Pula, Croatia

Pula (Italian: Pola, Slovene: Pulj) is a nice town at the tip of the Istrian peninsula in northwestern Croatia.

Its history started about 3000 years ago when it was built by Illyrians. Romans occupied Istria in 177 BC. After the destruction of the Western Roman Empire, the Istrian peninsula was devastated by Ostrogoths. Slavs came in Istria during migration period in 7th century but mostly lived on countryside. At that time Pula was still inhabited mostly by Italians. Landlords in Pula changed quite frequently in the Middle Ages from the Republic of Venice to Genoa to Illyrian Provinces and Austria–Hungary. After the Second World War, it became part of Croatia. At that time, many Italians fled to Italy and Pula was settled by Croats. Although most of the population is Croatian, there are several large minority groups in Pula such as Serbs, Italians, Bosniaks and Slovenes.