Vice Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff
Wilhelm von Tegetthoff was born in Maribor (German: Marburg), Slovenia, on December 23, 1827, as the second child in the family of Karl and Leopoldina Tegetthoff. His birthplace is located at Slovenska Street No. 12, where the Ljubljanska Banka building stands today. After finishing the Naval Academy in Venice, which he completed in the period from 1840 to 1845, he rose through the ranks of the Navy.
This native of Maribor, German by father (from Westphalia) and Czech by mother, was already noticed in the Crimean War where he commanded the steamer "Taurus". He reached the very top of command after distinguishing himself in 1864 as commander of the Austrian fleet in the naval battle of Heligoland in the Austro-Prussian War against Denmark, when he was promoted to the rank of Counter Admiral.
Battle of Lissa 1866
On July 19, 1866, after receiving a telegram from the island of Vis reporting that they were being besieged and attacked by the Italian fleet, he sailed out at the head of the Austrian Navy from the Fažana Channel, and in just 15 hours of sailing, arrived at Vis on July 20. He knew he was going against an enemy three times stronger, he knew that the Italians had stronger artillery and five more ironclads, but he also knew that the outcome of a battle is not always determined by numbers, but also by preparation and courage.
In a naval battle unseen on the Adriatic until then, the Austrian Navy managed to defeat the Italian one, led by the Piedmontese aristocrat Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano. The Austrian flagship "Ferdinand Max" then violently rammed the side of the Italian ironclad "Re d'Italia" with its ram, which sank in two and a half minutes. In the Battle of Lissa, the Austrian fleet did not lose a single ship, while 35 sailors and three officers died.
Three men from Premantura also participated in the Battle of Lissa, of whom Mate Jurašin - Matesina says: "Busali smo se jedan u drugega kako da smo prazi. Jedan dobar tir i brod gre u konobu." ("We rammed into each other like rams. One good hit and the ship goes to the cellar - the sea bottom").
That victory secured Vienna half a century of rule over the Adriatic Sea.
Founding of the Observatory
Vice Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff initiated the reorganization of the Navy in 1868, which also included its scientific activities. Realizing that the existing state would lead to lagging behind other navies, the construction of the Hydrographic Institute (Observatory) in Pula was included in the budget for 1870 on his proposal, which was approved by Emperor Franz Joseph I on September 10, 1869.
After the Italian army occupied Pula in 1918, Tegetthoff's monument (erected in 1877 in front of the Observatory) was removed on April 14, 1920. Only before the Second World War did Italy hand over Tegetthoff's monument to Austria, which was then placed on Elizabeth Square in Graz, the city where the famous Vice Admiral is buried, and where it stands today.
In 1998, a replica of the Battle of Lissa monument was re-erected on Vis.