In Opatija, one of the most famous holiday resorts on the Istrian peninsula, there is a plaque dedicated to Jozef Pilsudski. It was unveiled in 2007 by the then President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski. It is placed on the Lungomare promenade near the Perivoj sv. Jakov park, close to the old harbour. Jozef Pilsudski first came to Croatia in 1909 with his wife Maria. The trip was intended to restore his health after the action at Bezdany, where, in September 1908, PPS fighters had carried out a daring attack. After stopping a train and using a bomb to blow up the entrance to a postal carriage, and terrorising the crew, they managed to collect a consignment of money and securities worth 200,000 roubles. Piłsudski arrived in Opatija in March 1909, together with his then wife Maria. Probably not insignificant were his private affairs with Aleksandra Szczerbińska, which strained his relationship with his wife. Piłsudski visited the Abbey for the second time in February 1914, staying then at Mrs Marchlewska's guesthouse. During his stays, Piłsudski also visited the nearby town of Lovrain, where he met up with Stanisław Witkiewicz, to whom he was incidentally related.

The plaque bears an inscription in Polish and Croatian, which reads: "Józef Piłsudski soldier and statesman. Co-founder of independent Poland. One of the first marshals and chief executives of the Polish State. He lived in Opatija on the eve of the Great War for the freedom of nations'. The plaque, made of dark stone, is small in size, but thanks to the gold colour of the letters, which were made using the laser method, it looks very elegant and is clearly visible in the sunlight.

The plaque was created through the efforts of the Polish Embassy in Zagreb together with the Polish Cultural Association in Rijeka.