Valamar Blog

The inhabitants of Porec, respectively the whole region around the town of Porec, the so-called Poreština, have through the entire history, until the beginnings of tourism development, lived solely from farming and fishery. Today, the situation is completely different, and tourism is the main activity. And this is how it all actually started:

When Lloyd’s (Austrian steamship company) tourist route was introduced in 1844, and Porec was put on it, first signs of what was about to happen to Porec in the following decades started to show. Only one year after (in 1845) the first tourist guidebook of Porec was printed, with a description and photographs of the town.

In 1861 Porec became the capital of Istria and the seat of Regional Parliament of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and first tourists were members of the Austrian nobility. First, in 1866 the Austrian Grand Duchess Stephanie entered the port of Porec on her yacht Phantasy and in this way introduced the town of Porec to wide public, after which Maria Theresia, Karl Stephan und Karl Ludwig visited Porec.

Shortly after, a consortium for the construction of the first beach on the island of St. Nicholas was formed, and the beach was opened in 1895 and called “Bagno Parentino”. We could mark this year and this event as the official start of tourism in this region. In 1900 a rule book on holding a price list for food, drinks and rooms was introduced, and in 1910 the trademark of Porec tourism and the first big hotel was opened - Rivijera. And that got things really „rolling“, whereas Porec has with time become one of the most prestigious tourist destinations on the Adriatic.

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