St. James’ Park

St. James’ Park, known in Croatian as Park Svetog Jakova, is a small garden on the seafront of Opatija, in Croatia, the resort town on the Kvarner Bay at the foot of Mount Učka. Set among villas and hotels, it is one of the town’s best-kept green spaces, with flowerbeds, clipped lawns and mature trees, and it sits right beside the Lungomare, the coastal promenade that is Opatija’s main walking route.

One of the oldest elements of the town is the abbey, and the park is closely tied to the town’s name and origins. Opatija means abbey, and the town grew from a Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saint James, which stood on this spot in the Middle Ages. The small church of St. James, which gave the park its name, survives and stands within its grounds, and it is the oldest building in the centre. For centuries the settlement was a modest village around the abbey, and it only became a fashionable resort in the nineteenth century, when wealthy visitors from Vienna and elsewhere in the Habsburg lands came to take the sea air. The park was laid out as part of that development, and its formal design reflects the tastes of the time, with ornamental planting, paths and a focus on display.

The centrepiece is a neo-baroque fountain decorated with sculptures of Helios, the Greek sun god, and Selene, the moon goddess, a work by the sculptor Hans Rathausky. The figures represent day and night, and the sparkle of the water makes the fountain a favourite place for photographs and a natural meeting point. Around it the flowerbeds are changed with the seasons, so colours and scents vary through the year, and benches in the shade invite a pause. Because the park reaches down toward the sea, the sound of waves mixes with the rustle of the leaves.

Beside the park, the Juraj Šporer Art Pavilion stages exhibitions and events, and the Lungomare leads in both directions along the shore, past villas, hotels and small bays. Close by are the Croatian Walk of Fame, the statue of the Girl with the Seagull, Park Angiolina and the harbour, all within a few minutes’ walk, and the Carmen Sylva Forest Promenade offers a shaded alternative for a longer stroll. The Casino Rosalia and the evening cafés complete the picture of old resort life.

The park is free, one of Croatia’s most pleasant seafront gardens, and open throughout the day, and it suits anyone who wants a gentle break with some history, whether on a walk along the coast or during a visit to the old church. Spring brings the best flowers, and early morning or evening is the quietest time.