Parenzana Trail

The Parenzana was a narrow-gauge line built to connect Trieste with Porec, opened in 1902 and closed in 1935, when after a profitable decade it could no longer compete with buses, cars and shipping, with the rails lifted and shipped away. The bed survived, and since the 2000s it has been converted into a walking and cycling route running about 123 kilometres from Trieste through Slovenia and down through Istria - past viaducts, through tunnels, along ledges cut into hillsides, with the old station buildings still standing in places. Because it was a railway, the gradients are gentle throughout, which makes a long ride through hill country manageable. A museum at Livade covers the line.

History

Once Austrian law allowed local narrow-gauge lines, the first studies of a railway for western Istria were made around 1880; in 1888 a Berlin company led by Peter Walderstein and, separately, the Trieste firm of Luigi Buzzi drew up routes. A construction permit came in 1898, the operating company was founded in Vienna in 1900 and building began that year, with contractors from Trieste, Ljubljana, Graz and Vienna each taking a section. The line from Trieste to Buje opened on 1 April 1902 and the rest to Poreč on 15 December 1902; an extension to Kanfanar was planned but never built. The railway carried farm produce, fish and salt to the Trieste market, chemicals from Piran and building stone from quarries such as Grožnjan and Momjan. After the First World War its headquarters moved from Vienna to Pula; it paid its way for about a decade, but in the Great Depression it could not compete with shipping, buses and cars, and the last train ran on 31 August 1935. The rolling stock was sold, mostly to Sicily (Wikipedia, Parenzana).

What's there

• A railway bed from 1902 - closed in 1935 and the rails removed.
• Viaducts, tunnels and cuttings - the engineering left in place.
• Gentle railway gradients - the reason it rides easily through hills.
• A museum at Livade - devoted to the line.

When to go

April to June and September to October; midsummer is too hot on the exposed sections. Two to three days.

Good to know

Surfaces vary from asphalt to loose gravel and some sections are rough. Tunnels are unlit and need a light. Signposting is inconsistent across borders. Water points are sparse in the middle sections.

Nearby

Groznjan and Motovun sit above the route; Livade is on it.

Key facts