Excursion Antonio

Pula, a city in Croatia. It is the largest city of the Istrian County, located on the southwestern part of the Istrian peninsula in a well-protected bay. The town has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing, shipbuilding, and tourism, and is also a transit port. Pula has been the cultural center of Istria since Roman times. The natural beauty of the Pula area and the turquoise-blue Adriatic Sea have made the city an internationally popular summer vacation destination. The nearby pearl is the Brijuni National Park, which was visited by many world leaders when it was still the summer residence of the former statesman Josip Broz. Roman villas and temples still lie buried among the cultivated fields and along the coast of several surrounding fishing and farming settlements. The coastal waters offer beaches, fishing, diving to the wrecks of ancient Roman galleys and warships from the First World War, and sailing to untouched caves and large and small islands. The most famous of Pula’s beaches are Gortanova Uvala on Lungomare, Ambrela and Havajsko on Verudela, and Pješčana Uvala and Valkane.

Along the West Istrian coast, there are several groups of islands, among which the most interesting, largest, and most separated is the Brijuni group of 14 islands, islets and rocks. The total area of the Brijuni National Park is 3395 ha, of which the sea part accounts for 2651.7 ha, while the area of all the islands is 743.3 ha. The length of all island coasts is 46.82 km, and the length of the sea border is 22.93 km. The Brijuni Islands have long been and remain synonymous with glamour. At the beginning of the 20th century, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, painter Gustav Klimt, composer Richard Strauss, writers George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Mann rested here. However, the islands experienced a real boom from the 1950s, when Josip Broz hosted 90 statesmen from 60 countries on Brioni. In addition to signing the Brion Declaration with Egyptian President Nasser and Indian Prime Minister Nehru, he hosted French President de Gaulle, German Chancellor Brandt, USSR leader Brezhnev, British statesman Churchill, USSR President Khrushchev, Egyptian President Sadat, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Cuban President Fidel Castro. There were also movie stars, and among the brightest are: Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, Richard Burton, and Angelina Jolie in recent times. In Brijuni, the world-renowned Croatian physicist Dubravko Tadić was the main organizer of the first international physics conference in independent Croatia, the VIIth Adriatic Meeting on Particle Physics, together with D. Klabučar and I. Picek. It was held from September 13-20, 1994). The first Croatian president Dr. Franjo Tuđman held numerous meetings in Brijuni. The most famous is the Brijuni meeting on July 31, 1995, where he agreed with the generals of the Croatian Army and other military officials on the final plan of the military-police operation Storm, the successful implementation of which brought peace to Croatia (and Bosnia and Herzegovina). Today, they are a mecca for many tourists and a place where theater performances are held thanks to the famous actor and director Rada Šerbedžija. Today, they are also a place where high-ranking officials of the new Croatian state occasionally receive foreign delegations in their official residence.

Something about Brijuni Islands

Total area: 736 hectares

274 km of road, pathways and trails

150 species of birds

680 species of indigenous and exotics plants

Lots of sun and warm weather

Sea temperature – 22 to 25 °C

Uljanik is a bankrupt company located in the city of Pula, in the Republic of Croatia. It got its name from the islet of Uljanik, where olive trees once grew, and today there are steel processing and hull construction plants there. One olive tree is still kept today as a symbol. Uljanik was officially founded in 1856, in the carefully selected Pula bay, as a shipyard for the navy of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. The foundation for the building was laid by Empress Elizabeth on December 9, 1856, and that date is celebrated as the day of the shipyard, one of the oldest in the world today. Less than two years after the foundation stone was laid – on October 5, 1858, the first ship – Kaiser with a displacement of 5,194 tons – was launched from the slipway. A fleet of 55 different ships, with a total displacement of 53,588 tons, was then built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The Scoglio Olivi shipyard in Pula, the forerunner of today’s Uljanik, was founded in 1918. In 1921, it was divided into two parts: “Arsenal” (land part), which remained under the administration of the state navy, and “Uljanika” (island), which became a joint-stock company. The owners became entrepreneurs Cosulich from Trieste. In the long period of continuous work, the Pula shipyard went through different periods of development. During the Kingdom of Italy, he deals with repairs, construction, docking and cutting of old ships. After the fall of the Kingdom of Italy in 1943, during World War II, the shipyard was the naval base of the Greater German Reich. Since 1947, it has been restored as part of the SFR Yugoslavia. It continues with docking, construction, reconstructions and repairs of ships. The first new building was delivered in 1951. Under its auspices, it develops mechanical engineering, electrical industry and other productions. In the Republic of Croatia in 1992, it became a joint-stock company, survived the crisis years, continued with the shipbuilding production of various and special ships, and in the second half of 1998 entered a period of major technological renewal. From 1947 to mid-2000, Uljanik delivered 201 ships, with a total of more than 6 million DWT, to customers from all continents. Uljanik’s experts: design, construct, and build all types of ships, both for the transportation of oil and oil products, for the transportation of bulk cargo, containers, trucks, wagons, cars, and passengers. Each boat is unique, built according to specific customer requirements. During the VLCC constructions, the Pula shipyard developed the technology of building the hull from two parts and joining the two halves in the sea. In this way, from 1972 to 1976, 11 ships were built, the largest being Tarfala, 275,000 DWT for the company from Stockholm “Trafialtiebolaget Grangesberg” and Kanchenjunga with 277,120 tons of carrying capacity, delivered in 1975 to the Indian company “The Shipping Corporation of India”. On January 31, 2018, a unique luxury passenger ship for polar research “Scenic Eclipse”, the first polar cruiser in the world, equipped with a small submarine and two research helicopters, was launched in Uljanik on January 31, 2018.

The large cranes in the center of the city, close to the Pula Arena and at the end of the waterfront, shine in a thousand colors every evening when it gets dark. The “luminous giants” located on the islet of Uljanik in the Pula bay, are a real attraction and a new recognizable sight of Pula, created by world-renowned lighting designer Dean Skira. The cranes change colors at night, and thanks to a sophisticated system, they can change as many as six thousand different combinations. The colors of the Luminous Giants are specially programmed for special occasions and holidays, during the World Cup in football they proudly shone “dressed in dice”, they were painted green on the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day, they were appropriately illuminated for Pula City Day… The people of Pula and their guests can enjoy the beautiful light show every evening. The colored spectacle lasting about fifteen minutes can be seen when it gets dark, every full hour!

“Sunset finds dolphins” and embark on an unforgettable adventure in the open sea. We will also prepare a superb dinner for you, which you can enjoy while watching the dolphins. “Sunset finds dolphins” is the name of the excursion during which you get to see dolphins while they swim, jump and play in the water. This wonderful experience will make your vacation in Southern Istria even more memorable. The excursion lasts for three hours and includes food and drinks. This excursion is special for several reasons – the sea is calm and peaceful in the evening, you can have a traditional Istrian dinner on the boat and you can see the famous Brijuni National Park, dolphins, and Pula by night. Come and enjoy with us 🙂