Maiden with the Seagull, Opatija, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Maiden with the Seagull (Djevojka s galebom) is a sculpture of a young woman standing on a rock above the Adriatic in Opatija, Croatia. Made by sculptor Zvonko Car in 1956, it has become the best-loved symbol of the town and the picture most visitors take home from the Kvarner coast.

The story behind it

The statue stands where an earlier monument once stood. Before it, a Madonna figure known as Madonna del Mare was set on the same rocks. Local tradition ties that earlier statue to a young nobleman lost at sea in a storm, and it was meant as a memorial and a protector of those who sail. The sea eventually claimed that figure too, when a powerful storm knocked it from its place.

Car's sculpture took over the spot in 1956. Instead of a sacred figure, he gave the town a graceful, secular one, a girl with a seagull, and the town adopted her. She now stands for Opatija's long relationship with the sea and its history as a seaside resort.

What to look for

• Notice the pose of the figure, a young woman on the rock with a seagull close to her hand, shaped so that she seems to lean toward the open water.
• Look at the setting: the sculpture sits on a rocky outcrop right at the water's edge, so the sea is the backdrop from almost every angle.
• Walk a little along the seafront and look back, because the statue reads best as a small figure against the sea and the coastline.
• Watch how the sea behaves around the rocks on a windy day, which makes it easy to see why storms threatened the earlier monument.

Tips for your visit

• The statue is outdoors on the seafront promenade, so you can see it from the path and there is nothing to go inside.
• Ten to fifteen minutes is enough for the statue itself, longer if you want to photograph it or sit by the water.
• Early morning or late afternoon gives softer light and fewer people in your photos.
• It is a short walk from the centre of Opatija, so combine it with a stroll along the coast and the nearby park and harbour area.

See it on a quest

The Maiden with the Seagull is one stop on Opatija: The Last Queen Before Rome, a self-guided walk along the coast. You reach the statue on foot as part of a longer route through the area, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. Start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join. One ticket covers the whole group.