The Kallina House ( Croatian: ''Kuća Kallina'') is a historic residential building 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 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 l ...

-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 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 du ...

architecture bureau. Bastl had previously studied at the ''Akademie der Bildenden Künste'' in

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, where he was influenced by the Austrian architect

Otto Wagner Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau move ...

, an early proponent of Art Nouveau (called ''Jugendstil'' in

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) and one of the founding members of the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austr ...

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 A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

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

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-shaped patterned motif around the first floor

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

. Although many of Bastl's other projects in

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are considered notable examples of the conservative Central European

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, 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." The building is listed in the

Croatian Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture and Media ( hr, Ministarstvo kulture i medija) is a ministry of the Croatian government in charge of preserving the country's natural and cultural heritage and overseeing its development. The ministry in its present form w ...

's Protected Cultural Heritage Registry (''Registar zaštićenih kulturnih dobara'') since January 2004. Kallina House should not be confused with Villa Kallina, a country house built by the same architect in another part of the city.

References

External links

High resolution picture
of the façade at

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.com
Floral pattern detail
at

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{{Zagreb Houses completed in 1904 Art Nouveau architecture in Zagreb Buildings and structures in Zagreb Donji grad, Zagreb Hönigsberg & Deutsch buildings Art Nouveau apartment buildings