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). History 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"). 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. 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 . 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. Population Settlements The town's administrative area consists of 17 settlements: Bartići Breg Duga Luka Gondolići Gora Glušići Kapelica Kranjci Labin Marceljani Presika Rabac