Istria

Istria

Istra Istria is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner. It is shared by three countries: Croatia, Slovenia and Italy.

The geographical features of Istria include Učka mountain - Monte Maggiore which is the highest point in the Ćićarija - Cicciaria mountain range, the rivers Dragonja, Mirna - Quieto, Pazinčica and Raša - Arsia, and the Lim bay. Istria lies in three countries: Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. The largest portion (89%) "Croatian Istria" (Hrvatska Istra), is further divided into two counties. The largest portion is Istria county in western Croatia. Important towns in Istria county include Pula - Pola, Poreč - Parenzo, Rovinj - Rovigno, Pazin - Pisino (Mitterburg), Labin - Albona (lies in Liburnia), Umag, Motovun - Montona, Buzet - Pinguente and Buje - Buie, and the smaller towns of Višnjan, Roč - Rozzo, and Hum - Colmo. A small slice in the north, including the coastal towns of Izola, Piran, Portorož and Koper, and the muinicipality of Hrpelje-Kozina, lies in Slovenia and is commonly known as Austrian Littoral (Slovenska Istra), while a tiny region in Italy consisting of the comunes of Muggia and San Dorligo della Valle belongs to Italy. The ancient region of Histria extended to a much wider area, including also the Kras - Carso plateau, the south-western portions of modern Inner Carniola, and the modern Italian Province of Trieste, but not the Liburnian coast which was already part of Illyricum.

Istria The division of Istria between Croatia and Slovenia runs on the former republic borders, which were not precisely defined in the former Yugoslavia. Various bones of contention remain unresolved between the two countries regarding the precise line of the border. It became an international boundary with the independence of both countries from Yugoslavia in 1991. Since Croatia's first multi-party elections in 1990, the regional party Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS-DDI, Istarski demokratski sabor or Dieta democratica istriana) has consistently received a majority of the vote and maintained through 1990s a position often contrary to the government in Zagreb, led by then nationalistic party Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica) with regards to decentralization in Croatia and certain regional autonomy. However, that changed in 2000, when IDS formed with five other parties left-centre coalition government, led by Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP, Socijaldemokratska Partija Hrvatske). After reformed HDZ won Croatian parliamentary elections in late 2003 and formed minority government, IDS has been cooperating with state government on many projects, both local (in Istria County) and national. Since Slovenia's accession to the European Union and the Schengen area, customs and immigration checks have been abolished at the Italian-Slovenian border.