Vladimir Šterk (5 January 1891 – 6 March 1941) was well-known

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n architect.

Family and education

Šterk was born into a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish family, to father Vjekoslav-Alois Šterk and mother Lina ( née Jelinek). In

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

he finished elementary school and graduated from the Gymnasium. Šterk participated in the

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 ...

and was imprisoned in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, where he studied Russian wooden vernacular architecture. He attended the

Czech Technical University Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU, cs, České vysoké učení technické v Praze, ČVUT) is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

from which he graduated on March 19, 1921.

Career

After graduation he worked in the technical office of construction company "Špiller, Juzbašić and Šurina". From 1921 until 1923 he was employed at the office of

Ignjat Fischer Ignjat Nathan Fischer (18 June 1870, Zagreb – 19 January 1948, Zagreb) was a Croatian architect who was active in Zagreb during the first half of the 20th century. Early life and education Fischer was born in Zagreb to a Croatian-Jewish fami ...

. For some time Šterk worked in the Zagreb construction office. He was one of the first assistant at the Technical university in Zagreb and one of the founding board members ''"Work for the people - a society of the Jewish and Anti-Zionist asimilants in Croatia"'' which was established in 1922. Šterk passed the practical exam for architects in 1922 and from 1923 he was an independent licensed architect in Zagreb. He projected part of the interior of the Yugoslav pavilion in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1925, which was designed by architect Stjepan Hribar, and a portion of the interior of the Yugoslav pavilion in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, which was designed by architect Dragiša Brašovan in 1929. Šterk designed and built many villas, residential houses and other buildings in Zagreb, the Zagreb area,

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...

, Požega, Osijek and

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surround ...

. In 1931 he participated in the first exhibition of Yugoslav contemporary architecture in Belgrade, and in 1938 in the exhibition ''"Half a Century of Croatian Art"'' in Zagreb. Šterk was member of the society "Narodni rad - društvo židovskih asimilanata i anticionista u Hrvatskoj" (''Peoples work - Society of Jewish assimilates and anti Zionists in Croatia'').

Death and personal life

Šterk came seriously sick in 1936. He died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

in Zagreb on 6 March 1941 and was buried at the

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, hr, Gradsko groblje Mirogoj), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery ( hr, Groblje Mirogoj), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members o ...

. His widow Aleksandrina ( née Favalle) and sons Vojko and Veljko continued to live in Zagreb until 1949, when they emigrated to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. In 2009 his son Vojko Šterk, after eight years and only from the third attempt, finally was granted with Croatian citizenship which was deprived from him during his family emigration to Israel in 1949. He now holds both Israel and Croatian passport.

Works

* Corner semi-detached business building Slavonija d.d., Savska street (Savska ulica) 23, Zagreb. 1923 * Built-in residential building Omega d.d., King Zvonimir street (Ulica Kralja Zvonimira) 3, Zagreb. 1923 - 1924 * Built-in residential and commercial building Präger, Ivana Gundulića street (Gundulićeva ulica) 3, Zagreb. 1926 - 1927 * Detached residential building Schönbaum, Tuškanac street (Tuškanac) 25, Zagreb. 1926 * Corner built-in residential and commercial building Gross, British square (Britanski trg) 12, Zagreb. 1927–1928 * Detached residential building Bogdanović, Tuškanac street (Tuškanac) 90, Zagreb. 1927 - 1929 * Corner built-in residential building Draganec, King Petar Krešimir IV square (Trg Kralja Petra Krešimira IV) 17, Zagreb. 1927 - 1928 * Remodeling of the built-in residential building Jureša, Gjuro Deželić boulevard (Prilaz Gjure Deželića) 43, Zagreb. 1928 - 1931

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sterk, Vladimir 20th-century Croatian architects 1891 births 1941 deaths Architects from Zagreb Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Croatian Jews Austro-Hungarian Jews Croatian Austro-Hungarians Jewish architects Czech Technical University in Prague alumni Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in Croatia