Konstantin Jovanović ( sr-cyr, Константин Јовановић; bg, Константин Йованович; 13 January 1849 – 15 February 1923) was a

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n architect known for providing the original designs of the

National Assembly of Bulgaria The National Assembly ( bg, Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution. Ordin ...

and

National Assembly of Serbia The National Assembly ( sr-cyr, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ) is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are proportionally elected to four-year terms by secret ballot. The a ...

buildings.

Life

Origin and early life

Jovanović was born 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 ...

, capital of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

, to first

n photographer

Anastas Jovanović Anastas Jovanović ( sr-cyrl, Анастас Јовановић, bg, Анастас Йованович 1817 – 1 November 1899) was a Serbian photographer and author. Biography Jovanović, was of Bulgarian origin and during his life he alw ...

, a lithographer and early photographer from

Vratsa Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana. ...

(in modern

), who was superintendent of the Serbian royal court in Belgrade under Prince

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

. Konstantin Jovanović finished a classical high school in Vienna and graduated from the

Zürich Polytechnic (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

in Switzerland in 1870 with honours. After his graduation, he visited

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where he studied

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

art first-hand.

Architecture

Jovanović commenced his career as an architect in Vienna, though he was most active in the Kingdom of Serbia and the Principality of Bulgaria. His architectural style was said to draw heavily from that of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

architect Gottfried Semper (1803–1879), under whom he studied in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

. Jovanović arrived in the Bulgarian capital

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

in 1880 or 1881 at the invitation of Bulgarian Minister of Education

Konstantin Josef Jireček The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name ''Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Russian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great ...

and remained in the country for several years. The First Sofia High School for Boys building, the first building of

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

and the Lom high school building were constructed to his design. Jovanović also created the first and basic design of the

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

National Assembly of Bulgaria building, the construction of which began on 4 June 1884. In Serbia, he was active from the mid-1880s to the 1920s. His first projects in the Serbian capital were the private houses of lawyer Marko Stojanović and Dragomir Radulović. He also designed the original National Bank of Serbia edifice, one of the best examples of Neo-Renaissance architecture in the country, based on the architecture of Italian Renaissance palaces. The National Bank of Serbia building is regarded by some as Jovanović's most important work. Jovanović provided the original design for the National Assembly of Serbia in 1891. In 1901, a variant of his solution by Jovan Ilkić won the competition for the edifice's architectural design. Besides being a prominent architect, Jovanović was also an artist, architectural theorist, photographer and writer. He died in

, Switzerland in 1923.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jovanovic, Konstantin 1849 births 1923 deaths 19th-century Serbian people 20th-century Serbian people Serbian architects Bulgarian architects Austrian architects Serbian people of Bulgarian descent Austrian people of Serbian descent Austrian people of Bulgarian descent Artists from Vienna ETH Zurich alumni