The Vladimir Nazor Park

The garden is situated in the central part of the city called Mandria, within the borders of the protected cultural-historical whole. Although it is not fenced, the introverted space is surrounded with other edifices to which it is not directly connected since they are surrounded with their own gardens. The parcel’s gradient is ideal, 3%. It is of rectangular shape, of recognizable design, with central field shaped as ellipsis and with three entrances, surfacing 1,496 m2. It was founded as a private space at the very end of the 20th century, somewhere before 1900. This garden is part of the oldest garden surfaces in Opatija, designed in accordance with Schubert’s unique solution whose main trait is the historicist stylish expression.

Based on the company’s 2006 plant inventory, there are 17 plant species in the park, among which the following can be underlined: Acer palmatum “Dissectum Atropurpureum”, (Japanese palm-like maple tree), Cedrus deodara (Himalayan cedar), Cupressus sempervirens var. pyramidalis (Mediterranean pyramidal cypress), Cydonia japonica (Maule’s quince), Gynerium argenteum (pampas grass), and Magnolia grandiflora (large-flower magnolia).

The northern part of the central field is dominated by a group of six specimens of old cedars, while on the eastern fringe field there are two beautiful specimens of large-flower magnolia. On the north-western fringe land plot there are four Chinese windmill palms. In the western part of the central field there are two specimens of the exotic - Cordyline. The south-western entrance to the garden is accentuated by two low Chinese windmill palms; the north-eastern entrance by two bushes of pittosporum, and the north-western entrance by two bushes of pampas grass. There are no architectonic elements in the garden. The pathways are gravelled and separated from the green fields with concrete guardstones. It is furnished with five benches in total, distributed around an elliptic pathway and waste bins.

Along the south-western and north-western entrance there are typical tall lamps. There is also an irrigation and precipitation waters drainage system. It can be concluded that the park was intended for short stays or rests, contemplation or refreshment during summer heat. The garden has almost completely kept its original rectangular form and surface which is somewhat reduced with the reconstruction and the expansion of the side streets. The fields were differently edged; before it used to be quarried stone, and today the edges are concrete curb-stones. The park is delineated from three sides with traffic roads, and on the eastern side with a paveway in combination with stairs.

The constituent parts of the garden’s composition are: the central elliptic pathway, the symmetry of the garden’s eastern and western part in relation to the central axis, and the recognizable views. The basic views of the garden spread from all main entrances and from each bench, all being directed toward the central field.