a city in Yugoslavia, in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, on the Adriatic Sea in the northern part of the Gulf of Rijeka. Population, 135,000(1972).
Rijeka is a large port, with a freight turnover of more than 10 million tons in 1972; it is also used by Hungary, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. The port of Bakar (3 km southeast of Rijeka), constructed in the 1960’s, is considered part of the port of Rijeka. The city is also a railroad junction. It is linked by highway with resorts on the Adriatic coast; it has a large airport. The city of Sušak (on the left bank of the Rečina River), which is the site of the Rijeka port complex, was united with Rijeka in 1947.
Rijeka is one of Yugoslavia’s main industrial centers. It has two large shipbuilding plants, as well as production of marine diesels and motors, a large oil refinery, and chemical, sawmilling, paper, leather-footwear, tobacco, and food industries. Higher nautical and pedagogical schools and the medical school of the University of Zagreb are in Rijeka; the city also has museums. The old city, with its narrow, winding streets, has been preserved. A Romanesque Gothic cathedral (rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries; tower, 1377), the baroque St. Vitus’ Church (1638–1742), and a notable city hall tower (15th to 18th centuries) are in Rijeka.