Kraljevica (known as ''Porto Re'' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and literally translated as "King's cove" in English) is a town in the Kvarner region of western

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, located between

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

and Crikvenica, approximately thirty kilometers from

Opatija Opatija (; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic bu ...

and near the entrance to the bridge to the island of

Krk Krk (; ; ; ; archaic German: ''Vegl'', ; ) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. Krk is tied with Cres as the largest Adriatic island, depending o ...

. It is part of

Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Primorje – Gorski Kotar County (, ) is a Counties of Croatia, county in western Croatia, most of it based in the historical and cultural region called Croatia proper and some of it in Istria, including the Bay of Kvarner, the surrounding Northe ...

. The town is known for its

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

which has built a number of ships for the Croatian navy.

History

Kraljevica is a town that was written about as early as the 13th century. Today, in addition to having the oldest shipyard on the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

, Kraljevica's skyline is dominated by two medieval castles and a church of the Croatian nobles Zrinski and

Frankopan The House of Frankopan (, , , ) was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croatia in union with Hungary. The Frankopans, along with the Zrinskis, are among the mos ...

. Kraljevica's shipyard employed

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

, the former leader of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, during the first half of the 20th century in his early years of organizing for the Communist Party. After he became marshal of Yugoslavia following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the shipyard took his name, until democratic changes in the 1990s. Kraljevica was the site of an Italian-run concentration camp during WW II. In March 1873, the ''Primorska štediona''

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks ha ...

opened in Kraljevica. It competed with the savings bank in Bakar (established 1876), but had to file

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in 1878. Today Kraljevica is also a popular tourist destination on the Adriatic coast. The

Krk Bridge Krk Bridge () is a long reinforced concrete arch bridge connecting the Croatian island of Krk to the mainland. Carrying over a million vehicles per year, it was the last tolled bridge in Croatia that was not part of a motorway until the removal ...

is located nearby, in the southeast part of the city.

Climate

Between 1981 and 1986, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was , on 29 July 1983. The coldest temperature was , on 7 January 1985.

Demographics

In the 2011 census, the total population of the township was 4,618, with the following settlements: *

Bakarac Bakarac () is a village in Bay of Bakar, Croatia. The settlement is administered as a part of the City of Kraljevica and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. According to the 2001 census, it has 307 inhabitants. It is connected by the D8 state road. ...

, population 313 * Kraljevica, population 2,857 * Križišće, population 85 * Mali Dol, population 180 * Šmrika, population 988 * Veli Dol, population 195 In 1890, the ''obćina'' of Kraljevica (court at Kraljevica), with an area of , belonged to the ''kotar'' of Sušak ( Bakar court and

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

) in the ''županija'' of Modruš-Rieka (

Ogulin Ogulin () is a town in central Croatia, in Karlovac County. It has a population of 7,389 (2021) (it was 8,216 in 2011), and a total municipal population of 12,251 (2021). Ogulin is known for its historic stone castle, known as Kula, and the nearby ...

court and financial board). There were 403 houses, with a population of 1689. Its sole village for taxation purposes made up its own ''porezna obćina'', under the Bakar office. The only statistical market in Sušak kotar was in Kraljevica.

Infrastructure

In 1913, there were two gendarmeries in Sušak kotar: Sušak and Kraljevica.

History

Climate

Demographics

Infrastructure

References

Further reading

History