History of Opatija
The chronological overview of the most important period in terms of development of the town of Opatija which was the most popular tourist destination in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy during the second half of the 19th century.
1449 first records of the Church and Monastery of St. Jacob
1838 Coastal road Rijeka-Volosko-Opatija completed. Prior to that, access to Opatija via Matulji.
1844 Villa Angiolina constructed, marking the beginning of tourism in Opatija. Owner of the villa - merchant from Rijeka, Iginio Scarpa. The Villa is the work by an unknown architect, today reconstructed on the basis of the 1886 ground plans.
1860. Empress Maria Anna, wife of former Emperor Ferdinand I, visits Opatija and sojourns at Villa Angiolina for nearly three months, after which Opatija becomes a popular destination among the Viennese nobility.
1873 Rail road arrives to Matulji, opening the route towards the development of tourism in Opatija and Lovran
1882 Friedrich Julius Schüler, Director of the Southern Railway Company, starts construction of first villas and hotels in Opatija and Lovran, as well as the Lungo Mare seafront and parks. The Southern Railway Company of Vienna, headed by Julius Schüler, purchases its first property in Opatija with Villa Angiolina, so the real tourist history of Opatija can be said to have begun in 1882. Today the Angiolina park features the bust of F.J. Schüler, work of sculptor Hansa Rathausky.
1884 Hotel "Quarnero" (present-day "Kvarner") opens, constructed in accordance with designs by the Viennese architect Franz Wilhelm
1885 Hotel Kronprinzessin Stephanie opens, named after the heir to the throne Stephanie, wife of Rudolf Habsburg, present at the grand opening with her husband.
Later, the hotel was to be the sojourn of, among others, James Joyce, the Emperor Franz Joseph I and Josip Broz Tito. Another interesting fact pertaining to the hotel is that the entire political history of Opatija can be summarised from its name changes. The Italians rename it Regina Elena, after the wife of Victor Emanuel III; from 1945 to 1948 the hotel was named Moscow, only to be renamed Central after Yugoslavia ceased to be a member of Cominform. After the fall of Ranković and centralism in 1966, the hotel is given its current name Imperial.
1889 The Austrian government officially proclaims Opatija the first seaside health resort on the Adriatic (Kurort). The Helios and Selene fountain completed, work of sculptor Hans Rathauski from Graz, a personification of the Sun and the Moon, situated in the park of St. Jacob. Croatian Culture Hall "Zora" ("Dawn") opens.
1894 Emperor Franz Joseph of Habsburg and Prussian Emperor Wilhelm II meet in Opatija, wife of the latter, Augusta Victoria, sojourns at the Villa Amalia. The Prussian Emperor arrived from Rijeka on March 21st, and met with Franz Joseph I on March 29th. Even the New York Times reports on this very amicable meeting.
For health reasons, the famous Russian author Anton Pavlovič Čehov sojourns in Opatija.
1901 The King of Romania Carol I and the ruler of Greece Georg meet at the Villa Angiolina. King Carol's woodland path (the Carmen Sylva Path) completed. The distinguished composer Gustav Mahler sojourns at the Villa Jeanette, while working on sections of his Fourth Symphony
1902 The famous ballerina Isadora Duncan visits Opatija and later writes in her memoires that she drew the inspiration for her celebrated arm movements from watching the leaves of the Opatija palm trees.
Automotive rally Opatija - Nice
1903 Vladimir Iljič Lenjin (1870 - 1924) sojourns in Opatija for 13 days under the pseudonym Dr. Jerženkijević
1905 Ignatz Brücker owns 140 pairs of carriage horses, for drawing carriages from the Matulji railway station to Opatija and back.
During the Easter holidays, Gustav Mahler composes a large part of his VI symphony while sojourning in Opatija with his wife Alma and their daughters. Mahler was the Director of the Viennese Opera from 1897 to 1907, and later a conductor at the New York Metropolitan
1908 Electric tram line Matulji - Opatija - Lovran opened
1913 Opatija has about a dozen hotels, 44 guest-houses, 83 villas and 5 bathing houses. Jointly with Lovran, the number of tourists exceeds Karlovy Vary
1931 Grand opening of the Summer Theatre in Opatija with a splendid performance of the opera "Aida". The auditorium seated 6,000 and the stage was 1,000 m²
1939 Great extension of the Church of Saint Jacob which gains its current appearance upon completion in 1942.
Circular automotive race held at Preluk.
1956 One of the symbols of Opatija, the sculpture "Maiden with a Seagull" by sculptor Zvonko Car is installed. The model was Jelena Jendrašić from Crikvenica.
1958. The first "Festival Opatija" held at the Crystall Hall of the Kvarner Hotel. The winning song was "Mala djevojčica" ("Little Girl") by Zdenka Vučković and Ivo Robić.
1974. The Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management established in Ika, in the building of the former nursing home for priests.
1984 Duško Jeličić Dule, the carnival company DS&PD and the people of Volosko, descend Opatija's high street in carnival disguises on ball bearing carts. It is the beginning of the BALINJERADA - a race of ball bearing carts (in local dialect: "karići i vozići na balinjerama")
1999 Učka Nature Park established on an 146 km² area and average altitude of 750 metres. Distance North-South is 25 km, and at its widest part it measures 12 km.
2000 Grand opening of the luxury hotel "Millenium", later renamed "Milenij" (and formerly named Hotel “Hausner”, “Principe”, “Park”, “Jadran”)
2001. Villa Angiolina restored under the supervision of Berislav Valušek, while architect Grazia Tricoli from Opatija was in charge of interior decoration. Villa Angiolina was built in 1844 by the patrician, merchant and Mason, Higin (Iginio) Vitez (Ritter von) Scarpa (1794-1866), who named it after his late wife - Angiolina.
2004 160th anniversary of tourism in Opatija celebrated. Milenij Grand Hotel 4 Opatijska Cvijeta opens, comprised of 4 luxury villas (»Wisteria« (ex »Continental«), »Melia« (ex »Soča«), »Camelia« and »Magnolia« (ex »Miran«).
2006. The town of Opatija wins the silver prize at the prestigious competition under the patronage of the EU "Entente Florale - The Golden Flower of Europe 2006", awarded by the European Association for Flowers and Landscape (AEFP) in Bad Saeckingen, Germany.
2007. The Government of the Republic of Croatia passes the Regulation on founding the Croatian Museum of Tourism which is to be based in Opatija.
History of Opatija