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  3. A walk through protected cultural heritage

Walking tour of the Protected Cultural Heritage of the Municipality of Matulji

 
Zvonejske njivi
 
"Zvonejske njivi" or Zvoneća fields are located near the village of Zvoneća in the Matulji municipality, these fields represent a lesser-known but deeply impressive monument of rural architecture, comparable to the famous Bakar dry-stone terraces (Bakarski prezidi). They were created between the 15th and 17th centuries through the tireless labor of generations of Zvoneća peasants, who used dry-stone walling techniques to shape approximately sixty hectares of rocky terraces at an altitude of 300–450 meters above sea level. Today, only a portion of the land remains under cultivation; however, the stone walls (prezidi) still define most of the landscape—well-preserved on active plots, while left to the natural elements on abandoned ones. For centuries, these terraces were the heart of local viticulture, most notably featuring the indigenous grape variety Jarbola, which has been present in the area for over a hundred years. The significance of "Zvonejskeh njivi" was officially recognized in 1994, when they were registered as a protected cultural monument, confirming their immense value as both cultural and natural heritage.

 
Rural ensemble - Veli Brgud
 
Due to its harmony with the natural surroundings, spatial organization, and even its name, Veli Brgud reflects the settlement’s medieval origins, closely linked to grazing, forests, and later to agriculture and viticulture. From the village center, called Ravnice, roads branch out south toward Rijeka, north toward Šapjane, and northwest toward Žejane. Historically, the village served as an economic intermediary between these surrounding settlements and the entire Učka region on one side, and Rijeka and its surroundings on the other. Economic buildings reflect an older type of stone architecture with vegetative roofs and characteristic raised gables, while residential houses show a developmental sequence from simple medieval single-story structures to more complex buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. 

 

Breški Dol
 
Breški Dol is a geomorphological feature - a sinkhole - located in the settlement of Brešca in the Municipality of Matulji. Due to its sinkhole formation, Breški Dol exhibits vertical vegetation zonation, meaning that plant communities vary according to depth and local conditions such as shade, moisture, and temperature differences within the depression. In the Spatial Development Plan of the Municipality of Matulji, Breški Dol is proposed for protection as a botanical reserve and is marked on planning maps, covering approximately 13.19 hectares.
 
 
Memorial Ensemble of the Village of Lipa
 
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1919, the Liburnian Karst region became part of the Kingdom of Italy, and after Italy’s capitulation in 1943, it fell under German occupation. General Ludwig Kübler issued an order stating that any assistance to partisans would result in the death penalty—a document now exhibited in the permanent collection of the Memorial Center. The village of Lipa, which supported the partisans, became a target of the occupiers. During the raid on April 30, 1944, German soldiers killed civilians, looted, and burned the village, documenting the atrocities with photographs. Thanks to the courage of an employee at a photography studio in Ilirska Bistrica, the photographs were preserved and today serve as evidence of the crime. After the war, about a hundred survivors rebuilt their homes and lives. The first post-war child, Branko Afrić, was born in 1945, and in 1965 the Fund for the Reconstruction of Lipa was established.
The village of Lipa is registered as a site of special historical significance related to fascist crimes. It is home to the Memorial Center "Lipa Remembers”, a branch collection of the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral in Rijeka, dedicated to the tragedy of Lipa on April 30, 1944.
Every year on April 30, the event "Lipa Remembers” is held to honor the victims and serve as a lasting reminder of the crime and the resilience of life.
 
 
Memorial Center "Lipa Remembers” : https://ppmhp.hr/lipa/o-centru/
Virtual tour of Lipa by the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral, Rijeka : https://ppmhp.hr/360-setnja-lipom/