Rijeka

Rijeka (Croatian: [rijěːka] ⓘ; 
Fiume ([ˈfjuːme]) in Italian and in <a href="/facts/Fiuman_dialect/FmHxDNDX">Fiuman Venetian</a>) is the principal seaport and the <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_and_towns_in_Croatia/9Po4MaCN">third-largest city</a> in <a href="/facts/Croatia/MSS0yyvw">Croatia</a>. It is located in <a href="/facts/Primorje-Gorski_Kotar_County/P0ytLtGr">Primorje-Gorski Kotar County</a> on <a href="/facts/Kvarner_Bay/vy6AzCHV">Kvarner Bay</a>, an inlet of the <a href="/facts/Adriatic_Sea/v5I5Jl3f">Adriatic Sea</a> and in 2021 had a population of 107,964 inhabitants. Historically, because of its strategic position and <a href="/facts/Port_of_Rijeka/csclfqUo">its excellent deep-water port</a>, the city was fiercely contested, especially between the <a href="/facts/Holy_Roman_Empire/6mdobnXN">Holy Roman Empire</a>, Venice, Italy and <a href="/facts/Yugoslavia/rK14hYmb">Yugoslavia</a>, changing rulers and demographics many times over centuries. According to the <a href="/facts/Demographics_of_Croatia/QQPQgvc0">2011 census data</a>, 85% of its citizens are <a href="/facts/Croats/pxr26XCP">Croats</a>, along with small numbers of <a href="/facts/Serbs_of_Croatia/le76DLkD">Serbs</a>, <a href="/facts/Bosniaks_of_Croatia/Fuy3pVLr">Bosniaks</a> and <a href="/facts/Italians_of_Croatia/KcGhBBVk">Italians</a>.
Rijeka is the main city and <a href="/facts/County_seat/ItAWPoWw">county seat</a> of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The city's economy largely depends on shipbuilding (<a href="/facts/Shipyard/hxUHLNN6">shipyards</a> "<a href="/facts/3._Maj/5dBfo9ql">3. Maj</a>" and "<a href="/facts/Viktor_Lenac_Shipyard/wBRxTl8q">Viktor Lenac Shipyard</a>") and maritime transport. Rijeka hosts the <a href="/facts/Croatian_National_Theatre_Ivan_pl._Zajc_in_Rijeka/L7u1c2Wb">Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc</a>, first built in 1765, as well as the <a href="/facts/University_of_Rijeka/GsLllI1B">University of Rijeka</a>, founded in 1973 but with roots dating back to 1632 and the local <a href="/facts/Society_of_Jesus/n0PeYBB8">Jesuit</a> School of Theology.
Linguistically, apart from <a href="/facts/Croatian_language/o2Y8WHuy">Croatian</a> and Italian, the city is home to its own unique dialect of the <a href="/facts/Venetian_language/FeaL1TE9">Venetian language</a>, <a href="/facts/Fiuman_dialect/FmHxDNDX">Fiuman</a>, with an estimated 20,000 speakers among the local Italians, Croats and other minorities. Historically, Fiuman served as the main <a href="/facts/Lingua_franca/dlGrD7ra">lingua franca</a> among the many ethnicities inhabiting the multi-ethnic port city. In certain suburbs of the modern extended municipality the autochthonous population still speaks <a href="/facts/Chakavian/eDm5foLb">Chakavian</a>, a dialect of Croatian.
In 2016, Rijeka was selected as the <a href="/facts/European_Capital_of_Culture/I4Y5RdP0">European Capital of Culture</a> for 2020, alongside <a href="/facts/Galway/7fJ5vqJW">Galway</a>, <a href="/facts/Republic_of_Ireland/k8JzXVze">Ireland</a>.

Rijeka open-in-new

Rijeka