It is separated from mainland by the Fažana Channel (Fažanski kanal) which is only 12 meters deep, and geological evidence suggests that until some 10,000 years ago the whole archipelago was connected to the Istria peninsula.

[1] Like most islands of the Brijuni archipelago, Veliki Brijun was settled since prehistoric times, with the earlies traces of settlements going back to 3000 BC, or early Bronze Age.

[5] At the turn of the century Kupelwieser had invited the famous physician Robert Koch, who at the time studied different forms of malaria and quinine-based treatments.

Malaria was thus eradicated by 1902 and Kupelwieser erected a monument to Koch, which still stands in vicinity of the 15th century Church of St. Germanus on Veliki Brijun.

Also, an indoor swimming pool with heated sea water, a casino, and various sports grounds were built, including the largest golf course in Europe, with 18 holes and 5,850 meters of paths.

[4] The resort became a popular refuge for European elites, and news of arrivals of notable members from the aristocratic, cultural, scientific, and industrial circles of the time were regularly published in the island newspapers which were printed between 1910 and 1915.

[4] When the war ended in 1918 the whole of Istria including its islands came under Italian sovereignty but the Brijuni archipelago remained the possession of the Kupelwieser family.

Due to the increasing and stronger tourist competition Kupelwieser’s enterprise went bankrupt in 1936 and the islands came under the jurisdiction of the Italian Ministry of Finance.

[7] Other notable guests who visited the island in that period include Gamal Abdel Nasser, Jawaharlal Nehru, Eleanor Roosevelt, the Italian actress Sophia Loren and the novelist James Joyce.

Since the early 1990s the villas on the islets of Ganga, Galija and Madona west of Veliki Brijun are used as the summer residence of Croatian presidents, and are guarded year-round by the small army garrison stationed on the islands.