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History of the Ungaro-Croata
by József Horváth
First published in the 1990-1992 issues of the Magyar Hajózás
This article is also available in Hungarian at You are not allowed to view links.
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LoginIn our March issue there was an article about the largest Hungarian steamshipping company. Now – because of its actuality – you can read about the one which had the largest fleet, the Hungaro-Croatian Sea Steamshipping Company. The first part will deal with the circumstances of the company’s foundation, the second part with its thirty years of operation and its successors.
At the end of this year it will be the one hundredth anniversary that the small coastal shipping companies of the Hungaro-Croatian seacoast had merged into one Fiume based company under the name Hungaro-Croatian Sea Steamshipping Co (Ungaro-Croata).
Although the merger was initiated by entrepreneurs the commercial government was also supportive, however, negotiations about the scale of state subsidies, specifications of routes to be served and dispositional rights of the state took very long. By the time the merger got finally enacted by the law there had been over ten years of continous experimenting full of hardships behind the participating companies.
One of the founding members started its operation as Senjsko Brodarsko Društvo on the Zengg -Fiume line with their ship built at Fiume in 1872. After five years of work the company went bankrupt as it could not stand competition with the Austrian Lloyd. Winding up procedure draged on to 1879, until then the ship had been run by the Uprava Brodarska Hrvat.
In this year a new company was founded under the name Parabrodarsko Ivan Krajac i drugovi and they bought another ship from Portore to start a Carlopago route, too. The commercial and industrial chambers of the coastal towns supported the company’s endevour to become a pocket liner (to carry mail on board, too) but the financial government did not wish to compensate this service with subsidy or tax examption.
This made the situation so bad that - according to the publication of the Billancia on 13. 04. 1881. – they had to stop their liner service because the Treasury sequestrated the two ships. At this time Raffael Krajacz took over the leadership of the company and after tax arrears had been settled the service was renewed again.
Eventually, they managed to reach an agreement with the government so on the account of the subvention promised another old ship was purchesed to serve the Pago line. At last in 1883 an agreement for subsidizing the coastal liner service could be finally signed with the state. From this time on the company bore the name Navigazione Krajacz & Co.
During the 1885 cholera epidemic the turnover of the company was considerably set back as their ships got under caranteen. Despite of this, state subsidy provided by the annually renewed contract made it possible for them to get their fourth vessel built. At the time of the merger their four ship represented nearly 500 BRT and 700 Hp.
The other society involved in the merger was the Societa di Navigazione M. Sverljuga & Co. established at Fiume in 1884. Their business started also with only one vessel on the Fiume-Abbazia line. At this time around, the commercial government already had to take into cosideration the growing demand for steamshipping thus the Sverljugas received line subsidy right from the start.
It is interesting that the idea of merging the coastal shipping companies had arised in each year, however, it could only take place when the contract between the Austro-Hungarian Lloyd and the state ceased in 1891 so money became available to subsidize the coastal liner and postal services of the newly established stock companies.
Return now to the beginnings! In the year following its establishment a new ship was purchased and the Fiume-Veglia service launched. In 1886 and 1888 two new steamers were built for the company with which they opened regular routes between Fiume and the Dalmatian ports creating competition to Lloyd’s lines. To serve shorter lines two smaller used vessels were purchased in 1890. One of them was acquired from Marusich & Co established in 1888 at Zengg, the other from the Treasury of Montenegro. In the same year a new vessel was built to sail on the Fiume-Pola line. Thus at the time of the merger seven ships were brought in the joint venture, a total of 1184 BRT and 1185 Hp.
Before the merger of the above companies there had been several smaller societies operating in Buccari , Portore and Zengg, but these did not survive until the establishment of the Ungaro-Croata. One of them was the venture of György Mikulicich established at Bakar in 1872 which had run the Fiume-Bakar service with the steamer GRAD BAKAR but because of the strenghtening competition he was forced to sell the ship in Greece.
The Societá di Navigazione Portore established by Natale Pulich in 1876 had operated a line between Fiume and Portore with also one vessel but it merged into Krajacz & Co. Marussich & Co - already mentioned – brought its single ship into Sverljuga’s venture.
The Fiume-Venetia Society owned by Lipót Schwarz and Girolamo Prister was established in 1884. In the beggining they worked with a single small wooden hull steamer but after they had managed to sign a contract with the state their fleet was extended so passenger and freight forwarding could start on the Fiume-Ancona line as well.
At the time of Ungaro-Croata’s creation they worked with two bigger and a smaller steamer of which two sank due to collisions. Only one of the ships could be refloated and sold. To make up for the loss a large cabin steamer was purchased.
Lipót Schwarz headed the company alone since 1895 which got a new name, too: Impresa Fiume-Ancona e Fiume-Venezia. With support of the government a new ship was ordered from England, then a few years later another even larger one from Germany. The company was wound up in 1900 and its assets were brought into Ungaro-Croata in June, 1901. The four ship handed over represented a total of 2610 BRT and 3275 Hp.
Return now to the the establishment of the Stock Company Ungaro-Croata. As it was mentioned before, negotiations were already under way during the foundation of the Scwarz-Prister Co., however, since the commercial government would have wanted to treat all of the smaller companies under one umbrella, talks grounded one after another.
Funds were not available for subsidizing a large company as it was planned and without it entrepreneurs did not wish the merger. Taking into consideration that the matter of subsidization did mean problem not only for the companies involved in cabotage but also for the large Hungarian long-sea company, the Adria, the state stopped subsidizing the lines of the Austro-Hungarian Lloyd at the end of 1881 to set up apropriate funds. The sum become available this way, even shared with the Adria Co., seemed enough to help the new company be established.
Terms had been set after long debates and finally it was announced on 27. 05. 1881 that a new company named Hungaro-Croatian Sea Steamship Company would be established with its seat in Fiume on 01. 01. 1892 as a joint stock company of the former Sverljuga and Krajacz steam shipping companies. 68% of the 600.000 stock capital was subscribed by the 7 share holders of the Sverljuga Co while 32% of it was subscribed by the 22 share holders of the Krajacz Co. Ferenc Corossatz was elected to president, László Krajacz to deputy president and Mátyás Sverljuga to managing director.
Board of directors consisted of seven members apart from the above mentioned persons. Besides, there was also a five member supervisory board according to the statutes. Directors did not only hold titels but took part in daily work as well, as administration of the company was done with only fourteen officers along with a nautical and a technical supervisor. Agancies were run in Vienna, Budapest, Spalato and Zengg, and 22 agents were hired between Trieste and Durazzo on both sides of the Adriatic.
On their eleven ships (1658 BRT, 1955 Hp) eleven first class and four second class captains worked along with eightytwo crewmembers. They did not hire own technical staff on shore and had no own repairing base as repairs were carried out by the Fiume yards effectively and fast.
Lines taken over with shipping services were the following:
1. one weekly return service between Fiume and Metkovich,
2. three weekly services between Fiume and Pola,
3. three weekly return services between Fiume and Veglia,
4. two monthly services between Fiume and Ragusa ,
5. one daily service between Fiume and Abbazia,
6. six weekly services between Fiume and Zengg,
7. two weekly services between Zengg and Pago,
8. one weekly service between Zengg and Zara .
The venture was based on the above liner services. According to the terms of the contract, the network of shipping routes served was to be restructured and the fleet was to be extended and modernised to receive the annual 115000 Ft line subsidy and another 30000 Ft for the mail service taken over from the Lloyd as it was set out by the agreement.
According to this, the s/s CROATIA built in Kiel for carrying 200 passengers was delivered at the end of 1891, and was put in service as express ship on the Fiume-Metkovich line. In the beginning of 1892 another newly built ship, the 520 BRT s/s HUNGÁRIA, started her express service between Fiume and Cattaro. In the second half of the year, the s/s BUDAPEST and s/s ZAGREB both of them just like the previous ones over 500 BRTs, were taken over. In 1893 a new excursion steamer was built under the name STEPHANIE to run the Fiume-Abbazia line.
As new units had been built some of the older ones became written off: at the end of the year the old and worn s/s VINODOLAC was sold. In August of 1894 the shipping company Litorale of Zengg became defunct and two of its ships were purchased by the Ungaro-Croata. In 1895 the building of the next Abbazia excursion boat, the s/s VOLOSCA, was completed and also the s/s CIRKVENICA to serve the Zengg-Pago line.
This was the year when Austrian Lloyd put in service its express ship the nearly 1000 BRT and 16 knots velocity s/s GRAF WURMBRAND on the Trieste-Cattaro route becoming a very strong counterpart of Ungaro-Croata’s smaller and slower ships run on the same line.
To keep pace, leadership quickly had to look for new ships, so an appropriate size and speed ship the s/s PANNÓNIA had been ordered and then delivered in August, 1896. At the same time the s/s LIBURNIA was taken over for the newly opened Fiume-Abbazia-Lussinpiccolo line. In 1898 three new ships were put in service, the s/s DUNA forwarding freight on the new Fiume-Budva line, the s/s DRÁVA and SAVA on the Istrian line. Of the old ships two were sold, the SIBYL to Sebenico, the ZVONIMIR to the Royal Hungarian Finance Authority. The ever growing appeal of the holiday resort Abbazia made another new excursion boat neccessary, this saloonsteamer became the SIRÁLY. Another passenger steamer, the BAKAR, was also built to serve the Zengg-Pago route. So ended the first decade of the company’s activity characterized whith silent but steady development and growth.
The initial fleet of 11 units grew to a fleet of 23 even though three of the over aged steamers were sold and one sank. During the ten years period a few accidents took place but of these only a few were serious like the s/s HUNGARIA’s boiler explosion in which three crew members died in June, 1892. Another serious event was when the s/s IKA sank in a collision in the port of Fiume in September, 1897. In that accident 25 of her 45 passengers and one crewmember drowned. The 23 ships represented now 5774 BRT and 8385 Hp compared to the starting 1658 BRT and 1955 Hp which well describe the development besides numerical growth.
Although the new contract signed with the state at the end of November, 1900 placed stricter obligations on the company but at the same time the surplus of the annual state subsidy increased to 430.000 Crowns made more spectacular growth possible which was enhanced by the acqusition of the Scwarz Shipping Company, too. There was change in the presidentship as well, since the position was taken over by Zsigmond Copaitich.
The company accepted in the new agreement to open more new routes. It was always carefully planned that Ungaro Croata lines would provide connection to the Budapest-Zagreb-Fiume railway services of the MÁV (Hungarian State Railways) as they had been extention to them. New obligations such as to purchase and build new express ships in domestic yards, to combine tariff rates with the MÁV, to hire or favore graduates from the Royal Hungarian Maritime Academy at Fiume were all undertaken by the company.
Besides others the agreement determined obligations for carrying mail on board since this company was the most important factor in postal service along the coastline. By the terms of this contract the circumstances of running the coastal shipping service was settled for both the state and the entrepreneurs for a long period (15 years).
This contract made possible for Lipót Schwarz as well to join. Besides his ships he brought in the company his Fiume-Venice, Fiume-Ancona lines and his agency network, too. In return, he became member of the board of directors. The large ships taken over (s/s DÁNIEL ERNŐ, s/s HEGEDŰS SÁNDOR, s/s VENEZIA, s/s VILLÁM) increased the company’s output with 2588 BRT and 3275 Hp.
Of the first steamers of the company the three oldest – HRVAT, ABBAZIA, SENJ – were sold. The express steamer named GÖDÖLLŐ, a sistership of the earlier purchased PANNÓNIA, then two smaller ships the s/s MAGYAR and s/s HRVAT (II.), moreover an even smaller ship the s/s ABBAZIA (II.) to replace on the Abbazia line the saloonsteamer sold earlier, were all built in 1902.
Having seen the profitabillity of coastal shipping more and more smaller ventures of Trieste, Ragusa, Bari launched steamer services on longer or shorter routes, so Ungaro-Croata was forced to get even larger and faster ships built to maintaine its positions on the market. In 1904, the s/s SKODRA was built in a domestic yard, and in England the s/s SALONA the largest ship (936 BRT) to that date. In 1905 the saloonsteamer TÁTRA was put in service on the Fiume-Abbazia-Lussinpiccolo line, a nearly one year old unit, the Trieste built ISTRIANO was purchased from the Dalmata-Istriana Society. In the next year the new s/s STAFÁNIA was completed to replace the old STEPHANIE that was sold, and another steamer the LOVRANA was also delivered. In 1907 the s/s SENJ (II.) and the s/s MAROS was built then in the following year their sisters (s/s NOVI and s/s VÉRTES) respectivelly. In Trieste the sisters TIHANY and LIKA, in Kiel the sisters POZSONY and BRASSÓ, and in Lussinpiccolo the SZAMOS were launched.
With this great number of vessels Ungaro-Croata became the fourth largest company among the Monarchy’s sea shipping companies, thus it could afford to charter its worn out s/s HUNGÁRIA to a Dalmatian company and to sell it eventually to a Venetian company one year later.
Ungaro-Croata’s 41 steamers represented 13550 BRT at this time. In 1912, after a longer break, two new ships were built to sail on the Fiume-Abbazia and the Fiume-Arbe route. These were the FÜRED and the ALMÁDI saloonsteamers. The same year the 790 BRT s/s KUPA was completed in England to run on the newly opened Fiume-Dalmatia-Albania-Korfu-Greece line.
In order to remain competitive with the Austrian Lloyd’s Dalmatian express services run from Trieste, they had to work out a new program for acquirement of even larger and more effective vessels. The twin screw, twin funnel s/s VISEGRÁD was built in the framework of this program and she became the company’s largest ship ever. This was when the 900 BRT s/s SPARTA and the DRAVA (II.) were also built, the later to replace the worn out DRÁVA sold in the previous year. The two years old GRENLAND was puchesed in Norway in the same year which was later put in service as VALONA. To make up for the sale of two old vessels, the VOLOSCA and SOKOL, the s/s KNIN was completed in Lussinpiccolo in 1914.
At this time sistership of the s/s VISEGRÁD, the HUNYAD, was already under constuction at the Ganz-Danubius yard, furthermore the sistership of the s/s SPARTA, the HUNGÁRIA (II.) and another smaller, but fast and luxurious steamer, the s/s LOMNICZ were being built at Lussinpiccolo.
This nicely driven growth was cut in two by the outbroken Great War.
When the war broke out Ungaro-Croata’s fleet consisted of 47 vessels with a total of 17414 BRT. Mobilization for war made the leaders of the company face hardships because all of their ships available were to be let for war service on the basis of the agreement signed with the state. Fortunatelly, the Seetransportleitung set up in Fiume did not make use of this possibility at once, only two older steamers capable for troop transport were employed between Fiume and Pola and only until the end of the year. The s/s HRVAT got enlisted for transport between Fiume and Cattaro as DAMPFER XIX and the s/s POZSONY was chartered by the Army up until her later disaster.
The enclosed basin of the Adriatic Sea provided relative safety for the operation of the company until declaration of war by Italy. Liner services to the Hungarian-Croatian and Dalmatian coast to Gravosa remained intacted and vessels carried out their normal activities.
With Italian war declaration this situation completelly changed from May, 1915. Wealthier citizens fled from the city, all business ventures, all commercial activities continued work in order to fulfill war objectives. Suspension of telegramm and telephone communication, introduction of mail censorship and other measures were obstructing normal businesses of companies and every day activities of citizens.
Because of the above mentioned problems Ungaro-Croata’s coastal lines became ever more important as they remained nearly the only possibility for transport, travel and acquiring or forwarding news amids restrictions. Therefor, due to the changes of actual war situation, routes were only maintained to Lesina, then a year later, from the second part of 1916 ships did not sail further than Zara.
Ships withdrawn from services because of dropped demand for work were directed into the well defended Novigrad Bay. Eighteen new and most modern units of the company were laid up there. Fiume was the other base where twelve vessels were waiting with full complements ready to sail, and another sixteen in stand by. Two steamers stationed dismantled in Bakar and Lussinpiccolo.
From the middle of the year 1917 as war spread out ships did not venture further than the area of Veglia-Pago and within the islets to Obrovaz . More and more vessels were commanded into war service by Seetransportsleistung’s directorate because of worsening conditions and the great many losses of war. As the situation deterrioriated some of the ships had to be armed to fulfill their duties. These vessel mostly served as escort ships to the defence of the Albanian convoys, but there were auxiliary cruisers, submarine-hunters and troop transport ships as well among them. Armed units flew the Navy ensign.
During the war thirtysix vessels were taken into warservice of Ungaro-Croata’s fleet for longer or shorter periods. Only eight steamers were used just for civilian purposes even in wartime and the three larger ones stationed in Novigrad right from the start until the end of war. Of the enlisted units five fell victim to the terrors of war, four others damaged to the extent that they could only be repaired after hostilities ceased.
At the time of the collapse, according to the order of Charles IV, Admiral Horthy handed over the units of the Austro-Hungarian Navy to the National Council of the South Slavian State so Ungaro-Croata’s formerly enlisted units got under the flag of the new S.H.S. Kingdom.
Only those ships which stucked in the area of Cattaro, Ragusa, Zara, Fiume and Pola occupied by Italian or English-French troops got under Italian controll. Eight units were used by the French war idemnity commitee under Allied flag in 1919. The company became completely unable to operate in the chaotic situation changing day to day. The ships were used at anyone’s descrition without controll either under Italian, Allied or the newly established S.H.S. Kingdom’s flag.
Finally, the fate of the company’s fleet was settled by peace talks in 1921. According to the Trumbic-Bertolli Treaty eight units became property of Societa Costeira di Fiume under Italian flag and these steamers were duly renamed to Italian names. They were operated on the Bari-Spalato-Zara-Pola-Fiume, the Ancona-Pola-Fiume routes and in local services of the Istrian ports.
A new U-C reorganised by Zsigmond Copaitich leaving out the Hungarian attribute from its name, still worked on for a short while also renaming its ships. In 1922 involving many Croatian, Dalmatian companies Jadranska Plovidba d. d. was established with its home port in Sušak (it was Fiume’s South-Eastern suburb with the Port of Baross which remained in the hands of the South Slavs according to the Treaty).
Backbone of the new company was made up of remnants of the old Ungaro-Croata. This fleet quickly expanded as new ships were built at Split and building of those vessels that could not be completed during the war were also finished eventually (HUNYAD=JUGOSLAVIA, LOMNICZ=TOPOLA, HUNGÁRIA=BEOGRAD).
In 1931 the Costeira was reorganised and in result of a merger of many companies it carried on under the name Adriatica de Nav. Veneziana. Its ships remained in service even after WWII. Its last three ex Ungaro-Croata ships were discarded in 1956.
The fate of the Yugoslavian successor only became uncertain in the turmoil of WWII. During the Italian occupation their vessels changed owners once again. When the independent Croatian state was founded, a notion of establishing a joint Hungarian-Croatian sea shipping company arised in hopes that at least some of the vessels gotten in Italian hands could be returned to the former owners.
This met certain Hungarian desires as well at that time. The Hungarian Foreign and Commercial Ministries took account of the steamers which once had been Hungarian property and now sailed under Yugoslavian flag with the unhidden intention to regain possesion of them as territories of the Hungarian Crown in analogy of the regained Hungarian soil following the Vienna Decisions and Treaties. With Italian occupation and anexation Hungary’s plans quickly dissolved as negotiation carried out in Zagreb finally ended without results because of Italian refusal.
Majority of the vessels requisited by Italy sank in fightings, the rest was blown up by the Germans when Italy was occupied in the Fall of 1943. Hardly any usable units remained by the end of the war.
As hostilities ceased the Yugoslavian Navy and the Brodospas refloated the wrecks and reconstruction started. Ships taken away by Italians and Germans were also returned, so in 1947 lead by Károly Csepregi the company could renew its operation under the name Jadranska Linijska Plovidba, making the occupied Fiume (Rijeka) its home port. At this time, renamed again, eleven of the predeccesors’ steamers still got listed in the fleet of the company and became written off only in the 1960s, the majority in 1964-65. The last of them was the s/s KNIN which had been converted to a restaurant ship named BARBA RUDE in 1962, being berthed in Rijeka as it was to the end of the 70s.
Along with former Ungaro-Croata ships vessels built or purchased between the two wars were also broken up or sold. New demands required new ships. There was ever growing need for excursion ships and liner shipping was replaced by ferry services. Thus Jadrolinija’s fleet got completelly renewed with ever more beautiful modern vessels by the 80s. In 1990 the company disposed over 54 units representing 54500 BRT. Of these three are large luxus ships: ISTRA, DALMACIJA and finest of them is the m/s ADRIANA, furthermore there are five large ferries: BALKANIJA, ILIRIJA, LIBURNIA, SLAVIJA, MARKO POLO.
One wonders whether the new conflict that has been inciting peoples of the Eastern Adriatic coast for months now and causing headache to the whole of Europe will put an end to the nearly hundred and twenty years old continuity passed from the beginning of the Krajaczs’small Zengg venture to this date? It should not be that way!
- end -
Translator’s remark: geographical and personal names are left as they had been used in turn of the century Hungarian language and as they are in the original text, however, an index of current geographical names is given below to give the reader a better perspective about the operating area of the company.
Abbázia = Opatija,
Arbe = Rab,
Buccari = Bakar,
Carlopago = Karlobag,
Cattaro = Kotor,
Durazzo = Durrёs,
Fiume = Rijeka,
Gravosa = Gruž,
Lesina = Hvar,
Lussinpiccolo = Mali Lošinj,
Obrovazzo = Obrovac,
Pago = Pag,
Pola = Pula,
Portore = Kraljevica,
Ragusa = Dubrovnik,
Sebenico = Šibenik,
Spalato = Split
Veglia = Krk,
Zara = Zadar,
Zengg = Segna = Senj,
Official name of the company:
Magyar-Horvát Tengeri Gőzhajózási Részvénytársaság Fiuméban
Societá in Azioni Ungaro-Croata di Navigazione Marittima a Vapore in Fiume
Ugarsko-Hrvatsko Dioničko Pomorsko Parabrodarsko Društvo u Rieci
Ungarisch-Kroatische See Dampfschiffahrts Actiengesselschaft in Fiume
Predecessor in title
Steamshipping Company of Senj, 1871-1879
Krajacz & Co., 1879-1891
M. Sverljuga & Co., 1884-1891
L. Schwarz, 1885-1901
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