Introduction
The principal seaport of the country, Rijeka is situated on Kvarner Bay and has over 144 000 inhabitants. Croatia’s third largest city (and the center of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County), was built over a thousand years ago and has a rich, deep history. The city is located in an area between the sea and the mountain regions of U?ka and Goran; west of Rijeka, you’ll find the Opatija Riviera, the oldest and most popular Croatian tourist region; the Kvarner islands (Krk, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge, Cres, Losinj and Rab) are also located in close proximity to the city.The Slovenian border is only an half an hour drive away; it takes one hour to get to Trieste in Italy, and ninety minutes to get to Zagreb.
Rijeka is famous for its carnival(taking place in January and February each year) which is the world’s third biggest carnival after
Rio de Janeiro and Venice.
On the 15th of June each year, there are numerous celebrations of the city’s Patron, Saint St. Vitus.
Rijeka’s most popular sights include the Tvornica ("Torpedo") factory, in which Giovanni Luppis, a retired naval engineer from Rijeka, produced Europe’s first prototypes of self-propelled torpedos; the Sanctuary of the Trsatian Madonna ‘Svetište Majke Božje Trsatske’, which was built 700 years ago and is sutuated 135 meters above sea level on the Trsat.
