2. General Information
  3. Organization

Establishment

The Istrian County was established by the Law on the Territory of Counties, Towns, and Municipalities in the Republic of Croatia as one of 20 Croatian counties.

The constitutive meeting of the County Assembly of the Istrian County was held on 16 April 1993 in Pazin.

In accordance with regulations of the Law on Local and Regional Self-Government (the official bulletin of the Republic of Croatia "Narodne novine" no. 33/01, 60/01, and 106/03), the county is a unit of regional self-government whose territory represents a natural, historical, traffic, economy, social, and self-governing unit, and it is established for reasons of performing works of regional interest.

In its self-governing domain, the Istrian County performs works of regional significance, and especially works related to:

  • education
  • health
  • physical and town planning
  • economic development
  • planning and development of the network of educational, health, social, and cultural institutions

At its meeting held on 23 September 202, the Assembly of the Istrian County made the decision on the proclamation of the Day of the Istrian County that will be marked and celebrated on 25 September.

25 September has its justification and the extreme historic significance, because it was on that day in 1943 that the representatives of the Croatian and the Italian people, at the Istrian Parliament in Pazin, confirmed the decision of the National Liberation Committee of 13 September 1943 on the complete secession of Istria from Italy and its annexation to Croatia.

At the meeting held on 30 March 1994, the Assembly of the Istrian County adopted the STATUTE OF THE ISTRIAN COUNTY. The County Assembly, at the meeting held on 23 September 2002, made the decision about the proclamation of the Day of the Istrian Statute - la Giornata dello Statuto Istriano, which will be marked and celebrated in Istria on 30 March.

The introductory part of the Statute states:

  • ISTRIA is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual community which recognizes and protects the free speech of the citizens and protects the dignity of the individual
  • ISTRIA is an area in which every citizen and community hold the complete right of expression, respect, security, and development of social, ethnic, religious, cultural, political, and linguistic freedom and awareness
  • ISTRIA is an area whose citizens, even before the Second World War, showed resistance to fascism, and massively joined the anti-fascist coalition against forces threatening to smash the principles of freedom, and equality of peoples and citizens
  • ISTRIA is an area from which exoduses of the autochthonous population were encouraged by outside pressures threatening the loss of its identity
  • ISTRIA is an area in which citizens belonging to different social, ethnic, and religious communities have the right of participating in local and regional works
  • ISTRIA is an area which, respecting the uniqueness and the wholesome of the Republic of Croatia, and especially the integrity of its borders, tends towards regional self-government and trans-frontier collaboration

Administratively, the Istrian county is divided in 41 territorial units of local self-government - 10 towns and 31 municipalities.

  • The towns are: Buje-Buie, Buzet, Labin, Novigrad-Cittanova, Pazin, Poreč, Pula, Rovinj-Rovigno, Umag-Umago, and Vodnjan
  • The municipalities are: Bale, Barban, Brtonigla-Verteneglio, Cerovlje, Fažana, Funtana, Gračišće, Grožnjan-Grisignana, Kanfanar, Karojba, Kaštelir - Labinci, Kršan, Lanišće, Ližnjan, Lupoglav, Marčana, Medulin, Motovun, Oprtalj-Portole, Pićan, Raša, Sveti Lovreč, Sveta Nedelja, Sveti Petar u šumi, Svetvinčenat, Tar-Vabriga, Tinjan, Višnjan, Vižinada, Vrsar, and Žminj

The Istrian County and the Assembly of the Istrian County are based in Pazin.

The Government of the Istrian County is based in Pula.

Solemn meetings of the Assembly, as a rule, are held at the Istrian Parliament - Dieta istriana in Poreč