Koper

 ( Port Cities And Towns Of The Adriatic Sea ) 

In 568, Roman citizens of nearby Tergeste (modern Trieste) fled to Aegida due to an invasion of the Lombards. In honour of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II, the town was renamed Justinopolis. Later, Justinopolis was under both Lombard and Franks rule and was briefly occupied by Pannonian Avars in the 8th century.

Since at least the 8th century (and possibly as early as the 6th century) Koper was the seat of a diocese. One of Koper's bishops was the Lutheran reformer Pier Paolo Vergerio. In 1828, it was merged into the Diocese of Trieste.

Trade between Koper and Venice has been recorded since 932. In the war between Venice and the Holy Roman Empire, Koper was on the latter side, and as a result was awarded with town rights, granted in 1035 by Emperor Conrad II. After 1232, Koper was under the Patriarch of Aquileia, and in 1278 it joined the Republic of Venice. It was at this time that the city walls and towers were partly demolished.

In 1420, the Patriarch of Aquileia ceded his remaining possessions in Istria to the Republic, consolidating Venetian power in Koper. Schutte, Anne Jacobson: Pier Paolo Vergerio: the making of an Italian reformer; p23. Books.google.com. Retrieved 24 September 2011.

Koper grew to become the capital of Venetian Istria and was renamed Caput Histriae 'head of Istria' (from which stems its modern Italian name, Capodistria).

The 16th century saw the population of Koper fall drastically, from its high of between 10,000 and 12,000 inhabitants, due to repeated plague epidemics. Schutte, Anne Jacobson; p24. Books.google.com. Retrieved 24 September 2011. When Trieste became a free port in 1719, Koper lost its monopoly on trade, and its importance diminished further.

According to the 1900 census, 7,205 Italian, 391 Slovenian, 167 Croatian, and 67 German inhabitants lived in Koper.

Assigned to Italy from Austria-Hungary after World War I, at the end of World War II it was part of the Zone B of the Free Territory of Trieste, controlled by Yugoslavia. Most of the Italian inhabitants left the city by 1954, when the Free Territory of Trieste formally ceased to exist and Zone B became part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1977, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Koper was separated from the Diocese of Trieste.

With Slovenian independence in 1991, Koper became the only commercial port in Slovenia. The University of Primorska is based in the city.

The influence of the Port of Koper on tourism was one of the factors in Ankaran deciding to leave the municipality in a referendum in 2011 to establish its own municipality.

The city's Cathedral of the Assumption was built in the second half of the 12th century and has one of the oldest bells in Slovenia (from 1333), cast by Nicolò and Martino, the sons of Master Giacomo of Venice. The upper terrace is periodically open and offers a great view of the Bay of Trieste. In the middle of it hangs the Sacra Conversatione painting from 1516, one of the best Renaissance paintings in Slovenia, made by Vittore Carpaccio.

Today, Koper is officially bilingual, with both Slovene language and Italian language as its official languages, with Italian being mainly used as a secondary language by the Slovene-speaking majority. Slovene language dominates with virtually all citizens speaking it, followed by pockets of speakers of Italian language and Croatian.

Some of the most notable artists who have taken part in JEFF since its inception include: Vasko Atanasovski, Gwen Hughes, Perpetuum Jazzile, Kelvis Ochoa, Terrafolk, Kisha, Bratko Bibič, New Swing Quartet, Fake orchestra, Olivija, Dazhbog ensemble, Caña Flamenca, Ansasa Trio, Aritmija, Aljoša Jerič, Ratko Dautovski, Vocalissimo, Greentown Jazz Band, Areia, Erik Marenče, Ethnodelia, Die Resonanz, Kaneo, Sedef, Nino Mureškič, Jure Tori, Ewald Oberleitner, K3, Mahnimal, Adrabesa Quartet and many others.

The city does not have its own airport; the closest one is Trieste Airport, which is located 65 km north of Koper.

• Gian Rinaldo Carli (1720–1795), man of letters
• Vittore Carpaccio (), painter. Born in Venice, lived in Koper (then Capodistria)
• Vittorio Italico Zupelli (1859–1945), Italian general and minister
• Katharina Graf (1873–1936), politician
• Vlatko Čančar (born 1997), professional basketball player
• Lucija Čok (born 1941), linguist, politician
• Zlatko Dedić (born 1984), football player
• Domenico da Capodistria (born late 14th century), architect
• Lorella Flego (born 1974), TV entertainer
• Enej Jelenič (born 1992), footballer
• Andreja Klepač (born 1986), professional tennis player
• Tinkara Kovač (born 1978), singer
• Matjaž Markič (born 1983), swimmer
• Dragan Marušič (born 1953), former rector of the University of Primorska
• Davor Mizerit (born 1981), rower
• Igor Pribac (born 1958), philosopher
• Pier Antonio Quarantotti Gambini (1910–1965), journalist and writer. Born in Pazin (then Pisino), lived in Koper (then Capodistria)
• Mladen Rudonja (born 1971), football player
• Tomaž Šalamun (1941–2014), poet
• Santorio Santorio (1561–1636), medical scientist
• Nazario Sauro (1880–1916), Italian irredentist and sailor
• Spartaco Schergat (1920–1996), military frogman, caused damage to the British battleship Queen Elizabeth in 1941. Italian gold medal in the Second World War Article in Italian about the sinking of the battleship Queen Elizabeth
• Damir Skomina (born 1976), football referee
• Francesco Trevisani (1656–1746), painter
• Pier Paolo Vergerio the Elder (1370–1444/1445), humanist, statesman and canonist Press on "Vergerius, Petrus Paulus". Istrianet.org. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
• Pier Paolo Vergerio the Younger (1498–1565), man of the Church
• Gašper Vinčec (born 1981), professional Finn Class Sailor
• Vittorio Italico Zupelli (1859–1945), general, minister

• Buzet, Croatia

• Ferrara, Italy
• Jiujiang, China
• Muggia, Italy
• San Dorligo della Valle, Italy
• Žilina, Slovakia