A HALLMARK OF RIJEKA’S INDUSTRIAL PAST
Rijeka’s Sugar Refinery was one of the industrial gems of the Adriatic naval outpost. The renovated Sugar Palace encapsulates the story of Rijeka from antiquity to its zenith as a port town integral to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Doubling as a museum and exclusive event venue, the Sugar Palace is an imposing neoclassicist building full of eye-catching exhibits and stories that marked Rijeka’s past.
One of the building’s most impressive halls is the Ceremonial Hall, enriched by stucco details imitating marble, overlooking the ports that one bustled with sailing ships and dock workers. Visitors can learn all about Rijeka through an interactive exhibition that offers insight into the economic, political, cultural, educational, scientific and sports history of Rijeka. The Sugar Palace houses more than 30 rooms spread over 1,200 square metres.
The first torpedo in the world
On the first floor, guests can learn how this Adriatic outpost became a lively port city, how the industrial age gave rise to a paper and chocolate factory and how Rijeka became an emigrant port at the turn of the 20th century. Did you know the first torpedo was invented in Rijeka by Robert Whitehead?
Once an instantly recognisable industrial facility, the building caught the eye of the Hungarian mineralogist Dominik Teleki von Szék travelling through Rijeka in 1795. He noted: “The residential house of the directors of the Refinery with its warehouse is the most beautiful and exceptional house in Rijeka. It is located in a row with other refinery buildings facing the seashore, has four floors and looks like a palace.”
Paying homage to the former Sugar Refinery
As apt for a museum where once a sugar refinery stood, an exhibition is dedicated to sugar – its processing, consumption and ubiquitousness in Rijeka’s social life. The museum also delves into the story of Rijeka’s Tobacco Factory. Reinvigorated as part of the European Capital of Culture project in 2020, the interactive museum takes visitors on a journey across the city’s milestones.
GET IN TOUCH
Sugar Palace Rijeka
Krešimirova 28
Rijeka, Croatia
T: +385 (0)51 336 -711
E: info@muzej-rijeka.hr
W: https://www.muzej-rijeka.hr/en/zbirke/the-sugar-palace-permanent-exhibition/
