Original scientific paper
The Novi Dvori of Zaprešić
Viki Jakaša Borić
; Konzervatorski odjel u Zagrebu
Biserka Bilušić Dumbović
; Konzervatorski odjel u Zagrebu
Abstract
The Novi Dvori of Zaprešić, a feudal estate owned around the middle of the 19 century by the Croatian Ban Josip Jelačić, has been abandoned, unused, and in a state of disrepair for many years. As the City of Zaprešić became the owner of the entire estate, an initiative to revitalize the property and repair the mansion has been launched. Investigations concerning preservation and restoration have been carried out defining the stages of development, suggesting how to renew, present, and find a new function for the mansion.
The oldest part of the mansion is its nucleus dating from the 17 century, occupying the western section of the current building, subsequently rebuilt, with a ground-floor covered by Bohemian vaults. This has been established by studying the oldest portions of the walls of the ground-floor and of the second story.
The ground-plan concept of the original 17 century building has been preserved only in the cellar. The western part of the cellar covered by barrel-vaults with wide irregularly placed segmented vaults, divided by transverse arches into four fields, belongs to the first building phase of the mansion.
The "curia" was expanded when it came into the hands of the Sermage family from those of the Šikulins in the second half of the 18 century. The form of the ground-plan and the spatial concept were thoroughly changed. The topographic map from the Josephine times (made between 1774 and 1785), clearly shows an "L" plan. Additionally, one can see walls to the north of the mansion surrounding an area of greenery. Since a list of items in a will of 1782 mentions also two towers (one on the northern side, another somewhere else), one can assume that they stood at the corners of that wall. The existence of a southern wing is borne out both by the map, and by the building material used for foundations in front of the western portion of the main, southern facade of the mansion.
Within the outline of the old curia, a new spatial unit defined by a series of seven rectangular rooms of the same size covered by Bohemian vaults came into being. To the south of those rooms, an arcaded porch with Bohemian vaults was added. Due to further rebuilding, the spatial organization of the first floor remains unknown.
A new extension occurred after the death of Countess Sermage, when the mansion was inherited by children of Petar Troilo Sermage, i.e., when his son Franjo became the sole owner having paid off his brother Josip in 1792.
The existing building was added to in the East, defining the ground-plan of the current building. The added portion was divided on the ground-floor level into three barrel-vaulted rooms of unequal width. This spatial disposition has been preserved until today.
Still another rebuilding occurred when the Fetušić family became the owner of the mansion. This phase is primarily marked by redoing of the facade. One could also assume that this was when the southern wing was pulled down. The redoing of the facade would result in windows of a new shape and dimensions, evening out irregularities of surface typical of the earlier Baroque phases.
The existing facacle articulation was due to the fifth phase, initiated probably by Count Aleksandar Erdody, the owner of the mansion between 1841 and 1851. The use of brick for decorative detail and reminiscences of the Gothic style make this facacle one of the earliest examples of Neo-Gothic Romanticism in the area. The symmetric articulation of longitudinal facades is not in harmony with the organization of the interior. It is just a stage scenery placed in front of the old Baroque structure.
The mansion was used by Ante Pavelić during the Second World War (in 1942 and 1943) as his residence. Some minor intervention occured at that time - in terms of an "altana" added to the southern facade, and a facade reconstruction faithfully respecting the previous state of the building.
In spite of a long and interesting history, which would remain recorded in the forms of the cellars and the ground-floor, it has apparently been agreed upon that the restoration efforts should center on the dominant and most complete Early Historicism phase of the mid 19 century.
Keywords
Zaprešić; The Novi dvori of Zaprešić; Sermage; baroque; Jelačić; early historicism
Hrčak ID:
148732
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2005.
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