Tinjan it's a small town in the central part of Istra, about 50 kilometers from where I live. I spent a couple of hours there, on a sunny summer day at the end of August.
24th of August 2020 was the exact date. In this opening shot, you can see the iconic tower surrounded by a cluster of houses that make the old town.
Here, I'm walking from the outskirts to the center, accompanied by a couple of friends.
Like all settlements in this area, Tinjan has a long history.
Artifacts excavated in the surrounding hills and valleys show that there was plenty of human activity since the Neolithic.
In the written sources, the town is first time mentioned in the year 1177 as the parish of Antoniana in a document released by Pope Alexander III.
After exploring a bit the narrow streets ...
... and photographing a couple of details there ...
... I reached The Parish Church of St. Simon and Judas Thaddeus. It was built in 1773.
This elegant neoclassicist building with baroque elements has some beautiful sculptures on its front facade. This one represents the Virgin Mary.
If you ever wondered how St. Simon from the church's name looks - here you can see him. Or at least, you can see one version of the man.
Here you can see the petrified image of Judas Thaddeus. I guess. Take this information with a grain of salt. I'm far from being an expert when it comes to saints and Christianity, and the internet sources only say that those two are on the church's facade, not which one is on the left or right from the Virgin Mary that holds the central place.
The steep, narrow street that leads to the church ...
... and the little square in front of the building are still paved with old stones.
Most of the old houses in the old center are attached or very close to each other.
This one is an exception. I didn't find anything about the history of this building.
A butterfly was enjoying the warm afternoon in the sunny spot not far from the house. Vanessa atalanta is the name of this very common species.
After some more walking ...
... I arrived at the white door with a black umbrella hung on the handle.
Not far from the door there was a window hidden by the wooden shutters painted white, an electric meter box ...
... and this small terrarium with the Virgin Mary and some roses.
It looks that this madonna is Our Lady of Electricity ... and related bills.
After these lovely details found near the entrance ...
... is time to take a look at the entire building. This elegant old villa was recently restored and now is ready for sale. I mean, it was surely on sale back then in 2020. I don't know what's going on there today.
Here you can see a small detail on the front facade.
Here I took the last look at the door ...
... before continuing my walk around that area of Tinjan.
This petrified face ...
... was photographed just across the small square from the pink villa.
These buildings were built on the remains of the old city wall destroyed in the war between the Habsburg monarchy and the Venetian republic that was fought from 1615 to 1618.
Here was the main gate, so you can find quite a few interesting old elements ...
... incorporated in the more recent stuff.
Here you can take a look at the lush vegetation behind these buildings on the edge of town.
I passed by the pink villa again ...
... and stopped to photograph the grapes ...
... on the tall vines ...
... planted long ago close to the outer side of the garden wall.
A bit further, on another garden wall made of stones, I encountered this cat.
This photograph was taken near the center of Tinjan ...
... in another small, compact neighborhood.
This lovely passage was photographed nearby.
When I passed through ...
... I was near the church again.
Here you can see the cute dog that was guarding the street.
This is one of the biggest buildings in Tinjan.
It has a nice garden with various flowering plants ...
... and is situated on the edge of town.
Not far from here, just across this narrow road that leads downhill, in the fields and woods out of Tinjan ...
... I saw a massive round table made of stone.
This is a well-preserved table used for meetings of the town's elders. I didn't find the information about its exact age, but it could be here from medieval times.
From this place out of the compact center of Tinjan, you can see plenty of green and the neighboring town called Kringa.
This is one of quite a few Celtis australis trees in that area on the edge of town.
I saw many small snails on the bark.
I encounter these small snails often, but I wasn't able to find out the exact species. After half an hour of sniffing around this area ...
... I walked back to the narrow streets in the center of the old town. This cat was looking at me from the nearest street corner. It looked scared and hesitant for a minute or so ...
... but then continued walking downhill, towards me.
The cat passed me by, and a bit further I found these flowers ...
... of the Mirabilis jalapa. This ornamental plant is native to dry regions of North, South, and Central Amerika but is quite common here in Istra. It was introduced in Europe very early, in 1525.
I spent some minutes with this plant, fifteen or so ...
... because I found a grasshopper on its foliage. So I mounted the macro lens and took a couple of up-close shots.
This is one of the houses that form what looks like a wall made of houses around the core of Tinjan.
The cucumber plant was climbing the fence of the small garden ...
... and the grapevine was creeping along the facade of the house.
At this point, I was getting ready to go home.
I took a few shots of the neighborhood outside the historic center.
The late afternoon was slowly turning into evening.
After taking this photograph, I ... I mean, we ... because some friends were there with me, drove away.
And that's it. Hope you enjoyed the tour. As always in these posts on HIVE, the photographs are my work - THE END.
