The Kupelwieser mausoleum in Brijuni will be restored owing to an anonymous donation, reports Glas Istre on May 3rd 2017.
Most people associate the National Park Brijuni with the period when it served as Tito's official summer residence. However, an earlier period in Brijuni's history often gets forgotten: the end of the 19th century, when the islands were acquired by the Viennese industrialist Paul Kupelwieser.
It's under Kupelwieser's management that Brijuni became a seaside health resort and a desirable tourist destination: he carried out a large-scale renovation project and built a hotel complex consisting of five hotel buildings, a swimming pool with heated seawater, and other accompanying facilities. The islands were connected with Pula and other Adriatic ports by boat transfer with up to 5 lines a day; the importance of the resort also reflected in the fact a night train departing from Vienna wouldn't take the passengers only to the main railway station in Pula, but even further, to a jetty where a boat would take the guest to Brijuni.
The national park management have recently announced an anonymous donor is to finance the renovation of Kupelwieser's Peace, a structure built to house the industrialist's tomb. Kupelwieser commissioned a mausoleum wishing to be buried on the island next to his wife Marija who died in 1915, but after the beginning of World War I, he fleed to Vienna where he died soon afterwards. The mausoleum is regarded as a monument and is in desperate need of restoration, which will now be made possible by the anonymous individual who decided to donate the needed amount of 100.000€.
An open tender is going to be announced this week to officially procure the funds. The restoration works could begin as early as during this month, and the presenting ceremony is planned for September.
The NP director Sandro Dujmović explained that not many contractors in Croatia are technically equipped for the type of construction works the project requires, and expressed his appreciation of the benefactor. „His wish is to remain anonymous for now, but we're very pleased about such a substantial donation and we're more than grateful to the person who's making this possible“, added Dujmović.
