This is a photograph from the end of the 19th century. The people of Dubrovnik celebrate the final victory of the Croatian People’s Party and the Party of Rights in the municipal elections of 1899. The elections ended on this day, 28.7.1899., which returned the Dubrovnik municipality to Croatian hands after nine years. Dr. Pero Čingrija was appointed as the new/old mayor. After the victory, people cheered throughout the city: “The Serbs have lost their power over the municipality, come on, Pero.”
“The Serbs Have Lost Their Power Over the Municipality”: The Dubrovnik Municipal Elections of 1899 and the Rise of Croatian Political Influence
On 28 July 1899, the streets of Dubrovnik witnessed a major political celebration that reflected the changing national and political landscape of late 19th-century Dalmatia. The photograph above captures a crowd gathered in the historic centre of Dubrovnik following the victory of the Croatian People’s Party (Hrvatska narodna stranka) and the Party of Rights (Stranka prava) in the municipal elections. The result ended nine years of political dominance by the Serbian-oriented faction within the Dubrovnik municipality and restored control of the city administration to Croatian political forces.
The election victory was celebrated as a symbolic turning point. Supporters gathered in the city streets and cheered the return of Dr. Pero Čingrija as mayor. Contemporary accounts describe the atmosphere of triumph, with crowds chanting:
“The Serbs have lost their power over the municipality, come on, Pero.”
The slogan reflected the intense national competition that shaped political life in Dubrovnik during the final decades of the Austro-Hungarian period.
Dubrovnik and the National Question in the 19th Century
During the 19th century, Dubrovnik became one of the most contested cultural and political spaces in the eastern Adriatic. The city had a unique historical identity, shaped by the centuries-old Republic of Ragusa, Mediterranean trade connections, Catholic traditions, and Slavic linguistic heritage.
As modern national movements developed throughout the Habsburg Empire, competing Croatian and Serbian political ideas increasingly influenced Dubrovnik’s public life. Both Croatian and Serbian intellectual circles claimed historical and cultural connections to the city and its surrounding region.
The Serbian movement in Dubrovnik gained considerable influence during the second half of the 19th century. A number of educated citizens, especially within parts of the urban elite, supported Serbian cultural organisations and political initiatives. This influence was strengthened through associations such as the Serbian cultural society and through cooperation with Serbian political movements elsewhere in Dalmatia.
Croatian political movements, meanwhile, argued that Dubrovnik was historically and culturally part of the Croatian national space. They promoted Croatian language, identity, and political integration of Dalmatia with Croatia-Slavonia.
The Struggle for the Dubrovnik Municipality
Municipal elections were among the most important arenas for this national competition. Control of the city administration meant influence over education, cultural institutions, public symbols, and the direction of local government.
For approximately nine years before 1899, the Dubrovnik municipality had been controlled by a Serbian-oriented political coalition. The Croatian People’s Party and the Party of Rights joined forces to challenge this dominance.
Their victory in 1899 was therefore interpreted not merely as a local electoral success, but as a national political achievement.
Dr. Pero Čingrija, a prominent Croatian politician and lawyer, became the central figure of the new administration. He had previously served as mayor and was known for advocating Croatian political interests in Dalmatia. His return represented a renewed Croatian presence in the governance of Dubrovnik.
A Symbolic Moment in Croatian Political History
The photograph represents more than an election celebration. It captures the atmosphere of national awakening that swept across many parts of Central and Southeastern Europe at the end of the 19th century.
Across the Habsburg Empire, political movements increasingly organised around national identity. Language, historical memory, and cultural heritage became central issues in political struggles. Dubrovnik was no exception.
For Croatian national activists, the 1899 election victory confirmed that the city’s majority political sentiment had shifted toward Croatian representation. For Serbian political circles, however, the defeat represented the loss of an important centre of influence.
The event also demonstrated how municipal politics had become connected to wider national questions. A local election in Dubrovnik was interpreted through the broader rivalry between Croatian and Serbian national movements competing for influence in Dalmatia.
Dubrovnik at the Turn of the Century
At the beginning of the 20th century, Dubrovnik remained a city where different identities and historical interpretations intersected. Its population included Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and people with different forms of Slavic national identification.
The 1899 election did not end debates over identity in Dubrovnik, but it marked a decisive moment in the political history of the city. The public celebration captured in this photograph symbolised the triumph of Croatian political forces after years of opposition.
Standing among the medieval buildings of the old city, the crowd represented a changing era: the decline of traditional imperial politics and the growing importance of modern national movements that would shape the future of the Balkans.
The photograph remains a rare visual record of one of the most important political moments in late 19th-century Dubrovnik — a day when municipal power changed hands and national identity became the centre of public celebration.
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Hrvatski birači iz Župe Dubrovačke pri općinskim izborima dne 25. Srpnja 1899. Photograph. Dubrovnik, 1899. Historical postcard collection.
