Ferdinand Budicki

Ferdinand Budicki

Ferdinand Budicki (11 April 1871 – 25 June 1951) was a Croatian pioneer of car, bicycle and airplane culture.[1] An inhabitant of Zagreb, Croatia, Budicki was reportedly the first to drive a car in his home city,[2] and the first to open a car dealership and repair shop in Croatia.[3] In April 1901, he drove from Vienna, Austria to Zagreb in a 1899 Opel, stirring up a commotion, as people and horses that drew carriages at the time were not used to motor vehicles, even though the car's top speed was, according to Budicki, a mere 30 km/h (19 mph).[2]

Ferdinand Budicki was born on 11 April 1871[4] in Zagreb to Marija (née Panian) and Ferdinand Budicki. His parents were renowned craftspeople. Having completed two grades of Realschule, Budicki first trained for a locksmith, then studied mechanics abroad. Living in Vienna, he assembled his own bicycle, which he used in 1897 to travel throughout Europe and northern Africa, reportedly transversing 17,323 kilometres (10,764 mi).[2] In 1901, he purchased a used car from Opel & Beyschlag factory in Vienna for 4,000 Austro-Hungarian crowns. He was taught to drive by Otto Beyschlag and received extra training in the form of observing an electric tram driver at work.[5] He subsequently drove the car from Vienna to Zagreb and the next year he travelled the same route by motorcycle. In 1905 he flew a hot air balloon, landing near Velika Gorica, today a suburb of Zagreb.[2] Whether he was the first car driver in Zagreb is disputed, as an Obzor article claims Count Marko Bombelles Jr. from Varaždin drove to Zagreb in a Benz & Cie. car on 17 August 1899.[5][6][7]

On 28 August 1901, Budicki received his driving licence in Vienna. In 1910, Zagreb started to issue its own driving licences. Budicki's license was not recognised, so he took a driving examination on 27 July 1910 and received the licence with serial number 1.[2] However, as none of the examination committee members knew how to drive, Budicki had to teach them before the examination.[8] Budicki was also the first to receive a traffic ticket, for speeding on 6 June 1901 in Mavrova Street (today's Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Street).[5]

Budicki entered the business of new vehicles by opening a bicycle and sewing machine shop called K touristu ("At the Tourist's") at Mavrova Street 24 in 1899. In the early 1900s, the shop began selling cars and motorcycles as well.[2] On 1 June 1906, Budicki founded the first Croatian Automobile Society, which opened with 14 members.[5] From 1910 to 1928 he was the general distributor for Ford in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. In 1929, he started a taxicab and a bus line from Zagreb to Sv. Ivan Zelina. Later that year he had to exit the automobile business due to the stock market crash of 1929, retaining only a car repair shop.[2]

Budicki died on 25 June 1951 at the age of 80.[1]

On 4 July 2013, the Ferdinand Budicki Automobile Museum was opened in Zagreb, honouring Budicki's pioneering legacy in its name.[9] In Zagreb, there is a Ferdinand Budicki Street in the neighbourhood of Jarun. Budicki is also remembered as the founder of Zagreb Fair and Croatian Sports Alliance.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Značajne ličnosti – B". Zagreb City Cemetery. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Opet taj huncut Budicki". Technical Museum, Zagreb. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ferdinand Budicki Auto Museum". Time Out. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "Umro Enver Hoxha – 1985.". Dnevno.hr. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Dolazak prvog automobila u Zagreb". Technical Museum, Zagreb. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Znameniti Viničanci" (in Croatian). Municipality of Vinica. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "111 godina Opela u Hrvatskoj" (PDF) (in Croatian). Opel. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  8. ↑ Leko, Petra (ed.). "Zagreb kroz stoljeća" [Events & Performances]. Program priredaba (in Croatian). Zagreb, Croatia: Zagreb Tourist Board (July/August 2015): 8. ISSN 1333-6584.
  9. ↑ "Muzej automobila Ferdinand Budicki" (in Croatian). Croatian Radiotelevision. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  10. ↑ Hrženjak, Dolores (12 February 2013). "Ferdin duh oživio među oldtimerima". AutoIQ (in Croatian). Zagreb: BIBIP Zagreb (20): 17. ISSN 1848-5820. Retrieved 12 August 2015.

Further reading

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