Historical background to Rijeka

     Rijeka has had a very eventful past. It has been ruled by many different countries and empires over the years, in the middle ages it was part of the Croatian Kingdom, and then part of the Habsburg Empire. The first railway track was built in Croatia, in the late 19th century, connecting Rijeka, through Zagreb, to Budapest and the importance of Rijeka grew even further. For these reasons, various industries were based in the city. In 1918 an interesting event occurred: the great Western powers intended to declare Rijeka a free port under international control; however, the Italian poet and writer Gabriele D'Annunzio marched into the city with his supporters, and declared Rijeka a part of Italy. Rome was reluctant to accept this, and D'Annunzio declared Rijeka a city-state. In 1924, Mussolini annexed Rijeka. Rijeka became Croatian again, in 1945 as part of Yugoslavia.