Ante Šupuk (21 August 1838 – 11 May 1904) was a Croatian politician and entrepreneur who served as a mayor of

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

. In 1895 he built the

Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant is a hydroelectric power plant on river Krka, located in Šibenik-Knin County, in central Dalmatia, Croatia. The first European hydroelectric power plant was built in Croatia (many people worked together to make ...

as one of the world's first

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

s, and connected it to a lighting system using

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...

. It was the first of its kind in Dalmatia and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Ante Šupuk was a generally influential mayor of Šibenik, the first Croat mayor to be elected under universal suffrage in 1872. He held the office in three periods: 1873–1882, 1886–1892, and 1896–1903. During his tenure, the city built a number of features: a railroad connection (1877), waterworks (1879), a sewer system, and a new harbor, a new hospital building (1883). In 1893, Šupuk and one Vjekoslav Meichsner started a business and obtained a license to use the waters of river Krka, and in 1894 they obtained permission to set up electrical power lines on municipal property in order to start lighting the streets with electric power. The construction of the

started in 1894 and lasted for 16 months. It had a two-phase generator that produced 0.6 MW of electric power. It was connected to the city with an long 3 kV power line, where it was transformed to 110 V. On August 28, 1895, the first electric street lights lit up in Šibenik. This achievement made Šibenik the third city in the world with

-powered street lights. In 1904, Šupuk's company built a new power plant, Jaruga II, still operational today.

References

Croatian politicians Croatian businesspeople 1838 births 1904 deaths People from Šibenik {{Croatia-bio-stub