Matulji

Municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Croatia

Flag

45°22′N 14°19′E / 45.367°N 14.317°E / 45.367; 14.317CountryCroatiaCountyPrimorje-Gorski KotarGovernment

• MayorVedran Kinkela (SDP) • Municipal council

17 members^[1]

SDP-PGS-IDS-HSU (8)
HDZ (3)
_
AM (2)
_
Independents (2)
_
HNS (1)
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ŽZ (1)

Area

^[2]

• Municipality176.6 km² (68.2 sq mi) • Urban

3.0 km² (1.2 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[3]

• Municipality10,773 • Density61/km² (160/sq mi) • Urban

3,566 • Urban density1,200/km² (3,100/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Postal code

51211

Area code051Vehicle registrationRIWebsitematulji.hr

Matulji (Italian: Mattuglie) is a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia. It is located 10 kilometers (6 mi) west of the city of Rijeka, north of the town of Opatija, and it borders Slovenia. Matulji is first mentioned in written historical sources in the middle of the 17th century, and it is preceded by the surname Matulja, which was originally recorded as Matuglia. As early as the beginning of the 19th century, official documents recorded the name of the settlement in its current form – Matulji.^[4]

Municipality

There are 11,246 inhabitants in the municipality, in the following settlements:^[5]

Brdce, population 67
Bregi, population 700
Brešca, population 159
Jurdani, population 651
Jušići, population 861
Kućeli, population 455
Lipa, population 129
Male Mune, population 103
Mali Brgud, population 134
Matulji, population 3,731
Mihotići, population 1,050
Mučići, population 362
Pasjak, population 140
Permani, population 102
Rukavac, population 854
Rupa, population 349
Ružići, population 123
Šapjane, population 188
Vele Mune, population 122
Veli Brgud, population 485
Zaluki, population 73
Zvoneće, population 279
Žejane, population 130

In the 2011 census, 90.87% were Croats.^[6]

Transport

The municipality is of great transportation importance because of the major railway and highway networks connecting Rijeka with Ljubljana and Trieste to the west, Zagreb and Split to the east and Pula to the south through the Učka tunnel. Sixty five percent of the annual Croatian border traffic takes place through four international border crossings - Pasjak (with Starod in Ilirska Bistrica municipality on the Slovenian side), Rupa (with Jelšane), Mune (with Starod), and Lipa (with Novokračine) - within the Matulji municipality. Šapjane, a main railway crossing into Slovenia with Ilirska Bistrica) on the Slovenian side, is also in the municipality.

The Opatija - Matulji railway station, the principal railway station for Opatija and surrounding municipalities, was constructed and opened in 1873.^[7]

The A7 motorway starts in the northern part of the municipality, on the border crossing with Slovenia and connects with the A8 expressway at the south, next to Rijeka and Opatija.

Folklore

The region is well known locally for its Istro-Romanian folklore, namely Zvončari during the carnival festivities.

Notable people

Zoran Marojević

References

^ "Konačni rezultati izbora" (PDF) (in Croatian). Retrieved 29 May 2017.
^ Register of spatial units of the State Geodetic Administration of the Republic of Croatia. Wikidata Q119585703.
^ "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2021 Census". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2021. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2022.
^ "Baština | Turistička zajednica". www.tzmatulji.hr. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
^ "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2011 Census: Matulji". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
^ "Population by Ethnicity, by Towns/Municipalities, 2011 Census: County of Primorje-Gorski kotar". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
^ "History of Opatija". Retrieved 2 September 2019.