What to see

Rabac

Today Rabac is a famous holiday resort, while in the mid-twentieth century it used to be a small fishing village with only a dozen houses. Thanks to its beautiful lagoon and its calm surroundings, soon it began to receive its first day trippers. One of the first tourists in Rabac was the English travel writer and author, Richard Francis Burton, who visited Rabac in the remote 1876. After visiting Rabac and other places on the Istrian coast, he wrote a book with the same title (The Istrian Coast), in which he described the beauty and the charm of the picturesque Rabac. In this period, the first summer houses also began to emerge, and the most famous of them belonged to the Prohaskas, a merchant family of Czech origin pertaining from Rijeka. One of the most beautiful areas in Rabac bears the name of the Prohaska family even today, while their house was destroyed during the Second World War. The first hotel used to be called Kvarner, it opened on the 11th of June 1889 and it was the home of the Višković family. It was positioned near the atelier Orlando which we know today. The hotel had only a couple of rooms and a restaurant in the ground floor. A regular guest of the first Rabac hotel was the Austrian officer Kaiser, who had bought a Stanzia (a residential complex) near Labin, a place that is nowadays famous for hosting the Mediterranean Symposium of Sculpture and its Park sculptures. The chronicles teach us that the year 1907 was also the year when Franz Ferdinand of Austria had visited Rabac and was saluted by people on the main shore. The inhabitants of Rabac were good fishermen and sailors and used to own some ten sailboats. The first big hotel was built during the era of the Italian rule - in 1925, when Hotel Trieste (now called Primorje) was opened in Rabac. As there was not enough capacity for the growing number of tourists (most of them from northern Italy), in this period the number of rented rooms in private homes started to grow. Some ten years later, the hotel Dopolavoro was built, and this is where today the restaurant Jadran is placed. The development of tourism in Istria and Rabac began in the 1960s when this village became known as the Pearl of Kvarner because of its beauty. Starting from this period, all the other hotels, tourist resorts, campsites and family houses were built. Traditionally, the majority of tourists are German and Austrian, but also English and Italian. During one summer, Rabac hosted up to eleven thousand foreign tourists and a couple of thousand beach goers from Labin and its surroundings.

 

Labin

On the hill above Rabac, 320 meters high, lies the medieval Labin. The birthplace of Matthias Flacius Illyricus, the "companion" of Martin Luther, is nowadays a cultural and administrative center. Hardly anywhere you would find such a charming mix of architectural and cultural monuments, with many studios and the spirit of youth, which can be felt especially in the evenings, when the youth gather in the coffee bars. Nearby you will find Dubrova with its Sculpture Park – an outdoor forma viva with over 70 stone sculptures. After a stroll through the streets of the Old Town, visit the Town Museum with its archaeological and ethnographic collection, as well as a model of the mine, unique in this part of Europe. Visit the Memorial collection of Matthias Flacius Illyricus, look into the studios and, from the observation deck of Fortica, enjoy the magnificent views of Rabac, Cres and Labin surroundings.

 

Sveta Nedelja

Nedešćina is located on the east side of the Istrian peninsula near Labin and it belongs to the municipality of Sveta Nedelja. In the past, this area used to be a rest stop of powerful nobles who had their castles and country houses here. The municipality has an area of 64.17 km2 and the average height of 250 - 300 m. It is inhabited by 3158 residents. The surrounding area has a rich forest vegetation. It is ideal for those who want to enjoy the beauty of nature. The Učka Mountain is 33 km away from the village, and the nearest place on the sea is just 12 km from Rabac. For those who are looking for adventure, the surrounding towns offer a variety of sporting activities. The untouched nature and the prospects of peaceful holidays is exactly what attracts tourists to Nedešćina nowadays. Here you can also enjoy an active rest and relaxation, since this is where the project "Istrian Tracks" originated. Thanks to it, numerous bike paths were built in Istria and you can explore the beautiful countryside on a bicycle. If you want to enjoy the sun and crystal clear waters, there are pebble beaches in the nearby Rabac. Due to the exceptional quality and purity of the sea, most beaches have been awarded with the Blue Flag. Visit the beaches Girandella, Maslinica, Lanterna or Sv. Andrea, as well as and others. Relax in the natural shade of pine trees. The children can have fun on the water slides and on various water play areas. On the beaches, there are restaurants and beach bars, as well as various facilities for active recreation (tennis, table tennis, diving, windsurfing, beach volleyball, soccer, handball, etc.).