Brijuni

The Maker intended to shape a part of the Earth to the image of Heaven. That is how Istria came into being, like a garden covered with magnificent trees and vast meadows, washed by the deep blue sea, appealing people to a happier life. 

But the jealous devil destroyed his work by tearing the bag in which the angel was carrying the unused stones. Thousands of rocks scattered around the Istrian land making it a land of contrasts, gentle and rough, fertile and barren, sunny and cloudy. 

The desolated angels gathered the pieces of Heaven remaining among the scattered rocks and protected them by the sea waves and created Brijuni.

Brijuni in figures

Along the coast of western Istria, there are several groups of islands among which the most interesting, the largest and the most indented is the Brijuni group of 14 islands and islets. The total surface area of the Brijuni National Park is 3,395.00 ha, of which there is 2,651.70 ha of sea, while the surface of the islands is 743.30 ha. The length of all island coastlines amounts to 46.82 km, while the length of the sea border amounts to 22.93 km.

Depth of the channel is only 12 m
Considering the fact that the Fažana Channel is only 12 m deep, the Brijuni were part of the Istrian mainland ten thousand years ago. Horizontal or slightly inclined layers of limestone dating from the Cretaceous, on which in places there is a relatively thick layer of soil of the brown calcerous type, i.e. terra rossa, are prevalent on the islands. The stone that belongs to this formation is white in color, easily breakable, of marble structure and abundant in clay and silicic acid. It is very solid and represents an excellent construction material. Roman builders appreciated the listed qualities of this stone and it was used to build many towns on the Adriatic coast. 

Climatically, Brijuni are part of the northern Mediterranean type of climate and have all the qualities of the western Istrian coast with a relatively high value of air humidity (76%). The average annual temperature is 13.9 °C, the annual precipitation average is 817 mm, while the annual average level of insolation is about 2350 hours.

A pleasant climate throughout the year

The climate on Brijuni is moderate and Mediterranean with plenty of sunshine and heat, as well as humidity in the air, enabling the development of lush vegetation and a pleasant stay on the islands. 

In winter, the average temperature is about 6.3 °C, in spring it is 12.2 °C, in the summer 22.2 °C, while in autumn it is 14.8 °C. Sea temperature fluctuates between 22 and 25 °C in summer, while air temperature is about 23 °C.