| Rijeka is the principal seaport of Croatia, located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea. It has 144,043 inhabitants (270,000 for greater area in 2001) and is Croatia's third largest city. The majority of its citizens are Croats with 80.39% (2001 census).
Rijeka is the center of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in Croatia. The city's economy largely depends on sea transport, shipbuilding (shipyards "3. Maj" and "Viktor Lenac") and tourism.
Rijeka hosts the Croatian National Theatre "Ivan pl. Zajc", first built in 1765, as well as the University of Rijeka, founded in 1632. The local football clubs are NK Rijeka and NK Orijent.
Rijeka has effective and efficient transport connections to other parts of Croatia and neighboring countries. The A6 Zagreb-Rijeka motorway was completed in 2004; a shorter stretch connecting Rijeka with the Slovenian border, part of the A7 motorway, was also completed in 2004. Rijeka is also connected to the A8/A9 Istrian Y expressway network by the Ucka Tunnel. A very intricate series of high-capacity bypass and connection roads are presently being constructed as well. The eastern half of this project will open on 15 July 2006, and the more complex western half will open 2 years later.
Rijeka has an awkward air connection; it has an international airport of its own, but it is located on the nearby island of Krk. Handling only 130,000 passengers in 2005, and projected to handle only 250,000 by 2008, the airport is more of a charter airport than a serious transport hub, although various scheduled airlines have commenced services as well.
Rijeka is well-integrated into the Croatian Railways and critical international lines. A fully electrified line connects Rijeka with Zagreb, and onwards towards Koprivnica and the Hungarian border, as part of the international 5b corridor. It is also connected to Trieste and Ljubljana by a separate electrified stretch that extends northwards from the city. A transport bill, to be passed by the Croatian Parliament in July 2006, will see the start of construction of Croatia's first high-speed rail line, following the aforementioned 5b corridor, enabling speeds nearing 250 km/h. Construction on the new line starts in 2007 and is slated to be completed by 2010. The speeds of this line will enable a trip from Rijeka to Zagreb in around an hour, as opposed to the current four hours. Rijeka is well connected (direct trains) to Munich in Germany or Salzburg in Austria, and there are direct night trains running to Rijeka from these two cities.
Rijeka has good ferry connections with the surrounding islands and cities within Croatia, but no direct foreign connections. There are daily coastal routes to Zadar, Split, and onwards to Dubrovnik, where more international connections are offered. Pula offers more direct southward connections from northwestern Croatia.
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