Konstantin "Kosta" Vojnović ( sr-Cyrl, Константин Војновић; ; March 2, 1832 – May 20, 1903) was a Croatian Serb politician, university professor, and rector in the kingdoms of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

and Croatia-Slavonia of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

Life

Family

Vojnović was born in

Herceg Novi Herceg Novi (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Херцег Нови, ) is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of ...

(Kingdom of Dalmatia, modern

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

) into the Serb Vojnović noble family. His grandfather Đorđe Vasiljević Vojnović (1760–1821) was a Russian military officer, he later returned to Boka Kotorska, and in 1800, in

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

, he married Kasandra Angeli-Radovani from a Roman Catholic family. They had a son, Jovan. Count Jovan Đ. Vojinović (1811–1837) died at the age of 26, he married Katarina Gojković whose mother was of the family of

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

Metropolitan Stevan Stratimirović. Katarina later remarried to a Pellegrini. Jovan and Katarina had two sons, Konstantin (Kosta), and his brother Đorđe (Đura). His brother Đorđe (1833–1895) was the mayor of Boka (1863–1877) and its representative deputy, and president of the Diet of Dalmatia in

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

. As the people's deputy he fought against the Austrian politics that deliberately omitted the Bokan maritime affairs, which was the main occupation of his ancestors. Konstantin and Đorđe were baptized in the Serbian Orthodox Savina monastery in Herceg Novi, however, their grandmother Kasandra later converted them into the Roman Catholic confession.Martinović 2003, footnotes: "Đorđev sin Jovan imao je dva sina: Kostu i Đura, koji su bili kršteni u manastiru Savini kod Herceg-Novog, ali ih je docnije njihova baba Angeli-Radovani prekrstila u katoličku vjeru."

Career

He graduated law at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

in the period 1851–54, received his Ph.D. in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

in 1856. In

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

he worked as a lawyer, a secretary of the Chamber of Merchants, legislative writer and a politician. He advocated unification of

and

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

with Croatia and Slavonia. He was great supporter of

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 ...

n independence in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. As a member of the People's Party, he served as a representative in the Parliament of Dalmatia. At the recommendation of his close friend and a colleague

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 ...

, he was elected in 1874 as a professor of Austrian law at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

. He served twice as a prorector of the university: the first time during the rectorship of the first rector Matija Mesić, and the second time immediately after himself served as a rector in the academic year 1877/1878. In the period 1878–1884 he served as a representative 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. ...

. He was a full member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts since 1890. Due to political reasons, expressing his disagreement with oppressive

Magyarization Magyarization ( , also Hungarianization; ), after "Magyar"—the Hungarian autonym—was an assimilation or acculturation process by which non-Hungarian nationals living in the Kingdom of Hungary, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, adop ...

, he was temporarily suspended from university service and retired in 1891. He returned to

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

and began research of the Dubrovnikan legislative history. He died in Dubrovnik at the age of 71.

Marriage and children

He married Marija Seralji (Serragli; 1836-1922) from Dubrovnik in 1855. She was the daughter of Luigi de Serragli (1808-1902), an Italian businessman and bureaucrat, member of the Dalmatian Diet, and Kristina Đivović. They had five children: Ivo, Lujo, Katica, Eugenija and Kristina.

Legacy

Since 1933 a street in Zagreb is named after him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vojnovic, Konstantin 1832 births 1903 deaths People from Herceg Novi

Konstantin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name '' Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Bulgarian, Russian, Estonian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman empe ...

Serbian Austro-Hungarians Serbs of Croatia Converts to Roman Catholicism Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy People's Party (Dalmatia) politicians Representatives in the Croatian Parliament (1848–1918) Croatian lawyers Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts University of Vienna alumni Rectors of the University of Zagreb Rectors of universities in Austria-Hungary Serb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik