Old town of Labin

In addition to a number of landmarks, Istria is full of hidden and less known beauties. One of them is the old town of Labin, certainly one of the most beautiful medieval sites in Istria. It is situated on a hilltop just three kilometres from the sea and has a beautiful view on Rabac and Cres. The old town got its present appearance in the Middle Ages, but it is believed that it had been founded by Celts back in 4th century BC on the site of a former fortress. Its old name Albona is mentioned for the first time in 285 BC, and it, according to historians, means “a town on a hilltop” in the Celtic language.

Old Labin is a settlement of the acropolis type. It used to be fixed with fortifications from 14th century, but two centuries later it gets its new walls. The town is again extending in 18th and 19th century, when the walls are turned into residential buildings and palaces. At that time, the old town square called Crć, today’s Tito’s Square, gets its shape.

Picturesque narrow streets and closely built houses are not the only curiosity here; there is also a rich cultural heritage every step of the way. There is a well-preserved loggia from 16th century on the main square, under which public life took place in the past. This is where the news and court verdicts were read out and where the locals danced every Sunday and on fair days. Not far away is the entrance to the old town through Porta Sanfior, the main town gate of St. Flor dating from 1589. Above the gate, there is Labin coat of arms and a lion, the symbol of the Venetian Republic.

Some one hundred metres away in the main street, there is the beautiful Church of Blessed Virgin Mary, which bears traces of different influences - from the Romanticism, over the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassicism, to the modern construction influences. The three-nave church with six marble altars was built in 14th century on the foundations of a small church from 11th century. On the front facade of the church, there is a beautiful Venetian lion with an open book as a confirmation that Venice was in peace at that time. To the right from the church, there is a palace which belonged to the famous noble family Scampicchio.

On the other side of the church there is the Battiala-Lazzarini baroque palace, one of the most beautiful buildings in the old town centre. It was built in 17th century. This impressive palace with lavish facade has the surface of 1,000 square metres. This is now a town museum with a rich archaeological and ethnographic collection, but its largest part refers to a permanent exhibition of mining representing the nearly four centuries old Labin mining history. In the basement, there is a 150 metres long mining corridor with rails, wagons, an excavation simulation, a conveyor as well as the tools and the equipment of a mineworker. The museum also contains a depiction of the Labin Republic from 1921 – the strike of mineworkers from Labin as protest against the fascist violence.

There is a special place in the old town for the Memorial Collection of Matija Vlačić Ilirik, an educator and scientist from Labin who lived in 16th century. There are also walls and numerous palaces, a small theatre and other monuments. A number of art ateliers, shops and bars give an extra charm to the old town and make the old town, along with its many attractions, a place of encounters and relaxation.