Veliki Brijun
Encyclopedia
Veliki Brijun is an uninhabited island
in the Croatia
n part of the Adriatic Sea
. It is located off the west coast of Istria
in northern Adriatic and is the largest island in the Brijuni Islands
(also known as the Brioni or the Brionian Islands) archipelago. Like most of the archipelago, Veliki Brijun is part of the Brijuni National Park, established in 1983.
and is located some 6 km away from the city of Pula
. It is separated from mainland by the Fažana Channel (Fažanski kanal) which is only 12 meters deep, and geological evidence suggests that until some 10,000 years ago the whole archipelago was connected to the Istria peninsula. The island has an area of 5.72 km², which makes it the 41st largest Croatian island, and its coastline is 23.41 km long.
. The Illyrians
lived on the islands from around 1500 BC until Roman conquest in 177 BC and remnants of five Illyrian fortified hill forts were discovered on Veliki Brijun. The most important Roman site on the island is at Verige Bay, where the ruins of a 1st century villa rustica
, a luxurious summer residence, can still be seen. After the fall of the Roman Empire
in 476, the whole area came under Ostrogoth
control, and during the Gothic War in the 6th century the islands were taken over by the Byzantine Empire
. In 1331 the Republic of Venice
took over and the island was ruled by a few Venetian aristocratic families. Starting in the early 14th century, regular outbreaks of plague and malaria decimated the local population, until the 17th century when the archipelago was de facto uninhabited. In the 19th century Austria-Hungary
started fortifying the islands by building massive bastions and batteries, and two large forts on Mali Brijun and five smaller ones on Veliki Brijun had been constructed for the defence of the monarchy’s main naval base at Pula
.
In 1893 the whole archipelago, including Veliki Brijun, was bought by the Austrian steel industrialist Paul Kupelweiser. Kupelweiser embarked on a project to transform the islands into an exclusive summer resort and health center. Construction works on promenades, swimming pools, stables, and sports grounds were started. However, the construction efforts were jeopardized by malaria
outbreaks which occurred during summer months and even Kupelwieser himself fell ill with the disease. At the turn of the century Kupelweiser had invited the famous physician Robert Koch
, who at the time studied different forms of malaria and quinine
-based treatments. Koch accepted the invitation and spent two years, from 1900 to 1902, on the Brijuni islands. According to Koch’s instructions, all the ponds and swamps where malaria-carrying mosquitoes hatched were reclaimed and patients were treated with quinine. Malaria was thus eradicated by 1902 and Kupelwieser erected a monument to Koch, which still stands in vicinity of the 15th century Church of St. Germanus on Veliki Brijun.
The first guests came to Veliki Brijun in 1896, but the surge in number of tourists occurred after malaria was eradicated, from 1903 onwards. Although Kupelweiser already had acquired two boats to connect the islands to mainland, a more luxurious ship was needed to accommodate the wealthy customers, so Kupelweiser ordered a new ship powered by a fixed diesel engine
which was the first of its kind in the shipbuildng world. The ship called Brioni III had provided postal and local travel services in the following decades and even survived both World Wars and was in service well into the 1960s. By 1913 the construction of hotel complex (with the total capacity of 320 rooms) and 10 villas was completed. Next to all these a new quay was built, along with a post office & telephone switchboard, some 50 km of roads and paths and a large beach. Also, an indoor swimming pool with heated sea water, a casino, and various sports grounds were built, including the largest golf course
in Europe, with 18 holes and 5,850 meters of paths. The resort became a popular refuge for European elites, and news of arrivals of notable members from the aristocratic, cultural, scientific, and industrial circles of the time were regularly published in the island newspapers which were printed between 1910 and 1915.
Although the islands soon gained popularity as an exclusive summer resort, Kupelweiser's plans for further development were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I
, when some 2,600 Austro-Hungarian soldiers were stationed in the islands. When the war ended in 1918 the whole of Istria including its islands came under Italian sovereignty but the Brijuni archipelago remained the possession of the Kupelwieser family. Due to the increasing and stronger tourist competition Kupelwieser’s enterprise went bankrupt in 1936 and the islands came under the jurisdiction of the Italian Ministry of Finance. Soon after that a daily seaplane
service to Brijuni was introduced but then World War II
abruptly ended this new period of prosperity. The archipelago was turned into a naval fortification again and came under aerial attacks several times in the wake of WWII. In a bombing raid on 25 April 1945 two hotels, many houses and a large part of the quay were either badly damaged or completely destroyed.
After WWII, the island was turned into Josip Broz Tito
's luxurious summer residence. Tito used the island from June 1947 to August 1979 for entertaining a great number of foreign ministers, dignitaries and heads of state. Since 1984 a permanent exhibition titled Josip Broz Tito at the Brijuni is housed on the island, where visitors can see a gallery of pictures documenting famous visitors entertained on the island. The exhibition includes pictures of visiting heads of state from 60 different countries, from the first such visit in 1954 by the Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie I to the last one, the Guinea-Bissau
's president Luís Cabral
's visit in 1979. Other notable guests who visited the island in that period include Gamal Abdel Nasser
, Jawaharlal Nehru
, Eleanor Roosevelt
, the Italian actress Sophia Loren
and the novelist James Joyce
.
In 1978 a safari park was created on the northern part of the island, covering an area of 9 hectares. The park is used as home to a number of exotic animals, most of whom were brought to Tito as gifts from heads of states who were members of the Non-Aligned Movement
. These include Nilgai
antelopes (given by Jawaharlal Nehru
in 1959), the Kob
antelopes (given by Zambia
in 1962), Somali sheep
(given by Ethiopia
in 1959), Zebu
s, zebras, Indian Elephant
s and llamas. In addition, the chital deer
, the Fallow deer
and mouflon
s were introduced to the island in the early 20th century. Their numbers increased in the following decades and can be seen roaming freely around the island.
In October 1983 the whole archipelago was turned into a legally protected national park
. Since the early 1990s the villas on the islets of Ganga, Galija and Madona west of Veliki Brijun are used as the summer residence of Croatian president
s, and are guarded year-round by the small army garrison stationed on the islands. However, due to the lack of government investments in the existing infrastructure and the prohibition on new construction due to the island's status as a national park and protected reserve, the facilities at Veliki Brijun and the Brijuni archipelago fell into a state of disrepair by the 2000s.
In August 2009 The Independent
reported that the Croatian government had put the island up for sale, asking €1.2bn for Veliki Brijun and €2.5bn for the entire archipelago., but the news was later denied by the Istria County
chief Ivan Jakovčić
, President Stjepan Mesić
and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor
in the Croatian media. As of 2009, there are plans to upgrade existing hotels to at least a four-star rating, and to modernise the outdated sewer system and power grid. The plan, devised as part of the Brijuni Rivijera project, includes developing the Brijuni archipelago as a luxury tourist resort with a total accommodating capacity of 800 beds.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n part of the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
. It is located off the west coast of Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
in northern Adriatic and is the largest island in the Brijuni Islands
Brijuni
The Brijuni or the Brijuni Islands are a group of fourteen small islands in the Croatian part of the northern Adriatic Sea, separated from the west coast of the Istrian peninsula by the narrow Fažana Strait...
(also known as the Brioni or the Brionian Islands) archipelago. Like most of the archipelago, Veliki Brijun is part of the Brijuni National Park, established in 1983.
Geography
The island lies 2 km west of the mainland town of FažanaFažana
Fažana is a village and a municipality in Istria, Croatia, a small port and fishermen's centre in the south-western part of the western Istrian coast in the Fažana Strait, 8 km northwest of Pula. It is located on a low part of the coast, well protected from the sea by Brijuni - Brioni Islands...
and is located some 6 km away from the city of Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
. It is separated from mainland by the Fažana Channel (Fažanski kanal) which is only 12 meters deep, and geological evidence suggests that until some 10,000 years ago the whole archipelago was connected to the Istria peninsula. The island has an area of 5.72 km², which makes it the 41st largest Croatian island, and its coastline is 23.41 km long.
History
Like most islands of the Brijuni archipelago, Veliki Brijun was settled since prehistoric times, with the earlies traces of settlements going back to 3000 BC, or early Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. The Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
lived on the islands from around 1500 BC until Roman conquest in 177 BC and remnants of five Illyrian fortified hill forts were discovered on Veliki Brijun. The most important Roman site on the island is at Verige Bay, where the ruins of a 1st century villa rustica
Villa rustica
Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...
, a luxurious summer residence, can still be seen. After the fall of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in 476, the whole area came under Ostrogoth
Ostrogoth
The Ostrogoths were a branch of the Goths , a Germanic tribe who developed a vast empire north of the Black Sea in the 3rd century AD and, in the late 5th century, under Theodoric the Great, established a Kingdom in Italy....
control, and during the Gothic War in the 6th century the islands were taken over by the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. In 1331 the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
took over and the island was ruled by a few Venetian aristocratic families. Starting in the early 14th century, regular outbreaks of plague and malaria decimated the local population, until the 17th century when the archipelago was de facto uninhabited. In the 19th century Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
started fortifying the islands by building massive bastions and batteries, and two large forts on Mali Brijun and five smaller ones on Veliki Brijun had been constructed for the defence of the monarchy’s main naval base at Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
.
In 1893 the whole archipelago, including Veliki Brijun, was bought by the Austrian steel industrialist Paul Kupelweiser. Kupelweiser embarked on a project to transform the islands into an exclusive summer resort and health center. Construction works on promenades, swimming pools, stables, and sports grounds were started. However, the construction efforts were jeopardized by malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
outbreaks which occurred during summer months and even Kupelwieser himself fell ill with the disease. At the turn of the century Kupelweiser had invited the famous physician Robert Koch
Robert Koch
Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch was a German physician. He became famous for isolating Bacillus anthracis , the Tuberculosis bacillus and the Vibrio cholerae and for his development of Koch's postulates....
, who at the time studied different forms of malaria and quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
-based treatments. Koch accepted the invitation and spent two years, from 1900 to 1902, on the Brijuni islands. According to Koch’s instructions, all the ponds and swamps where malaria-carrying mosquitoes hatched were reclaimed and patients were treated with quinine. Malaria was thus eradicated by 1902 and Kupelwieser erected a monument to Koch, which still stands in vicinity of the 15th century Church of St. Germanus on Veliki Brijun.
The first guests came to Veliki Brijun in 1896, but the surge in number of tourists occurred after malaria was eradicated, from 1903 onwards. Although Kupelweiser already had acquired two boats to connect the islands to mainland, a more luxurious ship was needed to accommodate the wealthy customers, so Kupelweiser ordered a new ship powered by a fixed diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
which was the first of its kind in the shipbuildng world. The ship called Brioni III had provided postal and local travel services in the following decades and even survived both World Wars and was in service well into the 1960s. By 1913 the construction of hotel complex (with the total capacity of 320 rooms) and 10 villas was completed. Next to all these a new quay was built, along with a post office & telephone switchboard, some 50 km of roads and paths and a large beach. Also, an indoor swimming pool with heated sea water, a casino, and various sports grounds were built, including the largest golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
in Europe, with 18 holes and 5,850 meters of paths. The resort became a popular refuge for European elites, and news of arrivals of notable members from the aristocratic, cultural, scientific, and industrial circles of the time were regularly published in the island newspapers which were printed between 1910 and 1915.
Although the islands soon gained popularity as an exclusive summer resort, Kupelweiser's plans for further development were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, when some 2,600 Austro-Hungarian soldiers were stationed in the islands. When the war ended in 1918 the whole of Istria including its islands came under Italian sovereignty but the Brijuni archipelago remained the possession of the Kupelwieser family. Due to the increasing and stronger tourist competition Kupelwieser’s enterprise went bankrupt in 1936 and the islands came under the jurisdiction of the Italian Ministry of Finance. Soon after that a daily seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
service to Brijuni was introduced but then World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
abruptly ended this new period of prosperity. The archipelago was turned into a naval fortification again and came under aerial attacks several times in the wake of WWII. In a bombing raid on 25 April 1945 two hotels, many houses and a large part of the quay were either badly damaged or completely destroyed.
After WWII, the island was turned into Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's luxurious summer residence. Tito used the island from June 1947 to August 1979 for entertaining a great number of foreign ministers, dignitaries and heads of state. Since 1984 a permanent exhibition titled Josip Broz Tito at the Brijuni is housed on the island, where visitors can see a gallery of pictures documenting famous visitors entertained on the island. The exhibition includes pictures of visiting heads of state from 60 different countries, from the first such visit in 1954 by the Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie I to the last one, the Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
's president Luís Cabral
Luís Cabral
Luís Severino de Almeida Cabral was the first President of Guinea-Bissau. He served from 1974 to 1980, when a military coup d'état led by João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira deposed him...
's visit in 1979. Other notable guests who visited the island in that period include Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
, Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, the Italian actress Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
and the novelist James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
.
In 1978 a safari park was created on the northern part of the island, covering an area of 9 hectares. The park is used as home to a number of exotic animals, most of whom were brought to Tito as gifts from heads of states who were members of the Non-Aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
. These include Nilgai
Nilgai
The nilgai , sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls...
antelopes (given by Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
in 1959), the Kob
Kob
The Kob is an antelope found across Sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to South Sudan. Found along the Northern Savanna, often seen in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda; Garamba and Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as grassy floodplains of...
antelopes (given by Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
in 1962), Somali sheep
Somali sheep
The Somali sheep, occasionally known as the Berbera Blackhead, is a hair sheep native to Somalia. The animal is reared primarily for meat production and it is one of the major exports of the Somali economy.-Appearance:...
(given by Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
in 1959), Zebu
Zebu
Zebu , sometimes known as humped cattle, indicus cattle, Cebu or Brahmin cattle are a type of domestic cattle originating in South Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent. They are characterised by a fatty hump on their shoulders, drooping ears and a large dewlap...
s, zebras, Indian Elephant
Indian Elephant
The Indian Elephant is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to mainland Asia. Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years...
s and llamas. In addition, the chital deer
Chital
The chital or cheetal , also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan...
, the Fallow deer
Fallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
and mouflon
Mouflon
The mouflon is a subspecies group of the wild sheep Ovis aries. Populations of Ovis aries can be partitioned into the mouflons and urials or arkars...
s were introduced to the island in the early 20th century. Their numbers increased in the following decades and can be seen roaming freely around the island.
In October 1983 the whole archipelago was turned into a legally protected national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
. Since the early 1990s the villas on the islets of Ganga, Galija and Madona west of Veliki Brijun are used as the summer residence of Croatian president
President of Croatia
The President of Croatia , officially styled the President of the Republic represents the Republic of Croatia in the country and abroad as the head of state, maintains the regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government system, and safeguards the independence and...
s, and are guarded year-round by the small army garrison stationed on the islands. However, due to the lack of government investments in the existing infrastructure and the prohibition on new construction due to the island's status as a national park and protected reserve, the facilities at Veliki Brijun and the Brijuni archipelago fell into a state of disrepair by the 2000s.
In August 2009 The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
reported that the Croatian government had put the island up for sale, asking €1.2bn for Veliki Brijun and €2.5bn for the entire archipelago., but the news was later denied by the Istria County
Istria County
Istria County is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula . The area of the county is called Istra in Croatian and Slovene...
chief Ivan Jakovčić
Ivan Jakovčić
Ivan Jakovčić is a Croatian politician and current head of the Istria County in Croatia.-Political career:...
, President Stjepan Mesić
Stjepan Mesić
Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić is a Croatian politician and former President of Croatia. Before his ten-year presidential term between 2000 and 2010 he held the posts of Speaker of the Croatian Parliament , Prime Minister of Croatia , the last President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia , Secretary General...
and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor is a Croatian politician and former journalist. She is the current Prime Minister of Croatia, having taken office on July 6, 2009, following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. She is Croatia's first female Prime Minister since independence.-Early life:Jadranka...
in the Croatian media. As of 2009, there are plans to upgrade existing hotels to at least a four-star rating, and to modernise the outdated sewer system and power grid. The plan, devised as part of the Brijuni Rivijera project, includes developing the Brijuni archipelago as a luxury tourist resort with a total accommodating capacity of 800 beds.
External links
- Brijuni.hr Brijuni National Park official website
- Brijuni.org unofficial website
- History of the Brijuni archipelago at CroatianHistory.net
- Article about the eradication of malaria at Brijuni published by the Croatian Medical Journal