exhibition author: Nikša Mendeš, museum advisor
organizer: Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Coast Rijeka
opening of the exhibition: May 24, 2022 at 7 p.m. in the Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Littoral, Rijeka, Exhibition Space
The seas have always sparked the imagination of sailors and aspiring travelers. Whether it was large waterways, oceans or much smaller ones such as the Mediterranean basin with its associated seas. One of those is the Adriatic Sea, which is small in area, but big in strength, mysticism and history. Every city on the Adriatic Sea, including Rijeka, had a greater or lesser significance in a certain historical period. The inhabitants of the town on Rječina have long sought to get closer to the sea and take advantage of its advantages, whether they were merchants, sailors or shipbuilders. Ships are the same as people, say the verses of Split poet Tom Bebić. Whether small or large, wooden or iron, each of them has a soul, its own beginning and end. Since ancient times, people have used them for personal needs, using them to feed their families, have fun, travel, trade, discover new expanses and unknown lands. In ancient times, they were small unsightly boats that were only used for navigation from one coast to another, and in later centuries they got bigger and bigger, in the service of navies, war and trade, to meet different human needs. Some of them carried the glory of their builders and commanders, their names remained permanently inscribed in memory. For others, however, the fate remained unknown, forever hidden in the depths of the ocean.
During the long history of Jugolinija, until its renaming as Croatia Line in 1992, the exhibition emphasizes all the great moments that it gave to the city’s economy, but we also remember the suffering of seafarers who remained forever in the depths of the sea on the accidents of Jugolinija’s ships. We also emphasize the significance of Jugolinija for domestic shipbuilding. Many of her ships lit up the faces of local shipbuilders, and we are particularly proud to highlight the 3rd of May from Rijeka, which made the greatest contribution to the construction of Jugolinija as one of the largest shipbuilders of its time. But as is usually the case in life, everything has its beginning, rise and end. It’s the same with companies. It is difficult, 30 or 40 years ago, to imagine that today, when we present this exhibition, Jugolinija will no longer exist, but we do not want it to be an epitaph, but rather an incentive for perhaps better future times. Jugolinija was not only a shipping company, it was the flywheel of the economic development of its city, and this is also the segment we are reminding of with this exhibition. A lot of ships have changed, from the oldest steamships to the last Croatia Express, but the memories of many participants of that time still remain. And as another form of memory of Jugolinija, there is the Croatia Line museum collection, part of which we will present to the public for the first time at this exhibition. . The collection is a valuable part of the Museum’s holdings, because in one place, it represents the history of a company, a witness to the progress of this region and its people, regardless of historical changes in a relatively short period of time.
The exhibition can be viewed until October 9, 2022.
We warmly welcome you and look forward to your arrival!