Labin (Italian/Istriot: Albona) is a town in Istria, west Croatia, with a town population of 5,806 (2021) and 10,424 in the greater municipality (which also includes the small towns of Rabac and Vinež, as well as a number of smaller villages).^[2]

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Labin Albona
Town
Grad Labin Comune di Albona Town of Labin
Labin
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Labin municipality in Istria
Country	Croatia
County	Istria County
First mention (Artemidorus of Ephesus)	2nd century BC
Government
• Type	Mayor-Council
• Mayor	Valter Glavičić (IDS)
• City Council	15 members • IDS, ISU (9) • SDP (2), • Democrats (2), • Ind. Silvano Vlačić (1) • HDZ (1)
Area [1]
• Town	72.3 km2 (27.9 sq mi)
• Urban	7.3 km2 (2.8 sq mi)
Elevation	210−320 m (689−1,050 ft)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Town	10,424
• Density	140/km2 (370/sq mi)
• Urban	5,806
• Urban density	800/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Labinjonka (female) Labinjon (male)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	52220
Area code	052
Vehicle registration	PU
Patron saints	St. Justus
Town day	August 19
Website	labin.hr

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Labin developed from the site of the Roman settlement of Albona. Its name predates classical antiquity and is derived from Proto-Indo-European *alb- ("eminence", "hill").^[3] Before and under the Roman occupation, Albona was an important commune. On a marble tablet the Roman inscription we read that under the Emperor Marco Iulio Severo Filippo noble Caesar noble Prince made Albona a Republic. To be a republic it had to have two joined Magistrates called Duumviri and Public officers called Aediles which took care of Public buildings and other official duties.^[4]

From 1295 it was under the rule of the dukes of Pazin, and from 1381 it found itself under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Aquileia. From 1420 until 1797 it was ruled from the Republic of Venice and after that belonged to Austrian Empire until 1918, when it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. Labin, as a Croatian-speaking town, was for a long time the centre of Croatia's largest coal mining district, with four mines operating at the height of its production. In March and April 1921, the town was the scene of a miners' strike which quickly grew into an anti-fascist rebellion, considered to be the first of its kind, and the declaration of the short-lived Labin Republic.^[5] The mine in downtown Labin closed in 1989. The large, coal-fired power plant in nearby Plomin now has its coal imported from outside sources once the mines were closed. After the Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947, Labin, like the whole of Istria, was annexed to Yugoslavia.

The famous Lutheran reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575), was born in Labin and a small exhibition in what was once his house, commemorates this. Unfortunately, due to the counter-reformation, he was forced to live most of his life in exile in Germany where he became the undisputed leader of the conservative wing of the Lutheran movement after the death of Luther. His chief literary legacy was in the area of biblical exegesis.

Language

Labinjonska Cakavica, one of the most interesting and oldest Istrian dialects spoken in and around the town of Labin. It belongs to Northern Chakavian dialect of the Chakavian variety of Croatian. It differs from the usual Chakavian (with typical pronoun "ča") because it lacks most palatals, with other parallel deviations called "tsakavism" (cakavizam). In 2019, by the decision of the Ministry of Culture, Labinjonska Cakavica became a protected intangible cultural asset of the Republic of Croatia.^[9]

The city is the home of football club NK Rudar Labin, and handball clubs ŽRK Rudar Labin and RK Mladi Rudar Labin.

Artists

• Mate Balota (1898–1963), poet, novelist and economist, whose mother was from Labin^[10]
• Franka Batelić-Ćorluka (born 1992), singer and songwriter
• Orlando Mohorović (born 1950), artist
• Renato Percan (1936–2013), painter

Handball players

• Tino Černjul (born 1973), left back, played for RK Zamet at intervals from 1995 to 2005
• Valner Franković (born 1968), international player for Croatia
• Evelina Galo, international player for Yugoslavia
• Suzana Golja-Zulijani, international player for Croatia
• Valter Marković (born 1959), played for RK Zamet from 1975 until 1987
• Fran Mileta (born 2000), right winger, international player for Croatia
• Mladen Prskalo (born 1968), pivot, international player for Croatia
• Luka Stepančić (born 1990), right back, international player for Croatia

HNK Rijeka footballers

• Mario Brnjac (1944–2007), football defender
• Vlado Golja, football forward
• Anđelo Milevoj (born 1941), football defender
• Josip Mohorović (born 1948), football midfielder
• Roberto Paliska (born 1963), football defender
• Andrej Prskalo (born 1987), football goalkeeper
• Davor Radmanović (born 1957), football midfielder
• Sergio Stemberga (born 1942), football defender
• Valentino Stepčić (born 1990), football midfielder
• Bruno Veselica (1936–2018), football forward

Science and humanities

• Matteo Bartoli (1873–1946), linguist
• Josip Belušić (1847–1905), inventor and professor, invented the speedometer
• Matthias Flacius (1520–1575), Lutheran reformer
• Baldo Lupetino (1502–1556), protestant preacher
• Giuseppina Martinuzzi (1844–1925), pedagogue, journalist, socialist, and feminist

Others

• Antonio Bollani, Venetian general, whose mother was from Labin, who distinguished himself in the war with the Ottoman Turks (1645–1669)^[11]
• Ema Derossi-Bjelajac (1926–2020), politician, President of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, first woman to hold a title equivalent to a head of state in modern-day Croatia
• Anton Marti (1923–2004), television and theater director and one of the founders of Television Zagreb

• Labinština
• Labin Republic