Barban (Italian: Barbana d'Istria) is a village and municipality in the southern part of eastern Istria, Croatia, 28 km northeast of Pula, above the Raša - Arsia river valley; elevation 229 m. There are 2,802 people in the municipality, 92.40% who are Croats.

Contents 1 History 2 Prstenac tournament 3 Economy 4 External links

[edit] History

The site of a Bronze Age prehistoric hillfort, human remains have been found on the site that date back approximately 3400-4000 years back. The name Barban appears for the first time in an ecclesiastic document dated 740 A.D. In the Middle Ages, the town was a fortified under the control of the Pazin feudal lords, and parts of the medieval fortifications can still be seen. In the second half of the 13th century, having been depopulated by the plague in 1312, the counts of Gorizia imported a small colony of Dalmatians from Finodol.

In 1374, upon the death of Albert IV, Count of Pazin, it became a full Habsburg possession, then went under Venetian control in the 16th century. In 1534, Venice ceded it to the Loredan family as a heritable possession.

In the main square, which is approached through Velika Vrata (the Great Gate, 1718), stands the parish church of St. Nicholas with baroque altars and paintings by Venetian masters from the 16th-18th centuries, a Late Gothic stone tabernacle, and wooden baroque sculptures.

[edit] Prstenac tournament

On the third Sunday in August, there is an annual tournament of horsemen. In Barban it is called the "prstenac". It is a medieval jousting game that goes back to 1686 in Barban, but it is much older in origins and is otherwise celebrated in various forms in several medieval towns in Italy today. This tradition draws tourists and spectators in great numbers in a lively and popular celebration.

[edit] Economy

The chief occupations are crop farming (wheat) and livestock breeding. Barban is located on the main road Pula - Rijeka (M2, E751).

[edit] External links

• Barban municipality (official site)
• Istria on the Internet, Town of Barban

v • d • e Cities and municipalities of Istria County Cities and towns Pazin · Buje · Buzet · Labin · Novigrad · Poreč · Pula · Rovinj · Umag · Vodnjan Municipalities Bale · Barban · Brtonigla · Cerovlje · Fažana · Funtana · Gračišće · Grožnjan · Kanfanar · Karojba · Kaštelir-Labinci · Kršan · Lanišće · Ližnjan · Lupoglav · Marčana · Medulin · Motovun · Oprtalj · Pićan · Raša · Sveti Lovreč · Sveta Nedelja · Sveti Petar u Šumi · Svetvinčenat · Tar-Vabriga  · Tinjan · Višnjan · Vižinada · Vrsar · Žminj

Coordinates: 45°04′N 14°01′E / 45.067°N 14.017°E / 45.067; 14.017