Italy. Rijeka was occupied by German troops in 1943, after Italy came to terms with the Allies of World War II; and it experienced extensive damage from Allied bombing. After fierce fighting, it was captured on 3 May 1945 by Yugoslav forces and was later annexed to the Socialist Republic of Croatia under the Paris peace treaty of 1947. Most of the Italian population fled or were removed, and were subsequently replaced by immigrants from other parts of Yugoslavia. Rijeka became the largest port in Yugoslavia, and economic growth sectors included port traffic, oil, and coal. On the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Rijeka became part of independent Croatia, but has experienced economic difficulties, with the closure of many of its older industries. Origins The region of Quarnero (Fiume was still not mentioned) was part of the Holy Roman Empire. With the acquisition of the titles of Margraves of Istria and Dukes of Merania by the Andechs family, the possession was called Merania ( – "sea"), meaning "littoral" (). The counts of Duino (Tibein), were feudal lords of Fiume from the early 12th century until 1337. As ministeriales of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, the family proved crucial in extending German control to the northern Adriatic coast and preventing further expansion of the Republic of Venice. The counts of Duino built a good road network over the land around the city. The Fiuman terra, their most important fief, dominated the natural routes leading from the Timavo River toward the Quarnero gulf. Several castles and outposts—Senožeče, Gotnik (Guettenegg), and Prem—guarded these land routes, from the Quarnero to Carniola, a part of modern Slovenia. Traders came from Carinthian Villach, Carniolan Ljubljana (Laibach), Styrian Ptuj (Pettau), and from the German lands of the Holy Roman Empire. In Fiume, the local toponymy derives predominantly from Slavic Croatian. Italians came by sea from the central-Italian Adriatic ports—such as Fermo, Ancona, Senigallia, and Venice—usually as craftsmen and traders. The trade of Fiume linked the German lands with central Italian ports. Notably, there was little contact with Croatia, which was due to the absence of land connections from Fiume into its eastern hinterland. In 1399, the territory came under the German family of Walsee, the last of whom sold the territory to the Habsburgs in 1465. The Habsburgs possessed it from 1466 to 1776, during which time Fiume was granted the status of a free city as part