Naslov
The Architecture of the Zagreb Central Cemetery and the Challenges of Its Restoration after the 2020 Earthquakes

Autori
Damjanović, Dragan

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, pp prezentacija, znanstveni

Skup
10th AISU Congress. Adaptive Cities through the Postpandemic Lens

Mjesto i datum
Torino, Italija, 06.09.2022. - 09.09.2022

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Zagreb, Mirogoj, arhitektura groblja, historicizam, Herman Bollé, potres u Zagrebu 2020.
(Zagreb, Mirogoj, Cemetery Architecture, Historicism, Herman Bollé, Zagreb 2020 Earthquake)

Sažetak
All major European cities in the 19th century witnessed an expansion of the existing or the construction of new cemeteries as part of larger infrastructure projects supported and funded by local authorities in compliance with new state regulations. The city of Zagreb, a capital of Croatia, that was then a province in the Hungarian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, went through a similar process. Its main cemetery, Mirogoj, contains a structure that belongs to the most monumental examples of Central European sepulchral architecture. This paper talks about the architectural design and the construction history of Zagreb's central cemetery, and recent challenges related to restoration of Mirogoj after two earthquakes that hit north-western Croatia in 2020. Instead of old confessional cemeteries, the Zagreb City Council established a new municipal cemetery in 1876. It was intended to serve as the final resting place for all confessional communities in the city - Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish, and from 1879, Muslim. Zagreb city authorities considered it necessary to establish a communal cemetery serving all religious groups, because of their wish, stated in contemporary documents, “to fight intolerance or indifference… and to rekindle the beautiful thought of togetherness which equally inspires the living people of various religions to feel the harmony of this municipality and the dead to rest in piece together”. Catholics were given the central and northern part of the cemetery while much smaller sections were allocated to the Eastern Orthodox community, Protestants, Jews, and later Muslims. On the western edge of the cemetery ground, the city government, under the influence of Italian monumental architectural cemeteries, decided to build a complex of arcaded burials. Therefore, in spring of 1875, the main city engineer Rupert Melkus and the city government official Adolf Hudovski were sent on a journey to Italy to visit cemeteries in Udine, Venice, Brescia, Verona, Milan, Bologna, Florence and Trieste. After the trip, Melkus finished the design for the general layout of the cemetery. The designs for arcades, pavilions and chapel(s) of the cemetery were commissioned from the architect Herman Bollé, the most significant architect of the late 19th century Zagreb and Croatia. What makes his solution stand out among other European 19th century cemeteries with galleries is the relationship between the domed pavilions and the galleries/arcades. The pattern of recurrent pavilions connected to arcades executed in such a monumental way cannot be found anywhere else - altogether 12 big pavilions, 77 big arcades, 5 small pavilions and 69 small arcades were built in Mirogoj cemetery. The sloping terrain of Mirogoj, together with a line of pavilions, created an exceptionally picturesque ensemble and provided a clear view of the arcades. Unlike most of Italian Camposantos Zagreb central cemetery is not completely surrounded by arcades. Greatest part of cemetery area is in the open, and lined with orthogonal and radial pathways. This design makes Mirogoj the so-called mixed type – a very frequent type of cemetery in 19th-century Central Europe – due to the combination of elements belonging to the architectural and garden cemetery. The building of Mirogoj arcades began in 1879 and lasted until late 1930s. Just like the rest of the cemetery it was divided into four parts - Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish. It contains tombstones of the most important Zagreb bourgeois’ late 19th/early 20th century families. The monuments and tombstones were made by prominent Croatian artists and artisans. Therefore, more than any other building in Zagreb, the architecture and layout of Mirogoj bear witness to economic, social, religious and national identities of the population in this provincial Austro-Hungarian city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During 2020, Zagreb and north-western Croatia were hit twice by strong earthquakes. Mirogoj cemetery is one of the buildings most damaged in the earthquakes. Due to the size of the complex and the severity of the damage, the reconstruction of Mirogoj has not even begun. How to restore arcades and pavilions while preserving their historical value, which monuments to preserve and which can be removed, are the main questions that arise related to the preservation of Mirogoj, so the last part of my presentation will be dedicated to these

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Arhitektura i urbanizam, Povijest, Povijest umjetnosti

POVEZANOST RADA