SYMBOL OF OPATIJA – AN ICONIC STATUE

Make sure you pay a visit to the Maiden with the Seagull, the 1956 statue by sculptor Zvonko Car along the Lungomare promenade overlooking Kvarner Bay. She has become the most recognisable symbol of Opatija and is visible from hotel Milenij’s terrace – the most popular in Opatija.

The Maiden replaced Johann Rathausk’y Madonna del Mare statue, a memorial for a count Arthur Kesselstadt who perished in the 1891 storm near the statue’s location. The Madonna was restored and now resides in the Croatian Museum of Tourism’s Villa Angiolina. A gilded copy of the Madonna stands in front of St James Church.

The Graz sculptor’s other major work in Opatija is the Helios & Selene fountain in St James’ Park.