Vinko Knežević or Vincent Knesevich of Saint Helen ; 30 November 1755 – 11 March 1832) was a Croatian nobleman and general in the Habsburg monarchy imperial army service. He was a member of the Knežević noble family. During his long military career he fought in many battles during the Austro-Turkish War and the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1799 he led a hussar regiment at Cassano, the Trebbia and Novi. He commanded an infantry brigade at Marengo the following year and led Austrian Empire troops in the Tyrol in 1805 and at Graz in 1809. He served in various assignments on the Military Border from 1809 to 1812. From 1802 he lived on his estate Sveta Jelena in former Zala County, modern-day Međimurje County in northern Croatia. By the end of Napoleonic Wars he retired from military service as a General der Kavallerie in 1815. He became Proprietor of a dragoon regiment in 1809 and held that office until his death in 1832.
Baron Vinko Knežević
Knežević commanded a brigade at the Battle of Marengo
The chapel of St. Helen (Sveta Jelena) near the Knežević's burial place
Lika is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass. Today most of the territory of Lika is part of Lika-Senj County. Josipdol, Plaški and Saborsko are part of Karlovac County and Gračac is part of Zadar County.
Sokolac Castle in Brinje, held by the noble Frankopan and Gorjanski families
Lika landscape near Švica
Plitvice Lakes National Park
Traditional wool clothing from Lika