Mali Brijun island opens doors to visitors after nearly 120 years

Mali Brijun (Photo credit: Brijuni National Park)

After nearly 120 years, Mali Brijun, the uninhabited northern Croatian island which is one of the Brijuni Islands, is finally accessible to visitors. 

The infrastructure, old military premises, and surroundings of the Brijuni National Park have been renovated with a new project, HRT reports.

A Grand Outdoor Museum

Mali Brijun, the ‘sibling’ of Veliki Brijun, opened to visitors in September. The Minor military fortress, the summer stage of the Ulysess theater, is now available for one-day tours.The entire Mali Brijun serves as a grand outdoor museum.

The Museum of Stones, the Museum of Geology, and the Museum of fortifications from the Austro-Hungarian era all contribute to elevating the significance of Mali Brijun,” tourist guide Branka Biloš told HRT.

The “New Look of Brijuni” project received co-financing from European funds. The work was supposed to be completed in January of last year.

Fort Brioni Minor (Photo credit: nikola_pu/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Excursions for 2024 begin in the spring

“We were short of manpower, and we still are, but that’s why we waited to wrap up the season because, for all of this to come alive, we also need a hospitality facility, which means we needed hospitality professionals, whom, unfortunately, we didn’t have. So, we need skilled personnel, educators. We managed to organise everything, and for now, everything is going well,” said Reanna Brajković Relić, the spokesperson for the Brijuni National Park.

(Photo credit: Brijuni National Park)

Interest is already high.

“What makes me happy is that there is indeed a lot of local residents, which was somewhat our goal. The weather has truly favoUred us this year; September and October have been wonderful so far. As long as the weather cooperates, we will continue with the excursions,” added Brajković Relić.

Excursions for the next year will start as early as spring.