“There is no shortage of fresh air and tranquillity. […] The park, very beautiful and very extensive, is reminiscent of the gardens in Monte Carlo, but prettier than them, as it is shady and more overgrown. It slopes down right to the sea. Here and there are buildings, gazebos and very elegant cafés, yet full of secluded spots. […] I think it will outshine Merano, for it has everything: mountains, fresh air, it is very sheltered, and to top it all, it has the sea and its invigorating breezes. Finally, it is 12 hours closer, for the journey from Vienna to Meran takes 24 hours – and in equally unremarkable carriages” —this is how Henryk Sienkiewicz described Abazia in a letter to his sister-in-law, dated 4 April 1887.

This was his first stay in the town; he remained there until 16 April. He was to return here once more. This was between 24 and 29 April 1889. He may have visited Abazia once more in 1909, when he stayed for two days in Lovran. Undoubtedly, however, it was a place that took his fancy and where he felt at ease.

In 1887, Henryk Sienkiewicz, as he himself recalled, ‘rolled up his sleeves’ and set to work, beginning to write *Pan Wołodyjowski*, probably on 7 April. There is also evidence that it was in Abazia, in May 1888, that Sienkiewicz wrote the final words of the trilogy: ‘Thus ends this series of books, written over many years and with no small amount of effort, to lift the spirits’. However, the writer was not staying at the famous spa town at that time.

In 1889, whilst staying in the town, Sienkiewicz wrote *The Bullfight*. The chronology of events contradicts the often-repeated claim that the idea for *Quo Vadis* originated in Abazia. The concept for the novel probably emerged in 1893, and the text was completed in 1896. Furthermore, as Sienkiewicz was not staying at the spa in December 1905, contrary to popular belief, he could not have learnt of his Nobel Prize there. He was indeed in the nearby town of Lovran in 1905, but in January. However, there is no confirmation that he travelled there after receiving the prize.

To modern ears, Abacja may sound somewhat exotic, although the town remains a popular holiday destination for many Poles. Today, however, it is known by its Croatian name – Opatija. In the second half of the 19th century, however, the resort was most commonly referred to by its Italian name – Abazzi – and it was this name that was adopted by Poles and adapted into Polish as Abacja.

Opatija is situated in Istria, on the north-eastern coast of the Adriatic, in the Kvarner Bay, on the route between Rijeka and Lovran. The history of Opatija, also known as the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’, is a fascinating example of the evolution of a small fishing village into one of Europe’s most prestigious holiday destinations. It is true that several patrician villas are said to have stood in this area as far back as antiquity. However, the town’s history dates back to a village of around 35 houses that developed around the Benedictine abbey dedicated to St James, first mentioned in 1453.

In the Middle Ages, Opatija was part of the Venetian Republic, which controlled a significant portion of the Adriatic coast. Until the mid-19th century, virtually nothing of note had happened in the development of this small fishing settlement. The turning point came in the mid-19th century; by then it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and from 1868, part of the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, an autonomous region within the Kingdom of Hungary.

During this period, Opatija transformed from a small fishing village into an elegant seaside resort. The Austrian aristocracy and bourgeoisie discovered Opatija as the ideal place to relax, which led to the construction of many luxury hotels, villas and palaces. It was also during this time that the beautiful parks and promenades were created, which remain distinctive features of the town to this day. The 20th century brought further changes to Opatija. Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a result of the First World War, the town came to lie within the borders of the Kingdom of Italy, then Yugoslavia, and, after its dissolution, Croatia.

Opatija’s origins as a seaside resort can be traced back to 1844, when Iginio Scarpa, a wealthy merchant from Rijeka, built his summer residence here – Villa Angiolina, named in honour of his late wife – and surrounded it with a magnificent park. Following its construction, in the 1850s and 1860s, Opatija began to attract an increasing number of wealthy visitors. More and more villas and guesthouses were built. A key factor in Opatija’s popularity was the visit of Empress Maria Anna of Savoy, who spent almost three months at Villa Angiolina.

Her stay drew the attention of the Viennese nobility to Opatija. Opatija began to be regarded as a fashionable destination from the 1870s onwards. In 1882, the Hotel Kvarner opened, the first on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. Investments were also made in the railway, infrastructure was developed, and lush gardens and parks were laid out. An almost paradisiacal enclave was taking shape on the Adriatic for those who could afford it.

In 1889, Opatija was officially recognised as a health resort by the Austro-Hungarian government. This decision was the result of Opatija’s growing popularity and its reputation as a place with exceptional climatic and health benefits. In the years that followed, hotels and guesthouses were built, as well as Opatija’s characteristic seaside promenade, the Lungomare. The town became a symbol of luxury, elegance and sophisticated leisure.

It was visited by many distinguished guests, including Emperor Ferdinand, Emperor Wilhelm II of Hohenzollern, King Oscar II of Sweden, Emperor Alexander I of Serbia, counts, princes and archdukes, as well as figures from the arts such as the writers James Joyce and Anton Chekhov, and the composer Gustav Mahler, who is said to have composed some of his symphonies here. The resort, with its beautiful villas, hotels and spa facilities, had been – since the 1880s — an attractive destination for the Polish landed gentry, particularly those from Galicia; it also drew members of the wealthy middle classes and figures from the artistic and scientific worlds, such as Tadeusz Pilat.

The mild winters also attracted many residents from Poland, whilst medical recommendations confirmed that they had made the right choice. Abazia was becoming an increasingly popular spa and climatic resort – in short, a fashionable holiday destination. The journey from Galicia was arduous, taking anywhere from nearly two days to roughly one day in later years. However, it was possible to stop off in places such as Vienna along the way.

Henryk Sienkiewicz described the final stage of the journey:

We set off from Vienna one evening. The carriages were dreadful, cramped and uncomfortable; we slept as best we could. Yesterday, just before nine in the morning – Fiume! A rather attractive town, quite respectable, situated on the slopes of hills reaching right down to the sea; a decent hotel, quite cheap. We took a small boat to Abazia. A half-hour journey.

Sienkiewicz arrived in Vienna at the end of March, where he fell ill with a sore throat. A Warsaw doctor, Teodor Heryng, whom he had met in Vienna, recommended a course of treatment on the Adriatic. The choice fell on Abazia. On the way, Sienkiewicz stopped off in Fiume. Among the well-known visitors from Poland, the most frequently mentioned are: Maria Konopnicka, Stefan Żeromski, Józef Piłsudski and Stanisław Witkiewicz; the latter, however, lived in nearby Lovran.

Abacja was also visited by, amongst others, Agenor Gołuchowski, the Austro-Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is said to have met here with his Italian counterpart Tommaso Tittoni, as well as Włodzimierz Dzieduszycki, who, incidentally, funded trips for researchers associated with his Natural History Museum in Lviv.

The popularity of Abazia amongst Poles is attested to by the words of Mieczysław Orłowicz in his 1914 guide to Europe, who noted that out of 50,000 visitors to the town, as many as 8,000 were Poles. As Izabela Gass reports:

Poles stayed at the ‘Kronprinzessin Stefania’ hotel or at guesthouses run by Poles: Villa Mascagni, Villa Peppina and Villa Heim. Polish doctors practised here, such as Dr Henryk Ebers Junior, who founded a spa facility in Krynica, Ksawery Górski – the founder of the sanatorium in Szczawnica – and another medical luminary of the time, Dr Bolesław Kostecki.

It also quotes a line from a epigram by Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński about Mrs Stefania, who ‘used to go to Abazia in search of topics for conversation’. A small bust of Henryk Sienkiewicz has been placed on the aforementioned famous promenade.

Around the year 2000, the authorities of the town of Opatija, no doubt influenced by the local Polish community, decided to commemorate Henryk Sienkiewicz in the Avenue of Distinguished Figures, and subsequently approached the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Zagreb on this matter. The Ambassador initiated the process of acquiring a bust of Henryk Sienkiewicz by submitting an official request to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. On 1 March 2001, the Director of the Department for the Protection of National Heritage at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage forwarded this request to Ignacy Moś, the benefactor and founder of the Henryk Sienkiewicz Literary Museum in Poznań.

Ignacy Moś agreed to support the initiative, and the Henryk Sienkiewicz Literary Museum undertook the preparation and implementation of the project. One of the busts of Sienkiewicz by an unknown artist, held in the museum’s collection, was selected as the model for the replica. The cast was produced at Kochanowski’s studio in Rokietnica, near Poznań. The entire project was funded by Ignacy Moś. The official unveiling took place on 12 July 2001. The bust was placed on its own plinth, bearing the cast inscription:

Sienkiewicz //.

The whole structure is situated on a low plinth in the form of a partially worked, horizontally positioned boulder. Attached to the front of it is a gold plaque bearing an inscription filled with black paint:

Henryk Sienkiewicz / Polish writer / (1846–1916) / Winner of the Nobel Prize in 1905 / Stayed in Opatija in 1887, 1889 and 1905 //.

The plaque is affixed to a rectangular, polished section of the plinth, beneath which the letters of an earlier, illegible inscription are visible. Compositionally, the plinth does not fit the cast very well; it appears to have been originally intended for a slightly wider sculpture. Similarly, the worked upper section of the plinth, intended to serve as the base for the bust, does not correspond to its dimensions. The mismatch between the plinth and the bust may result from the plinth having been prepared before the sculpture was brought here, or it may indicate that the plinth was reused.

A bronze casting, patinated, measuring 53 cm in height and 33 cm in base width, weighing 15 kg.

I would like to thank Dr Mirella Ryś of the Raczyński Library in Poznań for detailed information regarding the history of the bust’s installation.