Koper

Koper was an island called Capodistria under Venice, and the causeway that joined it to the mainland was only built in the nineteenth century, with the surrounding salt pans filled in later for the port and the town. The old core is still Venetian in plan and detail: Tito Square with the Praetorian Palace and the Loggia facing each other, the cathedral with a bell tower that can be climbed, and narrow lanes running off towards the old shoreline. A large container port works right beside it.

History

Koper began on an island that the Romans called Insula Caprea, and it grew into the town of Aegida mentioned by Pliny the Elder; it was later renamed Justinopolis in honour of Emperor Justinian II. It received town rights from Emperor Conrad II in 1035, joined the Republic of Venice in 1278 and, as Caput Histriae, became the capital of Venetian Istria, and it lost its monopoly on trade when Trieste became a free port in 1719 (Wikipedia, Koper).

What's there

• The Praetorian Palace - the Venetian Gothic seat of the podesta on the main square.
• The cathedral tower - a bell tower climbed for the view over town and port.
• The Loggia - the fifteenth-century arcade facing the palace across the square.
• The old island plan - lanes following the shape of what was an island until the 1800s.

When to go

April to October; summer is hot and the old town is busiest when cruise ships call. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable. Winter bora is cold and the squares empty.

Before you go

The container port dominates the waterfront and there is no real beach in the town. Cruise ship days flood the small old centre. It is less picturesque than Piran and often skipped for it.

Nearby

Izola is west, and Piran is beyond it.

Key facts