Vjekoslav Spinčić (23 October 1848 – 27 May 1933) was a Croatian politician from

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 ...

. Born in Spinčići near

Kastav Kastav is a town in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, western part of Croatia, built on a 365 m high hill overlooking the Kvarner Gulf on the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic. It is in close vicinity of Rijeka, the largest port in Croatia ...

, he studied theology in

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

and

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, and was ordained a priest in 1872. Afterwards, he continued studies in history and geography in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He worked as a teacher in

Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...

, and later in Gorizia. In 1892, after saying Istria belongs to

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 ...

while in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, he was fired from his job in Gorizia. Along with Matko Mandić and Matko Laginja, he was one of the most influential Croatian politicians in Istria at the time, a member of the

Party of Rights The Party of Rights () was a Croatian nationalism, Croatian nationalist political party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and later in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was founded in 1861 by Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik, two influ ...

. He served in the Imperial Council multiple times. At the Unveiling of the Gundulić monument in

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 ...

, Spinčić arrived as the highest ranking Croatian politician from Istria and laid a wreath as its representative. In 1908, he refused to recognize the agreement between the Croatian-Slovenian Peoples' Parties with the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party (, PLI) was a liberal political party in Italy. The PLI, which was heir to the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor party after World War II, but also a frequent junio ...

about the overhaul of politics in Istria. Spinčić was a long-time president of the Society of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Istria. He left politics after the annexation of Istria to Italy in 1920. After this, he moved to the Croatian town of Sušak in the then

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

, where he died in 1933.

Works

* ''Slavensko bogoslužje u Istri'' (1913) * ''Narodni preporod u Istri'' (1924) * ''Crtice iz hrvatske književne kulture Istre'' (1926)

Sources

Spinčić, Vjekoslav
at istrapedia.hr
Spinčić, Vjekoslav
at enciklopedija.hr

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spincic, Vjekoslav 1848 births 1933 deaths People from Kastav People from the Margraviate of Istria Politicians from Austria-Hungary Party of Rights politicians Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1891–1897) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1897–1900) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1901–1907) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1907–1911) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1911–1918)