93rd BARON GAUTSCH SHIPWRECK ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
On August 13, the anniversary of the shipwreck and sinking of the Austro-Hungarian steamship named Baron Gautsch, the employees of the Tourist Association of Rovinj and members of the Diver Sport Center from Rovinj and the Rovinj Undewater Activities Club laid wreaths at the site of the sinking of the unfortunate ship and over its wreck.
The Baron Gautsch steamship, the pride and joy of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, sank six nautical miles southwest of the Sv. Ivan Na Pučini Lighthouse on August 13, 1914 when it ran into an underwater minefield taking numerous lives to their eternal resting place in the depths of the sea.
Considering the fact that children under ten and conscripts had not been registered, it is presumed that the number of victims, believed to be 240, could have been significantly higher. Despite the fact that 176 persons were saved, the people who died are remembered as the first casualties of the First World War in the Adriatic.
The place where the Baron Gautsch sank is a protected site today, as well as a very attractive diving location. A hundred divers from Austria, Italy, Germany, Slovenia and Croatia attended the laying of wreaths on the wreck.
