Opatija was included in the territory of the
Liburni, a pre-Roman
Illyrian tribe. In
Roman times, the area was home to several patrician villas connected to the nearby town of
Castrum Laureana, the modern
Lovran.
Croats settled in the region from about 700 AD onwards. Conquered by King
Pepin of Italy, son of
Charlemagne, in 789, the Istrian peninsula up to the Kvarner Gulf was incorporated into the Carolingian
March of Friuli by 803. In the east, it bordered on the medieval
Kingdom of Croatia established by King
Tomislav about 925. Having invaded
Italy, King
Otto of Germany made the Istrian lands part of the vast
March of Verona and Aquileia; from the 11th century onwards, the
Imperial estates were held by the
Patriarchs of Aquileia. In the Middle Ages the current town's territory was divided between Veprinac (now a locality of Opatija, perhaps home to a small fishing port) and
Kastav, where the fisherman village of Veprinac. The small hamlet of Opatija itself developed around a
Benedictine abbey dedicated to
Saint Jacob, which was first mentioned in 1453. While western Istria was gradually conquered by the
Republic of Venice by 1420, the remaining territory up to Opatija fell to the
House of Habsburg and later was incorporated into the
Austrian Littoral. The town's modern history began in 1844, when Iginio Scarpa (1794–1866), a wealthy merchant from Rijeka, had the Villa Angiolina manor built in an extended park, where he received notable guests such as Ban
Josip Jelačić. In 1873 the
Austrian Southern Railway company from
Vienna opened the branch line from
Pivka to Rijeka via nearby
Matulji and thus opened the path for the development of tourism in Opatija and neighbouring
Lovran. In 1882, the railway company purchased the Villa Angiolina, where it accommodated the crown princely couple
Rudolf and
Stéphanie. At the time, Friedrich Julius Schüler (1832–1894), the Managing Director of the Southern Railways, started the construction of the
Hotel Quarnero (Kvarner Hotel) and the
Hotel Kronprinzessin Stephanie (present-day Hotel Imperial), and also was responsible for the unique lungomare and parks (the Company engaged Carl Schubert, director of the Viennese Emperial-Royal Society for the construction of parks). The Villa Angiolina was later run by the
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. In the Angiolina Park today stands Schüler's bust, a work of the sculptor Hans Rathausky. In 1887, Heinrich von Littrow established the "Union Yacht Club Quarnero" in Opatija (founded in June/July 1886); this was the first sailing club on the Adriatic coast. In 1889 the
Cisleithanian government officially declared Abbazia (Opatija) the first climatic seaside resort (
Seebad) on the Austrian Riviera, rivalled by
Brioni,
Duino,
Grado, and
Portorož. After the hotels, the building of villas started, for the needs of more demanding noble guests. The first Villa Amalia, in the immediate vicinity of the Hotel Quarnero, was built in 1890 as the hotel's annex. Opatija's first guide was published in 1883 in
Vienna with the title
Abbazia, Idylle von der Adria. The same year saw the publication of
Abbazia und seine Umgebung (
Opatija and its Environs) by Heinrich Noe, who in 1884 published his
Tagebuch aus Abbazia (Diary from Opatija). Joseph Rable printed
Curort und Seebad Abbazia (Spa and the bathing beach in Opatija), and Peter von Radics wrote a guidebook simply titled
Abbazia. In 1908
a tramway line was opened, running from Matulji station along the coast via Opatija down to Lovran in the south. Opatija is best known nowadays as the venue for a 1912
chess tournament devoted to the
King’s Gambit. The Austrian emperor
Franz Joseph I used to spend several months there during the winter. He met there with the German emperor
Wilhelm II on 29 March 1894; other crowned heads seeking relaxation included
Empress Elisabeth of Austria and the German empress
Augusta Victoria, King
Carol I of Romania and his consort
Elisabeth, King
George I of Greece,
Albert, King of Saxony,
William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Prince
Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš. Many of the late 19th-century luxury hotels and villas have survived to present times. During World War I the Hotel Icicii was converted to a military hospital. The accompanying pictures show the nursing staff and wounded at lunch, on the grounds, and receiving care. In 1920 Opatija was assigned to Italy. The upper floor of Villa Amalia was built in 1930, and the building was renovated to become the summer residence of the
House of Savoy. In 1947 Opatija was given to
Yugoslavia as part of the
peace treaty with Italy; most of the Italian-speaking population emigrated to Italy. In 1963 the Hotel Adriatic, by the architect Andrija Čičin-Šain and his team was completed. Hotel "Adriatic" was the first hotel built in Opatija after the Austro-Hungarian era. The rooms of hotel "Adriatic" have been described as novelties in the hospitality industry. The "Casino Rosalia" was opened in Opatija – the first casino in Eastern Europe. In 1981 the Hotel "Admiral" and marina (200 berths and 40 dry berths) were completed. After the
breakup of Yugoslavia which began in 1991, the town became part of Croatia. ==Population==