{"id":2027,"date":"2025-12-19T22:41:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T22:41:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/19\/croatian-mariners-in-the-arctic-expedition-in-1872-1874\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T22:41:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T22:41:45","slug":"croatian-mariners-in-the-arctic-expedition-in-1872-1874","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/19\/croatian-mariners-in-the-arctic-expedition-in-1872-1874\/","title":{"rendered":"Croatian mariners in the ARCTIC EXPEDITION in 1872-1874"},"content":{"rendered":"<table style=\"text-align:left;width:640px;\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"2\" border=\"1\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">  <\/p>\n<div>\n<p> Many Arctic expeditions in the 19th century ended with  shipwrecks. Probably the best known is Franklin&#8217;s expedition (1845)  which had tragic human losses: as many as 120 people died. Twenty  expeditions were organized in order to find and save them, but in vain. <\/p>\n<p>The  Austrian-Hungarian state, which at that time included also Croatian  coast, planned expedition to NE of Novaya Zemlya, and to find the so  called North East Passage. This led to the discovery of <b>Franz Josef Land<\/b> in 1873, a collection of about 85 islands in the Arctic Ocean, now a Russian National Park called Zemlya Franca Iosifa.<\/p>\n<p>The ship named <i>Tegetthoff<\/i>  was built up in the German port Bremen using a special new technology,  in order to endure extremely low temperatures and dangerous ice pressure  (32 m long, 7 m wide, 220 tons). The crew was composed of 24 persons,  members of Austrian-Hungarian marine in the Adriatic sea. It is  interesting that the Croats were predominant in the crew. It was  composed 9 Austrians, 1 Hungarian, 1 Moravian Czech, 1 Italian (?), and  as many as 12 Croats from various parts of Croatian coast (Rijeka, Cres,  Bakar, Volosko, Lovran, Plomin, Mali Losinj, Brac, Hvar). The names of  these Croatian mariners are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i>Petar Lusina<\/i> (from the island of Cres), <\/li>\n<li><i>Lovro Marolla<\/i> (from Rijeka), <\/li>\n<li><i>Ante Vecerina<\/i> (from Draga near Rijeka), <\/li>\n<li><i>Petar Falesic<\/i> (from Bakar), <\/li>\n<li><i>Juraj Stiglic<\/i> (from Bakar), <\/li>\n<li><i>Jakov Sucic<\/i> (from Volosko), <\/li>\n<li><i>Fran Lettis<\/i> (from Volosko), <\/li>\n<li><i>Vicko Palmic<\/i> (from Lovran), <\/li>\n<li><i>Josip Latkovic<\/i> (from Plomin), <\/li>\n<li><i>Ante Katarinic<\/i> (from Mali Losinj), <\/li>\n<li><i>Ante Lukinovic<\/i> (from Pucisca on the island of Brac), <\/li>\n<li><i>Ante Zaninovic<\/i> (from Sv. Nedilja on the island of Hvar). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In his diary Julius Payer includes <i>Ante Scarpa<\/i> from Trieste into Slavonic (Croatian) group, see [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.croatianhistory.net\/etf\/arctic.html#kunic\">Kunicic<\/a>],  p. 40, and according to Kunicic the Croatian crew had 13 members (see  p. 2), not 12. Also every Sunday the Croats read parts of Evangel in  Croatian (scavet), which belongs to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.croatianhistory.net\/etf\/et03.html\">glagolitic<\/a>  tradition, see [Kunicic] p. 38. On Christmas they sang a well known  song &#8220;U se vrime godista&#8221;, and remember their customs. The crew had a  small library with about 400 books, half of them scientific. And a part  of books was in Croatian.<\/p>\n<p>For the complete list of names and other details related to this expedition, <a href=\"http:\/\/members.eunet.at\/castaway\/History.html#%D6st+FJ+Land\">see here<\/a>. There were some objections addressed to <i>Karl Weyprecht<\/i>,  captain of the ship, why he chose so many Croats, instead of Tyrol  Austrians. He answered that he counts on endurance, discipline and  experience of Croatian mariners, and the fact that they do not drink.<\/p>\n<p>Very  important for success of this carefully planned and dangerous  expedition was the presence of eight dogs. The expedition led to the  discovery of Franz Josef&#8217;s Land in the Arctic.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:640px;height:390px;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/palmic_payer-3.jpg\"\/><br \/> Memorail tablet in honour of Vicko Palmi\u0107 and Weyprecht-Payer in the town of Lovran, Istrian peninsula, Croatia.<br \/>       <img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:480px;height:680px;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/n_pole_vicko_palmic_lovran-3.jpg\"\/><br \/> Vicko Palmic, Lovran, photo from an exhibition in Lovran 2012.<\/p>\n<p>In  1872, when the expedition sailed off from the port of Bremen, weather  condition and temperature were particularly severe. A result of ice  movement was that the sailboat became wedged in the mass of ice for two  years! At that time it was not possible to communicate with the rest of  the world as it is today. During these two years the crew, although in  extremely difficult situation, performed numerous scientific  investigations. The preserved log-book testimonies about very serious  and well organized everyday life and work. As the ice moved slowly  northward, the mountains emerged, that they named Franz Josef&#8217;s Land. It  had been decided to leave the location of the ship, and carry three  auxiliary saving ships on sledges, tugged with dogs and people. In  dramatic 800 kilometers that they covered mostly on foot under very  difficult conditions, they discovered numerous new interesting places.  So today we have places like the Cape of Fiume (= the town of Rijeka, on  Croatian littoral), and the Cape of Klagenfurt (a town in Austria).<\/p>\n<p>       <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:480px;height:744px;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/n_pole_jakob_sucic_volosko-3.jpg\"\/><br \/> Jakob (Jacobus) Sucic, Volosko<br \/>       <img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:480px;height:342px;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/jakov_sucic480-3.jpg\"\/><br \/> Many thanks to dr. Sanja Rukavina of the University of Rijeka, for sending<br \/> us this photo from Volosko, where Jakov Su\u010di\u0107 was born.       <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\">       <\/p>\n<p>One  of participants of this adventure was Eling Carlson from Norway,  connoisseur of northern seas. Unfortunately, one member died due to  sickness: Oton Kriz from Moravia (today in Czechia). After about two  years of stay in the Arctic the ship Thegetthoff was left by the whole  crew in the ocean of ice, and 23 people set off back to Europe in three  small saving ships. For almost three months people and dogs had to tug  boats on sledges, and then during next nine days they had to row until  they finally met two russian fishing boats near Novaya Zemlya.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:800px;height:666px;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/n_pole_team-3.jpg\"\/><br \/> A part of the the North Pole Team <\/p>\n<p>As  stated in [Kunicic], p. 122, there is no king in the world that would  be accepted with such hospitality and joy as those totally exhausted  people were accepted by Russian mariners. It is very probable that  Croatian mariners were able to communicate with Russians, since Croatian  and Russian languages are relatively close. Among all members of the  expedition only Petar Lusina (from the island of Cres) knew Russian.  Besides his native Croatian, he also spoke English, French and Italian.  Members of the expedition learned many news that have happened in Europe  during two and a half years of their expedition. The two boats took  them to Vardoe in Norway, for which Russian mariners have sacrificed  four days of their fishing, plus four days for the return.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:640px;height:448px;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/n_pole_frane_letis_opatija640-3.jpg\"\/><br \/> Memorial plaque in Opatija in honour of Frane Leti\u0161, member of the team, was born in this town. <\/div>\n<p>Upon  successful arrival to Europe, with help of Russian and Norwegian navy,  members of expedition reached Hamburg. In Vienna a glorious welcome was  organised, and all of them obtained honorary citizenship in  Austrian-Hungarian state. A grand &#8220;banchetto&#8221; was organized in the  Croatian town of Volosko near Rijeka. The overall expenses were such  that the expedition ended with +17.61 forints, which we know from a very  detailed and pedantic final account. <\/p>\n<p><!--<font size=\"-1\">Among numerous financial supporters of this daring exploit was <a href=\"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/et12a2-2.html\">Dora Pejacevic<\/a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/et12a2-2.html\"\/>, distinguished Croatian composer.<\/font>--><\/p>\n<p>It  is interesting that experiences of this expedition were important in  the preparation of Amundsen&#8217;s expedition to Arctic about 30 years later.<\/p>\n<p>Croatian  descent of half of the crew was not even mentioned in the existing  literature available in German, English, and Italian. In Croatia itself,  the expedition was described by Eugen Kumicic.<\/p>\n<p>It also  worth mentioning that in 1882, as a part of the First International  Geophysical Year, another very ambitious and successful expedition had  been organized to the region of Greenland (in the part which is north of  Island). Also in this case, in the crew composed of 12 half of them  were Croats. Their names are<\/p>\n<p><i>Ivan Samanic, Josip Baretincic, Anton Mikacic, Anton Lukinovic, Jakov Succic, Tomas Diminich.<\/i> For the remaining names of the crew and other details <a href=\"http:\/\/members.eunet.at\/castaway\/History.html#1-Int-Polarjahr\">see here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight:bold;text-align:center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:640px;height:950px;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/hrvati_na_arktiku-2.jpg\"\/> <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight:bold;\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight:bold;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Miljenko Smokvina:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\"> Nevjerojatna polarna ekspedicija 1872. &#8211; istra\u017eiva\u010dki brod <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Tegetthoff<\/span><\/span>       <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=owgkEzAQ8eU\" target=\"_blank\">prvi dio<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4Fr1nZrNxJY\" target=\"_blank\">drugi dio<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xopGn8IOLK8\" target=\"_blank\">tre\u0107i dio<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLE7ZWWVAcnF8x-8yMB3IOB2-f7lv8Rots\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">Ostale aktivnosti g. Miljenka Smokvine iz Rijeke<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\"><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight:bold;\">       <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight:bold;\">References:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Das  Tagebuch des Maschinisten Otto Krisch Oesterreichisch-Ungarische  Nordpolexpedition von 1872 bis 1874 Hrsg.: Egon Reichhardt (Leykam  Verlag 1973) [Payer &#038; Weyprecht] <\/li>\n<li>Die Oe\u0096sterreich-Ungarische Nordpol Expedition In den Jahren 1869-1874 Julius Payer (A.Hoelder,Wien 1876 ) <\/li>\n<li>FRANZ-JOSEFS-LAND  -.-: OE\u0096STERREICHISCHE NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK: 100 Jahre Franz-Josefs-Land.  Zur Erinnerung an die Entdeckungsreise der Oe\u0096sterreichisch-Ungarischen  Nordpol-Expedition 1872-1874 unter Julius von Payer und Carl Weyprecht.  Katalog der Ausstellung 1973. Mit 24 Taf. Wien, o.V., 1973. Okart., g.e.  XII, 128 pp. <\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.arctic.at\/castaway\/history\/history.html#%D6st%20FJ%20Land\">Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition 1872-74 (Franz Josef&#8217;s Land)<\/a>         <\/li>\n<li><a name=\"kunic\" ><\/a>Petar Kunicic, <i>Hrvati na Ledenom moru<\/i>,  putovanje po sjeveru s hrvatskim mornarima, po izvjescu Julija Payera  (pretisak iz 1893.g.), Dom &#038; Svijet, Zagreb, 1994. (Petar Kunicic  was a teacher on the island of Vis)<\/li>\n<li>Adam Eterovich Bracanin: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.croatia.org\/crown\/croatians\/www.croatians.com\/NORTH%20POLE%20AND%20CROATIANS.htm\" target=\"_blank\">CROATIANS AND THE POLAR EXPEDITION OF 1872 <\/a>         <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <font size=\"-1\">It  was Mr Miljenko Smokvina from Rijeka who noticed from the names of  members of the crew that many of them are Croatian. After painstaking  study that he undertook in 1990s, he discovered many new interesting  details about these brave Croatian mariners.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"-1\">I  express my deepest gratitude to Mr Miljenko Smokvina for his kind help  during the preparation of this web page, and also to Matica hrvatska for  having organized very interesting lectures about history and culture of  the city of Rijeka, presented by members of Matica hrvatska Rijeka in  April 2000 in Zagreb.<\/font><\/p>\n<p>       <a href=\"http:\/\/www.croatia.org\/crown\/articles\/10423\/1\/Nikola-Primorac-Croatian-captaian-of-City-of-Ragusa-craft-sailing-from-Liverpool-to-New-York-and-back-in-1870.html\" target=\"_blank\">Nikola Primorac Croatian captain of City of Ragusa craft sailing from Liverpool to New York and back in 1870<\/a>              <\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ppmhp.link2.dlxeee.com\/\" rel=\"me\">Pomorski i povijesni muzej Hrvatskog primorja<\/a> u gradu Rijeci niti ne spominje Arkti\u010dku ekspediciju. Kako je to mogu\u0107e?<\/p>\n<p>       <a href=\"http:\/\/www.croatianhistory.net\/etf\/arctic1.html\" target=\"_blank\">Tomo Vi\u0161kovi\u0107, grob na otoku Jan Mayen na Arktiku<\/a><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many Arctic expeditions in the 19th century ended with shipwrecks. Probably the best known is Franklin&#8217;s expedition (1845) which had tragic human losses: as many as 120 people died. Twenty expeditions were organized in order to find and save them, but in vain. The Austrian-Hungarian state, which at that time included also Croatian coast, planned [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":2019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,24,27,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-croatian-life-stories","category-education","category-events","category-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crown.salamander-studios.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}