"Koper/ Capo d'Istria" a Koper Travel Page by JLBG

Caution: wait before visiting this page as I am currently updating it and adding many new photos.

When you are in Trieste and that you want to go to Koper, you must know that the road signs will give the road for Capo d'Istria ! If ever you saw a road sign for Zara, do not go, this is Zadar ! Once in Koper/ Capo d'Istria, you will learn that you are coming from Trst ! Be prepared to this little gymnastic, you will have to do it often around the border.

The first photo shows the view on Koper from the south, coming from Croatia and Portorož Koper was built on an island, close to the shore. The island is now a peninsula as the strait has been filled and a dam built in 1825.

In this place, the Greeks built a settlement that they named “Egidia”. The Roman called it "Capris insula" (goats island) which later gave the Slovenian name of "Koper". When it was ruled by the patriarchs of Aquilea (1232), they called it in Latin "Caput Istria" (Head of Istria) which gave under the Venetian "Capo d'Istria", with the same meaning. Koper has long been ruled by Venice and has a very Venetian look.

Slovenia has only 50 km of coast, between Italy (Trieste) in the north and Croatia in the south. As Koper/ Capo d'Istria is the main harbor of Slovenia, it is an industrial city but nevertheless has kept a nice old city center that is worth the visit. The famous small outboard engines Tomos are built in Koper.