Friedrich Grünanger (25 January 1856 – 14 December 1929) was a
Transylvanian Austrian architect who worked primarily in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
.
Born in Schäßburg in
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
(today
Sighişoara in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
), Grünanger studied at the
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna architecture school between 1877 and 1879, under
Friedrich von Schmidt. As a style, he was a representative of the late
historism, of the
eclectic style, the Viennese
Neo-Baroque and the
Vienna Secession.
In 1879, he was appointed in the Direction of Public Buildings, part of the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs, and became Chief Architect of
Razgrad, later court architect of Knyaz
Alexander of Bulgaria and his successor
Ferdinand. During his thirty years of work in Bulgaria, he designed and constructed numerous remarkable public and residential buildings, mainly in
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
. In 1908 he returned to Austria-Hungary and retired in
Salzburg
Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
, but briefly returned to Bulgaria between 1911 and 1914 until his work in the country was discontinued after
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Works
This is an incomplete list of selected works by Friedrich Grünanger.
*
Razgrad
** Mausoleum of the Russian Warriors (1879–1880)
** Razgrad High School, today Exarch Joseph High School of Foreign Languages
*
Rousse
** regional government building and palace of Knyaz Alexander (co-work), today the
Rousse Regional History Museum (1879–1882); first governmental building in Bulgaria built for the purpose after the
Liberation in 1878
** first navy watchtower and meteorological station in Bulgaria (1883)
*
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
**
Royal Palace of Bulgaria (today housing the
National Art Gallery and the
National Ethnographic Museum) (1880–1882). In 1893/4–1895 built the three-storey east wing and shaped the palace's current appearance
** two-storey private house with a mansard for Anna Pulieva (1899)
**
Sarmadzhiev House: private house for Haralambi Sarmadzhiev (today Turkish ambassadorial residence)
** Sofia Spiritual Academy (today
Sofia University
Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" () is a public university, public research university in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria.
Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constr ...
Faculty of Theology); co-work with other architects
**
Sofia Seminary with the St John of Rila Church (1902–1914)
**
Sofia Synagogue (1904–1909)
**
Sofia Mineral Baths (1904); preliminary design with arch. Petko Momchilov
**
Defence and Staff College park (1906)
**
Yablanski House: private house for Dimitar Yablanski (1907) (until 1993 Chinese Embassy, now a luxury club-restaurant)
*
Varna
** the male high school
*
Kyustendil
** Teachers' Institute (today town hall)
Gallery
Image:Royal Palace Sofia.jpg, The Royal Palace in Sofia
Image:Sofia-synagogue-MihalOrel.jpg, The Sofia Synagogue, built in Moorish Revival style
Image:Yablanski-house.JPG, The Yablanski House
Image:Rousse-architecture3.jpg, The Battenberg Palace in Rousse
Image:Rousse-weather-station.jpg, A weather station in Russe
Image:Kyustendil Town Hall.jpg, Kyustendil town hall
Image:Zentralbad Sofia Oct 2012 PD IMG 1683.jpg, Sofia Public Mineral Baths - now Sofia Regional Historical Museum
References
*
* Stern, Marcella, “Friedrich Grunanger”, ''Österreichische Osthefte'', Jg. 35, Wien, (1993): 319–324 (with a portrait);
* Stern, Marcella, “Architekt Friedrich Grunanger”, ''Österreichische Architektureinflusse in Sofija um die Jahrhundertwende'', Sofija, 1998, S. 22–24, 48, 58–59, 68, 81–86, 93.
* “Friedrich Grunanger”, A''llgemeine Kunstlerlexikon''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruenanger, Friedrich
Austrian architects
Hungarian architects
Austrian people of Hungarian descent
Austrian expatriates in Bulgaria
Transylvanian Saxon people
People from Sighișoara
Bulgarian architects
1856 births
1929 deaths
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni
Hungarian people of German descent