October the 24th, 2026 – Following years of decay, the famous Rijeka torpedo launch station will be given back its full glory and turned into a tourist site.
Rijeka has an exceptionally rich industrial history, and one of its most important monuments is located on the western part of the city waterfront, in the former Torpedo factory complex. As Ivana Vasarevic writes for Putni Kofer, right next to the sea, stands an unusual reinforced-concrete structure – the historic torpedo launch station. This is the exact place where weapons intended for navies around the world were once tested. After very many years of deterioration, this building, protected as a cultural asset of Croatia, will finally receive the restoration it deserves. The current plans also include transforming the entire surrounding area into a new tourist attraction.
turning the clock back to the 1860s…
Sea salt, waves and weather over the decades seriously damaged the ramp, so the conservation department as early as 2019 ordered urgent protection measures. Fortunately, it was decided that the launch station would not be demolished and replaced by a replica, but that the original structure would be preserved. Works should begin in the last quarter of 2026 and be completed during 2027.
The answer as to precisely why this structure is so historically significant takes us 160 years into the past, when an invention that changed naval warfare was born in Rijeka. During the early 1860s, Rijeka native Giovanni Luppis was developing the idea of a defensive weapon with which enemy ships could be stopped before they approached land. He called it the “coast saver”, but he lacked the technical knowledge and funds for its realisation.
rijeka torpedos were sought after around the world
He presented the idea to Robert Whitehead, a British engineer and the former manager of the Rijeka Technical Institute. He then developed a torpedo resembling a metal fish that moved independently under the surface of the sea. The first usable torpedo was successfully tested in Rijeka in 1866, and nine years later the Institute became the R. Whitehead & Co. factory, the first torpedo factory in the world.
Rijeka torpedoes soon became sought after around the world. They were ordered by Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Russia and many other countries. The factory expanded its business, opened plants abroad, and production in Rijeka continued until 1966. Of course, before delivery to customers the torpedoes had to undergo a series of demanding tests. That is precisely what the launch stations were used for, from which trial launches were carried out and the behaviour of the torpedoes in the sea was monitored.
The first launch ramps were wooden structures from the 19th century, and over time they were replaced by a more solid reinforced-concrete station. According to data from the Museum of the City of Rijeka, it was built in 1930, and four years later a section intended for testing torpedoes launched from aircraft was added. Thus the station served for simulating the launch of torpedoes from ships as well as from the air: Rijeka, after all, did not yet have its own airport at that time.
Although production ceased long ago, the ramp still reminds us of the time when Rijeka was an international centre of technological innovation. Its importance goes beyond local frameworks because it testifies to the development of an invention that changed world naval history. In addition to the restoration of the launch station, plans also include the arrangement of the Torpedo Visitor Centre. As the portal Fiuman recently reported, it would exhibit full-size torpedoes, their parts and technical elements, while a special virtual room would bring the history of this Rijeka invention closer through multimedia content.
transforming history into a tourist site
As for the architectural solution, it is conceived as a combination of industrial heritage and contemporary design. The façades of the centre should be adorned with archival photographs and technical drawings of torpedoes, while steel elements would in shape recall the plating of a submarine. Along the waterfront a promenade with a beautiful view of Kvarner and the launch station is planned, a viewpoint reached by stone steps, as well as a small square and the surrounding public areas.
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