Brijuni National Park
Islets spilled like stones peeled out of a pocket in the northern part of the Adriatic, just beside the Istrian coast, small archipelago is named Brijuni. The stones were then covered with dense pine forests and aromatic herbs of Mediterranean, with all that various plant and animal species inhabited these 14 islands and islets, so that today this place could be called "Paradise on Earth". Veliki (Big) Brijun has 7 kilometres square and Mali (Small) has 1.7 km square area. Smaller islands are called Galija, Gaz, Grunj, Kozada, Madona, Okrugljak, Supin, Supinic, Vanga, Vrsar, St. Marko and St. Jerolim. On October 27, 1983, Brijuni were proclaimed as National Park. It is not only the biodiversity and the unspoiled beauty of nature, which is why Brijuni are under special protection. There are also exceptionally indented coasts and prehistoric remains that clearly point out that even a man realized the speciality of this place very early and settled on shores of these islands. The first traces of human on Brijuni date back to the 3th century BC, while the most well preserved historical remains are the Roman countryside castle from the 1st century with temples dedicated to goddesses Venus, Byzantine Castrum, Basilica St. Mary from the 5th and the church of Sv. Germans from the 15th century. Brijuni have always been the venue for state meetings and the summer residence of lifelong president of the former state Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito. In addition to its historical role, it has also a cultural one, since Ulysses Theatre has been operating in Brijuni for the last decades under the leadership of the eminent Croatian actor Rade Serbedzija. If you have found or rented accommodation in Fazana or Pula, do not miss the chance to step into the Paradise on Earth. Brijuni are devided from Fazana with a 3 km wide Fazana Channel and 15 minutes drive by a boat, while Pula is only 7 km away connected by picturesque Istrian roads. For this extraordinary experience, you will be charged from 125 to 210 kuna, depending on the month of the year, and you can afford it fora children at half of the price.It is worth of each kuna you pay: walk along the brilliant fragrant pastures and you will meet rabbits, deer and muflons and find out where the seagulls are nesting. The Safari Park in the North of the Veliki Brijun keeps the Indian elephant, lama, mountain and steep zebra and holy Indian cattle. In the ethnographic park you will meet the Istrian cattle (Boskarin) and Istrian sheep, you will caught up with sea turtles, but special acquaintance is reserved for the Brijuni legend - the Kokadah Koki, he was the gift from Tito to his granddaughter Sasa. Koko has more than 50 years today and long time experience in entertaining visitors. You'll find hard to take apart from Koko because you can talk with him, but he won't discover you secrets of Brijuni, explore them by yourself.
