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Architecture of Zagreb’s Hotels in 1830 – 1930

This presentation aims to give an overview of the history and architectural solutions of Zagreb's hotels built in a hundred-year-long period, from the 1830s to the early 1930s and the emergence of modern architecture. The first hotel called Pruckner was built in Zagreb in 1830. It reflected the city's economic growth, which occurred mostly because of wheat trade that went through this city on the routes from South Hungary and Slavonia to the North Adriatic coast. Since rich traders primarily used the hotel, it is not surprising that it was one of the biggest and most lavishly decorated buildings in the town. It was only after the 1862 construction of the South Railway system (Südbahn) that connected Zagreb with Vienna and Trieste that a larger number of people started visiting Zagreb. Consequently, a new hotel (called At the Austrian Emperor) was built in 1865 – 1866 according to Franjo Klein's design with a lavishly decorated Romantic facade. The construction of another railway route, which from 1872 connected Budapest and Rijeka via Zagreb, led to a subsequent increase in the number of visitors and the construction of new hotels at the turn of the century (Grand hotel, 1890 – 1891 ; Palace Hotel, 1907). The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the creation of a joint state of South Slavs was at first beneficial to Zagreb that turned into the main financial and economic centre of the new state. In 1922 – 1925 the luxurious Esplanade Hotel was built for the new entrepreneur elite, according to designs made by Berlin architect Otto Rehnig (who had built a hotel of the same brand in the centre of Berlin, not far from Potsdamer Platz) that were greatly modified by Zagreb architect Dioniz Sunko. Somewhat later, the Milinov Hotel (1928– 1930) was erected on Zagreb's main square, whose design had also been entrusted to Sunko, who used a mixture of Art Deco and German Expressionism for the facades of this building. After its completion, the Milinov Hotel was the tallest secular building in Zagreb, and the only one crowned with a large illuminated advertisement. Zagreb hotel buildings stood out by their splendour and size. They helped this city foster a metropolitan culture, new styles, and new ways of advertising, as well as provided entrepreneurs with an opportunity to stay longer in the city. Their construction was related to the economic development of the city and primarily the needs of entrepreneurs, and not tourism.

Zagreb, Neo-Classicism, Historicism, Art-Nouveau, Art-Deco, Hotels, Architecture

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