On 28 August 1895, one of the world’s earliest complete alternating-current systems began operating. The decisive achievement was not just the power station, but the entire chain all the way to Šibenik’s lamps.
The anniversary marks a complete system
On 28 August 1895, the hydroelectric plant, high-voltage transmission, transformation and urban distribution began operating together. This closed chain is precisely what makes Krka–Šibenik historically exceptional.
A generator alone would not have electrified the city. Only the connection all the way to street lights and the first private customers became a functioning supply network.
Eleven kilometres from the waterfall to the city
The Krka power plant, later known as Jaruga I, fed a roughly eleven-kilometre two-phase alternating-current line to Šibenik. HEP gives a generator voltage of 3,000 volts and a frequency of 42 hertz.
There were 360 poles along the route. In the city, the voltage was transformed to 110 volts for distribution.
216 lights made the benefit visible
At first, the system supplied 216 public lights and individual private homes. The theatre followed the next year, with further households and industrial businesses added later.
Electrification was therefore not a one-evening spectacle. Step by step, it became part of everyday urban life and a commercial service with a tariff system.
Šupuk, Meichsner and an entrepreneurial wager
Mayor Ante Šupuk, his son Marko and engineer Vjekoslav Meichsner stood behind the project. In 1892, Meichsner applied for the necessary permits and developed plans for the power station, transmission line and city distribution.
The water concession followed in 1893, and construction was in full progress by 1895. The project combined municipal ambition, private enterprise and new electrical engineering.
Niagara is a comparison, not a simple winners’ podium
HEP places Krka only a few days behind the famous power station at Niagara Falls. Such comparisons, however, depend on whether the power plant alone or the complete generation, transmission and distribution network is being considered.
The responsible formulation is therefore that Krka–Šibenik was one of the world’s first complete alternating-current systems and the first of its kind on Croatian soil.
Why the first plant disappeared
Jaruga I operated until 1914. During the First World War, the plant was dismantled, among other reasons because its copper was needed. The larger Jaruga II, built in 1905, took over the supply.
The historic location is therefore not simply an unchanged museum power station that still runs. It marks a beginning whose technology was later replaced.
What can be celebrated today — and what is not documented
HEP still observes 28 August as the company’s day. In 2026, the system launch reached its 131st anniversary.
No specific public festival programme in Šibenik could be verified for this anniversary. The history is well documented; it should not be turned into an invented events calendar.
Evidence
Sources & date
Sources support the facts. Planning notes and recommendations are Golden Beach editorial assessments.
- Croatia’s first alternating-current power system, Krka–Šibenik hydroelectric plantHrvatska elektroprivreda HEP · checked 30 August 2026project history, participants, concession and launch date
- HEP Vjesnik 278Hrvatska elektroprivreda HEP · 2014, checked 30 August 2026generator, line, voltage, 216 lights and later connections
- HEP Vjesnik 3/2020Hrvatska elektroprivreda HEP · 2020360 poles, operation until 1914 and technological-historical context
