engleski

Art Nouveau and Public Architecture in Fin-de- Siècle Croatia

Influenced by Viennese architecture, Art Nouveau (that is Vienna Sezession) began to spread in Croatia in 1897 and soon it began to completely dominate the residential and commercial architecture of Zagreb and other bigger towns in Croatia. In the first decade of the 20th century it began also to spread in the field of public architecture to a greater extent. Although the Zagreb Art Pavilion, completed in 1898, contains Art Nouveau motifs, the first monumental public building that is in terms of style completely dominated by Sezession elements is the building of the Chamber of Commerce and the building of the Trade Museum, both designed by Otto Wagner's student, Vjekoslav Bastl and built in 1902-1903. Use of Sezession elements in public architecture had its opposition within conservative circles. In the first place, the first Croatian art historian and the main arbiter on the Zagreb art scene, Iso Kršnjavi, mostly disliked the style, and claimed that it is just merely fashion trend. Although he acknowledged the architectural qualities of certain Art Nouveau creations, he basically did not believe in the pursuit for of a new style in architecture and remained loyal to historical revival styles all through his life. In this presentation, I will try to show that despite the opposition, the then Croatian Provincial Government realized under its auspices a number of secessionist public buildings, including the most important Gesamtkunstwerk of this style in Croatia - the building of the National and University Library and State Archives in Zagreb, but also a number of administrative buildings (like County Court buildinngs in Ilok and Sisak), school buildings (like primary and secondary school buildings in Krapina, Ruma), hospital buildings (complex of buildings at Zagreb's Šalata) in this style, as well as a number of utilitarian structures (bridges). An attempt will be made to answer the question who made these buildings possible and who their designers were.

Sezession, Jugendstil, Art-Nouveau, Public Architecture, Fin-de-Siecle, Croatia, Dalmatia, Istria, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

nije evidentirano