Welcome back! :) Since much can be written about the
Brijuni Islands National Park, I divided the story in two posts. More information about its location and short overview, you may find in my last posts. I tried to show you why a visit to the Brijuni Islands is an excellent idea during your stay in one of our villas with pool in Istria! ;) If you would like to learn something more, keep reading.
Legend says that Brijuni Islands in Croatia are heaven on earth. According to the legend, God wanted to create one part of the Earth that would keep an image of Heaven so Istria was created. Unfortunately the devil was jealous and slit the bag of unused stones and rocks and scattered them around Istria. Angels were very sad so they collected the pieces of that heaven, which remained among scattered rocks, and protected them by waves. And this is how the angels created Brijuni Island – Heaven on earth.
Although the legend seems to be true once you are there, below is a brief historical overview. At the
beginning of the 20th century Austrian industrialist
Paul Kupelwieser bought the islands. He wanted to create an
exclusive beach resort, but first he had to deal with malaria on the deserted islands. He invited the famous microbiologist Robert Koch and his associates, who successfully dealt with the problem. Kupelwieser expressed his gratitude by erecting a monument in Koch’s honour which can be seen there today.
Soon
first class hotels, restaurants and beach resorts appeared on the island. Brijuni Islands became a fancy summer and health resort visited by the world elite. On Brijuni Islands
a golf course was at disposal back then as well. After
World War One Brijuni Islands became part of Italy.
During World War Two the Brijuni Islands
lost its glamour, but were rebuilt several years after.
As place of
Tito's presidential residence, Brijuni Islands hosted Tito’s guests: Indira Gandhi, Queen Elizabeth 2, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and many others. Although world famous, Brijuni Islands were closed for tourists during this time. For more information about this period, visit the permanent photography exhibition on Veli Brijun.
Brijuni Islands were
declared a national park in 1983. Once part of the turbulent history, nowadays Brijuni Islands represent a peaceful place to enjoy unique nature and Mediterranean as it once was: clean air, crystal-clear sea and scented vegetation.
I hope that this time I convinced you that you should do this daily trip! ;) And of course don’t forget to book your perfect villa with pool among our beautiful
villas with pool in Pula and area! Until next time – bok! :)
Nikolina Mladic
30.11.2016
MY ISTRIA GUIDE
