ABOUT PORTOROŽ
Portorož (literally “Port of Roses”)
Portorož is a resort town on Slovenia’s Adriatic coast. Its spas offer therapeutic treatments based on the mud and brine from the nearby Sečovlje Salina salt pans. The central Portorož Beach is a wide, sandy stretch with wooden piers. The hilltop Church of St. Bernardin is a former monastery from the 15th century. To the south, Seča Park is home to Forma Viva, an area dotted with stone sculptures.
It is a popular place to relax, entertain and also for work. The town began to develop already in the Roman period. In the 13th century became locally known as a resort place. In 1897 was officially declared as a health resort and its ascent began. Today is Portoroz full with hotels, restaurants, bars, casino, old villas and more. We can see the auditorium, a marina, interesting churches, railway tunnel on the route Triest – Porec (Parenzana) and many other. The most famous hotels are Kempinski Palace Portoroz, Grand Hotel Metropol and Casino, Grand Hotel Portoroz, Grand Hotel Bernardin and others.
Located in the centre is the Hotel Palace, once one of the most important resorts for the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and currently one of the finest hotels between Venice and Dubrovnik.[4]
Over the centuries, Portorož has attracted visitors from all over the globe with its prominent setting on the Adriatic coast, at the heart of the picturesque Istrian region. Dubbed the “Austrian Riviera” during the era of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was the place to see and be seen for royals, aristocrats, politicians, artists and actors. Istria has always been desired – by the Romans, the Venetians, Napoleon and the Habsburgs; empires come and go, but Istria is still as desirable, beautiful and bewitching as ever. Let us show you the beauty of desire, by sea, on land and in the air …
In the second half of the 19th century, the leaders of the Pirano municipality and local doctors decided to stimulate tourism in the region, by offering health treatment by concentrated salt water and salina mud, and from 1879 onwards dr. Giovanni Lugnano first offerer of such treatment to various visitors. In 1885 after several years of successful start of a new branch of industry, constructions of new complexes and villas began. Because of the new branch of healthcare treatment that emerged in Porto Rose, the ministry of interior affairs declared the settlement to be a health resort.
Since 1961, Portorož also hosts a contemporary art biennale, the International Sculpture Symposium Forma Viva.[16] The works are on display in a sculpture park in the village of Seča.
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