Istria County

Istria County (Croatian: Istarska županija; Italian: Regione istriana) is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the largest part of the Istrian peninsula. According to the census of 2023, Istria County has a population of 195.237. Pazin, Pula and Poreč are administrative centers in the county. Istria County is the most prominent Italian-speaking part of Croatia.

Its coastline is 445 km long with islands making up 540 km. A smaller part of Istria also belongs to the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The continental plains and valleys are primarily utilized for agriculture, such as growing cereals and vegetables. Closer to the sea, red lands are used for the cultivation of grapes, vine, olives, and figs. The Istrian agricultural sector focusses on the production of ecological food, olive gardens, and the production of quality wines. The coastline and nearby islands are rich in the maquis shrubland (mostly holm oak and strawberry tree). Woods, mostly oak and pine trees, cover a third of the territory.
The Brijuni national park and the Učka nature park are well-known natural reservations and legally protected landscapes. This mountain range feeds the rivers and lakes from eastern Istria to the Raša river in the Labinština peninsula. Other interesting localities are Lim Bay, the wood near Motovun, park woods Zlatni Rt and Šijana near Pula, the protected landscape of Kamenjak in the extreme south of Istria, and the reservation Palud with an ornithology near Rovinj. The Brijuni archipelago is an interesting habitat of about 680 plant species and also decorated by the most diverse vegetation and olive groves.

Istria was and still is the most important tourist destination in Croatia, hosting western and central European visitors, mostly from Germany, Slovenia, Austria and Italy.

(Source: Wikipedia)