forum journal (fall 2013): the industrial heritage of rijeka, croatia

“The Industrial Heritage of Rijeka” by Melita Jureša-McDonald

Slideshow

Situated in Kvarner Bay, a deep inlet of the Adriatic Sea, Rijeka has for centuries served as an important

link to the middle European hinterland. Its name, which was recorded for the first time in the thirteenth

century, hails from the river of Rječina (also known through history as Fiumara, or Fiume, in Italian) that

flows through the city. Rijeka’s first port was developed along the Rječina estuary. PHOTO: IVICA JUREŠA

Along with Italy’s Trieste, its big rival, Rijeka was granted the status of “free port” in 1719 from the Hapsburg emperor, Charles VI. This signaled the end of the Venetian domination of the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, and heralded rapid development of commerce and industry in both cities. The competitiveness of the cities grew stronger after 1867, when the dual monarchy of Austro-Hungary was established. Rijeka became the Hungary’s de facto seaport, while Trieste carried that role for Austria.

PHOTO: IVICA JUREŠA

Plans for the expansion of the port outside the Rječina riverbed and into the open sea were developed

and implemented from 1872 through 1914. Some of those expansion projects, pictured here in a 1910s

postcard, were presented as model ports at the world exhibitions in Vienna in 1873 and in Paris in 1878. PHOTO: LOKALPATRIOTI RIJEKA

Antal Hajnal, a Hungarian engineer, was put in charge of executing a plan proposed by Hilarion Pascal,

who was a well-known French engineer of the ports of Marseilles, La Specia, and – after Rijeka –

Istanbul. A major breakwater - Molo Longo – more than a mile long (1,780 meters) was built to protect

the newly-constructed port, followed by four major piers. The Molo Longo, shown here, opened to the

public in 2009. PHOTO: IVICA JUREŠA

Following a 1750 decree by Maria Theresa granting Dutch merchants the right to establish a sugar company in

Rijeka, the Trieste-Rijeka Privileged Company completed the Sugar Refinery Main Administrative Building in 1752,

beginning the industrialization of the city. The building was located on the then-existing waterfront just east of the

Holy Emperor Charles VI Quarantine, built in 1726 and is pictured here in an 1832 engraving by C. Von Mayr.

PHOTO: “LOKALPATRIOTI RIJEKA”

The Main Administrative Building, also known as the Palace of the Sugar Refinery, also served as the

residence of a succession of the company’s directors. The building's interior is lavishly decorated with

stuccos, frescos and ceramic stoves. PHOTO: IVICA JUREŠA

A detail of the 19th century sculptural decoration of the Palace of the

Sugar Refinery, keystone heads with “sugar cubes” in their hair. PHOTO: IVICA JUREŠA

In 1824 the production of sugar at the refinery ceased. From 1835-1851 the buildings were used as

military barracks. In 1851 the complex became the largest Austro-Hungarian tobacco factory (eventually

manufacturing Virginia cigarettes). The palace received minor additions to the back and a few additional

production buildings were added within the complex. PHOTO: IVICA JUREŠA

During World War II, the complex sustained some damage during Allied bombardments. In 1949, a boat engine manufacturer named after a Yugoslavian

World War II hero, Rikard Benčić, opened and operated on the premises until 1998, when the company declared bankruptcy. It has been abandoned

since that time. Currently, the Croatian Conservation Institute is conducting a multiyear comprehensive conservation and restoration of the Palace. Also,

plans to bring in the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Rijeka Central Library in into the four buildings are currently underway. Pictured

here is an Allied airplane over the Rijeka port during one of the bombardments in 1944.

PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA,

Torpedo Launching Ramp (1933/35) was added to the Croatian

Register of Cultural Properties in 2002 PHOTO: ROBERT ZORIĆ PHOTOGRAPHY

Torpedo factory circa 1910. Though the production of torpedoes stopped in the 1960s, the factory

remained operational, making tractors until 1994, when the company declared bankruptcy.

PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA, CITY MUSEUM RIJEKA

The warehouse complex Metropolis (Numbers 18 through 22) was constructed between 1909 and 1914.The complex is

rich in details of Hungarian Art Nouveau and consists of five warehouses connected with seven reinforced concrete

bridges, added in 1914. The whole complex was added to the Croatian Register of Cultural Properties in 2005.

PHOTO: “LOKALPATRIOTI RIJEKA,” GORGOROTH

The ceilings in the Number 12 and 13 warehouses (1893) were built using the Joseph Monier system

of reinforced concrete construction and are among the last remaining examples of this construction in

the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Behind them is the 1962-completed silo. PHOTO: IVICA JUREŠA

Historic warehouses dominate the Rijeka port.PHOTO: IVICA JUREŠA

Mlin Žakalj, built in 1840, was the largest flour mill on river Rječina. Heirs of the mill’s last owner, Robert Whitehead of the Rijeka Torpedo factory, were not interested in it, and since the early 20th century this property was left to deteriorate. In this postcard a bridge, destroyed in World War II, is visible spanning the river Rječina.

PHOTO: LOKALPATRIOTI RIJEKA

The remains of the flour mill Žakalj.

PHOTO: DIJANA JUREŠA

The Paper Mill complex circa 1910. Opened in 1821 along the river Rječina in a beautiful ravine north

of downtown Rijeka, the factory steadily grew and exported paper worldwide. As of the 1890s, it

specialized in the production of cigarette paper.

PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA, CITY MUSEUM RIJEKA

A hydroelectric power plant was put in use in 1930 to provide power to the paper mill and the city. In 1991, just before the start of the

war that led to the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was the second largest cigarette paper factory in Europe. In 1996, production began to

decline after the plant was privatized, and its owners declared bankruptcy in 2005. The City of Rijeka bought several buildings in

upper part of the complex, known as Marganovo, which is now leased to a network of cultural organizations.

PHOTO: IVICA JUREŠA

The post World War II warehouse zone located in the Delta and Port Baross area slated for revitalization

is currently the focus of an international architectural competition. Greening this part of the port is a key

component of the Rijeka’s Master Urban Development Plan. The purpose of this plan is to enhance and

expand public open space and is calling for a community’s planning vision for their waterfront. PHOTO: MELITA JUREŠA-MCDONALD

Built as a merchant vessel in 1938 to transport bananas from Somalia to Italy, then refitted as an Italian Royal Navy auxiliary cruiser and later as a minelayer for the Germans

during the World War II, sunk and salvaged twice, the “Galeb” became famous as the presidential yacht of Yugoslavian President Tito. Tito used it on his numerous foreign trips,

especially to countries of the Non-Aligned Movement. After the fall of Yugoslavia, it was sold to a company in Liberia, which left it for over a decade to deteriorate in a Rijeka

shipyard. The Galeb was added to the Croatian Register of Cultural Properties in 2006, and as of 2009 is owned by the City of Rijeka. The City is currently viewing several

different options for its proper restoration and reuse and, as funds permit, is contributing toward its maintenance in order to keep it afloat.

PHOTO: DEREK MCDONALD

A sign of many rulers throughout the port’s history, a late 1890s bollard, made by the Budapest iron foundry “Schlick-Vasontode-Gepgyar.”

PHOTO: MELITA JUREŠA-MCDONALD

The 1924 demarcation line visible on the wharf near Port Baross. After World War I, Rijeka was divided along this line between Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.

PHOTO: MELITA JUREŠA-MCDONALD

PHOTO: IVICA JUREŠA

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