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Railway and the City in 19th-century Croatia – State Authorities, Railways and the Urban Development of Cities

Just as in other countries in the world, the railway system in Croatia, built in the second half of the 19th and the early 20th centuries, exerted an enormous impact on the urban development of the cities situated near the train tracks. In addition to being a reason for a fast urban development, frequent railway lines, such as the one connecting Budapest with the port of Rijeka/Fiume on the Adriatic, either steered new construction projects into the cities they went through or brought about a need for their urban redevelopment. Since the railway construction was entirely controlled from the monarchy's capitals, Vienna and Budapest, this transport system can be seen as reflecting the interests of these two power centres. This paper will show the impact of the railway on the urban development of cities in northern parts of Croatia, primarily of the most populous one, Zagreb and Osijek. The case of Zagreb is particularly illustrating. Its first main railway station, built in 1862 on the western outskirts, spurred the development of this part of the city, while the construction of a new main station in 1890-92, en-couraged the growth of the city’s south- eastern edge, where the station was situated. Since some of the streets and squares leading to the new station had been built before its construction, the existing houses in this part of the city began transforming. The new central railway station brought much more traffic and people to this, hitherto mostly residential area. Because of this, house owners started remodelling their ground floors and basements to make them suitable for commercial use and to rent them. In Osijek, as in other smaller cities in Croatia, the construction of railway led to the formation of the so-called railway station street (Bahnhof-Strasse), which connected the new train station with the historic city centre. Most often, such streets became hubs of newly constructed districts with presentable residential, commercial and public buildings.

Railways, Railway Stations, Urbanism, Croatia, Political Relations

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