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Saint Mary of the Assumption church and the Leaning tower 

Saint Mary of the Assumption Church is located along the Roman decumanus road, close to the eastern edge of the former city walls and close to the first port on the Rječina River. The public city thermal spa complex could be found in this area in 1st century, and a new one was built on the same site at the beginning of 4th century. Archaeological research has uncovered the area of the hypocaust, an empty floor space thanks to which air in the baths was heated, and which today can be found under the foundations of the nearby buildings on the southern part of the church. During the 5th and 6th centuries, part of the baths was readapted as an early Christian cult area. The discovery of late antique mosaics close to the church’s bell-tower and over its main front facade indicate that the forum, city square with monumental public buildings was once to be found here. Above the entrance to the bell-tower, popularly known as the “leaning tower” thanks to its visible propensity, the year 1377 is engraved whilst the church was only mentioned in documents for the first time in 15th century. Since that period it has systematically spread, as far as architecture is concerned, towards the east and west going from a small one-naved church to a monumental baroque three-naved building. The front facade from the Classical period dates back to 1842 and has a Renaissance rosette and baroque portal incorporated into it, whilst the composition in the gable is the work of Viennese masters from 1890s. The most important church renovation was initiated by the patrician Orlando family from 1716 until 1726 who brought masters from Ljubljana to build the new apse and altar. The church’s interior is decorated with baroque sculptures created by Jacopo Contiero, Giovanni and Leonardo Paccassi, Pasuale Lazzarini, Antonio Michelazzi, Sebastian Petruzzi and with stucco works created by Giulio Quario. The altarpieces are mainly the works of Ljubljana painter, Valentin Metzinger and also Ivan Franjo Gladić. The gravestones exhibited around the church belong to members of the brotherhoods, patrician families and of priests who were buried in the church up until 1901.

St. Jeronimo’s Church

St Jeronimo’s Church and the area of the current Dominican monastery, are part of the large Augustinian monastery complex founded in 1315 by the feudal rulers of Rijeka, the Devinski counts, and was terminated throughout the first half of 15th century by their successors, the Walsee barons.  The votive chapels of the Holy Trinity and of the Immaculate Conception are the most important gothic monuments in Rijeka. The Holy Trinity chapel was built by Rijeka captain, Raunacher Martin and his wife Maragrit in 1450 and their emblems can be found on the cantilevers at the entrance to the chapel and remains of frescoes on the gothic ribbed vault are evidence of the influence of the gothic cultural circle.

The Our Lady of Trsat Sanctuary

The Our Lady of Trsat Sanctuary is the largest centre of pilgrimage in western Croatia. Its creation is connected to the tradition regarding the magical transport of the Nazareth house and its stay on Trsat (1291-1294). The prince of Krk, Nikola I, soon after the Lady’s house was moved to Loreto, built the first, small church on the site where the house on Trsat was located. St. Mary’s Trsat became a meeting place for pilgrims  and its reputation was additionally strengthened by the magical image of Our Lady of Trsat that was given as a gift to the inconsolable Croatians for the loss of the Holy house, in 1367 by Pope Urban V. In 15th century the Sanctuary was taken over by the Franciscan order who are still its guardians today. Holy Pope John Paul II joined the long pilgrims' parade on 8th July 2003. 

Rijeka's Old town

Beyond the City tower, which is the passable entrance to the ancient main city doors and once was the entrance to medieval Rijeka from the coast, you will find yourselves in Rijeka's old town. The Placa could once be found on the site of today’s Kobler Square , a significantly smaller surface area, which was also narrower and more defined and the, communal centre of the wall that surrounded the medieval city. More reliable historical depictions of Rijeka present it as a vertical elongated surface delimited by the City Tower and Council from north and south and a series of houses from east and west. To the north, Rijeka was dominated by the patrician’s castle, to the east by the main popular church and cemetery, to the west by the wide priests’ enclosure and here to the south, close to the pier and the market on the beach and  under the city walls, was the secular heart of the City.

Molo Longo

The existing breakwater of the main port’s pool is famously known as the “molo longo” because of its length of 1707 m which today function as a passenger terminal and coastal promenade. The planning and preparation works for the construction of the current breakwater began in 1872 and it was terminated in 1888. In memory of past merits, in honour of the empress, it was once called the Molo Maria Teresa. It was designed for the Hungarian Administration by the Hungarian architect Antalo Hajnal, whilst construction works were carried out, by amongst others, a Parish company for railway construction. During the 20th century, the breakwater was extended, the pier which closed the breakwater was built in 1908 and the final extension took place in 1934. During the period of the Second World War, there were a series of sabotage actions on the area of the port of Rijeka and the greatest damage was done during the retreat of the German troops in May 1945. The large reconstruction of the port's aquatorium came off immediately after the end of the war and lasted until 1961. With special honour the cranes on the breakwater were renovated as they were able to significantly improve the status of the port as one of the technically revolutionary achievements.
The breakwater was still under construction when, in 1904, rowing clubs Quarnaro, Canottieri Fiumani and Liburnia built storages for their vessels there, club areas, small pools and terraces. The largest construction project on the breakwater was the Quarnaro bathing area built from 1912-1913 and proclaimed the greatest bathing area in the Kingdom before the start of the First World War. Besides the bathing area, the lighthouse on the breakwater’s top. The lost values of relaxation and entertainment by the sea shore found their place amongst the numerous events that take place in the new building of the maritime passengers’ terminal.

The Governor's Palace

Construction of the Governor’s Palace began in 1892 during the period of Governor Lajos Batthyány's rule and based on the design of one of the leading Hungarian architects of the time, Alajos Hauszmann who had already proved himself on the project of the King's Palace and the Parliament building in Budapest. On a surface area of 12 000 m² a simple and monumental corpus of the detached neo-Renaissance palace was built based on models of the famous Palladi's works, a French park with two fountains and balustrades made of wrought iron and two-leaf doors with sentry boxes.
Today, the Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Littoral can be found at the palace founded in 1961 which contains a maritime, cultural and historical, ethnographical and archaeological department. Part of the exhibits of original pieces from the Governor’s palace are presented in lounges, including the furniture and objects of the art crafts belonging to the periods from the Renaissance to Historicism as well as a collection of portraits of the most notable Rijeka citizens.

St. Vitus Cathedral

Rijeka’s St. Vitus Cathedral is the only Baroque rotunda of monumental dimensions built on Croatian land. The construction of this church began in 1638 based on the design of the Jesuit architect G. Brian. The eminent Venetian church, Santa Maria della Salute, served as s model. An elevated spot was chosen for the construction of St. Vitus church at the heart of the then medieval urban tissue. Initially there was a small church of the same name located on the same site, dedicated to the city’s patron saint. The Jesuit order, as creator of the project, immediately decided to use the cult of the wooden Magic crucifix from the original church, which popular legend says began to bleed when a certain Petar Lončarić, threw a stone on it in fear after losing at gambling.

Korzo

At the beginning of the 20th century, Korzo started to assume its modern-day outlines. The main promenade and meeting-point for Rijeka citizens as well as the construction area used in building the symbolic palaces demonstrate various styles including Classical, Historical, Secessional, and Modernist. Urban regulations appeared in the latter half of the 19th century, but these meant only an intensification of the rate of raising the seabed (with sand), and grand public constructions which appear to have very developed the seabed. Even then, at the turn of the century, the picture is of a littoral town straitened by its walls. Today, is hard to believe that until the sea-trench was filled-in and the town walls pulled down, this was only a gravel sea coast with a few wooden embankments and storehouses, a shipyard and a city log house which traded in cereals, fish and salt.

The Old Gateway or Roman Arch

The Old Gateway or Roman Arch is not a Roman arch as was once presumed, but was in fact the main entrance to the central compound of the Roman Tarsatica in late antiquity, an ancient town on whose ruins medieval Rijeka was built. The instincts of Rijeka’s populace in calling this ancient monument simply the Gateway have been proved right, the epithet Roman Arch being gradually accepted since Classicism, when it started to be documented and researched.  This Principia was the main centre, supply base and the starting point of the Alpine enclosure, composed of scores of kilometers of protective walls, turrets, guard-houses and larger fortifications usually on high ground which were able to signal to one another, all built with the aim of blocking barbarian incursions towards Italy, the centre of the Roman Empire.

Palace of Justice

The existing urban-architectural complex is primarily Secession in style, constructed at the beginning of the 20th century after a feudal castle, located at the site of today's Palace of Justice, was demolished. The Palace was designed by the Budapest-born architect G. Czigler, while the supporting masonry across the street is attributed to the Secession architect G. Rubinich. Both the masonry and the supporting masonry built in monumental rustic style, at places even with stylised cannon holes, are imposing and sad reminders of the fortifications erased by them.

Trsat Castle

Trsat Castle represents a strategically embossed gazebo on a hill 138 meters above sea level that dominates Rijeka. As a parochial centre it was mentioned for the first time in 1288.  From prehistoric times, on the same site was a Liburnian  observation post, from where roads from the hinterland towards the sea were monitored. The Romans used this location well in order to establish their defense system, the so called Liburnian limes, whose starting point was the Tarsatica fortress-town– which was situated in today's Old Town of Rijeka.  There is a magnificent view over the ruins of those limes situated on the opposite hills of Katarina and Kalvarija, as well as over the whole area of the Rijeka Stari Grad, which extends from the Trsat Castle plateau. Trsat Castle is one of the oldest fortifications on the Croatian Coast, where the characteristics of the early medieval town construction have been preserved. Today Trsat Castle, beside the Bazilisk souvenir shop and the Gradina coffee bar, is enriched with new facilities – gallery space where art exhibitions are held as well as open-air summer concerts and theatre performances as well as fashion shows and Literary evenings. Within Trsat Castle, at the Petra Zrinskog b.b. Address, is the Trsat Castle Info Point where any information about this building and the town of Rijeka can be found.

City Tower

Gradski Toranj (City Tower), a symbol of Rijeka, is a good example of a typical round tower access-point, which lead into the fortified town. Today it dominates the central part of Korzo, although it was, during its time, overtopped by more recently constructed buildings. It was built in the Middle Ages, probably on the foundations of the Late Ancient, littoral town doors. Some baroque phases of its construction can be seen on the lower part of the front of the Tower, which are characterised by a richly decorated portal, an imperial coat of arms carved out of stone and a relief of the Austrian emperors Leopold and Charles VI.  Rijeka paid them special respect due to the maritime orientation they introduced into the state policies of the Austrian court.

Stendarac
Since 1700 Trg Riječke rezolucije Square was already a playground for the children of the patricians and here the Stendarac, a stone pillar used for the flag which was raised by the emperor Maximilian in memory of loyalty to the city during Venetian occupation in 1508 and as confirmation of the political rights of the city. Originally it was located in front of the old City Hall on Koblerov trg Square, but over the years it has often changed its location. The pillar of over 2 metres high is decorated with three inscriptions that date back to 1509, 1515 and 1766 as well as a relief of St. Vitus holding a model of the city in his hand.

St. Sebastian’s Church

St. Sebastian’s Church is a small building, but with very long biography. It is above all important for the history of Rijeka’s health culture as it is dedicated to the protector against the plague. In the middle ages, this disease decimated the whole of Europe, and the Rijeka area was not an exception. As a pledge after the disappearance of the plague, on the area of the current building, a smaller one was built at the end of 13th century. The new, baroque church appeared on its site in the 16th century. This can be seen by the inscription situated above the entrance to the building, with the year marked as 1562. In accordance with its size, the church is not richly furnished. However, it is interesting not only as testimony to the horrible disease which once devastated the Rijeka area. In it valuable objects were stored from numerous small churches in the surrounding areas of Rijeka that appeared during the 18th century.    

The City market

The main city market was built at the end of the 19th century by the sea shore. Construction took place thanks to fishermen who set their catch ashore precisely on that spot. In the beginning, fish was sold in the open air and since 1866 under cover, in the constructed fish-market. According to Izidor Vauching’s project, besides the fish-market, the construction of two pavilions for the sale of other ingredients began in 1880. The architect used modern technological solutions, a steel latticed construction and a glass. He decorated the facades with images of fruit and vegetables. Over time, the city decided to build a new fish-market, and the architect Carlo Pergoli completed its construction in 1916. The stone decoration by the sculptor Urban Bottasso indicates the tendency towards Vienna's Art Nouveau. Around the pillars and on the fish-market's façade he put the life of sea creatures.  Given that he is still alive, he invites each and every passenger to enter.

Torpedo – launching ramp

The launching ramp from 1930s is an item belonging to the closed torpedo production factory. It is proof of the technical inventive of Rijeka during this period and at the same time is an important world landmark of industrial heritage. The torpedo factory was founded on the outline of ideas by Rijeka inhabitant, Giovanni Luppis with regard to a defence weapon known as the “saviour of the shore”. Luppis was engaged with his idea at the beginning of 1860s, without success. Fortunately, the idea interested Robert Whitehead, the director of the Rijeka Technical Institute. Based on Luppis’ idea, Whitehead developed a solution that resembled a metal fish and called it torpedo. The prototype was tested in 1866 and in 1875 the Institute became the R. Whitehead & Co. Torpedo Factory. It was the first torpedo factory in the world. The ramp, which dates back to 1930, simulated the launching of projectiles from ships and planes.

The Rijeka synagogue

The Rijeka synagogue is the successor of the hospitable facility from 1903 which disappeared in the Second World War. Although it is located just a few hundred metres from the one that disappeared, the synagogue that is today used by the city’s Jewish community greeted the end of the war without being damaged. It was built in 1932 as smaller facility with an unexpected architectonic appearance. Today it is the only temple of its kind in Croatia from the modernism period. It was designed by architects Vittorio Angyal and Pietro Fabbro. The lines of the building are simple, of clear modernistic spirit with elements of Mediterranean influence and associations to Art Deco details. In 2008 the synagogue’s reconstruction was terminated during which the building received its initial appearance again.  Besides other things, its two altars and oath chest were restored.   The Rijeka synagogue is the only facility constructed with the purpose of its kind in Croatia and still operates in its original ritual function.  more>