This year Croatia celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Mažuranić, poet, linguist, politician and first viceroy commoner. He was born in Novi Vinodolski where he finished elementary school. He attended Gymnasium in Rijeka, studied philosophy in Zagreb and Hungary and took degree in law in Zagreb in 1838. He wrote his first published verses in Hungarian language. Enthusiastic with the ideas of Illyric movement, he answers in 1834 to the call of Ljudevit Gaj to start publishing Novine Horvatzke (Croatian Newspaper) and its literary supplement Danitza. In the year 1844 his additions to chapters 14 and 15 of Osman by Gundulić were published as well as his own masterpiece, the poem Smrt Smail-age Čengića “The Death of Smail–aga Čengić” in the almanac Iskra. Ivan Mažuranić wrote the announcement by which the viceroy Josip Jelačić abolished serfdom in 1848. From 1861 to 1865 Mažuranić was court chancellor in Vienna and from 1871 to 1873 president of the Croatian Parliament and from 1873 to 1880 Croatian viceroy. During his viceroy service he introduced general compulsory education, opened the University of Zagreb and founded Country's Cultural and Health Council, proclaimed law on the freedom of the press and gathering, law on the freedom of choice, separated political management from judiciary and abolished forced labour. Thus, he organised Croatia according to the model of modern European states. Mažuranić died in Zagreb, and was buried in arcades of the Zagreb Cemetery Mirogoj with other noteworthy Illyrians. Numerous streets, squares and schools throughout Croatia are named after him and his portrait is also on the Croatian 100 kuna banknote and from today also on the postage stamp, but also on the medals by K. A. Radovani, V. Herljević and Ž. Janeš. A part of his legacy is stored in the memorial Library and Collection Mažuranić-Brlić-Ružić in Rijeka, while the other is kept in the Croatian History Museum in Zagreb, in National Museum and Gallery in Novi Vinodolski, in the City Museum of Karlovac and a part in Zagreb, with the author of this text. The most prominent writer of the “Golden Age“ of Dubrovnik, the creator of exceptionally resonant and witty verses and a kind of symbol of the free spirit of the town-republic, Ivan Gundulić, rightfully took a high, even key position on the national Parnassus, helped to establish genuine tradition and the bridge between „older“ and „recent“ Croatian literature. Educated in his native town, which he rarely left during his not so long life (but in which he held important offices), Dživo – named Mačica or Plavković – managed to catch up pace with most developed stylistic and morphologic tendencies of his time and creatively assimilate essential Italian influences and skilfully - even virtuously- express himself in a complex, opulent baroque and concetto way. He started, as is usual, writing lyric, love verses but in his mature age renounced that „progeny of darkness“ and destroyed his Canzoniere. In his first published work, Pjesni pokorne kralja Davida (1621) he explicitly shows his shifting away from his youthful licentiousness and sticking to almost pedagogic function of catholic renewal and in his remarkable work of reflexive and meditative poetry Suze sina razmetnoga (1622.), achieves deep persuasiveness and elegance of expression. His pastoral play Dubravka (1628) presents in an allegoric way the destiny of homeland and sublimes the plot with his famous hymn to liberty. His most fruitful life period Gundulić devoted to the creation of the epic poem Osman. Although his thematic framework is far away from local or regional events, since it refers to intrigues at the Ottoman court and to the Battle of Chocim between the Turks and the Poles, the work has since long ago taken the status of the national epic, the work in which the homeland Dubrovnik, and then the entire Croatian culture recognises the ethos of defending liberty and independence. In spite of being created after the model of Tasso's heroic epic, the scenes from war and fight and the erotic and sensual scenes in the work of Gundulić possess the power of original view and individual sensitiveness. The work remained unprinted in the period of Dubrovnik Republic (probably because of political considerations of Dubrovnik in relation to the influential “sponsor” - Turkey), but was very often copied and become very popular. And, in the dawn of the Illyrian Revival in the 19th century the work of Gundulić is rediscovered as spiritual source and repeatedly declared as holder of European identity due to its achieved high level of poetry in Croatian language. Ivan Bjelovučić, French pilot in 1912, who was the first man to fly over the Alps, was a descendant from the family of sea captains from Janjina, Pelješac peninsula in Croatia. His father Miho came to Peru in 1885 and married there Adrienne Cavalié Le Bihan, daughter of the French consul. Ivan (Spanish: Juan Bielovucic) was born in Lima and in 1892 came with his family to Dubrovnik but his father soon dies and he moves with his mother and sister to Paris. After finishing gymnasium Bjelovučić attends Air Force School of Voisin brothers and 1910 earns pilot’s diploma. His first performance was in Budapest and then at the Great Aviation Week in Reims and at Eastern Circle. In September he achieves world record by flying in stages from Paris to Bordeaux in six hours and 15 minutes and at the Air Force Week in Bordeaux wins several awards, as well as in Milan. Then, he performs as the first pilot at the solemn opening of the airport at Avord, near Bourges in front of 40 000 people. At the invitation of Peru, in 1911, he goes to Lima where he becomes the first pilot of the South America, and comes back to Europe as reserve lieutenant and military representative of air force of Peru in France. In that same year he participates also at the meeting at Saint-Etienne where he meets his school colleague and friend Roland Garros. In 1912 Bjelovučić flies throughout France and Europe. In April he flies over 325 km in two hours and 35 minutes, in June he competes in Vienna and in August wins at the military competition in speed flight. Paris daily newspaper Le Matin proclaims him the French pilot of the year. One of his greatest successes Bjelovučić achieved on 25 January 1913 when he flew over the Alps between Brigue and Domodossola in 26 minutes and thus became the first pilot in the history who did it. In July 1914 he participated at the meeting in Vienna and at the beginning of the First World War joined the French air force as officer of the combat squadrons Les Cigognes from Dunkerque. For his patrolling actions deep over occupied Belgium he was honoured with the Belgian and French War Cross and the French Legion of Honour. He went back to Peru in 1930 and 1937 when he was honoured with the Order of the Cross of the first grade for air force and on that occasion Peru issued postage stamp to the memory of his first take off in Lima. Bjelovučić died in Paris. The Peruvian Post dedicated to him in 2011 a stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of his first take off in Lima and now also Croatian Post joins in commemorating all historic flying achievements of Ivan Bjelovučić by issuing the third stamp to his honour. Croatian woman composer Dora Pejačević, daughter of the Croatian viceroy and count Teodor Pejačević, belongs to the generation of Croatian composers who shaped the modern period in Croatian music. Born in Budapest, she grew up in the family castle in Našice where she received quality private education. She studied music in Dresden and Munich. She travelled often, meeting and communicating with great artists of her time, like the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, writer Karl Kraus and painter Maksimilijan Vanka. These acquaintances influenced her creativity by the richness of spirit which she acquired through the years of these encounters and which she included in her work, further deepening by the expression and complexity of her notation traditionally inherited codes of musical reflection. The most important part of the work by the woman-composer Dora Pejačević was created during the First World War. These are compositions that undoubtedly belong to Croatian music anthology of the 20th century. We are talking here about Concerto for piano and orchestra in g-minor, op. 33, first of the kind in Croatian music, then Piano quintet in u h-minor, op. 40, followed by sonatas for violin and piano, first modern symphony in the history of Croatian music and many excellent composed songs that by the choice of verses as well as by composer's handwriting express the features of the world of her reflections. In autumn 1921 Dora Pejačević married Austrian officer Ottamar von Lumbe. From that time she lived in Dresden and Munich where she died after giving birth in the age of 38. During last decades her opus has attracted numerous experts and found its way to audience. More and more of her works have been published both - as written notes and as sound recordings which opened possibilities of greater interest also outside Croatian border in the work of one of rare woman composers of the last century.
