Page 110 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 110
Memories and Dark Tourism in Istria
Figure 6.1 A Statue of Admiral von Tegetthoff with the View of the Harbour
and the City (Rabl, 1907, p. 239)
public amusement halls, public walkways with tree plantations, and an
abundant fountain that distributes water throughout the city. It has shops
and stores supplied with all kinds of goods, hotels, traditional restaurants
(trattoria), bars, pastries, and cafes (Notizie storiche di Pola, 1876, pp. 17–
18). In addition, as the headquarters of the military navy (the Admiralty),
Pula also had a water-related (leisure) offer which was attractive to the
local residents as well. However, the military bath was relatively far from
the city and expensive, which means that it was not accessible to all the
inhabitants of the city (Kavrečič, 2014, p. 97; 2015, p. 105). It is necessary
to take into account that the main purpose of these types of baths was not
similar to civil (tourism) ones, but was aimed at acquiring and consoli-
dating the swimming ability of the military personnel (Blažević, 1987, p.
58; Kranjčević, 2016, p. 77).⁹ It is quite clear that the city of Pula was not
only the centre of the Austro-Hungarian military navy, but also a tourist
destination where the military infrastructure was systematically included
in tourist products.
In the period when organised tourism development began (in the mid-
19th century), Istrian cities were significantly marked by the presence of
armed forces. Militarisation of the main administrative and tourism cen-
tres in the region was obviously strongly linked with the establishment
of these centres in a tourism-related sense. The presence of armed forces
was therefore a guarantee of supply quality for the tourists from higher
social classes, which is evident in the case of Opatija and Portorož, which
⁹ Pula also has the Naval Swimming School on St. Peter Island (Perović, 2006, pp. 79, 133).
110
Figure 6.1 A Statue of Admiral von Tegetthoff with the View of the Harbour
and the City (Rabl, 1907, p. 239)
public amusement halls, public walkways with tree plantations, and an
abundant fountain that distributes water throughout the city. It has shops
and stores supplied with all kinds of goods, hotels, traditional restaurants
(trattoria), bars, pastries, and cafes (Notizie storiche di Pola, 1876, pp. 17–
18). In addition, as the headquarters of the military navy (the Admiralty),
Pula also had a water-related (leisure) offer which was attractive to the
local residents as well. However, the military bath was relatively far from
the city and expensive, which means that it was not accessible to all the
inhabitants of the city (Kavrečič, 2014, p. 97; 2015, p. 105). It is necessary
to take into account that the main purpose of these types of baths was not
similar to civil (tourism) ones, but was aimed at acquiring and consoli-
dating the swimming ability of the military personnel (Blažević, 1987, p.
58; Kranjčević, 2016, p. 77).⁹ It is quite clear that the city of Pula was not
only the centre of the Austro-Hungarian military navy, but also a tourist
destination where the military infrastructure was systematically included
in tourist products.
In the period when organised tourism development began (in the mid-
19th century), Istrian cities were significantly marked by the presence of
armed forces. Militarisation of the main administrative and tourism cen-
tres in the region was obviously strongly linked with the establishment
of these centres in a tourism-related sense. The presence of armed forces
was therefore a guarantee of supply quality for the tourists from higher
social classes, which is evident in the case of Opatija and Portorož, which
⁹ Pula also has the Naval Swimming School on St. Peter Island (Perović, 2006, pp. 79, 133).
110
