Rijeka

Rijeka (Chakavian: Rika, Reka, Slovenian: Reka, German: Sankt Veit am Flaum, Italian and Hungarian: Fiume) is the largest Croatian port, the third largest city in Croatia and the administrative center of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The city of Rijeka and its surroundings (former municipality of Rijeka - Kastav, Viškovo, Grobnik, Kostrena, Bakar, Kraljevica, Klana) has 191,641 inhabitants. The Hungarian government developed Rijeka into one of the largest European ports and a powerful industrial center in the 19th century due to its ideal geographical position and the depth of the sea in the Kvarner Bay. At the beginning of the 1990s, the industry collapsed and the port traffic dropped sharply, so in the new century Rijeka began to turn to the development of tourism and the service sector.

Destinations

The historical center of Rijeka was formed near the mouth of the river Rječina into the Adriatic Sea. Rijeka's Old Town, located on the right bank of the Rječina, has lost many historic buildings, but still represents the living heart of the city. Beneath its streets are valuable archeological excavations and a network of old tunnels. Along the southern edge of the Old Town, the construction of the now famous promenade Korzo with the Riva began in the second half of the 18th century. At the end of the 19th and in the first half of the 20th century, Sušak, Brajda and other urban areas were significantly built up.

Promenade and Old Town
Rijeka's Old Town is surrounded on the south side by the Promenade. Korzo is the center of Rijeka, its most famous street and place of public events.

In the middle of Korzo is the City Clock Tower, a meeting place for Rijeka residents and tourists. The tower was built in the Baroque era, but only got its final look in the 19th century. On it is a relief depicting the Austrian Emperor Charles VI. There are several valuable Baroque buildings on and around the Promenade. Right to the right of the City Tower is the Wohinz Palace (1782, Promenade 8), built by the merchant Mihael Wohinz. With the construction of this palace, the formation of the Promenade as the central city street began in the second half of the 18th century. There is also the Vuković Palace (Korzo 2), with a representative portal that carries a balcony. Other palaces include the old town hall (Palace of the Commune), the Wassermann-Garbas Palace (17th century) with arcades in the courtyard, which houses the Conservation Department in Rijeka, the Benzoni Palace and the Adamić Palace in Fiumara. This building was erected by Šimun Adamić, the father of the famous merchant Andrija Ljudevit Adamić. Adamic's son was known as the builder and investor of the Rijeka theater built at the beginning of the 19th century. The trade elite to which the Adamić family belonged at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries made Rijeka a significant cultural, artistic and industrial center of the entire Adriatic area, which maintained its status until the 20th century.

The old town is dominated by the most important church in Rijeka, the Cathedral of St. Life. Erected on the site of the demolished church of the city's patron saint, St. Vitus, the cathedral was originally built as a Jesuit convent church in Rijeka. The project was made by the Venetian builder Franjo Olivieri, probably modeled on the famous church of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice. Construction lasted from 1638 to 1659, but was not fully completed until 1737, when builders Pietro Carlone and Bernardino Martinuzzi built the dome and oratory. Valuable baroque altars are kept in the church, mostly the work of Rijeka sculptors.

Of the other sacral buildings, the Church of the Assumption of Mary, the former cathedral, should be singled out. Erected in the 15th century, the former cathedral has frequently changed its appearance over time, to be rebuilt in 1824 to get its present façade. In the interior, the altars and baroque stucco in the sanctuary are especially valuable. In front of the church there is a bell tower, which tilted over time due to the subsidence of the ground, which got its name Leaning Tower. At the foot of the tower are the famous late antique mosaics from the 5th and 6th centuries, which were created during the time of Tarsatika, a Roman settlement in the area of Rijeka. Nearby are the remains of the city walls, and nearby is the legendary Old Gate or Roman Arch, to this day shrouded in obscurity about its origin.

In the Old Town there is also a historical complex called Municipium. It was built as an Augustinian monastery, next to which the baroque church of St. Jerome (1768). In 1873, the monastery became the building of the city government (Municipium) and was upgraded and redesigned. On the square in front of the building there is also Stendarac, a stone pillar for the city flag from 1509.

The area south of Korzo, along the Riva, was created mostly in the 19th century and was initially called the New Town (unlike the Old Town), but over time the name was lost. Of the older buildings, there is the remaining Baroque Orthodox Church of St. Nikola, with a cross plan in the shape of a cross, completed in 1790 according to the project of the Rijeka architect Ignacij Hencke.

Rijeka's Riva is the front of the city towards the sea. Despite the heavy traffic, recent urban interventions have completely transformed the waterfront area into a pedestrian zone. Along the Riva is a representative series of buildings from the 19th century, when Rijeka was a large and powerful trading port. Perhaps the most representative building built in that period is the Adria Palace (1897, architect Giacomo Zammattio), today the Jadrolinija building. It was built for the Adria shipping company with Hungarian-American capital, and is proud of its tin domes and stone sculptures of allegories on the façade. The sea-facing sculptures represent sailors, and those facing the mainland four continents. Inside is a magnificent atrium with arcades and preserved original elevators from the late 19th century.

Several other valuable works by the same architect Giacomo Zammatti can be highlighted from that time. First of all, the Philodramatika building (Korzo 28), built in 1890 for the Philharmonic-Drama Society, with a neo-Rococo-style interior. Then, the so-called Casa Veneziana (Dolac 7), residential house of Robert Whitehead, owner of the Torpedo factory. Built in 1886, it is distinguished by a rich facade of red brick and white stone with a number of decorative details. There is also the Ploech Palace on Žabica Square, which was built in 1888 by the Austrian mechanic Annibale Ploech, who earned money by working in the Rijeka Torpedo Factory, and then the wealth by selling real estate. On the mentioned Žabica Square, there is also the picturesque Capuchin Church of Our Lady of Lourdes (1907-1929).

In a dominant position above the Old Town is the Governor's Palace, the magnificent former residence of the Governor of Rijeka, which now houses the Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Littoral. Built in 1897 according to the project of the Hungarian architect Alajos Hauszmann, for the needs of the city and state representation, it was an investment of the governor also of Hungarian origin Lajos Batthyány. Today, in addition to valuable historical collections from the past of Rijeka, it preserves the original interiors from the end of the 19th century: a monumental marble staircase and halls with stucco, formwork and furniture from that period. To the west of the Governor's Palace is the modern building of the Museum of the City of Rijeka, and to the east, in a beautifully designed park, is the former villa of Archduke Joseph, which houses the State Archives in Rijeka.

North of the Old Town is a small area called Pomerio towards the central busy street that passes there, while from the west continues Zagrad. Both areas are built on a hilly ascent and are highly urban neighborhoods with very high quality architecture mostly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Art Nouveau building of the Teatro Fenice cinema stands out in Zagrad. From there, the Zagrad Center is reached by an external elevator. This modern residential and commercial complex (from 2007) was created as one of the most successful recent interventions in the historic center of Rijeka, and is the work of Rijeka architects Saša Randić and Idis Turat.

Delta
The center of Rijeka also includes an area called Delta, at the confluence of the river Rječina and the sea. At some point, part of the mouth of the river Rječina was closed and in its place was built the so-called Dead channel, with the river flow diverted slightly to the east. Thus, a peninsula called the Delta was formed between the course of the Rječina and the Dead Channel. The delta is usually also called the city's nearby area around the building of the Croatian National Theater.

The Croatian National Theater is located on a landscaped square. The lavish building of architects Fellner and Helmer preserves a long theatrical tradition. In the interior, the early works of the famous painter Gustav Klimt can be singled out as a rarity. Along the Riva and towards the HNK building, there is another building of that time for public entertainment. It is the Modello Palace (1885). Built according to the project of the same builders Fellner and Helmer, on the site of the demolished Adamić Theater, it was also used for public events. The building stands out with its distinctive multicolored facades and a ceremonial hall decorated with stucco.

Near the Croatian National Theater there is a complex of buildings called the Great Market, which consists of two pavilions (1881, architect Isidor Vauchnig) and the Communal Fish Market (1903, built in 1913-14, architect Carlo Pergoli). Today, the market space also functions outdoors, in the surrounding streets.

Of the residential buildings there is a particularly interesting building called the Turkish House (Casa turca), built in the Neo-Moorish style for Nikolaides, the Turkish diplomatic representative in Spain and then consul in Rijeka since 1898. The southern part of the Delta is dominated by a huge residential complex called Casa rossa (Zagrebačka 1-5, Demetrova 2-4) with a red brick facade, built in 1903 according to the project of architect Venceslav Celligoi.

Brajda
Brajda is the western part of the center of Rijeka that developed north of the Railway Station. A sugar factory was built in the area in the middle of the 18th century. The sugar factory was located in a large complex known today as "Rikard Benčić". The most valuable building there is the Sugar Palace, ie. the administrative building of the sugar factory, which is considered a masterpiece of Baroque architecture in Croatia. Built in 1752 and rebuilt in 1785-86. for the needs of the factory director's residence, the interior is richly furnished with stucco and wall paintings. A large ceremonial hall with tiled stoves and a salon with painted views of fictional cities stand out. On the entrance portals to the building are interesting motifs of stone heads that have "sugar in their hair".

To the west of the Sugar Palace is the old Rijeka Lazaret. The infirmary is a type of quarantine hospital built in maritime cities throughout the Mediterranean. Today, the infirmary is located in the Rijeka hospital, and only the stone portal with the dedicatory inscription of Emperor Charles VI remains recognizable from the old baroque building. of 1722..

Among other buildings on Brajda, we should mention a number of historicist and Art Nouveau buildings around the Brajda Market, built according to the projects of significant Rijeka and Trieste architects from the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. The brick facades of the architect Carl Conighi stand out with their design: the house of the Maritime Foundation of St. Nikola (Manzonijeva 2) from 1893 with hake under the roof, and the residential house Miculinić-Richtmann (Fiorella la Guardije 14) from 1914. In the western part of Brajda is the Art Nouveau house Modiani (J. Katalinića 4, 1912/13, architect Mario Ambrosini), characterized by stylized Egyptian pillars in the shape of palm trees.

Susak and Trsat
Sušak is a large urban area of the eastern part of Rijeka. Stari Sušak is located near the coast of Rječina and was formed by 19th century architecture. Numerous residential buildings with luxurious facades, today neglected, adorn Sušak and the neighboring area of Pećine, built as a zone of residential villas in the first half of the 20th century. Heavy traffic and poor urban equipment of this part of the city, makes it somewhat inaccessible for tourist sightseeing despite its valuable architecture.

Above Sušak is the hill Trsat, which was inhabited in pre-Roman times and known as Tarsatica. There, on the site of an old pre-Roman fortress, the medieval Trsat castle was built. The castle was rebuilt in the spirit of historicism in the first half of the 19th century, for the famous Austrian military officer, Count Laval Nugent, who kept a collection of works of art there.

On Trsat there is also a complex of Franciscan monastery with a church and pastoral center, called the Trsat sanctuary. It is the oldest Marian shrine in Croatia, and today is a great place of pilgrimage. The Franciscan complex was created by repeated remodeling over several centuries. Today's church is Baroque, and in addition to valuable relics, there are also marble altars. In the church and the monastery are significant works of the Baroque painter of Swiss origin Serafin Schön.

Industrial heritage
Rijeka is also recognized as a city of industrial heritage. The former large industrial plants are located throughout the city, especially in the area of Mlaka and around Industrijska Street. The economically devastated industry of Rijeka has left a legacy of significant architectural works from the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, which have only recently become visible as an unused cultural resource of Rijeka.

Torpedo factory
Paper factory Rijeka, the so-called Hartera
Tobacco factory, former Rikard Benčić complex
Port warehouses

Other famous buildings
State Administration Office building, former Hotel Europe
Euroherc Insurance Building, formerly Rinaldi Palace
Rijeka skyscraper
Rijeka Observatory

History

Antiquity
Although traces of Paleolithic and Neolithic settlements can be found in the wider area of the city, the earliest settlements in today's area of the city are considered to be the Tarsatica fort on Trsat hill, which is attributed to the Illyrian-Celtic tribe Japodima. The ancient Greeks called the Kvarner islands Elektrides (Amber Islands), and the prehistoric amber route (which traded amber from the Baltic to the northern Adriatic) is known, and the Iapodian culture is rich in figural amber artifacts, presumably Tarsatica, the Iapodian settlement closest sea, was the main point for the transfer of amber to the Liburnian coast and the islands of Kvarner. The story that there was a Liburnian settlement of Tarsata, in the natural harbor on the coast there is no evidence.

Liburnia 129 ancient era comes under the rule of the Romans who on the road leading from Trieste (Tergeste) through the Karst to Crikvenica (Ad Turres) and Senj (Senia) built a castrum (military fortress) Tarsatica on the right bank of the mouth of the river Rječina in the Kvarner Bay, (Sinus Flanaticus) to the site of today's Old Town. In the time of Emperor Augustus Tarsatica, a planned settlement developed in the evening. Numerous archeological finds date from this period - the foundations of Roman ramparts, the walls of buildings and castrums, the walled shore, the remains of thermal baths (hypocaust and mosaics) and the late antique Roman gates.

Middle Ages
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, in the 5th century, the city was ruled by the states of the Ostrogoths, the Byzantine Empire, the Lombards, and the Franks. In the turbulent early Middle Ages there is almost no information about this area. When Sts. Vid and Modesto became the protectors of the city is not known, so today's Rijeka is mentioned only in the XIV. st. under the name - Terra Fluminis Sancti Viti or in German - Sankt Veit am Pflaumb or St. Veit am Flusse, and earlier than VII. The Veneti call Rijeka Flumen, and the Slavs (Croats and Slovenes) Reka without mentioning the saint. Also in VII. st. the place Phanas non longe a civitate Tarsatico is mentioned, which some place at the mouth of the Rječina, considering that in those uncertain times the population moved to the safer Trsat (Tarsatico).

In the first half of the 14th century, two settlements are mentioned in historical sources: Trsat, on a hill on the left bank of the Rječina, on the site of the Iapodian hillfort Tarsatica and Rijeka, on the coast on the site of the Roman Tarsatika. Medieval Rijeka is a fortified feudal city, with narrow streets that follow the raster of a Roman city, so the Cale dei canapini (Kala užara) is followed by a Roman decumanus, surrounded by walls with several towers and a canal (the toponym Contrada del fosso testifies to the cherm). two parts. In the upper part there was a medieval castle and the old temple of San Vito with a portico, while the lower part was a commercial and commercial settlement, where at the entrance to the city from the south, sea side in the XV century built a city tower ("Under urom-Torre civica" ) restored in the XVIII century.

In the 14th century, Rijeka was the property of Devinci, which in the 15th century. inherit the lords of Wales (Trsat was in the possession of the princes of Krk- Frankopan,). Since 1466, Rijeka has been in the possession of the Habsburgs, as part of Carniola (today's central Slovenia). Throughout the Middle Ages until 1606. it is under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the patriarch of Aquileia.

Significant economy. the flourishing of the city began in the XV. century, and was based on trade in iron (delivered from Carniolan ironworks), oil (from Italy and Dalmatia) and wood, livestock and leather (from Croatia).

New age
In the 16th century, a Glagolitic printing house operated in the town. Due to the developed trade in iron, oil, wood, wool, cattle and leather, Rijeka is experiencing a trade boom. With the arrival of the Jesuits in Rijeka, the cultural and educational life of the city improved. In 1627, the Jesuit Gymnasium was founded, which is considered the beginning of the work of the University of Rijeka.

In the 17th century, due to frequent Turkish invasions and long-lasting conflicts between the Uskoks and the Venetians, the golden age of Rijeka's trade ended. After the Great Turkish War, the Turkish invasions stopped and a new strengthening of Rijeka as an important trade center began, so in 1719 the Austrian Emperor Charles VI. declared Rijeka a free port. Strengthened Hungary will soon begin to express pretensions towards Rijeka as its access to the sea. In the 18th century, a new settlement appeared below Trsat - today's Sušak. In 1768, the Rijeka Orthodox community was founded. 82 trading families came from Sarajevo, then a large city of 60,000 inhabitants. Rijeka then had 5,956 inhabitants, and Zagreb 2,815 inhabitants. On October 23, 1775, twelve Orthodox merchants asked permission to build the temple. According to the project of Ignazi Hencke, the church of St. Nicholas was started in 1788, in 1790. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Rijeka was for some time under French rule within the Illyrian provinces. It was liberated from the French in 1813.

19th century

In 1848, with the appointment of Ban Josip Jelačić as the governor of Rijeka, the city was directly annexed to Banska Hrvatska as a reward for suppressing anti-Habsburg uprisings in Central Europe. The imperial decision was not received positively by the then city elite, so the Croatian-Hungarian struggle for Rijeka within the Monarchy ended in 1868, when the addition to the Croatian-Hungarian settlement, the so-called With the Rijeka cloth, Rijeka as a corpus separatum, ie a separate body, came under the direct administration of the Hungarian government. In 1870, Rijeka was completely annexed to Hungary. Hungary is rapidly developing Rijeka into its largest maritime-port center, and a certain rivalry is developing between the two largest ports in the Monarchy, Rijeka under Hungarian rule and Trieste, which was under Austrian rule.

Apart from the port, the 19th century was a time of great construction in the city: the Paper Factory - Hartera (1821) was built, the National Reading Room was founded (1850), the first gasworks was put into operation (1852), and an oil refinery was established on Mlaka. (1882), and in the same year Rijeka received a modern sewer. The development of the port, the expansion of international trade and the connection of the city by railway with Pivka and Karlovac (1873) contributed to the rapid increase in population from 21,000 (1880) to 50,000 (1910). In 1885, a new building of the Rijeka Municipal Theater was built, which today bears the name of the Croatian National Theater Ivan pl. Rabbit. In 1891, a railway station building was built designed by the chief engineer of the Hungarian State Railways, Ferenz Pfaff. In 1896, the construction of the city waterworks and the new Governor's Palace, designed by the Hungarian architect Alajos Hauszmann, was completed. Since 1899, an electric tram has been running along the river.

20th century
From 1904 to 1906, Fiorello La Guardia worked in Rijeka as a consular agent of the United States, where he inspected about 90,000 emigrants (Slavs, Hungarians, Germans, Jews, and Italians) leaving the port of Rijeka for the United States. He later became a very successful mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945.

After the disintegration of Austria-Hungary in October 1918, Rijeka was occupied by the army of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Croatian Parliament unilaterally annexed the city. This led to terrible popular uprisings and the inhabitants of the city organized a plebiscite asking the allies to liberate Rijeka from occupation and annex it to Italy. A month later, the armies of the Kingdom of Italy, Great Britain, France and the United States of America arrived in Rijeka under an international mandate, which had to remain in the city until the status of the city was determined in 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference.

Vista-xmag.pngMore detailed article on the topic: Bloody Christmas
The Italian side justified its desire to annex Rijeka to Italy by the fact that the Italians were by far the largest ethnic community in the city (as well as in the wider Corpus Separatum), while the Croatian and Yugoslav sides justified the annexation of the city in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. make up the majority in the municipalities around the city, as well as in the municipality of Sušak.

When orders came from the Paris Peace Conference in late August that Italian troops must withdraw from Rijeka, a small group of Italian officers asked the poet and adventurer Gabriele D'Annunzio to stand at their head and lead their units to Rijeka. On September 10, 1919, with the Treaty of Saint-Germain, Austro-Hungary ceased to exist, while negotiations on the future status of Rijeka were to continue. The day after, D'Annunzio set off with his officers from Ronchi, a town 80 km northwest of Rijeka. When he set out, he led a column of 200 men, and when he arrived in front of the city on September 12, behind him were 2,500 soldiers - deserters of the Italian army.

The commander of the Italian garrisons in Rijeka, General Pittaluga, received an order from the government in Rome to stop D'Annunzi's march on the city. The general found himself face to face outside the city with D'Annunzi and his ardits with a pile of tanks and armored vehicles. When he ordered them back, D'Annunzio unbuttoned his coat, showed a series of medals he had won in World War I, and said that all that needed to be done to prevent him was to order his troops to kill him. Pitaluga reacted hesitantly and soon capitulated. D'Annunzio then entered the city and forced British, French and American troops to withdraw. Italy soon began a blockade of Rijeka demanding surrender from the rebels. Seeing that the Italian government did not want to go against the Paris Agreement and annex Rijeka, in August 1920 D'Annunzio proclaimed the Italian administration for Kvarner with a single constitution (Kvarner Charter) which was a unique combination of anarcho-syndicalist, socialist, proto-fascist and democratic republican idea.

The government in Rome condemned D’Annunzi’s act and distanced itself from his regime, but did nothing to remove him from power. The return to the prime ministerial position of the Italian liberal Giovanni Giolitti in June 1920 led to a sharpening of D'Annunzi's views. Back in January of the same year, Georges Clemenceau, the French Prime Minister, told Ante Trumbić and Nikola Pašić to give up Rijeka because otherwise the London Agreement would be fully implemented. The delegation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, with significant US support, managed to resist pressure until the end of the year, but on November 12 agreed to sign the Rapallo Treaty with Italy, according to which Rijeka was to become an independent state - the Free State of Rijeka.

As D'Annunzio did not recognize the Treaty of Rapallo, he responded by declaring war on Italy. After Italian navy ships bombed Rijeka (Bloody Christmas), D'Annunzio surrendered the city to the Italians in December 1920.

With the Treaty of Rapallo, the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes recognized 'complete freedom and independence of the State of Rijeka and undertake to respect it forever'. This act created the Free State of Rijeka, which will de facto exist for one year, and de jure for four years. The newly created state is immediately recognized by all world powers including the United States, France and Great Britain.

Nevertheless, groups of autonomists and Italians were in constant conflict in the city in the following years. In 1921, the first parliamentary elections were held in which the autonomists and the national pro-Italian bloc opposed. The Autonomous Party (with the support and majority of the votes of Rijeka's Croats) received 6,558 votes, while the national bloc (fascist, liberal and democratic party) received only 3,443 votes. The Prime Minister becomes the head of the Autonomous Party Riccardo Zanella.

In 1922, local fascists staged a coup, and the legal government, the president and 3,000 of his most loyal citizens fled to Kraljevica. Seven months later in Italy the fascists staged a coup.

The period of diplomatic skirmishes between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes ended on January 27, 1924 with the signing of the Treaty of Rome by which Rijeka belonged to Italy and Sušak to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, with joint administration of the port. The Government of the Free State of Rijeka and the League of Nations consider this act null and void under international law, and the government continues to operate in exile, first from Belgrade and then from Paris.

The formal Italian annexation of Rijeka on March 16, 1924, marked a twenty-year period of fascist rule and a policy of forced Italianization of the Croatian population. Nevertheless, Rijeka, along with neighboring Istria, was among the first places to take part in the military resistance to fascism (see: Arditi del popolo and the Labin Republic of 1921), while in World War II it was part of the anti-fascist front.

The Italian capitulation in 1943 was followed by a twenty-month German military occupation. During World War II, the city was severely damaged in numerous Anglo-American bombings. The city suffered the most severe damage in a series of attacks in November 1944 (at least 125 casualties) and in February 1945 (200 dead and 300 wounded). The port infrastructure was destroyed by the Germans during the withdrawal. The city was liberated by Yugoslav Army units on May 3, 1945. According to the extensive joint study "Victims of Italian nationality in Rijeka and its surroundings (1939-1947)" ("Vittime di nazionalita italiana a Fiume e dintorni (1943-1947)") of the Roman Society for Rijeka Studies (Società di Studi Fiumana - Roma) and the Zagreb Croatian Institute of History, published in September 2006, in the period after the liberation of Rijeka from May 3, 1945 to the end of 1947, about 650 Italians were killed in Rijeka.

The period during and immediately after the Second World War was marked by major changes in the ethnic structure of the city's population. Thus, between June 1940 and May 1945, the population of Rijeka decreased by about 15,000, but as about 3,000 people returned, due to return from captivity or military service in Italy and elsewhere, the population of Rijeka decreased by 22 percent, which ultimately reflected on the Italian presence in the city, which was reduced by at least 7,000 people. Between 1946 and 1950, according to estimates by the Italian Refugee Aid Institution, more than 25,000 Italians left the city, while in different and unmarked years before 1943 and after 1950, approximately 6,000 more people left. By the end of the 1950s, the total number of exiles would rise to 41,000.

After the end of the war, according to the conclusions of the Peace Conference in Paris in 1946, which led to the signing of the Paris Peace Treaties in February 1947, Rijeka was assigned to the state of Yugoslavia. In 1948, the cities of Rijeka and Sušak were united into a single city of Rijeka, which began to develop again.

After the reconstruction, Rijeka took over the function of the main port of Yugoslavia, while in industrial production the industrial branches important for Rijeka are renewed: shipbuilding, production of paper, marine devices and engines, then chemical (oil refinery, coke) and textile industry. In parallel with industrial development, Rijeka became the center of the wider region. The population of the city also increased, so new city districts have been built since the early 1960s. In 1970, Rijeka Airport was opened on the nearby island of Krk. And three years later, in 1973, Rijeka got a university.

Rijeka in independent Croatia
In the first democratic elections in Croatia in 1990, the HDZ led by dr. Franjo Tudjman, then on May 30 a multi-party Parliament is constituted. The Balvan revolution of some Serbs in Croatia soon began, encouraged by Serbia and Greater Serbia circles in the JNA. The HDZ was a political force that the JNA did not want to accept.

On January 27, 1991, a protest was held on Rijeka's Korzo against the threats of the then JNA to Croatia.

During the permanent session of the Parliament, on its sixth day, June 25, 1991, the Constitutional Decision on Independence and Sovereignty was passed, declaring Croatia an independent state. On the same day, today's Slovenia, on the basis of a plebiscite, declared independence from the SFRY. This was the reason for launching open JNA aggression, followed by tank movements from Slovenian and Croatian barracks to the western Slovenian borders and the beginning of the war in Slovenia, and soon the beginning of the Homeland War and Serbian attacks on Eastern Slavonia, Vinkovci, Banovina, Josipdol, Otočac and other Croatian regions. During the war in Slovenia, the JNA was partially mobilized in the Knin and Rijeka Corps, in an area with a higher percentage of the Serb population in northern Dalmatia and part of Lika. For the forces from the area of the 5th Military District, there is an order from the Command to the Rijeka Corps from July 2 to mobilize two battalions in the area of Lika. Battalions were to be mobilized from the 236th Proletarian Motorized Brigade and the 35th Partisan Division, whose commands were in Gospić.

A Defense Headquarters has been formed in Rijeka, and physical blockades are being set up around the Rijeka barracks, with constant monitoring of members of the territorial defense. On April 8, a special police unit called "Sharks" was formed at the Ministry of the Interior, and on July 2, 1991, the 111th HV Brigade. In the first eight months of 1991, the Rijeka Ministry of the Interior recorded 255 deregistrations of residence of "endangered" people who emigrated from Rijeka. The first 1,000 refugees arrived in Rijeka at the beginning of August 1991, and the Government of National Unity made a decision in August to declare a state of war danger and form crisis headquarters. At the beginning of September, the Crisis Staff of the Municipality of Rijeka and crisis staffs were established in all 52 local communities, headed by Slavko Linić, who was also the chief negotiator with the 13th Corps of the JNA, ie. by its commander, General Marian Chad. The northern part of Istria and the Croatian coast was the area of the 13th Corps with its headquarters in Rijeka.

The Rijeka Corps of the JNA covered Gorski kotar and most of Lika, and decisive support was expected from it in crossing Croatia. The attack operation of the 5th Military District Command in the area of Lika and southern Kordun was to be carried out by the Rijeka Corps by defending the barracks in Rijeka and Delnice, and then by breaking through in the direction Rijeka - Delnice - Vrbovsko - Slunj - Plitvice. Given that the Rijeka Corps Command with the majority of units in Istria and Gorski Kotar was surrounded and cut off from the rest of the corps, the operation was not carried out.

Croatian forces in Rijeka were soon numerous and equipped, while the situation in Lika was very difficult for a small number of defenders. In the area of Gospić, on July 6, 1991, members of the ZNG were ambushed, killing two and wounding two, and since September 1, Gospić has been heavily shelled every day, the first Rijeka guardsmen also come. On the other hand, there was a danger that the fall of Otočac through Drenov Klanac across Žuta Lokva would halve Croatian territory in that place. A key decision was made for the further course of the war in this area, and that was to move the 111th Brigade to the Lika battlefield and to defend Rijeka and the Littoral in Lika. The 128th Brigade of the Croatian Army was soon formed in Rijeka.

On September 17, the ships of the JNA navy appeared in the waters of Rijeka and on October 6 completely blocked the port of Rijeka, and Croatia failed to resolve all Yugoslav legal ties with the former SFRY by failing to resolve the Yugoslav crisis on October 8, 1991. The port of Rijeka was blocked several times by the JNA navy, cannon barrels from barracks (from Trsat and Katarina) were aimed at industrial plants, utilities and roads, and citizens went to shelters - because it was a time of air alerts and general dangers.

Units of the Yugoslav People's Army left Rijeka in early December, beginning the process of demilitarizing the city. In 2005, the city of Rijeka took over the area of the former "Trsat" barracks, making it an almost completely demilitarized city.

Rijeka and Primorje defended themselves in Lika during the Homeland War, killing 26 members of the 128th Brigade, [15] 53 members of the 111th HV Brigade, and 8 members of the Rijeka Special Police Unit "Sharks" (see incomplete list: Appendix: List of killed veterans from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County).

A university campus was built in the area of the former barracks. In 1992, the municipality of Rijeka was abolished, and the cities of Rijeka, Kastav, Bakar and Kraljevica and the municipalities of Viškovo, Kostrena, Čavle, Jelenje and Klana were established instead. Rijeka became the seat of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

Interesting facts
The first torpedo was made in Rijeka. It was designed and built by Ivan Luppis, a naval captain, and Robert Whitehead, an English engineer.
For the first time in history, a rifle bullet was photographed in Rijeka. It was done by Dr. Peter Salcher.
The first football match in Croatia was played in Rijeka. In 1873, at the initiative of Robert Whitehead, an engineer and owner of the Torpedo factory, the match was played by teams composed of Hungarian Railways employees on the one hand and English workers on the other. The English worked at the then Rijeka Technical Institute (Stabilimento Tecnico di Fiume) which later became the Torpedo factory, and the match was played in the area known as Pod Jelšun, between the entrance to the former Torpedo factory and INA's refinery in Mlaka.
In 1907, the Rijeka surgeon Anton Grossich was the first in the profession to introduce the use of iodine tincture in preparation for surgical procedures.
The first communal cemetery in Europe was built in Rijeka, on Calvary.
The first newspaper printed in Italian (including Italy) "Notizie del giorno" was printed in Rijeka.
The first state to recognize Lenin's Bolshevik Russia was D'Annunzi's Italian administration for Kvarner.
The first international football match in Croatia was played in Rijeka in 1905 between the local club Atletico Fiumano and the club from the ship SS Slavonia, the company Cunard Line, which sailed on the line Rijeka - New York.
Rijeka was an independent state from September 8, 1920 to January 24, 1924, and its elected president, Riccardo Zanella, demanded that the international community and Tito regain independence in 1945.
From 1918 to 1924, Rijeka issued internationally recognized postage stamps. In philatelic literature they are called Fiume.
In 1919, US President Woodrow Wilson proposed Rijeka as the seat of the League of Nations - the forerunner of the United Nations.
People from Rijeka who were born in 1913 and experienced in 1991 changed 6 countries: Austro-Hungary, the Free State of Rijeka, the Kingdom of Italy, the Third Reich (Germany), SFR Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the people of Rijeka "equally" used 4 languages - Croatian, Italian, Hungarian and German.
The Communist Party of the Free State of Rijeka, founded in 1921, was among the smallest members of III. International (150 members). The communist parties of Palestine and Turkmenistan, for example, were smaller. The Secretary-General was Simon Árpád.
In addition to the majority Croatian population, Rijeka is now inhabited by members of one ethnic community (Italians) and 10 national minorities - Serbs, Albanians, Bosniaks, Czechs, Hungarians, Montenegrins, Roma, Slovaks and Slovenes. Based on historical facts, Italians have a special status of an indigenous community. Although international agreements would require Rijeka to also guarantee bilingual rights and visual bilingualism, the city of Rijeka does not respect them. Autochthony is currently enshrined in the Statute of the City of Rijeka from 2006 in Article 14, which reads:
"Recognizing and respecting its own cultural and historical recognitions and heritage, the City of Rijeka ensures the indigenous Italian national minority to use its own language and script in public affairs within the self-governing scope of the City of Rijeka. The City of Rijeka, in accordance with its capabilities the indigenous Italian minority and its institutions. "