Architecture of Croatia
The architecture of Croatia has roots in a long history: the Croats have inhabited the area for fourteen centuries, but there are important remnants of earlier periods still preserved in the country.
But the architecture of most old towns, especially on the coast, are italian/venetian influnced, which also come from them, since they had a long presencetime and affiliation at these places.
Ancient heritage
The Bronze culture of the Illyrians, an ethnic group with distinct culture and art, started to organize itself in what is now Croatia. Numerous monumental sculptures are preserved, as well as walls of the citadel Nezakcij near Pula, one of numerous Istrian cities from the Iron Age.
One of few preserved basilicas in western Europe (besides the ones in
Early Middle Ages
In the 7th century, the
The
Smaller churches often have several
The
By joining the Hungarian state in the twelfth century, Croatia lost its independence, but it did not lose its ties with the south and the west, and instead this ensured the beginning of a new era of Central European cultural influence.
Romanesque
In the 11th century, monumental cities were built along the entire
The
In Croatian Romanesque sculpture we see a transformation of decorative interlace relief (natively – pleter) to figurative, which is found on stone ceilings. At the end of the Romanesque period, in Istria there were workshops of monumental figures. They had geometrical and naturalistic features reminiscent of Gothic. The best examples of Romanesque sculpture are the wooden doors of
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The famous bell tower of theSplitCathedral.
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Cathedral of St Stošija in Zadar, 13th century
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Church of St. Mary in Zadar, mid 11th century
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St Peters Basilica in Supetarska Draga, Rab
Gothic
The
The largest urban project of this period was the complete building of two new towns –
We can recognize Gothic
The Franciscan church in Pula (1285) is the most representative example of Early Gothic.[5] This simple one nave building with a wooden rib-vault ceiling, a square apse, and high stained glass windows was built from 13th to the 15th century.
During the 14th century, the
were also built.In Dubrovnik after the fire in 1435, two of the most important buildings, the Rector's Palace and the Sponza Palace, were restored in style of Venetian Gothic by an artisan from Naples, Onofrio della Cava.
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Cathedral ofSt Stephen in capital of Croatia, Zagreb, interior from 14th century
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The Rector's Palace and behind it the Sponza Palace in Dubrovnik
Renaissance
In the 15th century, Croatia was divided between three states – northern Croatia was a part of
occupation. Dalmatia was on the periphery of several influences, equidistant from Italy, Ottoman Bosnia, and Austria, so it drew influence from all. In those circumstances in Dalmatia flourished religious and public architecture with clear influences of the Italian Renaissance, but still original.Only in this kind of environment, free of dogmas and self-governed - far from major governing centers - could it be possible for the artisan known as
In the entire area of the Republic of Ragusa there were numerous villas of nobility, unique by their functionality and spatial organization, a combination of Renaissance villa and government building. Sorkočević's villa in 'Lapad' near Dubrovnik in 1521 is original by the order of its building parts in asymmetrical, dynamic balance.
In northwestern Croatia, the beginning of the wars with the
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Šibenik Cathedral of St James, constructed 1431–1535, UNESCO World Heritage
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Renaissance star-shaped fortress in Karlovac(designed in 1579)
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Renaissance walls of Varaždin
Baroque and Rococo
In the 17th and 18th century, Croatia was reunited with the parts of country that were occupied by
Large fortifications with radial plan,
Baroque urban planning is felt in numerous new towns like Karlovac, Bjelovar, Koprivnica, Virovitica etc. that had large straight streets, rectangular squares in the middle surrounded with buildings as government and military ones as well as representative church.
During the Baroque period, numerous churches of enchanting size and form were built in of all Croatia, thus becoming a crown in every town or city. The monastery churches often had an enclosing wall with inner
Wall painting flourished in all parts of Croatia, from illusionist frescoes in the church of Holy Mary in Samobor, St Catherine in Zagreb to the Jesuit church in Dubrovnik. The best preserved examples are the Rococo frescoes in Miljana mansion where allegorical seasons and natural elements were depicted through human nature and its reflection on art.
19th century
In Austrian countries on the beginning of the 19th century (to which Croatia belonged than) building in Classicistic Manner prevailed. In Croatia most prominent architect was Bartol Felbinger who also build City Hall in Samobor (1826) and Januševac Castle near Zagreb.
The
At the same time the cities in Croatia got important urban makeovers: Karlovac transformed its Renaissance bastions into a parkway that surrounds the entire old town (just like Vienna's Ringstraẞe), while the coastal cities (Trogir, Zadar, Pula, Pag and Šibenik) took down their walls and opened to the sea. The size and importance the urban regulation of Downtown Zagreb (largely the work of Milan Lenuzzio, 1860–1880) was revolutionary. Between Zagreb's longest street –
A pseudo building that emphasizes all three visual arts is the former building of the Ministry of Prayer and Education in Zagreb (H. Bolle, 1895). Alongside rooms in Pompeii style and Renaissance cabinet, the large neo-Baroque "Golden Hall" was painted with historic compositions. "The Golden Hall" became a unified monument of its age, one of few in Europe.
20th century
Vienna Secession
Till the end of
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Croatian National Theatre in Split by Emil Vecchietti and Ante Bezić, 1893
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Kallina House by Vjekoslav Bastl, 1903
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National Library , 1912
Interwar modernism and the "Zagreb school"
Yugoslav architecture emerged in the first decades of the 20th century before the establishment of the state; during this period a number of South Slavic creatives, enthused by the possibility of statehood, organized a series of art exhibitions in Serbia in the name of a shared Slavic identity. Following governmental centralization after the 1918 creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, this initial bottom-up enthusiasm began to fade. Yugoslav architecture became more and more dictated by an increasingly concentrated national authority which sought to establish a unified state identity.[6] Beginning the 1920s, Yugoslav architects began to advocate for architectural modernism, viewing the style as the logical extension of progressive national narratives. Despite these shifts, differing relationships to the west made the adoption of modernism inconsistent in Yugoslavia WWII; Croatia and Slovenia were familiar with Western influence and the most eager to adopt modernism.[7][8]
Modern Croatian architecture appeared in Croatia with Viktor Kovačić, who was the first to speak against historicism and represented the idea that architecture must be individual and modern, but also practical and comfortable. His projects are marked with subtle purity of reduced elements of historicism, like in the monumental Palace of Burze in Zagreb, 1924.
Drago Ibler published a manifest of the group "Earth" in which he wrote: "We should live in the spirit of our age and create accordingly; … The modern life is full of social ideas and questions considering everybody and an artist can’t stand outside that collective because art and life are one." Between 1925 and 1935, he established the so-called "Zagreb school of architecture" with fellow architects Drago Galić, Mladen Kauzlarić, Stjepan Planić and others. They often merge two opposite directions in the architecture of those days – functionalistic and organic.
Stjepan Planić, also a member of group "Earth", with his numerous buildings made a makeover of Zagreb and earned a place in the Anthology of Modern Architecture. Every project of his is marked with some new idea: Villa in Kozarčeva street from 1931 is gradually accommodated to the hillside, "Tomislav Home" in Sljeme from 1935, made out of wood and stone, has a unique plane in the shape of letter Y, while circular villa on the Prekrižje, also from 1935, has radial inner walls. He fought for the architectural freedom to plan the buildings accordingly with climatic conditions, the sun, the wind and the sightings, and for the affirmation of new social and human ideas in habitat culture.
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Modernist school designed by Ivan Zemljak in 1930 in Zagreb
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The Meštrović Pavilion in Zagreb was designed by Ivan Meštrović as an art gallery in 1933
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Secondary school in Zagreb designed by Egon Steinmann and completed in 1933
Socialist realism
Immediately following the
Socialist modernism
Socialist realist architecture in Yugoslavia came to an abrupt end with
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Vjesnik building
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FER building C, 1956
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Ilički neboder, 1957–58
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Zagrepčanka, 1971–76
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Cibona Tower, by Marijan Hržić 1983
Spomeniks
During this period, the Yugoslav break from Soviet socialist realism combined with efforts to commemorate World War II, which together led to the creation of an immense quantity of abstract sculptural war memorials, known today as spomenik[12]
Brutalism
In the late 1950s and early 1960s Brutalism began to garner a following within Yugoslavia, particularly among younger architects, a trend possibly influenced by the 1959 disbandment of the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne.[13]
Decentralization
With 1950s decentralization and liberalization policies in SFR Yugoslavia, architecture became increasingly fractured along ethnic lines. Architects increasingly focused on building with reference to the architectural heritage of their individual socialist republics in the form of critical regionalism.[14]
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Vjenceslav Richter: Original project for the Yugoslav Pavilion at Expo 58, Bruxelles
Modern Croatian architecture
Contemporary Croatian architects
Edo Šen (1877–1949) is credited with laying the foundation of modern Croatian architecture. In the 2010s, the dual, elliptically shaped business tower Sky Office Tower was completed in Zagreb by Croatian born architect Ante Anin.[15]
In 1998, the decision to build a new museum of contemporary art at 17 Avenija Dubrovnik, Zagreb,[16] was made by the Croatian government. This resulted in a tender, won by Igor Franić, who thus became the architect of the modern Museum of Contemporary Art building (completed in 2009), with a total 14,609.65 m2, of which 3,500 m2 are for permanent exhibition, and 1500 m2 for temporary exhibitions.[16]
In 2015, the 25-floor high Strojarska Business Center was completed in Zagreb by a team of Croatian architects.
In the late 2010s architect Bruno Juričić became the author of a hotel complex estimated at 100 million euros, the Xia Ke in Haining. The entire complex covers 200,000 m2, and the hotel complex about 35,000 m2, with a cultural center dedicated to Haining native writer Jin Yong, who also inspired the construction of the complex, which is informed by wuxia.[17] The design of the Xia Ke is said to blend science fiction and fantasy, with elements of Chinese national pride, which "explain its expressive swirling forms and mysterious steel mesh cubes."[18] Juričić is the first Croatian architect to win a tender with his own project.[19] He had represented Croatia at the 2018 Venice Biennale, presenting Croatia's “Cloud Pergola / The Architecture of Hospitality”, which is said to be "one of the world's largest and most complex 3D-fabricated structures."[20][21]
In the 2010s, Otto Barić became the architect of the neo-futurist Dalmatia Tower, the tallest building in Croatia. The project received an International Property Award for the best office high-rise in Europe.[22][23] The tower is part of a project that consists of two towers; the first has been the seat of the Management Board of Splitska banka since 2016.[23] The tower has been completed in 2022.[24]
Gallery
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Zagreb International Airport
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Rijeka Mosque, completed in 2013
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Strojarska Business Center, Zagreb 2015
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Dalmatia Tower, Split 2020
See also
- Art of Croatia
- Hollow Church
- Church of Holy Trinity, Split
- Architecture of Yugoslavia
Sources
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- ^ The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map. "C.Michael Hogan, "Diocletian's Palace", The Megalithic Portal, A. Burnham ed, Oct 6, 2007". Megalithic.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
- ^ "Barbarians and Romans | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". Metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
- ^ "The First Croatian State". culturenet.hr. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- ^ a b Prof. Radovan Ivančević (ed.). "The Age of Free Cities, Nobility and Preaching Orders: Gothic (13th and 14th centuries)". culturenet.hr web portal to Croatian culture. Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ISBN 9781351915793.
- ^ Đorđević, Zorana (2016). "Identity of 20th Century Architecture in Yugoslavia: The Contribution of Milan Zloković". Култура/Culture. 6.
- ^ a b Babic, Maja (2013). "Modernism and Politics in the Architecture of Socialist Yugoslavia, 1945-1965" (PDF). University of Washington.
- ^ OCLC 814446048.
- ^ Alfirević, Đorđe; Simonović Alfirević, Sanja (2015). "Urban housing experiments in Yugoslavia 1948-1970" (PDF). Spatium (34): 1–9.
- JSTOR 23248986.
- ^ Kulić, Vladmir. "Edvard Ravnikar's Liquid Modernism: Architectural Identity in a Network of Shifting References" (PDF). New Constellations New Ecologies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ di Radmila Simonovic, Ricerca (2014). "New Belgrade, Between Utopia and Pragmatism" (PDF). Sapienza Università di Roma. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ Entertainment, The only biannual Magazine for Architectural. "YUGOTOPIA: The Glory Days of Yugoslav Architecture On Display". pinupmagazine.org. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
- ^ "Sky Office Tower". Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ a b Culturelink Archived 2020-02-27 at the Wayback Machine Muzej suvremene umjetnosti
- ^ "ARHITEKT BRUNO JURČIĆ 'Zidovi mog hotela su 3D printani valovi, a gosti će dane provoditi u virtualnoj stvarnosti boreći se s Wuxia herojima'". Jutarnji list. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ "Croatian architect wunderkind Bruno Juricic wins €100m fantasy leisure complex in China". GCR. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ "Croatian Architect Designs Impressive €100 Million Hotel Complex in China". Croatia Week. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ Testado, Justine. "Croatia designs immersive, robot-built "Cloud Pergola" Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Biennale". Architect News. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ Bava, Alessandro. "This is not an exhibition". E-flux. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ "Westgate ne prestaje iznenađivati javnost: dok Splićani sa zanimanjem prate kako niče najviša zgrada u Hrvatskoj, ugledne svjetske kompanije već su 'bacile oko' na atraktivne prostore".
- ^ a b "Westgate Group Split: Dalmatia Tower Ready to House First Marriott Hotel in Croatia by End of 2021". Croatia Week. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- ^ "Dalmatia Tower postigao punu visinu od 135 metara, sad je i službeno najviši neboder u Hrvatskoj" [Dalmatia Tower reached a full height of 135 meters, and is now officially the tallest skyscraper in Croatia]. tportal.hr. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.