Koper, Slovenia- July 30, 2024

Last updated on September 11th, 2024 at 04:34 pm

[This is a rough draft to get started. We’ve done a lot of traveling so far, and are behind in sleep, so we’ll keep this updated as we have a chance. When this isn’t here anymore, you’ll know that we’re finished with the page!]

Koper boasts a rich architectural legacy that dates back to its days as a capital city under the mighty Venetian Republic. Even today, the Italian influence is strong; as this historic city is near the Italian border, Slovene and Italian are equally likely to be heard here. In Tito Square, the Venetian-Gothic Praetorian Palace stands as evidence of the city’s once great power. The 12th-century Cathedral of the Assumption is home to a bell cast in 1333, one of the country’s oldest. A climb up its tower is rewarded with splendid views of the city and the Gulf of Trieste.

Photos from Koper

Video from Koper

Slovenia is another new country for us. Yesterday, we were informed there would be a change in our scheduled visit in Koper, Slovenia. The Chioggia, Italy authorities had informed our ship’s captain that due to “weather patterns and tidal issues” our ship would need to arrive in Chioggia earlier than scheduled to make certain passengers would be able to disembark as scheduled. We were assured there were no weather systems to be concerned about. We are not sure exactly what all that means, but the result was we arrived in Koper an hour earlier and departed two hours early. These changes didn’t really effect us negatively. Our walking tour of the Old Town scheduled for 2 1/2 began 5 minutes early at 9:25 am. It seems a few degrees cooler than the last few days. 

The ship docked outside the Old Town of Koper. Our walking tour met on the pier. We crossed an area where shop keepers were opening their shops for the day. We had the option of taking numerous steps up to the old city or using an elevator we could see from the ship. We opted for the stairs with our group. We learned the population of Slovenia is about 2 million with a land mass the size of Massachusetts. From Koper one can reach Italy by an 11 minutes car ride. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Venetians all left an imprint on this former Venetian Republic stronghold. Slovenia’s only port city, once named Capodistria, was the grand capital of Istria. Our guide pointed out various palaces as we walked through a small park toward Tito Square. In the park were a group of small children and older adults sitting on benches following the exercise motions of a young lady. Looking at the older adults we wondered if they had Alzheimer’s. As our guide continued to point out other palaces, we realized she was calling older homes with architectural significance palaces. 

We continued walking to Tito Square. Located on the southern side of Tito Square, is the Venetian-Gothic Praetorian Palace. It currently houses the Koper city government and a wedding hall. It is considered one of the city’s architectural landmarks, the current structure dates from the mid-15th century, begun in 1452-1453. Carved into the building’s side was the Bocca del Leone, or Lion’s Mouth from Renaissance-era Venetian times. Citizens could voice their concerns anonymously by placing hand-written notes into slot in the lion’s mouth. Each complaint would be address by the government individually. 

 On the eastern side of Tito Square is the 12th century Cathedral of the Assumption and Bell Tower, also known as the Koper Cathedral. The Bell Tower dates to 1333. The cathedral was originally built in the Romanesque style. The church went through various changes, with a western Gothic facade added, then after an earthquake in 1460, it was rebuild with Renaissance elements. In the 18th century, under Venetian rule, it once again underwent another architectural transformation to the Baroque style. Around this time, several paintings were added by various Venetian painters. The most important is the Holy Conversation of Vittore Carpaccio, dating from 1516. Once again, we were treated to a beautiful church. The Bell Tower houses a bell cast in 1333, one of Slovenia’s oldest. Our guide mentioned the beautiful sound of the organ, and that there were often organ recitals held in the church.

We continued our tour through narrow streets with small shops, with more palaces on smaller squares. Our tour ended in one of the squares and we decided to walk around on our own. We continued window shopping on our way back to the ship. As we passed the cathedral, we thought we heard organ music. We went back into the cathedral and were treated to some beautiful organ music. We don’t know if the person playing was from the church or a tourist like us (he looked like a tourist with his family), but he played very well! Afterward, we saw our guide talking to some other guides, so we let her know we had been able to hear the cathedral organ and how much we enjoyed it. 

We made it back to the port and down the steps. On our way to the ship we passed the small shops that were opening when we began our walking tour. We did some final souvenir shopping in Koper, finding another Christmas tree ornament to remind us of Koper.

After lunch we were able to do a last couple small loads of laundry so we could take clean clothes to Venice tomorrow. Joyce watched the ship leave Koper. As the gangway was pushed into the ship, she looked at the small shops just outside the ship on the pier and noticed they were closing up. Just another reminder of the part we play as cruise ship passengers in the local economies of the towns the ship visits.

As the ship sailed toward Chioggia, Italy, we decided to go to afternoon tea one last time. It was enjoyable, as always.

The ship reached Chioggia in the late afternoon. The cruise ship port of Chioggia is located at the southern end of the Venetian lagoon. There appeared to be navigation channels marked by wooden pilings. There were numerous wooden pilings that could be seen. The ship slowly made it’s way between wooden pilings.

We ate dinner at a sharing table with Jane & Malcolm from England and Jane & Rebecca from West Virginia. This Viking cruise was number 19 for Jane and Malcolm, so we enjoyed hearing about the highlights of their other cruises. We were able to talk to Jane and Rebecca about various places in West Virginia we had visited years ago with Alan’s parents.

After dinner, is was time to finish packing. Our large suitcases had to be outside our stateroom by 10 pm so the Viking staff could get them sorted and ready for us when we disembarked tomorrow morning. We packed what we would need for the evening in one carryon and our backpacks.