13 CROATS They took part in the Austro-Hungarian polar expedition at the end of the 19th century. They were trapped in the ice for two years and were rescued by Russian fishermen in 1874
On the polar expedition in 1872, the Austro-Hungarian ship "Admiral Tegetthoff" sailed from Bremerhaven. The commanders were Austro-Hungarian officers and researchers Carl Weyprecht and Julius Payer, and as many as thirteen of the 24 crew members on board were Croats. The goals of the expedition were several, from exploring the sea north of Siberia to discovering the way to the Bering Strait and passing through it to the Pacific Ocean. None of this succeeded because the ship was already chained by ice at the end of August 1872, so "Admiral Tegetthoff" remained chained by ice for a full two years. A large iceberg carried it with the sea currents, so the ship never reached the Bering Strait, but the crew discovered a hitherto unknown archipelago, which they called the Land of Francis Joseph. Since most of the Croatian sailors were from Kvarner, one cape was named after today's Rijeka and today it also bears the name - Fiume. Chained by ice, the "Admiral
Tagetthoff" sailed for two years and when the crew realized they would not survive the third winter, they left the ship and stayed on land for some time.
They soon concluded that the ship could not be separated from the ice and headed south. They set off in three small boats, which they released into the sea from the boat, and, sailing and rowing, they crossed more than 300 nautical miles, after which they hiked on the ice for a full three months. Completely exhausted in September 1874, they were rescued by Russian fishermen who landed them in Norway, from where they returned home. When the Russians finally boarded them on a fishing boat, they complained about the heat in the cabins as much as they were already accustomed to the everyday ice. All this and many more details of this expedition were described in his book "Croats on the Ice Sea" by Petar Kunčić in 1908. A few days ago, members of the Russian Geographical Society found nine barrels of bread and seven boxes of sausages from the famous Austro-Hungarian expedition. They found them on New Earth, on the west coast of the North Island, south of the Land of Francis Joseph. The Croats on the "Tagetthoff" were the deck leader Petar Lusina from Cres, the carpenter Ante Večerina from Sušačka Draga and the sailors Lovro Marola from Rijeka, Petar Falešić and Juraj Štiglić from Bakar, Jakov Sušić, Frane Letiš, and Vicko palmić from Volski, Josip Latković from Plomin, Ante Katarinić from Mali Lošinj, Ante Lukinović from Pučišća on Brač, Ante Zaninović from Sveta Nedilja on Hvar and Ante Scarpa from Trieste.
CROAT S CRESA DECK LEADER. Petar Lusina, a Croat from Cres, was the most important member of the crew of Austro-Hungarian officers and researchers Carl Weyprecht and Julius Payer. One of the crew members died on the trip ...
NINE BARRELS AND SEVEN BOXES
Members of the Russian Geographical Society found nine barrels of bread and seven boxes of sausages from the ship "Admiral Tegetthoff."
The sailors were rescued by Russian fishermen on September 3, 1874. They landed in the Norwegian port of Vardö, from where they returned home.
Interesting, adventurous, sad, funny, happy and simple. APPIC.