Pejačević Castle in Našice () is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-revival style

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

Našice Našice (; , sr-Cyrl, Нашице, , ) is a town in eastern Croatia, located on the northern slopes of the Krndija mountain in eastern Slavonia, 51 km southwest of regional hub Osijek. Administratively it belongs to Osijek-Baranja County. ...

, a town in

Osijek-Baranja County Osijek-Baranja County (, , ) is a Counties of Croatia, county in Croatia, located in northeastern Slavonia and Baranya (region), Baranja which is defined part of the Pannonian Plain. Its center is Osijek. Other towns include Đakovo, Našice, Val ...

, northeastern

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. The Building bears its name thanks to the Pejačević noble family, whose members owned several castles in the region of

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

in the

modern era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

History

The castle was built in 1811/1812 by the order of Vincencije Ljudevit Pejačević (*1780–†1820). After an earthquake in 1817 it was repaired and in the middle of the 19th century it was renovated and expanded by Vincencije's brother Ferdinand Karlo Rajner (*1800–†1878) and his son

Ladislav Ladislav is a Czech, Slovak and Croatian variant of the Slavic name Vladislav. The female form of this name is Ladislava. Folk etymology occasionally links ''Ladislav'' with the Slavic goddess Lada. Spellings and variations In Bulgarian ...

(*1824–†1901), who later became

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia () was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Ban (title), bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and sup ...

. The building was enlarged with thirteen new window openings added on the north and south facades. A decorative

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

with

volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an ...

s, a

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

and a clock were also added. Apart from its artistic significance, Pejačević Castle also has historical significance. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the famous Croatian composer

Dora Pejačević Countess Maria Theodora Paulina "Dora" Pejačević (; 10 September 1885 – 5 March 1923) was a Croats, Croatian composer, pianist and violinist and one of the first composers to introduce the orchestral song to Croatian music. Her Symphony in F- ...

, the daughter of Croatian Ban

Teodor Teodor is a masculine given name. In English, it is a cognate of Theodore. Notable people with the name include: * Teodor Andrault de Langeron (19th century), President of Warsaw * Teodor Andrzej Potocki (1664–1738), Polish nobleman * Teodor ...

, lived there. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the castle was used by the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

between 1943 and 1945. A German war hospital was located in the basement. The facade and roof of the castle were damaged during the war. After the war, the castle was used for various purposes: as a

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

or as an office of the state administration, for various associations, etc. Today, the castle houses the local history museum, the city music orchestra, the city

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

with the reading room and the

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

Description

Due to the slope of the terrain, the castle is one-floor building on the entrance side and two-floor one on the park side. It is richly decorated with

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

, wood paneling and built-in furniture. In the large lobby there is a double, semi-visible staircase with a stone railings. First original castle from 1812 was built in the

classicist style Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

and was smaller than today's one. It had a rectangular

floor plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...

, with nine window openings on the southern entrance facade. The central part of the castle, in the width of three window axes, was highlighted by larger windows and

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

supported by three arches. The look of the castle was later expanded and changed. Not far from the castle there is a smaller building called the Small Castle. This is a ground floor building built in 1904/1905 in the neoclassical style by the order of count Marko VI Pejačević (*1882-†1923). It served as a hunting lodge. In front of the castle there was a spacious terraced garden. Today the building houses

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

rooms, a music school and several clubs. A

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

was created next to the castle, which was designed after the castle was finished in 1812. Before the castle was built, this area was covered with natural forests. Around 1850, count Ladislav Pejačević arranged the park when he decorated the castle. A

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

, drawn on an old cadastral plan, also had to be built at that time, although its

historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...

facade may have been built later. The park from the mid-19th century has the character of landscape parks. In the second half of the 19th century, the park was extended northwards to the surface of a natural forest, where a lake with a small island was created. Today, the park, which covers an area of about 34.5

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s has been impoverished by numerous contents and details that can be seen in old

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...

s. The park has recently almost turned into a forest and only a few views and meadows north of the castle remind us of the former design wealth of the castle park.

Gallery

References

{{Castles in Croatia Castles in Croatia Našice castle Buildings and structures in Osijek-Baranja County Museums in Croatia History of Slavonia 1812 establishments in Europe Tourist attractions in Osijek-Baranja County Našice castle

History

Description

Gallery

See also

References