Architecture of Croatia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

of Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

has roots in a long history

History of Croatia

Croatia first appeared as a duchy in the 7th century and then as a kingdom in the 10th century. From the 12th century it remained a distinct state with its ruler and parliament, but it obeyed the kings and emperors of various neighboring powers, primarily Hungary and Austria. The period from the...

: the Croats

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

have inhabited the area for thirteen centuries, but there are important remnants of the earlier periods still preserved in the country.

Ancient heritage

The most interesting Copper Age

Copper Age

The Chalcolithic |stone]]") period or Copper Age, also known as the Eneolithic/Æneolithic , is a phase of the Bronze Age in which the addition of tin to copper to form bronze during smelting remained yet unknown by the metallurgists of the times...

finds are from Vučedol culture (named after Vučedol

Vucedol culture

The Vučedol culture was a Indo-European culture that flourished between 3000 and 2200 BC , centered in Syrmia and eastern Slavonia on the right bank of the Danube river, but possibly spreading throughout the Pannonian plain and western Balkans...

near Vukovar

Vukovar

Vukovar is a city in eastern Croatia, and the biggest river port in Croatia located at the confluence of the Vuka river and the Danube. Vukovar is the center of the Vukovar-Syrmia County...

). In Vučedol People lived on hilltops with palisade

Palisade

A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...

walls. Houses were half buried, mostly square or circular (they were also combined in mushroom shape), with floor of burned clay and circular fireplace.

The Bronze culture of the Illyrians

Illyrians

The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...

, an ethnic group with distinct culture and art form started to organize itself on today’s Croatia. Numerous monumental sculptures are preserved, as well as walls of citadel

Citadel

A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....

Nezakcij near Pula

Pula

Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...

, one of numerous Istrian cities from Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

.

Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

sailors and merchants have reached almost every part of the Mediterranean including the shores of today’s Croatia; there they have founded city-state

City-state

A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...

s in which they lived quite isolated. Trade cities on the Adriatic shores such as Tragurion (today Trogir

Trogir

Trogir is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 12,995 and a total municipality population of 13,322 . The historic city of Trogir is situated on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo...

), Salona (Solin near Split

Split (city)

Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...

), Epetion (today Poreč

Porec

Poreč is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th century Euphrasian Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997....

), Issa (Vis), were geometrically shaped and had villas

Villa

A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...

, harbors, public buildings, temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

s and theatres. While the Greek colonies were flourishing on the island, on the continent the Illyrians were organizing their centers. Their art was greatly influenced by Greek art, and they have even copied some. In the Neretva delta there was an important influence of the Hellenistic Illyrian tribe of Daors.

Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

subdued the Greek colonial cities in 3rd century BC. They imposed an organization based on a military-economical system. Further more, the Romans subdued the Illyrians in the first century BC and organized the entire coastal territory by transforming the citadels into urban cities. After that the history of these parts is a history of Illyrian provinces of Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

.
Numerous rustic villas, and new urban settlements (the most impressive are Verige in Brijuni

Brijuni

The Brijuni or the Brijuni Islands are a group of fourteen small islands in the Croatian part of the northern Adriatic Sea, separated from the west coast of the Istrian peninsula by the narrow Fažana Strait...

, Pula

Pula

and Trogir - formerly Tragurion) demonstrate the high level of Roman urbanization

Urbanization

Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....

. There have been at least thirty urban cities in Istria

Istria

Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...

, Liburnia

Liburnia

Liburnia in ancient geography was the land of the Liburnians, a region along the northeastern Adriatic coast in Europe, in modern Croatia, whose borders shifted according to the extent of Liburnian dominance at a given time between 11th and 1st century BC...

and Dalmatia

Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

with Roman citizenship (civitas

Civitas

In the history of Rome, the Latin term civitas , according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the cives, or citizens, united by law . It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities on the one hand and rights of citizenship on the other...

). The best-preserved networks of Roman streets (decumanus/cardo) are those in Epetion (Poreč) and Jader (Zadar

Zadar

Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...

).
The most perfectly preserved Roman monuments are in Pola (Pula

Pula

); founded in first century dedicated to Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

, it is full with classical Roman art

Roman art

Roman art has the visual arts made in Ancient Rome, and in the territories of the Roman Empire. Major forms of Roman art are architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work...

such as: stone walls, two city gates, two temples on Forum

Forum (Roman)

A forum was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls...

, and remains of two theaters, as well as the Arch

Arch

An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...

from year 30 AD, and the temple of Augustus built in years 2 to 14 AD, and finally the Fluvian Amphitheater (so called – Arena

Arena

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

) from 2nd century.
In 3rd century AD the city of Salona becomes the largest (it had 40 000 inhabitants) and most important city of Dalmatia. Near the city emperor Diocletian

Diocletian

Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....

, born in Salona, built Diocletian's Palace

Diocletian's Palace

Diocletian's Palace is a building in Split, Croatia, that was built by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD.Diocletian built the massive palace in preparation for his retirement on 1 May 305 AD. It lies in a bay on the south side of a short peninsula running out from...

around year 300 AD, which is largest and most important monument of late antiquity architecture in the world. On its pathways, cellar

Basement

__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...

s, dome

Dome

A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....

s, mausoleum

Mausoleum

A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...

s, arcade

Arcade (architecture)

An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....

s and courtyards we can trace numerous different art influences from the entire Empire. In the 4th century Salona became the center of Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

for the entire western Balkans

Balkans

The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

. It had numerous basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

s and necropolises, and even two saints: Domnius (Duje

Duje

Saint Domnius was a 3rd century Bishop of Salona. Salona was a large Roman city serving as capital of the Province of Dalmatia. Today it is located near the city of Split in modern Croatia...

) and Anastasius

Anastasius the Fuller

Saint Anastasius the Fuller is a Christian saint of the Catholic Church. Anastasius was a fuller at Aquileia who subsequently moved his business to Solin ....

(Staš).

One of few preserved basilicas in western Europe (besides the ones in Ravenna

Ravenna

Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

) from the time of early Byzantium

Byzantium

Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...

is Euphrasian Basilica

Euphrasian Basilica

The Euphrasian Basilica is a basilica in Poreč, Croatia. The episcopal complex, including, apart the basilica itself, a sacristy, a baptistery and the bell tower of the nearby archbishop's palace, is one of the best examples of early Byzantine architecture in the Mediterranean region.The...

in Poreč

Porec

from 6th century.
The early Middle Ages brought the great migration of the Slavs

Migration Period

The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...

and this period was perhaps a Dark Age in the cultural sense until the successful formation of the Slavic states which coexisted with Italic cities that remained on the coast, each of them modelled like Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

Early Middle Ages

In the 7th century the Croats

Croats

, with other Slavs and Avars

Eurasian Avars

The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...

, came from Northern Europe to the region where they live today. They were on the level of Iron Age nomadic culture, so they did not know how to enjoy the advantages of urban cities. This is why they first inhabited city boundaries on close by rivers (like Jadro near Roman Salona

Salona

Salona was an ancient Illyrian Delmati city in the first millennium BC. The Greeks had set up an emporion there. After the conquest by the Romans, Salona became the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia...

).

The Croats

Croats

were open to Roman art

Roman art

Roman art has the visual arts made in Ancient Rome, and in the territories of the Roman Empire. Major forms of Roman art are architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work...

and culture, and first of all to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

. First churches were built as royal sanctuaries, and the influence of Roman art was strongest in Dalmatia where the urbanization was thickest, and there was the largest number of monuments. Gradually that influence was neglected and certain simplification, alteration of inherited forms and even creation of original buildings appeared. All of them (a dozen large ones and hundreds of small ones) were built with roughly cut stone (natively called – lomljenac) bounded with thick layer of mortar from outside.
Large churches are longitudinal with one or three naves

Navès

Navès is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.-Geography:The Thoré forms most of the commune's north-eastern border, then flows into the Agout, which forms part of its northern border.-References:*...

like The St. Saviour at the source of the river Cetina

Cetina

Cetina is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . Cetina descends from an altitude of 385 m at its source to the sea level when it flows into the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia....

, built in 9th century. The church has strong semi-circular buttresses that give a feeling of fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

, emphasized with mighty bell-tower positioned in front of entrance.

Smaller churches are interestingly shaped (mainly central) with several apses. The largest and most complicated central based church from 9th century is church of St. Donatus

Church of St. Donatus

The Church of St. Donatus is a church located in Zadar, Croatia. Its name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. Originally named the church of the Holy Trinity, in the 15th century it was...

in Zadar

Zadar

Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...

. Around its circular centre – with dome

Dome

above – is nave

Nave

In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

in shape of ring with three apses directed to east; that shape is followed on second floor forming a gallery

Long gallery

Long gallery is an architectural term given to a long, narrow room, often with a high ceiling. In British architecture, long galleries were popular in Elizabethan and Jacobean houses. They were often located on the upper floor of the great houses of the time, and stretched across the entire...

. From those times, with its size and beauty we can only compare the chapel of Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

in Aachen

Aachen

Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...

Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

fence and windows of those churches were highly decorated with transparent shallow string-like ornament

Ornament (architecture)

In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...

that is called pleter (meaning to weave) because the strings were threaded and rethreaded through itself. Motifs of those reliefs were taken from Roman art (waves, three-string interlace, pentagrams, net of rhomboids etc.), but while in Roman art they only made the frame of a sculpture in Dark Ages it fills the entire surface.
Sometimes figures from Bible appeared alongside this decoration, like relief in Holy Nedjeljica in Zadar, and then they were dominated by their pattern. This also happened to engravings in early Croatian script – Glagolitic. Soon, the glagolitic writings were replaced with Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

on altar fences and architrave

Architrave

An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...

s of old-Croatian churches. Those inscriptions usually mention to whom the church was dedicated, who built it and when it was built, as well who produced the building. That was the way that “barbarian newcomers” could fit amongst the Romanised natives.

By joining the Hungarian state

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

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 Europe

Central Europe

Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...

an cultural influence.

Romanesque

In 11th century the monumental cities were built along entire Dalmatia

Dalmatia

n coast. Houses were out of stone, on ground floor there were shops or dinners (natively – konoba) like in cities as: Poreč

Porec

, Rab

Rab

Rab is an island in Croatia and a town of the same name located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea.The island is long, has an area of and 9,480 inhabitants . The highest peak is Kamenjak at 408 meters...

, Zadar

Zadar

Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...

, Trogir

Trogir

and Split

Split (city)

.
In them the most important buildings were churches. They were commonly stone build basilicas with three naves, three apses, columns, arches, arcades and wooden roofs; build near monasteries of benedictian

Order of Saint Benedict

The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...

monks who came out of Italy. St. Peter in Supetarska Draga on island of Rab (11th century) is best-preserved church of that type in Croatia. On the same island is Cathedral of Rab (12th century) that has high-Romanesque bell tower

Bell tower

A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...

, largest in Dalmatia. It is specific with its openings, which are multiplied as we go higher floor by floor (Latin: mono-fore, bi-fore, tri-fore, quadro-fore); typical for Romanesque, but also architecturally smart because it makes every next floor a bit lighter than the preceding one.

Cathedral of St. Anastasia, Zadar

Cathedral of St. Anastasia, Zadar

The Cathedral of St. Anastasia is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Zadar, Croatia. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Zadar.Today's cathedral was built in the Romanesque style. It is the largest church in all of Dalmatia...

(natively - St. Stošija) in Zadar (13th century) is marked outside by a string of blind arch-niche

Niche (architecture)

A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...

s on both sides and on frontal side where it also has two Rose window

Rose window

A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...

s with radial columns and three portals. Reminding us of Cathedral in Pisa

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

. Inside it has three naves, slim columns that are supporting a gallery

Long gallery

, and flat figurative reliefs.

In Croatian Romanesque sculpture we have a transformation of decorative interlace relief (natively – pleter) to figurative, which is found on stone ceilings. At the end of 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: Wooden doors of Split Cathedral done by artisan Buvina (c.1220) and Stone portal of Trogir Cathedral done by artisan Radovan (c. 1240).

Gothic

The Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

art in 14th century was supported by culture of cities councils, preaching orders (like Franciscans), and knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

ly culture. It was the golden age of free Dalmatian cities that were trading with Croatian feudal nobility in the continent. Urban organization and evolution of Dalmatian cities we can follow through developing and expanding of Rab

Rab

and Trogir

Trogir

, regulation of streets in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...

and integration of Split

Split (city)

. It is also a time of paving the streets with stone, sewage

Sewage

Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...

canals and communalities.

Largest urban project of those times was complete building of two new towns – Small and Large Ston
Ston
Ston is a village and municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. The town of Ston is the center of the Ston municipality.- Demographics :...

, and about a kilometre of wall with guard towers between them (14th century). After Hadrian's wall

Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...

in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, the longest wall in Europe. That way all of Pelješac

Pelješac

Pelješac is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia...

peninsula was surrounded and protected from land shore whit aim to protect the most valuable possession of Republic of Ragusa

Republic of Ragusa

The Republic of Ragusa or Republic of Dubrovnik was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from 1358 to 1808...

– salt from Ston.

We can recognize Gothic fortification

Fortification

with its high towers in shape of square prism from simple Romanesque one, or round Renaissance one. The best-preserved ones in Croatia are in Istria (Hum

Hum, Croatia

Hum is a town in the central part of Istria, northwest Croatia, 7 km from Roč, 14 km southeast of Buzet on a hill above the Mirna valley. The elevation of the town is 349 m...

, Bale, Motovun

Motovun

Motovun is a village in central Istria, Croatia. The population of the village itself is 531, with a total of 983 residents in the municipality ; 442 of the residents have Italian as their mother language...

, Labin

Labin

Labin is a town in Istria, Croatia, with a town population of 6,884 and 11,703 in the greater municipality ....

etc.) and those on north (Medvedgrad above Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

from year 1260) or on the south Sokolac in Lika

Lika

Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...

(14th century).

Franciscan church in Pula (1285) is the most representative example of Early Gothic. Simple one nave building with wooden rib-vault ceiling, with square apse and high stain windows was built from 13th to 15th century.

Tatars

Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...

destroyed Romanesque cathedral in Zagreb during their scourge in 1240, but right after their departure Zagreb got the title of a free city from Hungarian

Hungary

king Bela IV. Soon after bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

Timotej began to rebuild the cathedral in new Gothic style. Building with three naves, polygonal apses and rib-vault had Romanesque round towers. The naves were built in 14th century, and the vault was finished in 15th. With the arrival of Turks

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

in 16th century high walls and towers surrounded it. Only one tower was finished in 17th century, while in 18th the Baroque roof became the landmark of entire city. With the restoration in 19th century in Neo-gothic style it lost former harmony.

During the 14th century, the Split cathedral of St Duje and cluster of Franciscan monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

were also build.

In Dubrovnik after fire in 1435, two of the most important buildings, The Rector's Palace and the Sponza Palace, were restored in style of Venetian Gothic

Venetian Gothic architecture

Venetian Gothic is a term given to an architectural style combining use of the Gothic lancet arch with Byzantine and Moorish architecture influences. The style originated in 14th century Venice with the confluence of Byzantine styles from Constantinople, Arab influences from Moorish Spain and early...

by an artisan from Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

- Onofrio della Cava.

Renaissance

In 15th century, Croatia was divided between three states – northern Croatia was a part of Austrian Empire

Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

, Dalmatia was under the rule of Venetian Republic (with exception of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

) and Slavonia was under Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

occupation.
Dalmatia was on the periphery of several influences, just as far from Italy as from Ottomans in Bosnia and Austrians in the north, so it thrived from all. In those circumstances in Dalmatia flourished religious and public architecture with clear influence of Italian renaissance

Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...

, but still original.

Only in the kind of environment, free of dogmas and self-governed - far of major governing centers, could it be possible for artisan known as Giorgio da Sebenico (Juraj Dalmatinac) to build a church entirely by his own project – Cathedral of St.James

Cathedral of St. James, Šibenik

The Cathedral of St. James inŠibenik, Croatia is a triple-nave basilica with three apses and a dome in the city of Šibenik, Croatia. It is the church of the Catholic Church in Croatia, and the see of the Šibenik diocese. It is also the most important architectural monument of the Renaissance in...

in Šibenik

Šibenik

Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...

, in 1441. Besides mixing of gothic and renaissance style it was also original by unity of stone building and montage construction (big stone blocks, pilaster

Pilaster

A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....

s and ribs were bounded with joints and slots

Slots

Slots may refer to:* Jørgen Slots, a leading Danish periodontist currently on faculty at USC Dental School* Slot machine* Leading edge slots aerodynamic devices on an aircraft leading edgeFor further meanings see slot...

on them - without concrete) in the way that was usual in wooden constructions. This was unique building with so-called three-leaves frontal and half-barrel vaults, first in Europe. The cathedral and its original stone dome

Dome

was finished by Nikola Firentinac

Nikola Firentinac

Niccolò Fiorentino ; , was a Dalmatian Renaissance sculptor and master architect. He was of Tuscan birth, but lived most of his life and conducted much of his work in Venice, Šibenik and other towns of Dalmatia.He is best known by his work on the Cathedral of St.James in Šibenik, in 1455...

following the original plans of Juraj.

In the entire area of Republic of Ragusa

Republic of Ragusa

The Republic of Ragusa or Republic of Dubrovnik was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from 1358 to 1808...

there were numerous villas

Villa

of nobility, unique by their functionality and space organization - combination of renaissance villa and government building. Sorkočević’s villa in Lapad near Dubrovnik in 1521 is original by order of building parts in asymmetrical, dynamical balance.

In northwestern Croatia, the beginning of the wars with the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

caused many problems but in the long term it both reinforced the northern influence (by having the Austrians

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

as the rulers). With permanent danger by Ottomans from east, there was modest influence of renaissance, while fortification

Fortification

s thrived. The plan for fortified city of Karlovac

Karlovac

Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants .Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County...

in 1579 was first entirely new urban city to be built by renaissance plans (so called “ideal city” plan) in Europe. It was built in radial plan, later common in Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

. Renaissance fort of Ratkay family in Veliki Tabor from 16th century has mixed features of gothic architecture (high roofs) and renaissance (cluster and round towers) making it an example of mannerism.

Baroque and Rococo

In 17th and 18th century Croatia was reunited with the parts of country that were occupied by Venetian Republic and Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. The unity attributed to sudden flourishing of Art in every segment.
In northern Croatia and Slavonia sprung out numerous and worthy works of baroque art – from urban plans and large forts to churches, palaces, public buildings and monuments, all were done in Baroque style.

Large fortifications with radial plan, ditches and numerous towers were built because of constant Ottoman threat. The two largest ones were Osijek

Osijek

Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...

and Slavonski Brod

Slavonski Brod

Slavonski Brod is a city in Croatia, with a population of 59,507 in 2011. The city was known as Marsonia in the Roman Empire, and as Brod na Savi 1244–1934. It is the sixth largest city in Croatia, after Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek and Zadar. Located in the region of Slavonia, it is the...

. Later they become large cities. They were fortified with water and earth – earth mounds with cannons and canals filled with water that was supposed to slow dawn the approaching enemies.
The fort of Slavonski Brod was the largest in all Croatia, and one of the largest ones in entire Europe because it was bounding fort of Europe toward Ottoman Empire.

Urban planning of Baroque is felt in numerous new towns like Karlovac

Karlovac

, Bjelovar

Bjelovar

Bjelovar is a city in central Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Bjelovar-Bilogora County. During the 2001 census, there were 41,869 inhabitants, 90.51% which are Croats....

, Koprivnica

Koprivnica

Koprivnica is a city in northern Croatia. It is the capital of the Koprivnica-Križevci county. In 2011 the city administrative area had a total population of 30,872, with 23,896 in the city itself.-Population:...

, Virovitica

Virovitica

Virovitica is a Croatian town near the Croatian-Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,663, with 21,327 people in the municipality...

etc. that had large straight streets, rectangular squares

Town square

A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...

in the middle surrounded with buildings as government and military ones as well as representative church.

Cities of Dalmatia also got baroque towers and bastions incorporated in their old walls, like the ones in Pula

Pula

, Šibenik

Šibenik

Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...

or Hvar

Hvar

- Climate :The climate of Hvar is characterized by mild winters and warm summers. The yearly average air temperature is , 686 mm of precipitation fall on the town of Hvar on average every year and the town has a total of 2800 sunshine hours per year. For comparison Hvar has an average of 7.7...

. But biggest baroque undertaking happened in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

in 17th century after catastrophic earthquake in 1667 when almost entire city was destroyed. In Baroque style were rebuilt the church of St Vlaho on the main square (1715), Main Chatedral and Jesuit monastery with church of St Ignatius. Paolo Passalaqua united several of those baroque masterpieces with his Jesuit Stairway. That beautiful wide stone stairway with series of convexities and concavities and strong balustrade (reminiscent of famous Spain Stairway Square in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

) actually connected two separate baroque parts of the city - the Jesuit church above and Ivan Gundulić
Ivan Gundulic
Ivan Franov Gundulić is the most celebrated Croatian Baroque poet from the Republic of Ragusa. His work embodies central characteristics of Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation: religious fervor, insistence on "vanity of this world" and zeal in opposition to "infidels." Gundulić's major...

Square below.

During the Baroque numerous churches, enchanting us with their size and form were built in all Croatia, thus becoming a crown in every town or a city. The monastery churches often had an enclosing wall with inner porch

Porch

A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...

es lavishly decorated, like in Franciscan monastery in Slavonski Brod

Slavonski Brod

where the columns are as thick as baroque abundance. The most beautiful one is probably the church in Selima near Sisak

Sisak

Sisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county...

. It has oval shape with elliptic dome and concave and convex front with two according towers.

Wall painting experienced flourishing in all parts of Croatia, from illusionist frescoes in church of Holy Mary in Samobor

Samobor

Samobor is a town in the Zagreb County, Croatia. It is part of the Zagreb metropolitan area.-Geography:Samobor is located west of Zagreb, between the eastern slopes of the Samoborsko gorje , in the Sava River valley.-Population:...

, St Catherine in Zagreb

Zagreb

to Jesuit church in Dubrovnik. Best preserved ones are Rococo frescoes in Miljana mansion where allegorical seasons and natural elements were depicted through human nature and his reflection on art.

19th century

In Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n countries on the beginning of 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

Samobor

(1826) and Januševac Castle near Zagreb

Zagreb

.

Romantic

Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

movement in Croatia was sentimental, gentle and subtle – real image of bourgeoisie’s humble and modest virtues. In architecture there were simple decorations made of shallow arch like niches around windows.

Historicism

Historicism (art)

Historicism refers to artistic styles that draw their inspiration from copying historic styles or artisans. After neo-classicism, which could itself be considered a historicist movement, the 19th century saw a new historicist phase marked by a return to a more ancient classicism, in particular in...

is marked with building three large churches: neo-Romanesque cathedral in Đakovo (K. Roesner and F. Schmidt, 1882), monumental parish church of St Peter and Paul in Osijek

Osijek

(1898) and neo-gothic rebuilding of Zagreb cathedral

Zagreb cathedral

Zagreb Cathedral on Kaptol is the most famous building in Zagreb, and the tallest building in Croatia. It is dedicated to the Holy Virgin's Ascension and to St. Stephen and St. Ladislaus. The cathedral is typically Gothic, as is its sacristy, which is of great architectonic value...

with glazed roof tiles and 105 m tall towers (Herman Bolle

Hermann Bollé

Hermann Bollé was an Austrian architect specialized in Church architecture who worked in Croatia.Bollé was born in Köln. He worked on the Cathedral in Đakovo, restored the Zagreb cathedral after the 1880 earthquake, restored Križevci cathedral from 1895-1897, designed the main building of the...

, 1880–1902). At the end of 19th century Herman Bolle undertook one of the largest projects of European historicism – half-kilometer long neo-renaissance arcade with twenty domes on Zagreb cemetery Mirogoj.

At the same time the cities in Croatia got important urban makeover: Karlovac

Karlovac

transformed its renaissance bastions into a parkway that surrounds entire old town (just like “Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

Ring” ), while coastal cities (Trogir

Trogir

, Zadar

Zadar

Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...

, Pula

Pula

, Pag

Pag (town)

Pag is the largest town on the island of Pag, with a population of 3,121 , located at . Whole municipality has a population of 5,100.-History:...

and Šibenik

Šibenik

Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...

) take down their walls and opened to the sea.
But whit size and importance the urban regulation of Downtown Zagreb (largely the work of Milan Lenuzzio, 1860–1880) is revolutionary. Between Zagreb’s longest street – Ilica

Ilica (street)

Ilica street is one of the longest streets in Zagreb and considered to be the most expensive residential street in the city. The busy street is home to many shops and cultural sites and spans the entire western half of the city, from the Ban Jelačić Square in the city centre up to the Črnomerec...

, and new railway the new geometrical city was built with large public and social buildings like neo-renaissance building of Croatian Academy of Science and Art (HAZU, F. Scmidt, 1884), neo-baroque Croatian National Theater (HNK, H. Helmer and F. Fellner, 1895), and to that date very modern Art Pavilion (1898) with montage construction of steel and glass – Croatian “Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...

”, and finally the masterpiece of Art Nouveau – The National Library (Lubinski, finished in 1912). This urban plan is bounded with series of park

Park

A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...

s and parkway

Parkway

The term parkway has several distinct principal meanings and numerous synonyms around the world, for either a type of landscaped area or a type of road.Type of landscaped area:...

s decorated with numerous fountains, sculptures, avenues and gardens (known as “Green Horseshoe”) making Zagreb one of first cities build according to new European art theory of “city as a work of art”.

Pseudo building that emphasizes all three visual arts is former building of Ministry of Prayer and Education in Zagreb (H. Bolle, 1895). Alongside with rooms in Pompeii style and renaissance cabinet, the large neo-baroque “Golden Hall” was painted with historic compositions. “The Golden Hall” becomes unified monument of its age, one of few in Europe.

20th century

Till the end of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

in Croatia there is coexistence of several art movements and styles, but all avant-garde

Avant-garde

Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....

movements are absent. That’s why the greatest artworks of that period are done in spirit of 19th century art. The most important architecture done in Vienna

Vienna

s Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...

(also called Sezessionsstil
Vienna Secession
The Vienna Secession was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists who had resigned from the Association of Austrian Artists, housed in the Vienna Künstlerhaus. This movement included painters, sculptors, and architects...

, 'Secessionism') is done at that time. Ethnographic Museum in 1901, Kalina House in 1903, National Library in 1912 was built in Zagreb

Zagreb

, while Sulphurous Bath in 1903, and Croatian National Theatre in 1908, are build in Split

Split (city)

The modern Croatian architecture appeared with Viktor Kovačić

Viktor Kovacic

Viktor Kovačić was a Croatian architect. His projects are marked with subtle purity of reduced elements of historicism, like in monumental Stock Exchange Palace in Zagreb, 1924...

who was the first to speak against historicism

Historicism (art)

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 monumental Palace of Burze in Zagreb, 1924.
From the thirties the works of “Zagreb school” of architecture can stand alongside with the best world architecture. They are especially interesting because of merging of two opposite directions in architecture of those days – functionalistic and organic.

Drago Ibler

Drago Ibler

Drago Ibler was a Croatian architect and pedagogue.His style can be described as pure simplicity and functional architecture....

has published a manifest of group “Earth” in which he says: “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.” Most of his projects were rejected, and out of the ones that were actually done extraordinaire is the building of Social Security in Mostar

Mostar

Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...

. Today the simple ambulance, build in 1930, have a beautiful convex half-ring shaped entrance with a porch, and dynamical balance of short office building and tall volume of resident part and stairways.

Stjepan Planić

Stjepan Planic

Stjepan Planić was a Croatian architect. His style can be described as a synthesis of functionalist and organic architecture.-Biography:...

, also a member of group “Earth”, with his numerous buildings have made a makeover of Zagreb and earned a place in 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

Šljeme

Šljeme is a village in the municipality of Ilijaš, Bosnia and Herzegovina.-References:...

from 1935, made out of wood and stone, has unique plane in the shape of letter Y, circular villa on the Prekrižje, also from 1935, has radial inner walls, while “Napredak
Napredak
Napredak may refer to:*HKD Napredak, cultural society of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina*FK Napredak Kruševac, Serbian football club*FK Napredak Aleksinac, Serbian football club*NK SAŠK Napredak, Bosnia and Herzegovina football club...

” building from 1936 has unique oval plan. 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.

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Ancient heritage

Early Middle Ages

Romanesque

Gothic

Renaissance

Baroque and Rococo

19th century

20th century

See also

Sources