Journal Article

Architects and builders in Mostar during the Austro-Hungarian monarchy

Prlic, Mirela Setka, Rakic, Marija, Puljic, Borislav

2017

Overview

This paper presents the Mostar-based architects, builders, and surveyors in the period of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy as well as in the last phase of the Ottoman Empire. It looks at their biographies, professional positions and authorship of some structures and urban planning interventions. It also analyses their professional work in terms of the circumstances, legislative and legal framework, and methods of work that eventually changed the image of the city. ARCHITECT AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN MONARCHY BUILDER SURVEYOR MOSTAR Tema su ovoga rada arhitekti, graditelji i mjernici (geometri) na prostoru grada Mostara u razdoblju austrougarske uprave, ali i u posljednjem razdoblju osmanske vladavine. Otkrivene su njihove biografije, pozicije koje su zauzimali u graditeljskoj strukturi i autorstvo nad objektima ili urbanistiekim potezima. UtvrDeni su uvjeti unutar kojih su radili, zakonodavno-pravni okvir i metode rada koje su dovele do promjena slike grada. ARHITEKT AUSTRO-UGARSKA MONARHIJA GRADITELJ MJERNIK MOSTAR This paper presents the Mostar-based architects, builders, and surveyors in the period of the Austro-Hungarian rule between 1878 and 1918. They brought to Mostar and the entire region of Bosnia and Herzegovina their own specific technical expertise as well as the fruits of human culture and civilization including a new administrative and legal framework for the regulation of all construction processes. Over a period of forty years they successfully transformed the city from an Ottoman backwater hick town into a Central European city at the turn of the centuries. Professional planning and design was adopted as a mandatory legally binding method of construction that could be performed only by the highly-educated licensed professionals such as architects, engineers, and land surveyors. The first part of the paper gives an analysis of the previous Ottoman period and its construction system. It presents the first engineers from Dalmatia who built the first infrastructure facilities. Among those was a Dalmatian Franjo Linardovic followed by his brother Antun. Some other builders came later: Slado and Moise from Dalmatia, Przozevski from Poland, and Hadden from England. It was at that time that Marko Fontana came as well. After that, the legal, administrative, local and national framework of construction activities between 1878 and 1918 was carefully analyzed. In order to improve the quality of construction, the City Council established a Department for Buildings in 1897. Their duty was to supervise the construction process and give their opinion concerning every building activity. The establishment of such a Council was not common practice at the time but quite specific for Mostar. The second part of the paper gives a thorough record of all the architects, builders, and surveyors including building technicians and construction entrepreneurs. The most renowned figures who used to work for many years in Mostar were Milos Komadina, Dorde Knezic, Dragutin Kohler, and Max David. Milos Komadina designed some of the most remarkable structures: the Franciscan monastery, the Girls' High School, the Trade School, Cejvanbeg's Mekteb, the District Office, and numerous single-family houses. In addition, he designed many bridges in the city and on the city's outskirts. His contribution to urban planning and design was substantial, primarily to the expansion of the existing streets and to the planning of new neighbourhoods. Dorde Knezic, although lacking formal engineering education, showed great drawing skills and talent as well as technical maturity. He actively promoted Secession in Mostar. He was one of the most significant builders of the city regarding the number of structures he produced and their quality. Some of his most remarkable achievements are the First Serbian Orthodox School in Luka, the Second Serbian Orthodox School in Carina, and numerous single-family houses. Dragutin Kohler made drawings for the first public toilets built in 1913. He worked as member of the appointed Commission for building the Harbour Bridge and the Customs Bridge. He made regulation plan for some of the most important city spaces: the Regulation plan of Kolodvorska and Ricina streets as well as a square and the streets of the Rondo complex. In the prolific body of work produced by Max David, some projects deserve to be singled out: the District Court building and the prison, the reconstruction of the Mostar Franciscan church with a new pulpit and a side altar, the Bishop's Palace and a few churches in the surroundings. Josip Vancas, Franz Blazek and Alexander Wittek were the most renowned figures among the architects from other environments who left indelible mark on Mostar architecture. Josip Vancas designed the Military Headquarters building which is nowadays a dilapidated municipality building. In 1901 he designed another military building and in 1910 the Land Bank Subsidiary on Main Street. Franz Blazek designed the Great High School, the Jubilee Elementary School, the Franz Josef Military Barracks in the south camp, building no 1 in the Konak military complex in Mostar and an unidentified military building. Alexander Wittek designed the Neretva Hotel in 1890. The final part of the paper is dedicated to research results which clearly show that in the examined period 14 architects, builders, surveyors, and technicians used to work in the Town Government, while 24 were employed in the Regional District. There is no indication of the employment positions for 10 of them while for 11 there are no biographical data available. There were 11 professionals from other environments and 6 building contractors. There were 76 professionals in planning, design, and construction in the analyzed period. They mostly came from other countries within the Monarchy, primarily from Croatia (11). All those engineers from other regions were educated in great cities of the Monarchy (Vienna, Graz, Brno, Berlin, Budapest, Salzburg and others). There were 11 of them from Croatia, 9 from Bohemia, 8 from Austria, 2 from Slovenia, 1 from Poland, Ukraine, Germany and Hungary. Local people were employed in the building sector by the end of the examined period when graduates from the Technical High School came to Mostar. Consequently, new urban types appeared as a byproduct of the capitalist and Central European city: the building for rent, the villa, new types of administrative and public buildings, factories, railway stations, hotels, schools, etc. New administrative system of the Enlightened Absolutism brought a new building system and new, modern building regulations, educated engineers and mandatory design documentation. All analyzed buildings were built in the new architectural forms of Historicism in the late 19th century and Secession in the early 20th century as well as in local pseudo-Moorish style. All those builders created a new urban form in local natural and social circumstances and this can be rightly considered their major contribution to Mostar's urban fabric.

• Publisher: Sveuciliste U Zagrebu
• Subject: Analysis / Architectural services / Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1867-1918