Istria Culture & History | Guide to History of Istria

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Istria Culture & history

The past times, which have left their trace in many historical sites on the Istrian coast and in the interior, provide the perfect starting point for researching the rich cultural heritage of this picturesque peninsula. The earliest traces about the presence of prehistoric people in Istria are from Lower Palaeolithic times and are found in Šandalja cave near Pula. It has artefacts that are estimated to be between two million and 800 thousand years old. Artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic period (40 – 100 thousand years) have been found in St. Romaulds cave in the Lim Channel, as well as at Šandalja II. The characteristic Istrian settlements, and buildings, were built in 2000 B.C. on the hills above the valleys. More than 400 buildings were built at this time, which shows that Istria was densely populated in the Bronze and Iron Ages. The Histri tribe, which is how Istria got its name, settled in the Istrian peninsula in 2 B.C. Historians mention them most of all in the context of their wars with the Romans, which were unavoidable considering the historical circumstances of the time. There are three well preserved locations from this prehistoric period, and they are Monkodonja near Rovinj, Picugi near Poreč, and Nesactium near Pula. There are a number of written sources that suggest this last location was the capital for the Histri, who were the first settlers in Istria. In his writing, Cassius Dio mentions the first Istrian war in 221 B.C. There is a lot of historical data about the second war between the Romans and the Histri. This happened a few decades after the first war, where the Romans aimed to defeat the Histri and take over Istria. Titus Livius wrote the most about this. The Histri were organized into kin groups, and engaged in hunting, trade, fishing, agriculture and animal husbandry. Roman writers mentioned them in their texts and in the context of piracy. Another 20 centuries passed that were filled with different events and rulers. The passing of time is visible in the countless artefacts and historical locations throughout the Istrian peninsula. More than two thousand years have passed dince Roman times, and lots of different peoples have passed through, from the Goths, Byzantines, ancient Slavs, Avars, Slovenes, Croats, Franks and Aquileia’s. We should also mention the long period of Venetian rule, the Hapsburgs and the Austrian government, as well the First and Second World Wars, the fascist occupation, and finally life under the protection of independent Croatia since 1990.

History

	2nd millennium B.C. In the early part of Bronze Age inhabitants of the present Istria had abandoned their cave shelters and built the first hill forts to improve their defence.
	11th century B.C. Istria was inhabited by the Histri - prehistoric tribe after whom Istria was named. They were dealing with hunting, fishing, cattle raising, agriculture and trade.
	178 and 177 B.C. The Romans conquered the Histri and took power in the territory of the present Istria peninsula.
	489 Following the fall of the Roman Empire Istria was ruled by the Ostrogoths.
	539 Byzantium conquered Istria and built the Euphrasius’ Basilica in Poreč with its famous mosaic. The Avarian-Slavic invasions and inhabitation of the Slavs. The inland towns were destroyed and abandoned, while the coastal area resisted these attacks.
	Beginning of 7th century Avar-and-Slavic incursions and settling of Slavs. The inland cities have been destroyed, while the coastal parts still resist the attacks.
	778 Istria became the part of the Frankish state ruled by Charles the Great. Charles the Great recognised the administration of the Aquileian Patriarch.
	10th and 11th century In 10th and 11th century Istria was ruled by the German feudal families. Istria was a separate markgraviate, given in hereditary feud to various families of noblemen by German emperors.
	1145 Pula, Kopar and Izola were defeated by Venice and they had to take the loyalty oath to the doge.
	13th century The Patriarch’s rule weakened and the towns kept surrendering to Venice - Poreč in 1267, Umag in 1269, Novigrad in 1270, Sveti Lovreč in 1271, Motovun in 1278, Kopar in 1279, Piran and Rovinj in 1283. Venice gradually dominated the whole coastal area of western Istria and the area to Plomin on the eastern part of the peninsula.
	1325 The first Croatian Glagolitic document was created - Istrian Razvod – the legal document that precisely explains the demarcation of the central and south-east Istrian municipalities.
	1797 Following the fall of the Venetian Republic Istria was occupied by Napoleon; however, he gave Austria Venice and the Venetian part of Istria and Dalmatia to Austria in exchange for the Netherlands and Lombardia.
	1805 Napoleon re-occupied the former Venetian Istria.
	1809 The entire Istrian territory was annexed to Napoleon’s Illyric Provinces.
	1814 Istria became the part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy as a separate territorial unit with Trieste as its capital. Pazin became its capital in 1825.
	1866 Pula became the capital port of the Austrian Empire Navy.
	The second half of 19th century The fight for the national and the political rights of the Croatian and the Slovenian population in relation to the Italian population. Bishop Juraj Dobrila was the leader of the battle for Croatian rights in Istria. His concept was the activation of the people in the field of the national self-defence, the preservation of tradition, the improvement of economic and political situation, the acceptance of new civilization and cultural achievements, and finding the way to take the people out of misery. In one of his first demands to the Istrian Parliament in Poreč, he asked that the Croatian should become the official language along with the Italian language.
	The First World War National fights were interrupted. Italian interest in the eastern part of the Adriatic coast became very obvious. A secret agreement was made in London in April 1915, according to which Italy was promised South Tyrol, a part of Dalmatia and Istria with Trieste and Gorizia.
	1920 The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ceded Istria to Italy.
	The period between two world wars The Italians eradicated Croatian and Slovenian public and national life. They abolished all Croatian schools, cultural institutions and associations, Croatian names were italianised. The Croatian population emigrated to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on a large scale.
	The Second World War The capitulation of Italy in World War in 1943 caused a general national uprising in Istria. The fascist authorities were expelled, and the National Liberation Committee (NOO) of Istria made the resolution on the liberation of Istria and its annexation to Croatia and new Yugoslavia. On May 9 1945, as part of final operations of liberation of the entire South Slav area, Istria was liberated as well. The liberation was followed by exodus of one part of the autochthonous Istrian population.
	The period after the Second World War According to the Belgrade Agreement of 1945, the territory of liberated territories was divided in two zones- zone A and zone B. Zone “A” was under the Anglo-American administration, while Zone “B” was under the Yugoslav military administration. According to the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947, Pula belonged to Yugoslavia as a part of zone “A”, the territory north of the Mirna River became “The Free Territory of Trieste” (STT). The final border between the two states was defined in the agreement in the Italian town of Osimo on 10 November 1975.
	1990 Following the break-up of Yugoslavia, and the international recognition of independent states of Croatia and Slovenia, its republic borders became state borders. Istria became one of the twenty Croatian Counties in the Republic of Croatia.