Tito's Xanadu hosted celebrity parties back in the 1960s - now it's a weird weekend getaway.
The Brijuni archipelago lies off Istria's west coast, a 15-minute boat journey from Fazana, just north of Pula. Most of the 14 islands are off-limits to the public. Luckily, there is so much to see on the other two you're unlikely to feel hard done by. An open-air time machine, Brijuni records 5,000 years of human history and 150 million years of prehistory when dinosaurs patrolled the islands - you can even follow in their petrified footsteps.
Veliki Brijun, the largest island with acres of well-maintained parkland, is where you will find a golf course, a bird sanctuary, botanical gardens, the zoo and safari park, three museums and the main archaeological sites. A clear map of the islands is posted at its harbour— including details of where to find the dinosaur footprints that dot the shoreline.
The oldest remains of human habitation date from 3,000 BC Built in the bay of Javorika, this Neolithic settlement is only one small part of 40 hectares (100 acres) of archaeological sites contained on the islands. After 177 BC the Romans built villas and facilities for processing olive oil and amphorae manufacture. The last of their olive trees, dating from AD 400, still flourish on the main island. The largest Roman complex is sited in the bay of Verige: a summerhouse built on three terraces, temples, thermal baths and even a freshwater fish pond.
After the Romans, the Goths left behind a few brooches, on display at the main museum. Frankish King Carlo the Great built his palace in Verige, using the existing Roman sanitation and central heating.
In 1312 plague wiped out the population. The Venetians took the deserted islands in 1331. The area was marshy and a haven for mosquitoes. When Napoleon arrived, he considered draining and developing the area. After he fell, and Austria took charge, Brijuni had to wait until 1893 before it was rescued from its malaria-infested stupor. The Austrian steel magnate, Paul Kupelwieser bought Brijuni as real estate for 75,000 gold florins. His dream was to create an English-style country park -today's Brijuni is his legacy.
How do you create paradise in a malaria-ridden swamp? Renowned microbiologist Robert Koch was Kupelwieser's saviour. In 1900 Koch was working on ridding Tuscany of malaria. The Austrian contacted Koch, suggesting he carry out his research on Brijuni. It was a stroke of genius - and an unqualified success. In 1905 Koch was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine. A carved monument erected in his honour stands by the harbour in Veliki Brijun.
Kupelwieser excavated the archaeological treasures. He built villas, planted trees and landscaped gardens. He built continental Europe's first 18-hole golf course. He set up a zoo. He died in 1918. In 1933 Brijuni passed into the hands of another state: Mussolini's Italy.
After the war, Brijuni became part of Tito's Yugoslavia. The leader used Brijuni as his base, setting up the Non-Aligned Movement with India and Egypt here in 1956 and inviting the world's rich and famous to his idyllic playground. As you step onto Veliki Brijun's quayside you are following in the footsteps of Haile Selassie, Queen Elizabeth II, her sister Margaret, JFK, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren - anyone who was anyone in the 1960s. You can see them documented in the 'Josip Broz Tito on Brijuni' exhibition housed in the main museum. Another, 'From the Memory of an Old Austrian', celebrates the vision and achievements of Kupelwieser.
Tito was regularly presented with exotic animals by political leaders. You can still see Indira Gandhi's elephants Sony and Lanka. Those who died were stuffed and placed in Brijuni's Natural History Museum, part of a three-museum complex near the harbour. There's a Tito exhibition next door.
The Brijuni National Park offices are on the quayside at Fazana. You can book excursions plus yachting, golf and diving expeditions. The organised tour (160kn) passes Veliki Brijun's main sights on a little train with a guide. It takes about four hours including the sea crossing from Fazana. Independent travellers can hire a bike or a little buggy.There's enough to see on Veliki Brijun to stay a couple of nights at one of three hotels near the harbour, each with a restaurant, or three luxury seaside villas, where you get your own maid and private beach. There are three standard villas too. You can book rooms at the Fazana office or from 052 525 807, www.brijuni.hr.