Kastav - Castua
Cities, Towns and Hamlets
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Kastav
and Surroundings [Translated from Vladimor Jugo, "Kastav i kastavština", Kalendar 1990 - Franina i Jurina, Libar od Grozda (Pula), p. 95-97.] The ancient town of Kastav is situated on a hill 377 meters high, and is one of the old towns - beside Drivenik, Hreljin, Grobnik, Mošćenice and Veprinac - to have a view on the sea but with roots firmly planted deep into its own soil. Some say Kastav is in Istria, others that it is part of Liburnia - applying this name to the area between Rijeka and the Rasa River which used to be under Austrian rule. Kastavians themselves call Istria the part of the Peninsula that once belonged to Venice. Be as it may, Kastav has been closely tied to Istria, if not geographically, then by its destiny, and particularly so in the last two centuries. When was Kastav founded? It’s hard to say, but in Mišinići, near the town, traces of life were found dating to the 11th century B.C. During Roman times it was called Castua, perhaps after the castle. Later it belonged to the bishop of Pićan - until 1028, when he sold it, along with its surroundings, to his colleague, the bishop of Pula, and in 1100 the ownership of the area was passed to a certain baron Valsa. In 1468 Kastav and surroundings were purchased by the german emperor Friedrich III, and in 1530 it came into the hands of the Jesuit priests of Rijeka. In 1809 it was captured by Napoleon's army, then it returned again to Austrian rule. In the period between WWI and WWII, part of the Commune of Kastav fell under Italy only to be reunited with the other part and with Istria after WWII. The rulers of Kastav never lived in the town, only their captains. Kastavština (Kastav surroundings) is the name of the area that was under their authority. Its border runs from the border with Rijeka to Preluka, then climbs toward Veprinac and Lisina, and continues between Lipa and Skalenice, over Gumanac and Paka to Zvir (spring of Rječina River), then down the river to Rijeka. In the past, this whole area was inhabited by a native population that did not care for the things others had or did, but they created and followed laws according to their life practices, founded on long-lasting traditions. To this day, people from the Kastav area have been emigrating, looking for a better life in the outside world, while few were coming into the area, and mainly during large epidemics, for example the cholera of 1863, when “people were dropping like flies”. Although they are now considered old Kastavian surnames, it is probably during that time that the Jelusić, Marjanović, and Bačić immigrated. Kastavians are diligent people of sober and cool heads, “tight pockets”, modest, and of few words, suspicious of everything until convinced on their own - which is evident from the fact that the home-grown word “ča” (meaning "what?") still remains a means of communications, and its oldest forms have been preserved in Rukavac, a village in the Učka area under Orljak and Beljac, a bit separated from the coast. But, nowadays everything is relative, and so is this word usage. |
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Cheerful Stories from the Past Kastav (people outside the town call it simply “City”) has had its statute since 1400. It was enforced by judges and city captains (until 1828, Kastav had also jurisdiction over Brseč, Veprinac, Lovran and Mošćenice), but it wasn’t always to the people’s satisfaction, and so they sometimes revolted and sought justice. In 1666 they threw captain Fran Morelli into the town well Lokvina. The perpetrators were never identified. At the trial, the Kastavians said: “We all threw him in - me, my brother, my brother’s brother, even judge Kinkela...and everybody to the last damn man. Even grandma Mare poked him in the butt with her spinning stick”. Neighbours make fun of Kastavians for trying to grow sardines like they do with vegetables, instead of buying them at the market. One was planting them while four carried him over the soil. When nothing sprouted, they assumed that flies ate the seedlings and decided to arm themselves to protect the “seeds”. So, when a fly landed on a guard’s stomach the other guard fired his rifle and sent his comrade right to the other world. On the walls encircling Kastav and around them always grew ivy, so that some still call it “Brsljanovac” (=Ivytown). The belfry of St. Jelena’s Church was overgrown with it, so the Kastavians, in order to get rid of it, pulled up a cow tied with a rope, until she stuck out her tongue. “Who would have said that priest’s cow is such a glutton! She is barely half way up the belfry and is already sticking her tongue out. |
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The Kastav city dwellers had some argument with the people of Lovran and decided to attack them with a cannon made of dried elder wood. When they fired the first shot, from Fortica, the cannon exploded and four of them let their brave souls go. This was taken as a success: “Darn, if four were killed here imagine how many must be dead in Lovran!” The Jesuits of Rijeka wanted to build a big church in Kastav, at the place where tall walls of some building still stand today (Crekvina). This didn’t go well because the Jesuits didn’t get along with people, and when they evicted some widow because she couldn’t pay rent, she cursed the church.We mentioned these folk stories because they are destined to be forgotten.... like the story about the Kastavians wanting to make their church bigger. They left their jackets on one side of the wall to mark how wide they wanted the church to become, then went on the other side and started pushing. In the meantime someone stole the jackets, and when they went to see how much they extended the church, they were quite satisfied thinking that the jackets were left under the wall. Or, during Maria Theresa’s times, when the Kastavians had a battalion of 120 men which they jokingly called “ne boj ga se” (don’t be afraid of it)! Ties with Istria Today, Kastav is in a state of degradation. Its people are moving down to Cikoviće (newly built residential section closer to Rijeka). It is often said that if more attention was paid to maintaining its historic objects, Kastav could be compared to San Marino and could become a Mecca for the tourists from the Opatija Riviera. It has its town gate, winding streets, stone steps. It has an old church with a bell tower affording a spectacular view of Učka and Cićarija, the sea and the islands - the prettiest view, as world traveler Ivan Trnski once said - then there is Lokvina, Crekvina, beautiful Fortica. Above the church there are the remains of the town walls, the Žudike, where unfortunate prisoners were hanged, and this is also the site where a windmill once stood. There are also beautiful chapels, mini-churches, a cross standing on a stone podium below the cemetery and on the road to Jurčići. If all this could be revived, given some meaning, life could come back, this town could be a hit. A school has existed in Kastav since 1700, the first Croatian school in Istria. The first public library on Istrian lands was opened here in 1866. Since 1874 this library was the home of the “Brotherhood of Croatian People in Istria” which rendered assistance to istrian students in schools of higher education. In 1828 the two brothers Bastijan, Ive and Mate, were born in the Kastav area. Ive was a painter, and Mate was the creator of the publication “Nasa Sloga”. They both worked with bishop Juraj Dobrila on bringing Istria closer to the mother country [Croatia]. Kastav is the birthplace of the two deputies in the Austrian parliament, Vjekoslav Spinčić and Matko Laginja, the promoters of the thesis that “Istria must be ours”. Finally, it was near Kastav, on the hill with St. Mihovil chapel, where the first and second Istrian conferences (tabor) took place. Not to be forgotten, teachers from Kastav spent many days and years in Istria spreading the native folk language. From 1906 to 1909 Kastav had a school for teachers. The director of the school was Vladimir Nazor, who wrote many poems in the Kastavian dialect, including “Galiotova pesan” and “Žena zapušćena”. In the period of transition from the 19th to the 20th century, Kastav was the cultural and national lighthouse of Istria. It provided light as long as people needed it to overcome the reefs and obstacles of the stormy sea. Finally, during the Liberation War, the Kastav surroundings, with its forests, trails and hideouts, were the true bridges between the Istrian and Goran partisans. Even today, Učka and Ćićarija don’t divide, but rather unite Istria and Kastavština. Vitomir Širola Pajo, commander of the First Istrian Brigade "Vladimir Gortan", was born in the hamlet of Brnasi near Kastav, and remained in the memory of many Istrians. Kastav and Surroundings Today There was more construction in this area since WWII than during all times before put together. Life is different, people mix, there are many newcomers, there is plenty of work and people live better than ever before. Perhaps Kastav lost its former role on the top the hill, it is not looked at and admired as before, and life is now pulsating elsewhere. It still has its great traditional feast, Bela Nedeja (White Sunday), the first Sunday in October. On that day in the past, skilled Kastavian craftsmen used to sell their products to people from all over Istria. Today people come here mainly to eat and drink. Kastavians work in Rijeka, Opatija, Matulji... They aren’t leaving the country in large numbers as they did in the past. Cultural and social life blossoms in organizations such as “Crvena zvijezda” from Kastav and “Halubjan” from Viskovo, and in sport clubs such as “Sloga” (Jušići) and “Učka” (Matulji). There are bocce clubs, and a very special gathering place, the memorial home “Ivan Matetić Ronjgov” at Ronjgi, named after another Kastavian who carried Istria in his heart as “the prettiest land on this Adriatic sea”. Istria and Kastavština (surroundings of Kastav) - have people of similar nature, temper, and mentality, work habits, language and philosophy of life. One could write quite a lot on that subject, but let’s just mention one common saying: “Who doesn’t drink wine and brandy, won’t see God and the blessed Mary.” Vladimir Jugo Source:
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This page and photos compliments of Marisa Ciceran and Franko Pavicevac Created: Tuesday, January 30,
2001; Last updated:
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
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