Opatjia#
Opatija (German: Sankt Jakobi; Italian: Abbazia) Opatjia,Croatia is a town of some 10.000 in western Croatia, just southwest of Rijeka Rijeka on the Adriatic coast. It is situated in the Gulf of Kvarner in a sheltered position at the foot of a mountain ridge rising to 1400 m. It was and is a popular summer and winter resort, with average temperatures of 10 °C in winter, and 25 °C in summer. Even the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I used to spend several months here during the winter. Many of the late 19th-century luxury hotels and villas have survived Opatija’ tumultuous history.
One of the restored old hotels: Miramar Opatija
Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay
Another traditional hotel: Miljena. The suite on the top has two glass walls, one towards the sea, the other towards the mountain range
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013]
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013]
View from the room down onto the terrace with decadent cakes and such
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
The sund has disappeaered
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
View from the room to the south-west, with the statue "Maiden with the seagull" by Zvonko Car (1956) far in the back. It is positioned on a small rock and has turned into one of symbols of Opatija.
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
The statue was demolished by communists after the end of World War II. A gilded variant stands now in front of Saint Jacobs Church.
Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay
View to the north, towards one of the first hills of the mountain rnage protecting Opatjia
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
To the old 14th-century Benedictine abbey, Opatija Sv. Jakova ("Abbey of Saint Jacob"), (opatija means "abbey" in Croatian) Saint Jacobs church was added in 1506. It now houses the oldest church bell of the region that was cast in 1431
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
Saint Jakobi
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
The area is known for the early bloom of camelias
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
The neo-Romanesque Church of the Annunciation with its pronounced green cupola, designed in 1906 by architect Karl Seidl can bee seen in the background.
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
Photo: H.Maurer, February 2013
Walk along city wall and sea.
Photo: pixabay.com
Photo: pixabay.com