Rijeka

Rijeka
City
Grad Rijeka City of Rijeka
Rijeka
Flag
Nickname(s): Mayor of the Adriatic
Rijeka Location of Rijeka within Croatia
Coordinates: 45°19′N 14°25′E / 45.317°N 14.417°E / 45.317; 14.417Coordinates: 45°19′N 14°25′E / 45.317°N 14.417°E / 45.317; 14.417
Country	Croatia
County	Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Government
• Mayor	Vojko Obersnel (SDP)
• City Council	Six parties/lists •SDP, HNS, HSU, IDS, ARS, SDA, SDSS (18) • HDZ, HSS, HSP AS (6) • HL (2) • PGS, AM (4) • RI (2) • Independent (3)
Area
• City	44 km2 (17 sq mi)
• Urban	825 km2 (319 sq mi)
• Metro	1,665 km2 (643 sq mi)
Elevation	0–499 m (0 – 1,561 ft)
Population (2017.)
• City	128,624
• Density	2,923/km2 (7,570/sq mi)
• Urban	213,666
• Urban density	259/km2 (670/sq mi)
• Metro	245,054
• Metro density	147/km2 (380/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	51000
Area code(s)	051
Vehicle registration	RI
Patron saints	St. Vitus
Website	http://www.rijeka.hr

Rijeka (Croatian pronunciation: [rijěːka]; Italian: Fiume [ˈfjuːme]; Hungarian: Fiume; Slovene: Reka; German: Sankt Veit am Flaum; see other names) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,624 inhabitants (2011). The metropolitan area, which includes adjacent towns and municipalities, has a population of more than 240,000.

In 2016, Rijeka was selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2020, alongside Galway, Ireland.

Historically, because of its strategic position and its excellent deep-water port, the city was fiercely contested, especially among Italy, Hungary (serving as the Kingdom of Hungary's largest and most important port), and Croatia, changing hands and demographics many times over centuries. According to the 2011 census data, the overwhelming majority of its citizens (82.52%) are presently Croats, along with small numbers of Bosniaks, Italians and Serbs.