ISTRA | TERRA MAGICA

Unity in diversity

Istria was designed and built by the Histri, Liburnians, Celts, Romans, Goths, Byzantines, Lombards, Franks, Venetians, Germans, French, Italians, Slovenes, Croats, all those who passed through Istria and stayed, absorbing the scents and power of the centuries of the “terre incognita”.

From the beginning of settlement until today, a thread runs through the history of Istria that miraculously binds generations thousands of years apart in time. This is not about descendants or autochthonism, but about arrival, stay and adaptation, the creation of a unique and unrepeatable wealth of invisible social details that no one has resisted. It is about the unity of diversity, the stay and building of a unique foundation. The history of Istria is a school of life, an example of separation, intolerance but also coexistence, an example of the history of Europe in miniature. It is the cry of the desperate whose world is collapsing in epidemics, wars, famine, but also the song of the victor, namely the one who understands the Berem dance of the dead, a metaphor for the vicious circle of life and existence.

If we take the history of Istria at a glance, we will see its vulnerability, cultural and social continuities but also discontinuities that have socially divided Istria. Istria has been socially and culturally shaped over the past centuries, without achieving the integrity of space and culture until today. This also gives it a wealth of diversity and the sweetness of the Mediterranean that few can taste and experience.

GIANTS

An old legend says that once upon a time, before Istria was settled by humans, only giants lived in the Mirna Valley.

The biggest giant was called Dragonja. He was also called the Ploughman because he plowed a furrow from Ćićarija towards the sea. The same legend says that the water began to flow very slowly and calmly through the furrow, and that is why the giant Dragonja named the river Mirna, and his wife was also named Mirna.

The giants built a whole series of cities in Istria: Motovun, Vrh, Oprtalj, Završje, Roč, Grožnjan.

They were so big that, each working on their own hill, they would pass on tools to each other when they needed them. After they had built all the cities, they still had a few stones left, and so they built another city, Hum, known throughout the world as the smallest city in the world.

Interesting facts

• Hum is the smallest town in the world and is located in central Istria; it has only 30 inhabitants, and it takes you 5 minutes to tour the entire town.

• The last Istrian witch was burned at the stake in Kaštel Grimani, Svetvinčenat, on February 25, 1632. Her name was Marija Radoslović, known as the Witch Mare, a herbalist who treated with medicinal herbs. Children in Istria have been afraid of witches and witches since ancient times.

• The largest animal in Istria is the Istrian ox Boškarin, an indigenous Istrian cattle that can weigh up to 1,300 kilograms.

• The longest river in Istria is the Mirna. It is 53 kilometers long, it rises in Hum and flows into the sea near Novigrad. The Mirna River has 17 waterfalls, and you can see the most beautiful ones if you head to the Seven Waterfalls Trail.

• The Istrian coast is an incredible 539 kilometers long.

• The highest mountain in Istria is Učka. Its highest peak, Vojak, is located at 1,396 meters above sea level. If you climb the tower on the top of Učka, you will find yourself almost 1,400 meters above sea level with a perfect panorama that on clear days offers a view of the entire peninsula...