There’s a big port city on the Croatian coast— actually the third largest in the country after Zagreb and Split—that you’ve probably never heard of. Even though it was named the European Capital of Culture in 2020, there’s a good chance:
You’ve never heard of Rijeka.
You didn’t think about visiting.
Your travel agency never mentioned it.
So… why? Let’s dig in.
Welcome to Rijeka (Rijeka means river in Croatian)
In 2020, Rijeka hosted the opening celebration for its European Capital of Culture title with a massive event on its industrial waterfront. The response from the public? Mixed—and that says a lot about the city.
To understand Rijeka, you have to know this: after the wars of the 1990s and the breakup of Yugoslavia, many in Croatia distanced themselves from anything associated with the country’s socialist and antifascist past—especially anything tied to Tito, the Partisan resistance, or Yugoslav identity. Streets were renamed, monuments removed, and history rewritten. It was an ideological clean slate.
Rijeka didn’t go along with that. In fact, it did the opposite.
A City That Celebrated What the Country Tries to Forget
Just as Detroit once stood for the American auto industry, Rijeka symbolized Yugoslavia’s shipbuilding legacy. Today, the city’s skyline is still dominated by cranes, cargo ships, concrete blocks, and massive docks—a proud, working-class panorama.
Much of Croatia’s industry collapsed during the post-war economic transition. Factories were shut down, jobs vanished, and our dirty transition from socialism to capitalism, riddled with corruption, left scars. Most politicians avoid the topic.
And what did Rijeka do? They celebrated the opening of the European Capital of Culture 2020 with Opera Industriale! Hundreds of musicians and singers performed dressed in their work uniforms, proudly showing their legacy and identity, and making the music mixed with factory sounds.
Not only that, they sang a famous partisan song, Ciao Bella, and this is how it looked like (3:30 is where I get goosebumps if you are impatient)
In the comment section, you can see a lot of support coming from all parts of former Yugoslavia, with some proudly calling themselves ”the children of the Third May” (Third May is the name of the shipyard, named after the date when Rijeka was liberated by the partisan army).
As you can see, the official slogans of Capital of Culture 2020 are Port of diversity, Tolerance, Respect, Coexistence…
Why did nobody tell you about Rijeka?
Let’s be honest. Rijeka is not for everyone. If you’re looking for pristine old towns, romantic ruins, and endless Instagrammable beaches, Split, Dubrovnik, and Hvar have you covered.
Rijeka? It’s rougher around the edges. A bit chaotic. Think Austro-Hungarian grandeur with a post-industrial twist, graffiti everywhere, and a creative energy that never quite sits still.
But if you ask someone to translate them for you, you might be pleasantly surprised. ”My streets are my home. Just like people decorate their homes, I decorate the streets.” / ”Take care of yourself!” / ”Be the badass person you want for yourself :)”
Or the painfully funny one, ”When I grow up, I want to be UHLJEB”
(Uhljeb is an untranslatable Croatian term—basically, someone who gets a comfy government job thanks to connections, not merit. Think “dead weight meets bureaucracy.” It’s a national joke… and tragedy.)
Why Rijeka Might Just Surprise You
This city isn’t just about politics and industry. Rijeka has its charms—sometimes gritty, sometimes unexpectedly beautiful:
- A thriving alternative music and art scene
- The National Theatre, always full of bold programming
- A lively pedestrian boulevard called Korzo where locals sip espresso and watch the world go by
- A quirky Computer Museum
- A link to Titanic history
- A hilltop castle with sweeping views at Trsat
- Hidden WWII-era tunnels and dark monuments
- Beaches, city parks, and the rusting ghost of Tito’s yacht Galeb, docked like a sleeping relic
It’s not polished. But it’s real.
I will soon write more about Rijeka (consider this to be an intro), especially its overlooked parts. Let me know if that’s something that interests you or if there’s something you’d like to know about.
