Vjenceslav Turković (28 September 1826 – 30 April 1902) was a Croatian

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

, and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. His sons were

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

s Petar Dragan and Milan Turković.

Biography

Turković moved from

Kraljevica Kraljevica (known as ''Porto Re'' in Italian and literally translated as "King's cove" in English) is a town in the Kvarner region of western Croatia, located between Rijeka and Crikvenica, approximately thirty kilometers from Opatija and near ...

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

, where he established himself in the

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

logs and

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

s and owned his

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

s. In 1858, together with Franjo Türk, he founded the Turković-Türk Company, the leading company in that branch of trade in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, and operated until 1886. He influenced Karlovac's political and social life, and his house was visited by many Croatian politicians, writers and artists, including

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Josip Juraj Strossmayer Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; ; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian prelate of the Catholic Church, politician and benefactor (law), benefactor. Between 1849 and his death, he served as the Bishop of Đakovo, Bishop ...

and

Franjo Rački Franjo Rački (25 November 1828 – 13 February 1894) was a Croatian historian, politician, writer, and Catholic priest. He compiled important collections of old Croatian diplomatic and historical documents, wrote some pioneering historical works ...

. He also improved the inherited

Kraljevica Shipyard Kraljevica Shipyard is a shipbuilder at Kraljevica, on the Adriatic coast of Croatia. The shipyard was founded in 1729 by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and is claimed to be the oldest continuously operational shipyard in the world. The ship ...

, where he started the construction of large

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...

s in 1868. Turković became a representative of Karlovac in the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

in 1865. He was a member of the Parliament until 1871.

Kutjevo Landlordship

In 1882, at an auction called by the

Triune Kingdom The Triune Kingdom () or Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia () was the concept—advocated by the leaders of the 19th-century Croatian national revival—of a united kingdom between Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, which were alrea ...

Government, Turković bought the estate in

Kutjevo Kutjevo is a town in eastern Croatia. It is located in the Slavonia region, northeast of town of Požega. Climate Since records began in 2002, the highest temperature recorded at the Vidim weather station was , on 22 August 2018. The coldest temp ...

, including the

Kutjevo Abbey Kutjevo Abbey, also known as Gotó () was a Cistercian monastery in what is now Croatia, in the area of Slavonia, 23 km north-east of Požega. History The monastery was founded in 1232 as a daughter-house of Zirc Abbey in Hungary, of the filia ...

. Three bids were received at the auction; the highest bid came from the Turković-Türk Company in the amount of 1,350,000 fl. Buyers Turković and Franjo Türk signed the sales contract on 10 July 1882. The company's total area is 14,549

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s, of which 11,967 hectares were under

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

, which was the main reason for purchasing the property because the Turković-Türk Company was engaged in the wood trade. The remaining part of the land was used for commercial purposes. During sixty-three years, his Turković and his sons and grandsons built the Kutjevo Landlordship and brought it to its greatest prosperity. Kutjevo is becoming famous for

winegrowing Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

and

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

around the continent. They expanded their

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s and

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s, and the Draganlug plantation was regarded as the largest in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

at the time. They also brought in skilled labor and improved vine cultivation and cellaring, which led to significant changes in the habits and practices of the local population.

Family

Turković married Johanna Amšel. They had five children, daughters Ljuboslava (born 1852) and Jelka (born 1859) and sons Petar Dragan (born 1855),

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

(born 1857), and Ivan. In 1911, his two sons, Petar Dragan and Milan, were made

s by the

Austrian Emperor The emperor of Austria (, ) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The hereditary imperial title and office was proclaimed in 1804 by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorra ...

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkovic, Vjenceslav 1826 births 1902 deaths Businesspeople from Austria-Hungary Croatian Austro-Hungarians Croatian businesspeople Croatian politicians People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia Representatives in the Croatian Parliament (1848–1918) Turković family 19th-century shipbuilders Ship owners 19th-century landowners