Mošćenice

Mošćenice (also called Župa Mošćenice) is a village in the municipality of Mošćenička Draga in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on the Istrian peninsula, close to Opatija, Croatia.

It is a typical hilltop village with stone houses and narrow streets situated 173 metres above Mošćenička Draga. From Mošćenice one has a nice view across the Kvarner Gulf to Rijeka and the islands of Krk and Cres. The village is connected to the Mošćenička Draga by road and 750 steps which lead from Sv. Ivan beach to the centre of the village. Besides the old St. Andrew church, places of interest are the local ethnographic museum and an old olive extraction mill.

The town is typically built as a concentrically conceived settlement with outer walls consisting of houses whose outside walls function as walls of the fortress. In such an enclosed environment, space is precious and all houses are built close to one another, separated by narrow streets and sometimes linked by covered passages. Much of the medieval structure is still visible now.

Its history dates back to the prehistory when Liburnians settled here. They were cattle breeders and seamen, known for their fast rowing boats. Istria was conquered by the Romans after two military campaigns in 177 BC, calling the region Liburnia, part of the province of Dalmatia. With the end of the 6th century, Croats arrived and built their first permanent settlement in Liburnia around the year 620. Istria was annexed by the Franks during the reign of Pepin the Short in 789, But Liburnia became part of the State of Croatia. When this state fell, Liburnia and thus also Mošćenice became part of the German Empire.

The village was for the first time mentioned as an independent community with its own statute in 1374.in the testament of Count Ugona of Duina, written in German. Mošćenice was mentioned again, this time in Glagolitic-script, in document delineating boundaries between Moscenice and Kosljak.

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