to enlarge
or choose the place
from the menu below
Lovran – Laurana: “Stanko Mihovilic’s native town and the town of chestnuts”
Lovran is an old settlement located on the old Roman
consolar road in the eastern part of Istria. The massif of the Ucka mountain overlooks the coast and falls steeply towards
the sea thus Lovran was developed by Romans on the shore. During the Austro-Hungarian period started the development of Lovran
as a touristic destination.
- located 81 kilometres from Smrikve
- it was an important tourist destination during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy period and there are many villas in Art Nouveau style around the old town
- not to be missed: the visit of the Church of St. George
- events not to be missed: “marunada” – the days of chestnuts (maroons) in autumn
LOVRAN – HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Lovran is one of the oldest towns that developed on the shore, mostly because in this region Ucka’s mountain steeps fall a bit more gently towards the sea.
This eastern coast of Istria has been traditionally called Liburnia relying on the old historical designation for the space from Rasa river towards the east which was at one time settled by the Liburnian tribe.
The old Roman road via Flanatica that was connecting Pula with Tarsatica (today Rijeka) was going a little bit above this area and the Roman name for Lovran was Laurentum.
When you arrive in Lovran, before you reach the old town and the old port, you will note many pretty Austro-Hungarian buildings. Following the wave of Opatija’s tourism development Lovran also become one of the best known tourist destination in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
At the beginning of the 20th century a notable guest of Lovran was Karl Lueger, the Mayor of Vienna. In that period Lauran had a tram like Opatija.
Even today this area is one of the most significant tourist locations in Croatia. Beautiful houses, parks and long promenades along the seacoast characterize this area.
From Laurana you can walk along the sea all the way to Opatija, and this is one of the prettiest walks in Istria and some people say in the World.
Lovran is a very old town. Like many other Istrian towns and villages, also Lovran was a prehistoric hill fort settlement. It is mentioned for the first time by Marcomirus in the 7th century as Lauriana.
Romans used to call it Laurentum due to laurel plant that grows in Lovran. Laurel plant is “lauro” in Italian and “lovor” in Croatian. The various names that Lovran had were: Laurentum, Lauriana and Lauran or Laranne.
It is possible that Roman general Marco Vispanio Agrippa, who married with Emperor Augustus’s daughter Giulia, established a summer residency in Lovran and was among the founders of the Roman Laurentum.
A part of being famous for the laurel plant, Lovran is also famous, since the 16th century, for the chestnuts. Chestnuts has remained important for Lovran until today and every year in autumn (“Lovranski maruni”) are part of the local cuisine. There is also a very nice festival organized every year.
