Viktor Axmann (given name: Vladoje Aksmanović; 29 August 1878,

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. 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 ...

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– 3 March 1946, Valpovo, Croatia) was a Croatian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He spent most of his life in Osijek, but he died in 1946 in a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

labor camp in Valpovo. He finished the

Technical College An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Afterwards he specialized in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, where he got in touch with contemporary ideas of urban architecture of

Josef Hoffman Josef Hoffmann (15 December 1870 – 7 May 1956) was an Austrian- Moravian architect and designer. He was among the founders of Vienna Secession and co-establisher of the Wiener Werkstätte. His most famous architectural work is the Stoclet P ...

, Otto Wagner and

Camillo Sitte Camillo Sitte (17 April 1843 – 16 November 1903) was an Austrian architect, painter and urban theorist whose work influenced urban planning and land use regulation. Today, Sitte is best remembered for his 1889 book, ''City Planning According to ...

. In 1905, he became a construction entrepreneur in Osijek, where he built numerous

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

-style buildings. His most important work of that period is the Urania Cinema (built in 1912),Anne Teffo ''Croatie'' 2009 - Page 325 "Construit en 1912 sur les plans de l'architecte Viktor Axmann, il a toujours conservé sa vocation placée devant la Chambre des communes à Londres) et qui a réalisé à Osijek le Monument aux victimes du fascisme, sur la place Ljudevit Gaj." for which he received a prestigious award at the 1st International Cinema Exhibition in Vienna. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he gradually abandoned the secession in favor of

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

. In that period, he built numerous architecturally important buildings in Osijek, such as the Apprentices' Dormitory ( hr, Naučnički dom, built in 1923), Workers' Insurance Office (''Ispostava ureda za osiguranje radnika'', also 1923), two pavilions of the Osijek Hospital (''Osječka bolnica'', 1925), House of Falcons (''Sokolski dom'', 1928), Boarding School (''Đački dom'', 1929), the palace of the County Office of Workers' Insurance (''Okružni ured za osiguranje radnika'', 1936, co-projected with D. Špiller and J. Kastl) and Office of the Matches' Factory "Drava" Pension Fund (''Dom mirovinske zaklade tvornice žigica "Drava"'', 1940). Axmann was also involved in

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

. He tried to add modern ideas of spatial planning to organize Osijek metropolitan area. In that spirit, he created a series of plans. In 1906, he projected new streets in the heart of Osijek. Under Wagner's influence, in 1908, he projected Osijek main square and farmers' market. The same year he attended the 8th International Congress of Architects in Vienna. Aside from Axmann, the Club of Croatian Architects sent his representatives to the congress. However, Axmann's application to join the club had been denied two years before. In 1910, he projected the Sakuntala Park. Aside from urban planning and architecture, Axmann also wrote about urban problems of Osijek in the Gazette of the Croatia Society of Engineers and Architects.

References

Sources

* Ambruš, Viktor: ''Osijek na prijelazu u 20. stoljeće'' (''Transition of Osijek into the 20th century''). ''Peristil'', № 31/32, DPU,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, 1988/89 * Ambruš, Viktor: ''Razvoj grada Osijeka na prijelazu iz 19. stoljeća u 20. stoljeće'' (''The evolution of the city of Osijek during the period between 19th and 20th century''). ''Secesija slobodnog i kraljevskog grada Osijeka'',

HAZU was a town located in Hazu District, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of May 1, 2004, the village had an estimated population of 12,351 and a population density of 474.13 persons per km². Its total area was 26.05 km². Isshiki was a coastal s ...

, Osijek, 2001 * Ivanković M., Grgur: ''Secesijska arhitektura u Slavoniji i sjevernoj Hrvatskoj'' (''Secession architecture in Slavonia and northern Croatia''). ''Secesija u Hrvatskoj'' (exhibition in Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb), 2003

Bibliography

ESSEKERI http://essekeri.hr/bio/59-viktor-axmann * {{DEFAULTSORT:Axmann, Viktor 1878 births 1946 deaths People from Osijek Croatian Jews Austro-Hungarian Jews Croatian Austro-Hungarians Croatian architects Technical University of Munich alumni Burials at Saint Anne Cemetery Austro-Hungarian architects Yugoslav architects