- Barban
Barban (Italian: "Barbana d'Istria") is a village and municipality in the southern part of eastern
Istria ,Croatia , 28 km northeast ofPula , above the Raša river valley; elevation 229 m. There are 2,802 people in the municipality, 92.40% who areCroats .History
The site of a
Bronze Age prehistoric hillfort (Italian: castelliere), human remains have been found on the site that date back approximately 3400-4000 years back. The name Barbana appears for the first time in an ecclesiastic document dated 740 A.D. In theMiddle Ages , the town was a fortified under the control of thePazin (Pisino) feudal lords, and parts of themedieval fortifications can still be seen. In the second half of the 13th century, having been depopulated by the plague in1312 , the counts of Gorizia imported a small colony of Dalmatians from Finodol.In
1374 , upon the death of Albert IV, count of Pazin, it became a fullHabsburg possession, then went under Venetian control in the 16th century. In1534 ,Venice ceded it to the Loredan family as a heritable possession.In the main square, which is approached through Velika Vrata (the Great Gate, 1718), stands the parish church of St. Nicholas with baroque altars and paintings by Venetian masters from the 16th-18th centuries, a Late Gothic stone tabernacle, and wooden baroque sculptures.
Giostra dell'anello/Prstenac tournament
On the third Sunday in August, there is an annual tournament of horsemen. In Barban it is called the "giostra dell'anello" in Italian and "prstenac" in Croatian. It is a medieval jousting game that goes back to
1686 in Barban, but it is much older in origins and is otherwise celebrated in various forms in several medieval towns inItaly today. This tradition draws tourists and spectators in great numbers in a lively and popular celebration.Economy
The chief occupations are crop farming (wheat) and livestock breeding. Barban is located on the main road Pula -
Rijeka (M2, E751).External links
* [http://www.barban.hr Barban municipality (official site)]
* [http://www.istrianet.org/istria/towns/barban/index.htm Istria on the Internet, Town of Barban / Barbana]
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