Postcard from the past of Rabac

Lets have a look for a while at the history of this small place that turned into one of the biggest tourist location on the east coast of Istria. How did a small fishing village became a well known tourist destination?

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On their journeys many famous writers and people from all over the Europe have visited Rabac. One of them was also the british explorer and travel writer  Sir Richard Francis Burton who described the coast of Istria and also mentioned Rabac bay in his piece "The Seabord of Istria" from the 19th century.

Until 19th century, Rabac was a small fishing village. Among the first summer mansions that were starting to be built, was the one owned by Prohaska, a Croatian man originating from Czech. One part of the place was even named after him. Unfortunately, the mansion was destroyed during the World War II. The first hotel, Quarnero, was opened 1889 what indicated the beginnings of tourism development. There is one story that says prince ferdinand visited Rabac in 1907 and that he was welcomed by many curious visiters. Trieste (1925), todays Primorje, was the first big hotel, and from its construction began renting of private apartments for tourist accommodation.

Mid of 20th century toursim starts to grow in the real sense, and in the 60s rabac was named "the pearl of the Kvarner Bay" what still makes him recognizeable even today.