Bravo, I am a dark-skinned Croat my father was from Africa and is the only Croatian Award winning black composer. And as such I learned a lot about my country maybe I know more than pure Croats but this man knows Croatia so well that I learn new things from him.
You said at the beginning of the video that Istria used to be Italian, but technically it used to be Venetian. It was the great Venetian Republic that ruled the Istria for around 500 years, and Italy ruled for only 25 years (1918.-1943.). It's a big difference because the Venetian Republic is not Italy and vice versa. I watched the whole video and it was a splendid experience from the beginning to the end, even though I'm from Istria. You forgot to mention some minor places of interest, like small, but beautiful waterfalls like Cingarela, Butori, 7 slapova kod Buzeta and many more. Istria is actually riddled with them, but even some locals don't know about them. There is also a infamous ''Istrian desert'' near the village of Šterna, the only desert in Istria and a very special and unique place to visit. Greetings from Umag!
The gentleman probably got confused between two adjectives. Italic and Italian, but the substance does not change. Latins, Etruscans, Ligurians, Venetians, Oscans, Gauls, Apulians, Samnites etc. as a whole they were Italic because they lived on the Italian peninsula. The history of Istria dates back centuries long before Venice. Also because the Italian peninsula has a unique shape. It is practically closed on three sides by the sea and has a mountain range to the north that protects it. The prehistoric peoples who inhabited it became sedentary for the above reasons and stopped being nomadic.
My grandfather told my dad that the Paranzana train was so slow that on a small hill from Strunjan to the Šalet tunnel, people used to jump down from the train, ate some grapes from a local vineyard and returned back on the train.
Hi Paul. A very timely video. Tomorrow we fly from the other side of the world to start our new lives in Croatia. There will be bumps along the way but it will be an adventure! Your book has been invaluable.
Wow Paul, how long are you staying for? Or moving for good like Paul did. Wish we did it at least 15 years ago, too old now. What connections do you have there? Also where are you thinking to set roots in? My parents, brother and I arrived in Melbourne from Croatia in 1958. Our 5th and probably last trip back to my homeland will be in 2024. Good luck and look forward to seeing your life in this amazing country on RU-vid in the future. “Sretan put”
Great video and great job you are doing here, congratulation! Just one critic in good faith, when you speak about Croatian history you should advice Croats not Yugo Communists.
I would like to add one interesting place in Istria and that is Dvigrad, ruins of a medieval town completely abandoned centuries ago due to a plague, and it is remaining so empty in the forest since. Lately it is cleared from vegetation and archeologically explored and now available for tourists, not far from Pula. It is worth of seeing, and next to its entrance there is a small restaurant where the owner can tell you a lot of history of the city and its urbanistic importance, as he is descendant of former inhabitants.
Spot on, Paul! Would love to have a pint together once you come around Poreč🍺 I’m sure you made a lot of us feel prouder to be Istrian after watching this 😊
Great video! You've transported me back to my first introduction I had with Croatia 5 years ago. Only got to spend a month there, and so many places I never got to explore. It's so hard not to fall in love with the country. And so it's definitely on my hit list to return ... and hopefully for much longer than a month! Thanks for the inspiration 😊
"You should Never" in Croatia should be trade mark vlog Paul... in all fairness, HTZ should learn some basics from your promotion of our and your beautifull homeland... respect sir
@@PaulBradbury fair enough but still miles away from your verbal explenation on topic u presenting.... i find it way more entertaining and attention catchy when somebody tells a story about it so, forgive me for beefing up your effort, u entiteled for trade mark in my humble opinion.
Well, I don't blame you for thinking that Istria "used to be Italian", because a lot of Croats think the same, and Croatian historians, for some shady reasons, don't want to dispel this wrong view. First, lets see if Venetians are Italians. No, they aren't, Italians are the mix of Roman population and Germanic conquerors. But some of the Roman population managed to escape conquerors, and they escaped into the marshes of Venice. Venice was always separate and different from the rest of Italy, and actually always had very strong ties to Eastern Roman Empire. So, no Italians there. Further, Venetians actually only lived on the west coast of Istria, while the inland was always (mostly) inhabited by Croats. Further, since Croatia is still very infested with communists, there is an (nothing more that) *urban legend* that Tito gave Istria to Croatia. Of course, this isn't true. Venice was defeated by Napoleon, and Istria came under Austrian rule from 1797 onward. Later Napoleon even organized Illyrian Provinces, and Istria was right in the middle of it. It was thought at that time that Croats and Slovenes were Illyrians, hence the name. Of course, Austrians didn't live there, but Venetians and Croats continued to live there. The first Austrian cenzus in 1846. shows that there were 34.000 people speaking Italian language, and 120.000 people speaking Croatian language. So, In the past Istria wasn't Italian, it was Venetian. Second thing, since 1797. Istria was Italian only between two world wars, and only because it was given to Italy as a gift because Italy joined allies in the war (but it joins only towards the end of the war). If this wouldn't have been the case, Istria would never be Italian. In other words, in the last 226 years Istria was either Austrian or Yugoslavian/Croatian for more than 200 years. Unfortunately, Wikipedia is inaccessible right now, so I cannot get the right dates, but lets say that Istria was Italian from something like 1919. to the fall of Mussolini, 1943., so, only 24 years. I can only guess why Croatian historians don't want to present those facts to the Croats, but those reasons for sure aren't the fair ones. Everybody interested can check all this in Wikipedia, easily (hopefully it will start to work by then, :) ). BTW, don't use Balkan versions of Wikipedia, but use English version, English version should be much more accurate than Balkan versions.
Am well aware of the difference between Venetian and Italian, but with all due respect, you contradict yourself. I think it "used to be Italian" as it was, as you rightly say, between the wars.
@@PaulBradbury I wouldn't say that the expression "used to be" is used if something was somebody's only for a short period of time. It is not Italian/Venetian for a long time now (226 years), a period only interrupted for a short time (24 years). So, it used to be Austrian (before it became Yugoslavian/Croatian). But, it doesn't matter, the main reason why I wrote all this is because Croats think indeed that it *used to be Italian*, from ancient times all the way to the end of WWII, and that Tito actually gave Istria to Croatia. Almost every Croat think that's true, while this isn't true at all. There is a strong attitude that Istria and Dalmatia actually belong to Italy. Neither of this is true, but somebody is pushing this view strongly, and nobody ever says anything against this false view, although Croats are paying their historians to relieve the truth. Regarding Dalmatia, Croats and Vlachs always lived there. But Croatian pirates were robbing Venetian ships, so Venice bought Dalmatia from Hungary. This doesn't mean that Dalmatia belongs to Italy, since at that time Venice also possessed the islands of Corfu and Crete, and some other islands in Aegean Sea, and nobody can say that the island of Crete belongs to Italy. Saying all this, I am not against Italy possessing the whole of Croatia, I am some kind of pro-western cosmopolite, and although being genetically 100 % Croat, I actually declared my nationality as being Italian in the period from 2006. to 2014., I don't mind if the whole Croatia would be Italian, I am just writing what is the truth, nothing more. But I, myself, would more like to live in Italy than in Croatia.
@@PaulBradbury But, "used to be Austrian" (actually it was a part of Habsburg Monarchy) also isn't correct, Austrians didn't live there, Croats (and Italians) lived there. Croatia was also in Habsburg Monarchy. So, what is correct is that Istria and Croatia were in the same country for the last 226 years (except for the short period of 24 years). Croats aren't aware of this fact *at all* , and they all think that Croatia got Istria only in 1945..
@@funkyribar2301 Stop feeding trolls, :) . What government service you are working for? Where did you see trolling here? I am writing things you don't like? Get used to it, you are not living in communism for 30 years now, and you are still not used to free expression. I know that you are in love with your precious red booklet. Can you tell me exactly what upset you so much, in my writing, I'd like to see your "communist arguments" again.
Love Biska! Wish I could somehow get some of that here in Florida but haven't had any luck yet. Loved your Istrian youtube. Thank you. It brought back wonderful memories of our 5 days there when we were in Croatia two years ago. Rovinj was gorgeous. Also loved the countryside. So wishing to go back soon. We could see ourselves living there, even part-time. Keep your videos coming. Love your Brit sense of humour.
@@PaulBradbury you cant say that you have an opinion about that. the numbers speak for themselves. btw you probably think that only splitsko-dalmatinska county is dalmatia. no, dalmatia is everything from zadar to dubrovnik. if you wanted to compare cities, then, the difference is even bigger. mint.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/2022_dokumenti/Turizam%20u%20brojkama%202021.pdf
Great review of my region, unfortunately, no mention of Pazin and the old Castel of Pazin, and the inspiration that pazinka Jama had on Jules Verne! Here's a link for those who want to know more: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RH3hsFhkzI4.html
Great video! Watch out for our next video game project (currently in early development), it'll be set in 17th century Istria with the main plot centered around the legend of Jure Grando.
Don’t listen to this man at all! We do know what language to speak in Istra. Some of us speak, Italian, German, many of us speak English, and many Croatian. It is a very beautiful country and the Adriatic Sea is nothing like you have ever seen before. The food and the people will keep you coming back! 😃😃
This is such a nice video, very informative, but I don't understand why you need to self-destruct it by saying: to 'never visit it' because everything looks so gorgeous!
Haha thanks. It is part of a series which have been very successful, as many people click thinking it is going to be some fat Brit complaining and then are pleasantly surprised at the positive content. You can also find on the channel, 25 reasons never to visit Croatia ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TU6FIW6pCcg.html , and 25 reasons never to visit continental Croatia ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hloFn8XrMfw.html , both of which have had lots of views, many who started off angry at me for criticising Croatia, or so they thought when they clicked.
@@PaulBradbury"some fat Brit complaining" 😂 you crack me up! You're more Hrvat than I am by the looks of it! I'm planing a road trip around Istra and you gave me some ideas. Great video!
@@bensahar215 thanks for your kind advice. Well, the first article in this series got 1 million hits in 24 hours, the corresponding video over 125k views with 99% positive likes, so am happy with the way things are going. I don't believe in a clickbait approach unless there is something concrete the other side, as in this case. Will work on my humour.
There are three places (peninsulas) in the world, that I am aware of, in the context of Istria/Istra, that share a similar shape: 1. India 2. Sinai Peninsula 3. Istria/Istra Please feel free to make your own conclusions.
U Istri nikad nije bilo bolje nego sada pod Hrvatskom. Svat ta ideja o autonomiji i vojskom je absurdna i sa takvim mišljenjem se zove vraga i nepotrebnne nemire. Slovenija bi nas napala i progutala i brzo bismo zvali Hrvate u spas. Italija, i svi ostali su nas izrabljivali i koliko god se govori o korupciji u HR nikad u povijesti nije bilo zabilježeno toliko blagostanja u Istri kao i sada. Mir i blagostanje imamo i to trebamo zadržati a ne bi bilo loše i vratiti se Bogu jer nemoral je uzeo maha u zadnjih 30 godina, tako da ukoliko se ne promjenimo dolazi nam opomena i kazna....
Hi Paul, great video, as usual. Good observation about the inland Istria which I personally prefer to seaside Istria. Few more ideas: - the medieval festival in Svetvinćenat (or Savićenta as the locals call it) which is quite unique. - Austro-Hungarian fortifications. Out of 56 of them in the region, 31 are in Pula alone, mainly maintained by a group of enthusiasts. …an a couple of fun facts: - although Mario Andretti is from Mutovun, Istrians are just about the worst drivers in Croatia. The joke has it that the PU car plate stands for “pazi ubojica” (watch out for a killer) 😁 - yes, Istrian olive oil is among the best in world (at least so we like to think), but a good part of that olive oil comes from the island of Brač, and is then bottled in Istria and branded by Istrians
Thanks for your comment and the tips. Had heard that truffles from other parts of the country end up in Istria but didn't know about the oil - do you have a link to more info?
@@dangertomarketing You have black truffles on Medvednica and Kalnik as far as I know and tried a couple of years ago. So everything is possible but actually I doubt about that, Istrians buying black truffles from Croatia proper.
Despite the fact that we Croats love when a stranger learn our language (especially Anglo-Saxon one; I've found it is pretty hard for you pronouncing Croat words, so you bought me with that), but your sense of humour - we all grow up on "Only fools and horses" and "Mr. Bean" and ofc "Monty Python" - you are a very funny guy! So, this is a really great vid about Istria! And like someone wrote, our TZ & TIC (tourist officials) can learn A LOT from your vlog! And, for Istra belonging to Croatia, check out a priest named don Bože Milanović (not our President related haha) and his effort in proving Istra is part of Croatia! God bless!
@@PaulBradbury So sorry for sending you across the ocean. Somehow missed your British accent. But, later certainly explains your fluid words. NEVER Looking forward to your next thing. 🤗👍
Jure Grando Alilović or Giure Grando (1579-1656), may have been the first real person described as a vampire in historical records. He was referred to as a štrigon, a local word for something resembling a vampire and a warlock. He was a stonemason and his wife Ivana bore him two children, Ana and Nikola.
Interesting. I guess Vlad Tepes, on whom Dracula was based, was not actually labelled a vampire - he was back in 1431. Re strigon, interesting - the only word of Romanian I know (where Dracula is from) is strigoi, which means vampire.
Hi Paul, just a couple of omissions in your beautiful guide through Istria: - It has always been populated by Slav tribes. The Romans, Venetians, French and the Hubsburgs were the invaders of the later times. The Italians are a very recent invention compared to the autochtone Slav population. Our alphabet from Vincha in today's Belgrade, Serbia, had been used by Etrurians, not the other way around; - Tito was brought to power to settle some pending geo-political "business" by Brits, so anything he has done is purely British fault, forgiven by Brits, but never forgotten by us. As Churchill had said, he didn't mind as long as it served British geo-political interests, because "I am not going to live there", as he had put it.True, but as a contemporary tourist, you should put an effort to promote the true history, instead of cutting out only the pieces that are inoffensive to the "woke". - truffle business has been known in Istria since always; - wine business has been known in Istria since always; - olive oil production has been known in Istria since always. It's just that before the British interventions in 1939. and during the WW2 (the filthy business is best done when the rest of the world is busy warding off an imminent war, eh?), Istria had never been in Croatia, nor its inhabitants were ever before considered Croats, neither was the whole Dalmatia for that matter. Now, when you have successfully established the fascist state of Croatia in the area necessary to you and over the people's dead bodies, after the third deliberately provoked war during the 20. century, just in order to have the East Adriatic Coast safely in Vatican's 's and British hands (please remember that your Windsors are actually the conveniently rebranded Hubsburgs, so Catholics), you are reinventing our history? I don't think so! Back to school, even if it's only for a tasty meal. Maybe some wholesome food would clear out that British brain fog.
Known in Istria v known outside Istria are two very different things. Now the top olive oil region in the world according to Flos Olei, thd first Istrian entry was in 2005, so while known locally, not recognised internationally as it is today.
And am getting used to the fact that the Brits to blame fir everything. I wonder how your comment would have been different if I was Irish, which I am.
@@PaulBradbury It wouldn't be any different in case of an Irish adopting a British authority categorising the worldwide olive oil produce or anything else foreign to Brits for that matter. Anything innately British or Irish is equally local for us as anything Istrian is for the Brits or Irish, so is the British self-proclaimed entitlement to categorise foreign produce. Would you dare arguing that the authority of the afore mentioned board is older than the Istrian olive production? The natural curiosity of a traveller shouldn't include any self entitlement to qualification without a profound interest in the history of what is local. Otherwise, we would be able to excuse colonialism by naming it "curiosity", which would be by far inaccurate. In other words, are Brits and Irish battery operated never to ask who entitled them to colonise the world? "Deus vult" as a collonising reason is not even in your languages and "finders- keepers" is not a legitimate right anywhere, neither locally nor globally. It is the British overbearing attitude ironically adopted by the Irish that I'm questioning, not the reason for the British existence in their remote barren lands. After all, nobody had named the North Seas "Mediterranean" or "The Center of the Earth" for a reason, I guess. Greetings.
Quando gli archeologi troveranno traccia delle vostre meravigliose capanne interrate slave, coperte di paglia, che usavate fino a quando non avete rubato le case altrui, potrete dire che siete stati in Istria fin dai tempi biblici. Per il momento, visto che non ci è traccia della vostra meravigliosa architettura vegetale, godetevi le case altrui, ricevute con la scusa del comunismo e successivamente mantenute con la scusa del capitalismo, ma almeno non sparate cavolate. Le tavolette di Vinca sono del IV millennio avanti Cristo. Non c'entrano nulla con la scrittura etrusca e soprattutto, con gli Slavi, che sono arrivati nella penisola balcanica migliaia d'anni dopo.
slažem se ali ako u Moliseu mogu naši ljudi govoriti hrvatski ili u Gradiššću onda ne vidim razloga zašto u Istri ne bi bio i talijanski kao manjinski jezik iako je većina Istrijana talijana talijanizirana.
If you look at other regions around the world that are close to the state border you'll find it interesting they have 2 official languages and people are bilingual. It's a treasure and a sign of rich culture at last
Istria is the only one that has remained rich, beautiful and advanced because HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) has not set foot yet. once that happens, even the amphitheater in Pula will not survive, even though it stood without problems for several thousand years.. 😁
Why don’t you tell how istria became Croatian ? After WW1. AFTER SERBIA LOST 27% of their population , istria was taken away from Italy and given to the kingdom of Serbs , Croats and and Slovenians . Given , because Serbs fought with the Allie’s and this was a reward for all the lives they lost and sacrifice d.
Dude, are you bonkers? After WW1 Istria wasn't taken away from Italy and "given" to Croatia, quite the contrary it was taken away from Croatia (up till then part of Austro-Hungary) and given to Italy, alongside a big part of Kvarner and parts of Dalmatia. Only after WW2 and gigantic struggle of Croatian Partisans led by greatest Croatian Josip Broz Tito was this land liberated from the fascists and reunited with Croatia. Of course, today all of us are in the EU so it doesn't matter so much but you really should get your facts right.
Istra je oduvijek bila hrvatska, ne iznosi lažne činjenice kako je oduzeta Italiji jer joj nije nikad propadala osim kad su Talijani kolonizirali područja koja nisu nikad bila njihova ,pa Trst je oduvijek bio hrvatski pa sad vise nije
@@random-bi2bfne znam za Trst, samo znam da je istra bila dio AU carstva, ali znam da je Italija imala istru od 1920. do 1944. Onda su ju partizani preuzeli i predali Hrvatskoj u sklopu Jugoslavije.
Jednom sam vec napisao, sad cu ponovo. Ovaj covjek me podsjeca na sve one strane dragovoljce koji su se borili na strani Hrvatske u agresiji Srbije i JNA 91/95g...to su ljudi kojima Hrvatska mora biti zauvijek zahvalna...puno srece stari, tebi i tvojoj obitelji. You most welcome...❤
