The town of Crikvenica

History and Landmarks of Crikvenica
The territory of modern Crikvenice was a traffic junction on the trade route between Italy and Dalmatia during the time of the Roman Empire. The Romans took advantage of the opportune location with access to the sea and built the military encampment Ad Turres there. The Croatian tribes settled in the territory of Kvarner Bay at the end of the 8th century. Testimony to the era, such as jewels, was found in the burial grounds of the old Croats in Stranac-Gorica near Crikvenica.

Prince Nikola IV of the local ruling Frankopan family had the small St Mary’s Church converted into a fortified château with a citadel (kaštel) at the beginning of the 15th century (1412). However, his son soon gave the kaštel to the Pauline Order, who established a monastery and school there. The original building bore distinct Gothic elements. Later, it was reconstructed on several occasions, above all, during the Baroque period (1659 and 1704). The statues placed on the church’s high altar are works of art by Master Pavao Riedl (1776) and the Pauline monks created the wood carvings placed on both side altars.

Crikvenica expanded gradually from the original settlement around the harbour towards the other small harbours in the Vinodol Valley. New settlements were established at the end of the 19th century, such as Kraljevica and Selce. The well-preserved stone breakwaters in the harbours prove the good skills of the inhabitants then.

The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries brought Crikvenica’s very first tourists. The Order of Paulines was dissolved; Habsburg Archduke Joseph bought the kaštel and established a sanatorium for the Austrian Army officers there. The very first hotel was built in Crikvenica in the same year – 1891. The Therapia Hotel, one of the most beautiful buildings on the Croatian Riviera, was completed four years later. Crikvenica obtained the status of a coastal spa town in 1906 and this, among other things, prompted development of thalassotherapy, i.e. seawater treatment. New parks and promenades started emerging and Crikvenica started to become a sought-after tourist destination.