a total accommodating capacity of 800 beds.[12]
Istria County is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula.
Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula in northwestern Croatia, with a population of 52,220 in 2021. It is known for its multitude of ancient Roman buildings, the most famous of which is the Pula Arena, one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters. The city has a long tradition of wine making, fishing, shipbuilding, and tourism. It was the administrative centre of Istria from ancient Roman times until superseded by Pazin in 1991.
The Brijuni or the Brijuni Islands are a group of fourteen small islands in the Croatian part of the northern Adriatic Sea, separated from the west coast of the Istrian peninsula by the narrow Fažana Strait. The largest island, Veliki Brijun Island, (5.6 km2), lies 2 kilometres off the coast. The second largest island is Mali Brijun with an area of 1.07 km², and twelve much smaller islands. Famous for their scenic beauty, the islands are a holiday resort and a Croatian National Park.
Premuda is a small island in Croatia, off the northern Adriatic coast. It belongs to the north Dalmatian islands which are situated north-west from the county center Zadar. Premuda is approximately 9 km (6 mi) long, up to 1.6 km (1.0 mi) wide, and has an area of 9.2 km2 (3.6 sq mi). It is situated southwest of Silba and northwest of Škarda and as such it is one of the outermost Adriatic islands from the perspective of the Croatian coastline.
The Austrian Riviera was a term used for advertising the seaside resorts on the Adriatic coast of the Austrian crown lands of Gorizia and Istria. The name arose with the emergence of tourism in the Austrian Littoral from the mid 19th century onwards and was common until the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I.
The islands of Ilovik and Sveti Petar are located in Croatia south of the island Lošinj (Lussino), separated by the Strait of Ilovik.
Kaprije is an island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. It is situated in Šibenik archipelago. It has area of 7.11 km2 (2.75 sq mi) and population of 189, in the eponymous single settlement on the island. The island is composed of hills divided by transversal and longitudinal valleys where grass and sparse pine forests grow. Grapes and olives are cultivated there. The main industries are agriculture, fishing and tourism. Automobiles are not allowed on the island.
Drvenik Veli is an island in Croatian part of Adriatic Sea. It is situated in the middle of the Dalmatian archipelago, northwest of Šolta, 1.8 kilometres from the mainland. Its area is 12.07 square kilometres (4.66 sq mi). The highest peak is 178 metres high. The only settlement on the island is the near-eponymous village of Drvenik Veliki with a population of 150.
Žirje is an island and a settlement in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. It is situated in the Šibenik archipelago, about 22 kilometres southwest of Šibenik, which makes it the most remote permanently inhabited island in the Šibenik archipelago. Its area is 15.08 km2, and it has a population of 103. Its population is steadily decreasing.
Rava is an island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. It is situated in the Zadar Archipelago, between Iž and Dugi Otok, 16 nautical miles (30 km) from Zadar. Its area is 3.6 km2, and it has a population of 117. The only settlements on the island are Vela Rava and Mala Rava. The coast of the island is very indented with 13 bays and 15.45 kilometres of coastline. The island is composed of dolomite. The primary industries are agriculture and fishing.
Drvenik Mali (also called Ploča by local population; is an island in Croatian part of Adriatic Sea. It is situated in middle-Dalmatian archipelago, west of Drvenik Veliki, 8 nautical miles from Trogir. Its area is 3.43 square kilometres. The only settlement on the island is the eponymous village with a population of 87. The coast is well indented and sea around the island is shallow, thus convenient for fishing. The highest peak is 79 metres high. Main industries are agriculture, fishing and tourism.
Kornat is an island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea, in central Dalmatia. With an area of 32.44 km2 it is the 16th largest island in Croatia and the largest island in the eponymous Kornati islands archipelago. It is part of the Kornati National Park, which is composed of a total of 89 islands, islets and rocks.
Piškera is a small uninhabited island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the Kornati Islands in central Dalmatia and its area is 2.66 km2. Its coastline is 10.64 km long.
Mali Brijun is an uninhabited Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea located west of Fažana, one of the Brijuni Islands. Its area is 1.07 km2 (0.41 sq mi).
Egypt–Yugoslavia relations were historical foreign relations between Egypt and now break-up Yugoslavia. Both countries were founding members and prominent participants of the Non-Aligned Movement. While initially marginal, relations between the two Mediterranean countries developed significantly in the aftermath of the Soviet-Yugoslav split of 1948 and the Egyptian revolution of 1952. Belgrade hosted the Non-Aligned movement's first conference for which preparatory meeting took place in Cairo, while Cairo hosted the second conference. While critical of certain aspects of the Camp David Accords Yugoslavia remained major advocate for Egyptian realist approach within the movement, and strongly opposed harsh criticism of Cairo or proposals which questioned country's place within the movement.
Trinidad and Tobago–Yugoslavia relations were historical foreign relations between Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago and now split-up Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
India–Yugoslavia relations were historical foreign relations between India and now split-up Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia established full diplomatic relations with India on 5 December 1948 following the 1948 Tito–Stalin split. Initially two countries developed their relations at the UN Security Council in 1949 during their shared membership. In the period of the Cold War both countries were the founders and among core members of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The 1987 Mediterranean Non-Aligned Countries Ministerial Meeting held on Brijuni Islands, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia was the second ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned countries from the Mediterranean region. The meeting restricted the number of participating countries exclusively to the few Non-Aligned nations of the Mediterranean area and as such focused primarily on regional issues. At the time of the meeting the group included Southern Mediterranean and Levantine Arab countries and only three European Non-Aligned countries of Malta, Cyprus and SFR Yugoslavia.
The Brioni Meeting between President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser, Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and their host President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito took place on the Brijuni Islands, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia on 19 July 1956. The conference was one of the major initiatives among countries unaffiliated to neither Eastern or Western Bloc on their road to the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement at the 1961 Belgrade Summit. 120 Yugoslav and foreign journalists followed the meeting.
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