August 30, 2012

Communist Style Commercial Buildings


 Not only cool communist Style Hotels (like in my previous post here) are an obsession of mine, there are also the communist style shopping centers and commercial buildings that are enchanting to me! Almost every city in the former Yugoslavia has on the main street an empty building of the former chain of shops "Београд" (Beograd). The Beograd chain ("RKB") was established in 1965 and until during the 1980's was the most succsessful chain of shops in the country. Due to the bad economy and war of the 1990's the chain stroke up and later declared bancrupcy in 2002. Lately some of those empty shops are being converted into cheap Chinese Shops (like in my cover picture of Negotin, Eastern Serbia)

There are still a lot of cool buildings like that all over the Balkans. I tried to put some of the most interesting "робнe кућe" (department stores) into this post.


Shopping Center in Bar (Montenegro) picture source
The buildings look like landed U.F.O.s



This commercial building in Kragujevac (Central Serbia) looks like a beetle

 
 This is a department store in Prijedor (Republika Srpska) (picture source)


And this one is in Backa Palanka (picture source: vojvodina online)

 Beograd Trading Center in Sombor (Vojvodina, North-West Serbia) another closed Beograd branche store in the city center.

The Agrokomerc Commercial Building in Velika Kladusa (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
(picture source: vkladusa.com)
Fikret Abdić, the CEO of the farming conglomerate Agrokomerc, during the Bosnian War, declared his opposition to the Bosnian government, and founded the small, short-lived and unrecognized Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia in the northwest of Bosnia, composed of the town of Velika Kladuša and a few nearby villages. The mini state existed between 1993 and 1995 and it was allied with Army of Republika Srpska.Later he was convicted of war crimes against Bosniaks that were loyal to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Robna Kuca Dvor (Hrvatska) (picture source) Facade with 3D effect!



 Robna Kuca Korzo in Rijeka (Croatia) (picture source) a radical facade!
 

July 18, 2012

Communist Style Hotels



 Hotel Krajina (Mrkonjic Grad)

My last post was about Hotel Sirmium in Sremska Mitrovica, a good example of a state own Hotel from the communist past. Those modern buildings tried to be an eye-catcher or by their size or by experimental shapes and details.
The Balkans are full of similar interesting Hotel buildings,and I'll post here the 4 Hotels I would like to see next:

Hotel Krajina Mrkonjic Grad (Republika Srpska)

postcard of Mrkonjic Grad (picture source)

Warn torn facade (picture source)

This Hotel hast been badly damaged during the war. Now it has been renovated and has about 20 rooms.
 The fan-shaped Hotel in an old postcard (picture source)

Website of the Hotel: http://www.tcbalkana.com/?do=krajina

Hotel Prijedor in Prijedor (Republika Srpska)

 Hotel Prijedor near the Sava river (picture source
Address: Srpskih velikana 14, tel. +387 52 231 176

It is the biggest Hotel in the area and over 100 rooms. The big impressing building reminds me of the nearby WW II Mrakovica Memorial at Kozara artist Dušan Džamonja.


During the Second World War, numerous civilians and children, mostly Serbs, were murdered by the Croatian Ustashas and the German Wehrmacht. The memorial is dedicated to this region's Yugoslav partisans resistance victims during WWII.


Hotel Pirot in Pirot (Serbia)

Very good example of an eye-catcher facade with partly edged windows and a cool color scheme (picture source)

Hotel Pirot on the main city square (gradski trg) is not working anymore. I plan to visit Pirot this summer. In the picture below I already see some super interesting buildings on the square near Hotel Pirot....
(picture source)

Hotel Zlatibor in Uzice (Serbia)

 Hotel Zlatibor (picture source)

This Hotel is my favorite: the rocket style shape, the grooved concrete soccle with the stylish letters and the obique windows in the second floors make me crazy! It has around 150 rooms and diverse restaurants, stores and ammenities in the ground floor.

Another view of this masterpiece! (picture from the Hotel website: http://hotel-zlatibor.com


Links to other post about great Hotels:

Hotel Petrus in Paracin

Hotel Palas in Mojkovac (Montenegro)

Hotel Srbija in Vrsac



July 5, 2012

Hotel Sirmium in Sremska Mitrovica

I have a crush on Communist-Style Hotel Architecture, and in the Balkan there are a lot of good examples of these state hotels (државни Хотел). Some still are run by the state and and just little investment has been done, so you can feel the atmosphere of the past time and enjoy on vintage design and architecture....

Last summer we made a family stop-over in Sremska Mitrovica and headed out for the local state-hotel "Hotel Sirmium" to stay for the night.

Hotel Sirmium is good example of a state hotel with the peculiarity that it has been built on the ruins of the „Imperial palace“ an archeological site of the famous ancient Roman city of Sirmium (today Sremska Mitrovica). That explains the random ancient pieces arranged around the reception.

The hotel has around 55 big rooms, the color concept is so old that it looks almost new again :-) The dark brown is used to pimp up the rooms....

 .....but it's also the main color concept for the bathrooms.

The roman theme is used in the restaurant: meandering pattern on the wall and some roman Art in soc-realist style...a funny combination.

A stroll in the city center shows another nice building from the communist past, a stylish commercial building! 

The rest of the city center is a picturesque mix of austro-hungarian baroque style and classic Vojvodina style.


Here some linksregarding Sremska Mitrovica:
Hotel Sirmium
Sremska Mitrovica 
Zasavica Nature Park 
Fruska Gora National Park Travel Guide 

More communist style Hotels:
Hotel Srbija in Vrsac 
Hotel Palas in Mojkovac (Montenegro)
Hotel Narcis Strpce

June 27, 2012

Monastery Guide to Fruska Gora


 All the past posts about the Fruska Gora Monasteries and about the beautiful baroque town of Sremski Karlovci have been put in a practical printable travel guide you can download here on Issuu.

Here the links to the previous posts:
Fruska Gora Monasteries Overview 
Velika Remeta Monastery in Fruska Gora
Novo Hapovo Monastery in Fruska Gora
Krusedol Monastery in Fruska Gora 
Jazak Monastery in Fruska Gora
Beocin Monastery in Fruska Gora
Vrdnik-Ravanica Monastery in Fruska Gora
Grgetec Monastery in Fruska Gora
A few monasteries of Fruska Gora
Buildings in Sremski Karlovci


 http://issuu.com/francescamitrovic/docs/guide_fruska_gora_small








June 23, 2012

Buildings in Sremski Karlovci


The little city of Sremski Karlovci is a good starting ponit for the Fruska Gora National Park.
This historic town on the right bank of the Danube, is surrounded by vineyards and represents an example of integration of cultural and natural heritage.

It's a picturesque little Baroque Town with interesting buildings full of historical, academical and spiritual meaning.

he present day historic centre of Sremski Karlovci emerged from the development of the city during the 18th, 19th and at the beginning of 20th century.
The spontaneous development of an urban texture in the 18th century, when Karlovci was the largest Serbian town in the Danube area, was based on an earlier layout, as confirmed by historic sources and archaeological findings.


Since 1713, with the transfer of the Metropolitan seat in Karlovci, building activities were characterised by rapid development. With the growth of political importance and the role of Karlovci, the need arose for a public house to accommodate the new functions. The building activity was supported by the intelligent and ambitious metropolitans of Karlovci, as well as by rich traders and craftsmen, which together contributed to shaping the urban image of Karlovci around the middle of the 18th century. 

This image of the old town, which was to be finally completed in the last decade of the 19th century and in the begining of 20th century, is largely preserved until our times. The urban centre is organised around the Square of Branko Radiccevica and the surrounding streets, encompassing buildings which have an exceptional place in the cultural history of the Serbs, due to their architectural, artistic and functional values.

The Gymnasium of Karlovci (Карловачка гимназија) is the oldest secondary school in Serbia (picture).
The present building was built 1891st was designed by Julius Partos, Hungarian architect. When built, it was also the Patriarch's Palace and was considered the most representative building of the Serbian Vojvodina.

The interior of the Gymnasium is richly decorated (picture)


Clerical High School of Saint Arsenije, founded in 1794, is the first Serbian Clerical High School, founded three years after the Gymnasium of Karlovci by Mitropolitan Stefan Stratimirovic. The second half of the 19th century represent the golden age in the history of this school, when Ilarion Ruvarac became the rector, and Jovan Zivkovic was one of the professors. In that period one of the first departments for bee keeping was established in the school.


The Clerical school was closed in 1914, after the World War I reestablished in Belgrade. The modern Clerical school called "Saint Arsenije Sremac" was founded in 1964, in the Palace of the Common funds, built at the beginning of the 20th century by Patriarch Georgije Brankovic.


The Sremski Karlovci City Hall is located at the center of Sremski Karlovci, Serbia (picture). City hall was built in the period between 1808 and 1811 in neoclassicism style. It was constructed to be garrison of the nearby Petrovaradin fortress in Novi Sad, and later it become military building. Above the balcony is a coat of arms of Sremski Karlovci.

The most important event that occurred in this building is declaration of Serbian Vojvodina from a balcony by Josif Rajacic in May 1848, known in Serbia as May Assembly, during European Revolutions of 1848. In this building the temporary government of Serbian Vojvodina was organized and was called The Main National Council.
Now, in the City Hall is the administration, including town council and police.


The St. Nikola's Synod Church (Саборна Црква Цветог Николе) was begun in 1758, on the place of the old church of St. Nikola, from the Turkish times and upon the initiative of the metropolitan Pavle Nenadovic. In 1760 the tower and the dome were built, accordingto the project of Zahariie Orfelin, while the church was finally completed in 1762. It is single-naved building with a semi-circular apse on the east and two high baroque belfries on the west. A magnificent iconostasis, a masterpiece of Serbian baroque paining, a work of Teodor Kracun and Jakov Orfelin in 1781 with woodcarvings by Arsenije Markovic. Significant relics are kept in the church: a miracle icon of the Mother of Christ with the little Christ and one part of the relics of St. Arsenije I Sremac, the first Serbian archbishop after St. Sava. The two thrones are foreseen for the Serbian king and Serbian patriarch.


Links:
Fruska Gora Monasteries Overview 
Velika Remeta Monastery in Fruska Gora
Novo Hapovo Monastery in Fruska Gora
Krusedol Monastery in Fruska Gora 
Jazak Monastery in Fruska Gora
Beocin Monastery in Fruska Gora
Vrdnik-Ravanica Monastery in Fruska Gora
Grgetec Monastery in Fruska Gora