Tijat

The island of Tijat belongs to the people of Šepurine and their descendants. Between 1865 and 1868, 118 of our ancestors purchased the island from the Draganić-Vrančić family who, at the time were an influential family and part of the Croatian nobility.

Tijat’s land area is 2,862,742 m2 (707.398 acres or 286.274 hectares or 2.862 km2). The length of the coastline is 10.489 kms. In 1825, the authorities divided Tijat into 420 parcels of unequal size. The more arable land was divided into small parcels while the bulk of the island which is rocky and hilly was surveyed as one large parcel. Regardless of the parcel sizes or locations, all 118 purchasers were registered as co-owners of every parcel of land on Tijat and the neighbouring islet of Kamenica (which is divided into three parcels).

Over time worked the same areas, growing vines and other produce or using the land for pasture or harvesting much needed timber or animal feed. Families took POSSESSION of parcels, but at no time was any one individual registered as an owner of a particular parcel of land.

In recent years it’s been discovered that one individual (let’s call him XX) took advantage of Tijat’s unique ownership and attempted to register himself as the owner of a large parcel in prime position, then renting it on a 25-year lease to a Slovenian company which established a private hospitality business called Šotovento in Tijat Bay, thereby both profiteering from property owned communally, without the co-owners’ permission or knowledge. The owner of the business enterprise, also a descendant of Šepurina, is now deceased but his illegal claim is still being pursued by his daughter, the inheritor of his business interests.

A brief summary of illegal activity on Tijat between 2013 and 2020.

It’s been uncovered that XX used screens and mirrors to profiteer by illegally trying to register himself as sole owner of a large parcel in Tijat Bay, then leasing it to his mate, the owner of the business, “Šottovento”. What started as a pop-up bar, soon became a more entrenched hospitality business without any invitation or permissions from the co-owners. Dry walls, hundreds of years old, that were built by our ancestors to shield their fields from the sea and to stop top soil from running off during storms, were bulldozed to make way for paths and to dig ditches for sewage and to bury the rubbish produced by the business. Over 100m3 of stone walls were destroyed – stone which was dug by hand and wall dry constructed in the traditional Dalmatian fashion – all for the purpose of running and expanding an illegal business with no consideration for the owners of the island, the built heritage or the environment.

The group of volunteers who now form the management committee representing the co-owners of Tijat have so far:

• researched archival material and collected documentation regarding the purchase of Tijat in 1865 and 1868 including the list of inheritors made in 1900.
• collected and collated all the evidence and documentation regarding the illegal activity, construction and devastation of parts of Tijat.
• through various means, electronic, verbal etc, re-introduced the people of Šepurine and their descendants to their connection with Tijat. The informational material you are now reading is part of the process to raise awareness and engage people in their heritage and in doing so, protect our common property and build systems to to keep it protected.
• engaged over 200 inheritors of Tijat, from all over Croatia, who each made an official declaration that all representations to authorities for permissions and permits in the last decade were done without their knowledge, thereby questioning their legality.
• the same group of co-owners contested LA’s registration as the sole owner of one or more parcels of land.
• the new Committee, made an appeal to the courts to rule that any previous co-operative bodies or associations had no jurisdiction over Tijat, thereby nullifying any contracts or promises of contracts that had been made in secret or otherwise
• with that, the court ordered that all works in the Tijat Bay area cease, and heavy machinery was ordered off the island.
• filed two criminal reports in July 2020 and Dec 2020 against NA and the late GS’s business,  seeking compensation for the damage done to the environment and built heritage.
• the operating licence for the hospitality venue has now been revoked.
• a law firm from Spilt has been hired who have filed a suit against NA the late GS’s business.

The Committee’s Aim is:

• to co-ordinate all activities regarding Tijat, including building protections against similar illegal activities
• to research and collate the genealogy of the original owners and identify the inheritors of Tijat – ie the current co-owners
• to register as many living inheritors of Tijat as possible as co-owners of Tijat in the cadastral (land survey) records and the Land Registry held in the Municipal Court of Šibenik
• to establish which inheritors are interested in registering as a co-owner of Tijat and creating the processes needed to achieve that goal

So far the the volunteer committee has financed everything on their own with some donations from inheritors living in Croatia.

How can you help?
You can help by contributing to the Tijat Co-owners Association fighting fund and by sharing this information with other descendants of Šepurine.
To minimise bank charges on international transactions, I’ve opened an online account that has no fees and accepts deposits from any Australian bank. I’ll transfer funds to the account held by the Committee of Co-owners on the 1st Dec, 1st Feb, 1st April and so on. The account details are:

Acc Name: Lino Franich Tijat Fund
BSB: 082 991
Acc No: 352 718 294

Please confirm your deposit by sending an email to:
franich5@gmail.com
Subject: Tijat, Your name, amount
I will email you a receipt after your transfer has cleared.
Please email if you have any questions.

Inheritors and Co-owners of Tijat living in Australia and New Zealand

 For further information or to correct omissions or errors please email me at franich5@gmail.com

A Brief Chronology of Tijat

by Mario Šmit (from the Antulov-Perikulov family)
translated by Lino Franich

Pre 1865. Tijat was owned by the Šibenik nobility, the Draganić-Vrančić family. Under various agreements and arrangements with the owners, the local peasantry use Tijat for agricultural and pastoral purposes.

1865. The twelve wealthiest Šepurinjani* purchase Tijat and the islet of Kamenica^ from the nobleman, Frane Draganić-Vrančić for 4800 Austrian florins.

1868. Under an arrangement with the original 12 buyers, a further 106 Šepurinjani buy into Tijat, bringing the number of co-owners to 118.

1867-1902. On-going conflicts with Lučani* over agricultural and pastoral rights to Tijat.

1893. First attempt to divide Tijat among co-owners. Disputes end in a trial that lasts until 1897, when the division of the island is rejected by the court.

1900. A meeting of co-owners from Šepurine, claimants from Luka and the local church meet with court representatives in Zlarin to settle disputes. Some concessions are made for Lučani to access certain parcels of land on Tijat. The register of co-owners is updated to reflect deaths and inheritance, increasing the number of registered co-owners to 223. By this time at least 15.7% of the island is cultivated, mostly with vines.

1901-1914. The Phylloxera aphid plague devastates vineyards, prompting many Šepurinjani to emigrate.#. In the local vernacular, the insect is known as žiloždera (the root devourer)

1902-1906. A prolonged court dispute takes place between 222 Šepurinjani plaintiffs and 175 Lučani defendants over attempted land registrations and rights to cultivate Tijat. The dispute is referred to the Supreme Court in Vienna which negates and removes all ownership claims and cultivation rights of claimed by Lučani.

1913. Second attempt to divide Tijat among owners whereby the fallow land is divided into 118 equal parcels, while the cultivated and pastureland is assigned to the people already working those parcels. The process of land division is agreed upon but is not carried out due to the start of World War I.

1914-1918. Much of Tijat’s vegetation is stripped for firewood use during times of extreme hardship caused by phylloxera and exacerbated by the war.

1933. On Friday 3^rd March 1933, commemorating the 1900^th anniversary of Christ’s crucifixion, a six metre, consecrated cross is erected on Tijat’s highest point, known as Velika Glava.^^

1940. Third attempt to officially divide Tijat.  This time, both the fallow land and the pastureland was divided into 188 equal parcels. The land that had been cultivated before the phylloxera plague isn’t mentioned in records. Again, the process is agreed upon but again interrupted by war.

1947-1968 For an annual rent, Tijat is leased to the Peasant Workers’ Cooperative of Prvić Šepurine (Seljačka radna zadruga Prvić Šepurine) later to become the Agricultural Cooperative of Prvić Šepurine (Poljoprivredna zadruga Prvić Šepurine). The cooperative rears sheep, builds a barn, a shepherd’s hut and cistern.

1954 The Agricultural Cooperative registers as Tijat’s owner, under Title Deed No 330 which remains in place till 2020.

1966. The sheep-rearing business ceases, and with it the Cooperative’s management of Tijat.

1968. The Agricultural Cooperative of Prvić Šepurine is liquidated.

1989. The company, Lotos, introduces mouflon sheep to Tijat as a hunting enterprise. Disputes escalate between locals and hunters and results in the enterprise’s closure.**

2006. A new Agricultural Cooperative of Prvić Šepurine is formed. Although carrying the same name as the co-operative dissolved in 1968, the new cooperative is neither the owner nor the lessee of Tijat nor of any structures built on the island in the preceding decades. An illegal business begins to operate out of Tijat.

2007-2014.  Court proceedings are initiated in Šibenik’s Municipal Court to determine the legality of ownership claims. The court orders that Tijat’s, communal ownership remains.

2020.  A Committee representing the owners of Tijat, reconcile the cadastral (land survey) records with the title information held by the Land Registry located in the Municipal Court in Šibenik.  Title deed No.330 from 1954 is nullified and voided.

*  Šepurinjani – people from Prvić Šepurine; Lučani – people from Prvić Luka

^  Kamenica is often called Kominjic by locals

#  Grape phylloxera is a less than 1mm insect that feeds on the roots of grapevines.

^^ During the clearing of the site for the plinth two graves were found. One had no inscription; the other’s inscription was written in the Glagolitic script. The first holy mass was held 19^th August 1933. The mass concluded with prayers for the souls of those buried beneath the cross. (The Catholic Journal, 1934)

**  Mouflon are wild sheep native to the Caspian region of eastern Turkey and Armenia, thought to be one of two ancestors of all sheep. The males have large, rounded horns, prized by hunters. (animalia.org)