Kallina House
Encyclopedia
The Kallina House is a historic residential building in Zagreb
, Croatia
. The house is located in the city centre
on the corner of Masarykova and Gundulićeva streets and is regarded as "one of the finest examples of Secessionist
-style street architecture in Zagreb."
The house was built between 1903 and 1904 for the wealthy industrialist Josip Kallina and was designed by the Croatian architect Vjekoslav Bastl
for the Hönigsberg & Deutsch
architecture bureau. Bastl had previously studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna
where he was influenced by the Austrian architect Otto Wagner
, an early proponent of Art Nouveau
(called Jugendstil in Austria-Hungary
) and one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession
art movement.
The three-story house was designed as a residential building, with the exception of the ground level which was intended to house shops. Bastl's design for a house entirely covered in decorative ceramic
tiles was at the same time inspired by the Majolika Haus in Vienna (built by Wagner in 1898, itself covered in ceramic tiling) and a way of turning the building into a giant advertisement for Josip Kallina's ceramics company (all the tiles used for the house were produced by his factory). The building features decorative iron balconies overlooking the street intersection, depictions of floral and geometric motifs typical for the Art Nouveau style of the period, and a bat
-shaped patterned motif around the first floor façade
.
Although many of Bastl's other projects in Lower Town
are considered notable examples of the conservative Central European historicism
, he allowed freer designs when working on private houses and villas, and the Kallina House today is today described as "one of the most consistent example of the way Secessionist architecture sought to redesign urban dwellings and break from conventional aesthetics."
Kallina House should not be confused with Villa Kallina, a country house built by Vjekoslav Bastl as the family residence for Josip Kallina's son Gustav. The Villa was constructed between 1906 and 1907 at Jandrićeva street in the area of Ksaver on the outskirts of Zagreb. Villa Kallina is considered a notable achievement of Croatian architecture in its own right, and the project was featured at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs
in Paris
and the Half a Century of Croatian Art (Croatian
: Pola stoljeća hrvatske umjetnosti) exhibition held in 1938 at the Meštrović Pavilion
.
Both buildings are listed in the Croatian Ministry of Culture
's Protected Cultural Heritage Registry (Registar zaštićenih kulturnih dobara); Kallina House was included in January 2004, and Villa Kallina in September 2005.
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...
, 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 ...
. The house is located in the city centre
Donji Grad
Donji grad is one of the 17 city districts of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It is located in the central part of the city and has 45,108 inhabitants . The official name of the district is rarely used, for it is dubbed centar by most of the Zagreb residents....
on the corner of Masarykova and Gundulićeva streets and is regarded as "one of the finest examples of Secessionist
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...
-style street architecture in Zagreb."
The house was built between 1903 and 1904 for the wealthy industrialist Josip Kallina and was designed by the Croatian architect Vjekoslav Bastl
Vjekoslav Bastl
Vjekoslav "Alojz" Bastl was a Croatian architect known for his diverse secessionist architectural style. His work circulated mostly within the boundaries of Zagreb, where he resided. Later in life, he got heavily influenced by modernism....
for the Hönigsberg & Deutsch
Hönigsberg & Deutsch
Hönigsberg & Deutsch was an architecture studio and construction company formed in Zagreb by architects Leo Hönigsberg and Julio Deutsch, active between 1889 and 1911. They produced over 90 known works in the Lower Town area of Zagreb, built during the redevelopment in the years following the 1880...
architecture bureau. Bastl had previously studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in 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...
where he was influenced by the Austrian architect Otto Wagner
Otto Wagner
Otto Koloman Wagner was an Austrian architect and urban planner, known for his lasting impact on the appearance of his home town Vienna, to which he contributed many landmarks.-Life:...
, an early proponent of 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"...
(called Jugendstil in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
) and one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession
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...
art movement.
The three-story house was designed as a residential building, with the exception of the ground level which was intended to house shops. Bastl's design for a house entirely covered in decorative ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
tiles was at the same time inspired by the Majolika Haus in Vienna (built by Wagner in 1898, itself covered in ceramic tiling) and a way of turning the building into a giant advertisement for Josip Kallina's ceramics company (all the tiles used for the house were produced by his factory). The building features decorative iron balconies overlooking the street intersection, depictions of floral and geometric motifs typical for the Art Nouveau style of the period, and a bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
-shaped patterned motif around the first floor façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
.
Although many of Bastl's other projects in Lower Town
Donji Grad
Donji grad is one of the 17 city districts of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It is located in the central part of the city and has 45,108 inhabitants . The official name of the district is rarely used, for it is dubbed centar by most of the Zagreb residents....
are considered notable examples of the conservative Central European 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...
, he allowed freer designs when working on private houses and villas, and the Kallina House today is today described as "one of the most consistent example of the way Secessionist architecture sought to redesign urban dwellings and break from conventional aesthetics."
Kallina House should not be confused with Villa Kallina, a country house built by Vjekoslav Bastl as the family residence for Josip Kallina's son Gustav. The Villa was constructed between 1906 and 1907 at Jandrićeva street in the area of Ksaver on the outskirts of Zagreb. Villa Kallina is considered a notable achievement of Croatian architecture in its own right, and the project was featured at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs
Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes
The International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. The term "Art Deco" was derived by shortening the words Arts Décoratifs, in the title of this exposition, but not until the late 1960s by British art critic...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and the Half a Century of Croatian Art (Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
: Pola stoljeća hrvatske umjetnosti) exhibition held in 1938 at the Meštrović Pavilion
Meštrovic Pavilion
Meštrović Pavilion is a building located on Žrtava Fašizma Square in central Zagreb, Croatia, designed by Ivan Meštrović and built in 1938, that has served several functions in its lifetime...
.
Both buildings are listed in the Croatian Ministry of Culture
Ministry of Culture (Croatia)
The Ministry of Culture is a ministry of the Croatian government, whose work is aimed at preserving the cultural and natural heritage and overseeing its development...
's Protected Cultural Heritage Registry (Registar zaštićenih kulturnih dobara); Kallina House was included in January 2004, and Villa Kallina in September 2005.
External links
- High resolution picture of the façade at PanoramioPanoramioPanoramio is a geolocation-oriented photo sharing website. Accepted photos uploaded to the site can be accessed as a layer in Google Earth and Google Maps, with new photos being added at the end of every month. The site's goal is to allow Google Earth users to learn more about a given area by...
.com - Floral pattern detail at FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...