Pula, Croatia

 

Pula Arena

Pula was founded by the Illyrians, but the Romans came in 177 BC. The Pula Arena was constructed between 27 and 68 BC, it was the 4^th largest in the Roman Empire, seating 23000, and over 85% of its outer walls are preserved. The limestone in the interior has been reused here and in Venice. Large sail-like cloths were suspended by beams to shade the spectators and water could be sprinkled on the spectators.

The town was ruled by Venice from 1331 until 1797, when it became part of the Austrian Empire. In 1856, they established a navy base here and the town quickly grew in 10 years from 1000 to 10,000. After World War I, Pula was taken by Italy, Italian became the official language and Croat last names were Italianized. Germany conquered Pula and because of the shipyard, the Allies heavily bombed the city. The bombing had some good effects: parks and new archeological discoveries like a 1^st century mausoleum.

The diversity of the former Yugoslavia

After World War II, Pula became part of Yugoslavia. The country became socialist, but it joined the non-aligned movement, not Soviet and not Western. Tito courted both sides of the cold war. After the death of Tito in 1980, the former Yugoslavia has significant financial problems. The one country which Tito had led began to have a lot of strife because of many different nationalities, languages, and religions. In 1990, the first elections were held, the nationalist parties took control of each province. Serbs in Croatia rebelled against the newly elected government. In 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence. The Yugoslav army, which was primarily manned by Serbs, left Slovenia quickly, but supported rebel Serb forces in Croatia leading to a full-scale war. In March 1993, fighting starts between Bosnian Muslims and Croats, and lasted a year. Croatia won back their Eastern borders from the Serbs before a ceasefire was signed in late 1995.

We walked the town from the Roman arena to the Arch of the Sergii and on to the market hall. Forty five percent of the men of the town used to be employed by the shipyard. After Yugoslavia was dissolved, the shipyard was privatized and sold for a pittance. It went bankrupt a few years ago, as the owners sold the equipment for a quick Euro, rather than run the yard.

Arch of Sergii

In the afternoon we went to the tunnels which served as a bomb shelters for 6000 people. Above is Pula Castle built in 1630. We walked down to the Forum Square, which had five temples during Roman times. Only the Temple of Augustus remains preserved. The Temple of Diana serves as the town hall. The building has a variety of architectural styles.

In the evening, we had a concert with Istrian instruments: an Istrian bagpipe and a horn called a sopile. The sound is unique!