- Unveiling of the Gundulić monument
The unveiling of the Gundulić monument in
Dubrovnik onMay 20 ,1893 , was a symbolical event in the political history of Dubrovnik, since it brought to the surface the wider tensions between theCroats and theSerbs in the pre-World War I political struggles in the region.The preparation
At its session of
March 9 ,1880 , the Municipal Council of Dubrovnik adopted the proposition of the Dubrovnik Serbian Youth of raising a monument for the 300th anniversary of the birth of Gundulić. The mayor of the city at the time wasFrancesco Ghetaldi-Gondola . It was decided that a five-member committee would be nominated to oversee the monument's construction. The members wereMedo Pucić ,Pero Budmani ,Ivo Kaznačić ,Mato Vodopić andLuko Zore .In 1882, it was decided that 11
florin s will be required for the monument's erection. The construction was financed by King of SerbiaAleksandar Obrenović and among the others investors wereNiko Pucić , who gave 5 florins, andVlaho DeGiulli , who gave 10 florins.The monument was erected on
May 20 ,1893 , in Dubrovnik's largest square, Poljana. It was made by theIvan Rendić . The official unveiling was scheduled for the next month.The unveiling
The unveiling, like all the official celebrations in that period, was not only cultural, but also strongly national and political. The members of the
Croatian Party of Rights and theCroatian People's Party together tried to bring to Dubrovnik as many Croats as possible from various Croat regions to give the Croatian national and political character to the celebration. On the other hand, the members of theSerb Party tried to gather as many Serbs as possible to give a Serbian flavor to the celebration. It was officially revealed on Sunday,July 26 ,1893 , by the last male member of the family, BaronFrancesco Gondola (Ghetaldi-Gondola)("see"House of Gondola ). The celebration included more people from outside Dubrovnik than the citizens.The distinguished Croatian guests included writers
Eugen Kumičić ,August Harambašić ,Stjepan Buzolić ,Rikard Katalinić Jeretov ,Ante Tresić Pavičić , scientistsFranjo Rački ,Tadija Smičiklas andFrane Bulić , the sculptorIvan Rendić (who made the monument), the composerFranjo Kuhač , politiciansMiho Klaić ,Gajo Filomen Bulat ,Juraj Biankini ,Ante Trumbić ,Josip Frank ,Vjekoslav Spinčić ,Milan Amruš , many Croatian representatives from the parliaments ofDalmatia ,Istria and Croatia and the imperial council, as well as the mayors of Croatian municipalities.The distinguished Serbian guests were less numerous and included poets
Jovan Jovanović Zmaj andJovan Sundečić , parliamentary representativesĐorđe Vojnović andĐuro Vukotić , as well as the mayors of Serbian municipalities. The representatives of the Austrian regime - the Dalmatian governorEmil David and the regional headAmbroz Marojčić , did not have a place of honor because of the anti-Austrian sentiments in Dubrovnik, so they had to stand in the crowd.Contemporary accounts
At that time, the editor of the Dubrovnik newspaper "Crvena Hrvatska" ("
Red Croatia ") was youngFrano Supilo , who would go on to become one of the major figures in the pre-World War I Croatian politics.Supilo said of the event::"The celebration in Gundulić's honor showed the difference between the Croats and the Serbs. The Gundulić celebration showed that Dubrovnik is not a Serbian city, that the citizens of Dubrovnik are not Serbs. Twenty-five municipalities of southern Dalmatia clearly said at the Gundulić celebration that they are Croatian municipalities, that the people of southern Dalmatia is the Croatian people. We know Serbs do not like to hear that, but it is their problem. We know they do not like that they were received coldly in Dubrovnik, that 5,000 citizens of Dubrovnik entered the city with Croatian flags, chanting: "Long live Croatia!". Maybe they will be comforted by the fact that the Italianate party from Zadar shouted "Evviva i Serbi!", which is the adequate reward for their moral defeat in Dubrovnik."
ources
In Croatian:
*Ivo Perić, "Mladi Supilo" (Young Supilo), Zagreb, 1996
*Newspaper "Crvena Hrvatska" (Red Croatia), Dubrovnik, No. 32, August 12, 1893, pp. 1-2.
*Ivo Banac, "Dubrovački eseji" (Dubrovnik essays), Dubrovnik, 1992
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