Page 111 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 111
6.2 Memorial Practices and Dark Tourism in the post-wwi Period
gained the official status of health resorts (Kurorte).¹⁰ Especially inter-
esting were the Brijuni Islands (which also gained the official status of a
health resort), which were turned by the Vienna industrialist Paul Kupel-
wieser from a wild and malaria-infected area into a tourist resort for a
wealthy clientele¹¹ (Baskar, 2010; Dumbović Bilušić et al., 2015; Nacijon-
alni park Brijuni, n.d.; Perović, 2006, p. 165) who cohabited with the army.
Photographs from the Austro-Hungarian period show that military per-
sonnel wore military clothing during their holidays/health treatments in
tourist destinations in Istria, which affected the atmosphere of the desti-
nations.¹²
In the end, it is necessary to point out that the Brijuni Islands retained
a prestigious image of a top destination even in the time of Fascist Italy.
After wwi i, Yugoslav socialist authorities took the Brijuni Islands with
their heavily damaged infrastructure, and renovated them in the style of
the new ideology. The resort on the law-protected islands (natural and
cultural heritage) was not publicly accessible (until the late 1980s), but
was intended to be used by the political establishment (communist party),
particularly by President Tito and his domestic and international guests
(Jokić & Čudov, 1986, pp. 73–74). Being a place of prestige and Tito’s
power, it also paradoxically hosted the signing of one of the most im-
portant documents in the disintegration of the Second Yugoslavia – the
Brioni Agreement – on 7 July 1991, which has remained in the collective
memory of the Slovenians and the Croats. After 1991, the independent
Croatia maintained the protection of the heritage and re-invented cul-
tural and other programmes aimed at tourists (Dumbović Bilušić et al.,
2015, pp. 362–363).
6.2 Memorial Practices and Dark Tourism in the post-wwi Period
wwi severely interrupted the development of Pula and Istria, with tour-
ism also suffering great losses. On the other hand, the war also brought
some opportunities. Thus, during wwi, the Maritime Museum collection
¹⁰ The main reasons for the gain were, in fact, natural assets, the infrastructure and health
services – see Kavrečič (2015) and Šuligoj and Medarić (2015).
¹¹ Between the two world wars, Karl Kupelwieser set up a golf course, new sports grounds
(tennis, polo, etc.), an outdoor dance floor with a pavilion and a casino. Due to finan-
cial problems (the Great Depression), in 1936 the state took over the resort. During the
bombing in w w i i, the resort was heavily damaged (Dumbović Bilušić et al., 2015, p. 361).
¹² The larger collection is owned by private collectors in the Municipality of Piran (Slove-
nia).
111
gained the official status of health resorts (Kurorte).¹⁰ Especially inter-
esting were the Brijuni Islands (which also gained the official status of a
health resort), which were turned by the Vienna industrialist Paul Kupel-
wieser from a wild and malaria-infected area into a tourist resort for a
wealthy clientele¹¹ (Baskar, 2010; Dumbović Bilušić et al., 2015; Nacijon-
alni park Brijuni, n.d.; Perović, 2006, p. 165) who cohabited with the army.
Photographs from the Austro-Hungarian period show that military per-
sonnel wore military clothing during their holidays/health treatments in
tourist destinations in Istria, which affected the atmosphere of the desti-
nations.¹²
In the end, it is necessary to point out that the Brijuni Islands retained
a prestigious image of a top destination even in the time of Fascist Italy.
After wwi i, Yugoslav socialist authorities took the Brijuni Islands with
their heavily damaged infrastructure, and renovated them in the style of
the new ideology. The resort on the law-protected islands (natural and
cultural heritage) was not publicly accessible (until the late 1980s), but
was intended to be used by the political establishment (communist party),
particularly by President Tito and his domestic and international guests
(Jokić & Čudov, 1986, pp. 73–74). Being a place of prestige and Tito’s
power, it also paradoxically hosted the signing of one of the most im-
portant documents in the disintegration of the Second Yugoslavia – the
Brioni Agreement – on 7 July 1991, which has remained in the collective
memory of the Slovenians and the Croats. After 1991, the independent
Croatia maintained the protection of the heritage and re-invented cul-
tural and other programmes aimed at tourists (Dumbović Bilušić et al.,
2015, pp. 362–363).
6.2 Memorial Practices and Dark Tourism in the post-wwi Period
wwi severely interrupted the development of Pula and Istria, with tour-
ism also suffering great losses. On the other hand, the war also brought
some opportunities. Thus, during wwi, the Maritime Museum collection
¹⁰ The main reasons for the gain were, in fact, natural assets, the infrastructure and health
services – see Kavrečič (2015) and Šuligoj and Medarić (2015).
¹¹ Between the two world wars, Karl Kupelwieser set up a golf course, new sports grounds
(tennis, polo, etc.), an outdoor dance floor with a pavilion and a casino. Due to finan-
cial problems (the Great Depression), in 1936 the state took over the resort. During the
bombing in w w i i, the resort was heavily damaged (Dumbović Bilušić et al., 2015, p. 361).
¹² The larger collection is owned by private collectors in the Municipality of Piran (Slove-
nia).
111
