Plemićka obitelj Devčić – Devchich
The Devčić – Devchich Noble Family

Summary/Abstract: The author in this addition describes the Devčić noble family from Podgora and from Vis and contributes several aristocratic coats of arms and original historical documents relating to the family. In historical documents this surname is spelt in various ways as Devcic, Devchich and Devčić.According to oral tradition the Devčićs belong to Croatian ancient nobility originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina, where at the time of the Bosnian kingdom they were very famous, influential and rich.From the historical writings of Makarska, in which the first appearance of this family name is recorded, it can be read that the founder of the Devčićs was Stjepan (Stipan), a hero of the Candian War, and that he was also sung about in the works of Andrija Kačić Miošić. Confirmation of this family's nobility can be seen by a family coat of arms on a gravestone in the cemetery of St. Thecla in Podgora. In 1763 the Venetian government promoted the Devčić family from Podgora into the aristocracy (conte) and their nobility was also confirmed later. They were written into the Venetian golden book of nobility "Libro d'oro dei veri titolati" which is now located in the Archivio Stato di Venezia. In 1672 one line of the Devčić family moved to the island of Vis, and they received confirmation of nobility and the title of conte from Venetian Magistrates on 7th September 1796. One member of this family moved from Vis to Senj at the end of the 17th century. Besides these noble branches there also exists Devčić bourgeois origins which belong to the Bunjevci family line, and they moved from Dalmatia to Venetian territory in the early 17thcentury, to the areas of Sveti Juraj, Karlobag, Krasno and Lika. Today in this area there live many numbers of members of this branch of the Devčić family, and from these regions they have settled in other parts of Croatia. The Devčićs are most numerous in Krasno and Zagreb. Dr. Ivan Devčić, the Rijeka-Senj archbishop and metropolitan, also belongs to the Bunjevci line of Devčićs from Krasno.

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