The World's Smallest City

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In the heart of Istria, a medieval settlement of just two streets defies all conventional notions of what makes a city.

There's something delightfully absurd about Croatian Hum. Walk through its stone gateway, traverse its two cobblestone streets, and you've completed the urban tour in less time than it takes to finish a coffee. Despite having a population that rarely exceeds thirty souls, this fortified hilltop settlement in central Istria proudly maintains its status as a city.

Perched 349 meters above sea level, Hum has remained virtually unchanged since the Middle Ages. The settlement's origins stretch back to the 11th century, when it was established as a fortified outpost.

What survives today is a remarkably intact example of medieval Istrian architecture. The population has dwindled over the decades—from around 300 residents in the late 19th century to today's handful—but this exodus has paradoxically preserved Hum from modern development.

What to See in Hum

The 12th-century Romanesque Church of St. Jerome anchors the settlement, its simple stone facade concealing precious Glagolitic inscriptions and frescoes from various periods. The church serves not merely as a place of worship but as a repository of the region's cultural heritage, where medieval artistry survives in surprisingly intact condition given the building's age and Hum's exposure to centuries of Istrian weather.

Entry to the city itself comes through the Renaissance gateway, dated 1562, which serves as Hum's ceremonial entrance and primary architectural statement. The defensive walls, though modest in scale, remain largely intact and offer visitors a tangible connection to the settlement's strategic medieval past.

Hum's position along the Glagolitic Alley means that stone monuments featuring this ancient Slavic alphabet dot both the settlement and the surrounding countryside, commemorating a unique writing system that flourished in the region for centuries.

The Hum Konoba is both a traditional tavern and an informal museum of rural life, its walls lined with agricultural implements and household items that document how Istrians lived and worked in previous centuries. More importantly for most visitors, it's the place to sample biska, the local mistletoe brandy, made according to a 2,000-year-old recipe.

Adjacent to the church, the Cemetery of St. Jerome contains weathered tombstones, some bearing Glagolitic inscriptions, providing a poignant reminder of the generations who called this tiny city home. The graveyard's modest size reflects Hum's small population over the centuries. Yet, each stone marks a life lived within these walls, and a family's connection to this particular hilltop extends back through time.

How to get to Hum

The most practical approach is by car. The nearest major towns are Buzet (14 km) and Pazin (35 km), while the coastal cities of Pula and Rijeka lie approximately 80 kilometres away. Public transport to Hum is minimal; occasional buses run from Buzet. Visitors without cars might consider joining organised tours from larger Istrian towns or hiring a taxi from Buzet.

Where to Stay

Hum offers minimal accommodations, but the broader Istrian region is well-served by tourist infrastructure, with countless apartments, boutique hotels, and rural agrotourism estates (konobas) scattered throughout the countryside. Advance booking is advisable during the summer months and truffle season (September through December).

Further afield

Roc

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Roc maintains a small but vibrant community that keeps the settlement alive beyond the tourist season. The Church of St. Bartholomew, located just outside the walls, contains the region's finest collection of medieval frescoes, including 15th-century scenes of biblical narratives rendered in the distinctive style of Istrian Gothic art. The Roc Polyphonic Singing Festival, held each summer, fills the stone streets with traditional klapa harmonies that echo off ancient walls. Roc offers a couple of alternatives for those wanting to spend the night in the area.

Buzet

 Billing itself as the "City of Truffles," Buzet serves as the commercial and gastronomic heart of central Istria. The settlement is divided into two distinct sections: the medieval old town perched on a hilltop, and the modern lower town built along the Mirna River after a 1896 earthquake damaged portions of the original settlement.

Old Buzet retains its medieval street plan, with narrow lanes spiralling upward toward the 15th-century loggia and parish church. The Small Gate (Mala Vrata) and the Large Gate (Vela Vrata) still regulate entry to the historic core, where stone houses bear Venetian architectural influences from Istria's centuries under the Serenissima's rule. Several trattorias in the old town specialise in truffle preparations, offering everything from simple truffle-topped pasta to elaborate tasting menus built around the prized white truffle.

The truffle season, running from September through December, transforms Buzet into a pilgrimage site for gastronomes. The annual Subotina truffle festival, held on the second weekend of September, features truffle hunting demonstrations, cooking competitions, and opportunities to purchase fresh truffles directly from hunters. Local families have hunted truffles in the surrounding forests for generations, using specially trained dogs to locate the aromatic fungi hidden beneath oak and hazelnut trees.

Motovun

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West of Hum, Motovun rises dramatically from the Mirna Valley, its concentric rings of defensive walls climbing a 277-meter hill in one of Istria's most photographed settings. Unlike Hum's intimate scale, Motovun projects genuine grandeur—its Venetian-era fortifications, constructed primarily in the 14th and 15th centuries, announce the power and wealth of a settlement that once controlled extensive agricultural lands in the valley below.

The approach to Motovun involves either climbing a steep pedestrian path from the lower parking area or driving a narrow, winding road to the upper town's vehicle entrance. Either way, the ascent builds anticipation for the extraordinary views awaiting at the summit. From the ramparts, visitors survey a landscape of forest-covered hills extending to distant mountains, with the Mirna River winding through the valley like a silver thread.

The town itself maintains remarkable architectural coherence, with Gothic and Renaissance houses lining streets that follow the contours of the hilltop. The main square, dominated by the Church of St. Stephen and its 17th-century bell tower, serves as the social centre of a community that swells considerably during the annual Motovun Film Festival. Held each July, the festival screens independent and avant-garde films at various venues around town, including an outdoor cinema set up in the main square, where films project onto the medieval church wall.

The Mirna River Valley

 The Mirna River flows from its source near Buzet westward toward the Adriatic, carving a valley that encompasses some of Istria's most pristine countryside. The upper Mirna Valley, surrounding Hum and Buzet, remains predominantly forested—oak, hornbeam, and chestnut trees create a canopy that shelters the microclimate necessary for truffle production.

Several marked hiking trails traverse the valley, ranging from easy riverside walks to more demanding routes that climb surrounding ridges for panoramic views. The Parenzana Trail, following the path of a narrow-gauge railway that once connected Trieste to Porec, passes through the region and offers cyclists and walkers an excellent way to experience the landscape. The original railway operated from 1902 to 1935, and portions of the route preserve tunnels, viaducts, and stations now converted to restaurants and museums.

Small vineyards and olive groves occupy south-facing slopes throughout the valley, with several family-run wineries offering tastings by appointment.