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World's Best National Parks: Brijuni Islands

Best National Parks in the World Map

Hazardous chemicals came awfully close to spilling into Brijuni Islands National Park Thursday after a sinking freighter blew to within five miles of the stunning archipelago in the Adriatic Sea. The crisis was averted thanks to Croatian and Italian tugboats. Lucky thing, too, because Brijuni is a gorgeous destination with a bizarre and fascinating history.

Purchased by an Austrian steel industrialist named Paul Kupelwieser in 1893, the Brijuni Islands were at the time a cesspool for malaria. In an attempt to eradicate the disease, Kupelwieser, who sought to turn the islands into a kind of health resort, invited Nobel Prize-winning scientist Robert Koch to Brijuni. Koch discovered the cause of the disease was the anopheles mosquito while Kupelweiser built five hotels near the harbor of the main island.

After World War II Brijuni became a part of Yugoslavia and leader Josip Tito, living the communist dream, made the group of islands his personal summer home. Tito had a liking for exotic animals, and the many foreign dignitaries he invited to his estate would often bring gifts like zebras and elephants--animals which now populate the island's Safari Park. Several years after Tito's death in 1980, Brijuni became a National Park, and the islands became part of Croatia when the nation gained independence in 1991.

Brijuni offers a lot to travelers, including sailing excursions around the archipelago, wildlife tours and polo tournaments, but this is surely a luxury destination. If you're looking for a hostel, you'll have to search the mainland in nearby Pula.

Related Stories:
· Ecological Disaster Threatens Croatia Coast [IHT]
· Brijuni National Park [Official Site]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]
· Croatia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo:dfanton]