President Milanović Attends the Commemoration of the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Vis: An Important Event in Croatian History
The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, attended today the commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Lissa on the island of Vis. The President of the Republic laid a wreath into the sea from a Croatian Navy vessel. Following the Croatian President, H. E. Yvonne Tončić-Sorinj, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria, and Hrvoje Mratinić, Mayor of the City of Vis, marked the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Lissa in the same manner.
“The 160th anniversary of the Battle of Lissa is an important event in Croatian history. Had the Italians won that battle, it is possible that, in their surge to establish a nation-state, they would have landed everywhere between Zadar and Dubrovnik, along the entire coast. How our story regarding the formation of the Croatian political nation in Dalmatia would have unfolded – without which Croatia does not exist, just as it does not exist without Slavonia – we will never know. Our people from the Croatian Adriatic, Dalmatians, participated in the battle. Thus, I am here for the first time with particular pleasure,” said President Milanović.
The famous naval engagement near Vis, known as the Battle of Lissa, took place on 20 July 1866, and the islanders commemorate it every ten years. As part of the Austro-Prussian War, this battle was the first in history in which ironclad, steam-powered fleets clashed on the open sea, marking a technological turning point in naval warfare. Despite the numerically superior Italian fleet, the Austrian Navy emerged victorious, with Croatian sailors playing a crucial role. Alongside thwarting nearly half a century of Italian claims over Dalmatia, this victory played a significant role in awakening national consciousness in Dalmatia, and consequently in Croatia, in the mid-19th century.
The commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Lissa was attended by: Hrvoje Mratinić, Mayor of the City of Vis; Roko Brajčić, President of the Vis City Council; Tonči Sanader, Envoy of the Prefect of Split-Dalmatia County and Head of the Tourism Department of Split-Dalmatia County; Ivica Vitaljić, Mayor of the City of Komiža; H. E. Yvonne Tončić-Sorinj, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria to the Republic of Croatia; and Brigadier Jure Johann Bauer, Defence Attaché of the Republic of Austria to the Republic of Croatia. Moreover, the ceremony was attended by retired Austrian sailors in historical uniforms, as well as numerous other guests from the fields of culture and local and regional government from the island of Vis and Dalmatia.
Accompanying the President of the Republic were Bartol Šimunić, Head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic; Nikša Peronja, Adviser to the President for Local and Regional Self-Government; and Commodore Damir Dojkić, Commander of the Croatian Navy.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan