In Rijeka, on the wall of the Faculty of Maritime Studies, the successor to the former Imperial Royal Naval Academy, a plaque was unveiled in 2010 commemorating the outstanding Poles who graduated from it. The school was not actually located in Rijeka, but in Fiume, as the town was called until the First World War. Anyway, the faculty itself is not located in the building where the academy was originally located. The building, located about two kilometres from the current seat of the academy, was converted into a military hospital in 1914. The Poles therefore attended not to the building built in 1903 on which the plaque was placed, but to a far more monumental establishment.

Until the 18th century, the Adriatic was dominated by Dubrovnik and Venice, and Austria, despite having the port of Trieste, showed little interest in naval and naval development. In the 18th century, efforts were made to form its own navy - among other things, the construction of a shipyard in Kraljevica was ordered in 1729, but the project was later interrupted and never completed. In 1764, the town was declared a war port. However, until the mid-19th century, the role of the Austrian navy was largely limited to protecting the waterways on the Adriatic. The actual beginning of its history is often taken as 1786, when it was established by decree of Emperor Joseph II. At that time, two military cutters were purchased and the flag was introduced. Earlier, in 1723, Rijeka was declared a free port, so it was one of the towns that was well suited for the establishment of a maritime school. This is what happened. Between 1855 and 1857, an academy building was erected in Rijeka, but the school's activities lasted only one year, after which it was moved to Trieste. The academy building was taken over by the Ministry of War and housed the Officer Cadet School, transferred from Krakow. In 1859, the Military Naval Academy was abolished and replaced by non-commissioned officer courses on the ship "Venus".

The Austro-Hungarian Naval Academy was reopened in Rijeka in 1866 and operated until 1914, from 1889 to 1914 as the Imperial Military Naval Academy. After its relocation to Vienna in 1914, a military hospital was established in the building, which became the headquarters of the city hospital in 1918. Fiume then played an important role in the CK navy, which on the eve of the First World War was already considered the sixth in Europe and the eighth in the world. At the time, the academy had around 180 students.

The Rijeka Naval Academy accepted young men, after high school. The studies lasted four years, on land in winter and on a school ship in summer. The first two years were devoted to completing general education and the next two to specialised theoretical training. Graduates became naval cadets and served as auxiliary officers on military ships. After a year of service on ships, they underwent an annual refresher course on a training ship, after which they were awarded the rank of naval ensign after passing the examination.

Among the academy's famous graduates are Croatian Admiral Maximilian Njegovan (1853-1930), Austro-Hungarian Admiral Mikloš Horthy Nagybanya (1868-1957), who became regent of Hungary between the wars, and Croatian Janko Vuković-Podkapelski (1871-1917), one of the Austro-Hungarian Navy's most valiant and talented officers. After the creation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in October 1918. Vuković was promoted to the rank of admiral and became the first naval commander of this new state. It must be remembered that for those loyal to the authorities, a career in the navy was open irrespective of nationality, although of course, as in the army as a whole, one will find a preponderance of Germans among the senior officers. However, Poles and representatives of other nationalities were also able to reach the highest ranks - a great example of this is Karl Baron Lewartow von Lewartowsky (1806-1864). He was, among other things, Commander of the naval base in Pula and Vice-Admiral of the Navy.

After the end of the First World War, which led to the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and its navy, the ships were handed over to the administration of the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. It was not until the peace treaties with Austria in 1919 and Hungary in 1920 that the future of the former Austro-Hungarian navy was decided. A significant number of Polish officers serving in the navy joined the Polish army. It is estimated that there were 20 officers in the marine corps and 14 in the technical corps, they constituted about 15% of the composition of these corps.

The second important port of Croatia was Pula, where the naval command and other central naval institutions were also located on the eve of the First World War. A military cemetery, founded in 1862, was also located here. Initially covering an area of about 4,000 m², its size has now increased fivefold. It is estimated that some 150,000 people are laid to rest in the cemetery. Among them, among others, twelve Austro-Hungarian admirals, one Turkish admiral, three hundred Italian and German soldiers. And also Poles, although we do not know where they were buried or how many there were. However, not a single gravestone of a Pole has survived. In the cemetery there is only a monument to Kasmir Krupicki, who probably had Polish origins. However, no further information about him is available. A plaque in honour of the Poles was placed there in 2014.

Plaque in Rijeka from 2010.
U SPOMEN / na poljske casnike / suosnivace Ratne mornarice Druge Republike Poljske, / koji su diplomirali na Vojnoj pomorskoj akademijji w Rijece 1866.-1918. / MEMORIES / of Polish officers, co-founders of the Navy of the Second Republic of Poland, graduates of the Rijeka Naval Academy 1866-1918 / Komandor Bogumił NOWOTNY / prvi zapovejdnik Ratne morrnarice Druge Republike Poljske / first commander of the Navy of the Second Republic of Poland / Vice Admiral Napoleon LOUIS-WAWEL / Rear Admiral Karol KORYTKOWSKI / Rear Admiral Jerzy ZAWIEROSKI / Rear Admiral Tadeusz PODJAZD-MORGENSTERN / Commodore Czesław PETELENZ / Commodore Otton METZGER / Commodore Karol TRZASKO-DURSKI / Commodore Ludwik ZIEMBICKI / Commodore Henryk EIBEL / Lieutenant Commander Włodzimierz KODRĘBSKI / Rijeka, 2010.

Plaque in Pula cemetery from 2014.
To the memory of Polish sailors / Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Zagreb / Polish Cultural Society "F. Chopin" in Rijece / U spomen poljskim mornarima / Veleposlanstvo Republike Poljske u Zagrebu / Poljska kulturalna udruga "F. Chopin" u Rijec / Pula, 11.11.2014. //.