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Austro-Hungarian Dualism and Croatian 19th-century Architecture – Politics and Architectural Design

Croatian 19th-century architecture mirrors the political and legal position of this province within the Habsburg/Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The biggest architectural influence, primarily concerning projects related to public architecture, comes from two monarchy’s capitals – Vienna and Budapest – the political centres of power that largely controlled the work of public institutions. Before the 1857 Austro-Hungarian Compromise, the most significant impact came from Vienna, which was rather evident in the 1850s and 1860s when the monarchy centralized its politics to the point of the so-called neoabsolutism. The most monumental reflection of Vienna’s control at the time was the building of the public hospital in Zagreb that was later transformed into a tobacco factory (today it serves as the seat of Zagreb University), and a number of churches which were built in north-west Croatia (Veleševec, Bukevje, Voloder). Following the Croatia-Hungary Compromise of 1868, Croatia obtained autonomy in internal, judicial and religious affairs in the eastern, Hungarian part of the Monarchy. Since the subsequent decades, until the First World War, witnessed the foundation of numerous new public institutions that needed premises, the number of building projects rose considerably. Croatian authorities (Regional Government in Zagreb) controlled the building projects of only those public institutions which were under autonomous Croatian governance: law courts, schools, hospitals, churches and seats of local governments (counties, districts and the like). Those building were entrusted exclusively to Croatian architects. Among numerous buildings, the most important include Herman Bollé’s Chemical Laboratory in Zagreb, the Crafts School and the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb, Kuno Waidmann’s Official Gazette building, Janko Holjac’s Courthouse in Osijek, Vinko Rauscher’s school buildings throughout Croatia, numerous churches (such as those in Križevci, Pakrac, Ilok, Marija Bistrica, Plaški). In terms of decision-making, the Croatian government exerted certain influence on those military building projects that were related to militia (Landwehr). Other military buildings were built according to designs of Viennese architects since this important institution and its activities, shared between Austria and Hungary, were controlled directly from Vienna. All the buildings for the institutions in Croatia that were under Hungarian governance were designed by Hungarian architects such as railway-related buildings (train stations, railway administration building which mostly designed by Ferenc Pfaff, the main architect of the Hungarian National Railway), post offices in Zagreb and Osijek and the Hungarian Ministry of Finance. In certain cases, foreign architects, mostly Vienna-based ones, received commissions for architectural projects because it was believed that there were no Croatian architects who could live up to the task. Another reason was the prestige of such projects because they were given to renowned international architects. Friedrich von Schmidt was entrusted with building the palace of the Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb, and the Fellner and Helmer Company was commissioned for the theatre buildings in Varaždin and Zagreb, and the Art Pavilion in Zagreb. They also built the theatre in Rijeka, a city that was not part of Croatia at the time). Sometimes, foreign architects would also win first prizes at public architectural design competitions (such as Ludwig and Hüllsner Company at the 1893 competition for the design of school complex at present Roosevelt Square). The paper explores how a complex political situation created diverse styles of public architecture which, although Central European in their origin, show influences from different regional centres.

Austria-Hungary ; Historicism ; Public Architecture ; Ludwig and Hüllsner ; Fellner and Helmer ; Friedrich von Schmidt ; Ferenc Pfaff ; Herman Bollé ; Kuno Waidmann ; Janko Holjac ; Vinko Rauscher ; Iso Kršnjavi ; Josip Juraj Strossmayer

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