Parenzana

The Parenzana in Italian and Croatian or Porečanka in Slovene is one of the nicknames of a defunct 760mm/15 15/16 inch narrow gauge railway (operating between 1902 and 1935) between Trieste and Poreč (at that time Parenzo, hence the name Parenzana), in present-day Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. When constructed, the railway's official name was Parenzaner Bahn or simply Parenzaner. Later it was known as the Istrian Railway and TPC (standing for "Trieste - Parenzo (now Poreč) - Canfanaro (now Kanfanar)" ). Among the area's current majority Croats and Slovenes, the railway is also known as the Istranka or Istrijanka, both meaning 'Istrian'. In Slovene, the railway is also known as Porečanka or Parenzana, while in Croatian it is sometimes referred to as Porečka or Porečanka. In Italian the railway's nickname is Parenzana. The railway started at St. Andrew station (now a railway museum) in Trieste (Trst). It passed Milje (Muggia) and entered present day Slovenia in Škofije. The route first passed Dekani then turned towards the coast, passed Koper, Izola, Strunjan, Portorož, Lucija, Sečovlje, crossed the Dragonja river and entered the territory of the present day Croatia. Then it turned westwards, reached Valica, where Savudrija's station stood, then turned eastwards towards the Istrian interior. It passed Buje, climbed to Grožnjan, where soon, after passing this town, it reached its highest point at elevation of 293 meters above sea level, before starting to descend to Livade (13m above sea level) where it crossed the Mirna river. Then it started climbing again via Motovun and Vižinada to Baldaši where it reached another local extreme at 273 meters above sea level. From there it started to descend gradually, passing Višnjan and reaching Poreč after 123 kilometers from Trieste. Although initially planned and much effort made by local authorities, the fork from Valica to Umag was never built.