BRIJUNI (BRIONI) - a world of virgin beautiful islands
Legend narrates that when God created the Earth, and made an equal part into a paradise, Istria was born. This splendid region was a garden full of trees and fields, encircled by a crystalline sea and in which the inhabitants lived happy and serene lives. The Devil, not being able to support an idyllic place such as that, therefore decided to destroy it. He cut open a bag full of stones which an angel was carrying away from these lands, and let them fall on the entire territory, destroying fields and trees, but the angels collected with a huge effort what remained of that paradise and carried it into the middle of the sea, where the waves defended it. From these extracts were born paradises like the Brioni islands. "When on Istrian island of Brioni will be discovered and will be accessible, all finds and historical monuments of several ages, which until today didn't come to light, from the pre- roman period until the 16th century, only then will this beautiful archipelago become an exceptional museum under the open sky, rich with an inventory of great artistic, cultural and historical importance. Here every culture that has left traces of its domination will have a sign of its permanence on the island." A.Gnirs, 1911 - the islands of Brijuni (Brioni) are an excellent example of cohabitation between nature and the historical and cultural inheritance left to us by the ancient people. The mild climate and the optimal geographic position, which allows a good defence against others, were made possible by the continuous presence of human beings on the island, from the prehistoric age until today. On one small island, with a surface area of only 7 square kilometres, we find a multitude of archaeological finds of immense historical value, starting with the remains of the first Neolithics, situated in a village in the bay of "Soline" and continuing with antique roman villas. Moreover there are constructions from the Venetian and the Austro – Hungarian times; they constructed many sanatoriums, mostly at the beginning of the XX century, while for 25 years (1954-1979), Brioni was the presidential residence. In this period it has been visited by heads of state from all over the world. This short history of the archipelago testifies to human presence for 5 thousand years and its development in respect of the flora and fauna and culture of the people who have inhabited it. It is a true paradise, a union between green fields and the blue crystalline sea, between uncontaminated bays and hills, characterised by the white Istrian stone.