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

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

, and politician. His sons were

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

s Petar Dragan and

Milan Turković Milan Turković may refer to: * Milan Turković (businessperson) (1857–1937), Croatian businessman and nobleman * Milan Turković (musician) (born 1939), Austrian-Croatian classical bassoonist and conductor {{hndis, Turković, Milan ...

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 Croatia, located between Rijeka and Crikvenica, approximately thirty kilometers from Opatija and near the entran ...

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...

, where he established himself in the trade of oak logs and

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached 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 legum ...

s and owned his ships. In 1858, together with Franjo Türk, he founded the Turković-Türk Company, the leading company in that branch of trade in Croatia, 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 Josip Juraj Strossmayer and Franjo Rački. 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 and is claimed to be the oldest continuously operational shipyard in the world. The shipyard has been operating under the ...

, where he started the construction of large sailing ships in 1868. Turković became a representative of Karlovac in the Croatian Parliament in 1865. He was a member of the Parliament until 1871.

Kutjevo Landlordship

In 1882, at an auction called by the Triune Kingdom 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. History Kutjevo is known for its wines, and the local agricultural joint stock company Kutjevo d.d. is the largest exporter of wines in Cro ...

, including the

Kutjevo Abbey Kutjevo Abbey, also known as Gotó ( la, Vallis honesta de Gotho) 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 Ab ...

. 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 hectares, of which 11,967 hectares were under forest, 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 (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) 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, ran ...

and winemaking around the continent. They expanded their vineyards and orchards, and the Draganlug plantation was regarded as the largest in Europe 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 (born 1857), and Ivan. In 1911, his two sons, Petar Dragan and Milan, were made

s by the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I.

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 Shipbuilders Ship owners 19th-century landowners