CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE IN ZAGREB AS ELEMENT OF

URBAN ICONOGRAPHY, Ivana Podnar, School of Design, Faculty of Architecture,

University of Zagreb, ivanapodnar@yahoo.com

Key words: urban iconography, contemporary architecture, religious architecture, politics of

space, urban symbolism, identity, zagreb

ABSTRACT:

Contemporary religious architecture in this text is analyzed from the perspective of urban

iconography in the specific moment of recent history when Zagreb underwent complex

process of redefining its broader political, social and cultural identity. The research was based

on the complex relations between ideology, architecture and religion, contextualized in the

micro ambient of Zagreb after the 1990s, as well as within the global trends of contemporary

religious architecture that is faced with the problem of its clear readability. The analysis

offered one possible understanding of the changes that are visible in the dynamic cityscape of

Zagreb in the last 20 years: the large number of churches built in the whole city area,

heterogeneity of approaches varying from re-traditionalization of concepts and forms to the

experiments that try to meet the needs of the contemporary society. The specific context of

Zagreb posed the challenge to sacral architecture to meet other functions that is illustrated in

the concept of the church that is also the monument commemorating the fallen soldiers of the

War of Independence. Other analyzed examples present concepts that make references either

to the forms and ideas of the past, or to the vocabulary of the present, sometimes even

borrowing elements of completely different typology (i.e. business architecture) to establish

its symbolical status in the cityscape.

1

Religious Architecture in the Role of Identity Construction

The year 1990 marks a turning point in the socio political order, and the public space of the

city is transformed into a stage for a variety of manifestations of awakened national feeling1.

At the same time, boundaries of private and public spheres are redefined anew, and as a

consequence the practice of religious life gets an exceptional importance in affirming national

identity2. The Church as an institution, as a belief system, as well as architecture and as a

social ritual rejects the marginal status, and positions itself as one of the most present

guardians of national heritage, the foundation for the construction and affirmation of a new

identity3. All elements of public discourse begin to organize on a distinct contrast before -

after (referring to the year 1990 as a turning point4), and due to sensitive situation of the state

and its defense, the ideological coloration completely loses grayscale5. In the process all of

those forms of social action that have been neglected and pushed aside, abruptly and with

national fervor become a leader in the newly-defined hierarchy of social values6. Given the

black and white world, designed by the government to facilitate the mobilization of both the

real sphere, and the sphere of ideological action, church architecture becomes one of the key

physical signs that there was a new era - of democracy, religious freedom, national pride, and

the like. Although the construction of churches in the time 1945-1990 was not abolished and

the reasons of the change of the architectural language that breaks with tradition and

introduces new stylistic rules should be viewed within the broader context of modernism7,

public opinion is formed around the belief that the church construction was illegal and that it

was now necessary to put maximum effort into its interpolation into the city8.

Churches interpolated by the method of accentuation

Quoting Edwin Heathcote 'Just as we have broadly lost the ability to read art (and art

increasingly loses its ability and ambition to engage with the intellect), so we are losing the

2

skill to read meaning in buildings, and the two building types which suffer most are the house,

and the house of God.9 Traditional archetypal forms do not meet the need of architects for

creative responses in shaping contemporary spiritual space, although the public, understood in

the broadest possible sense (including professional and general public) is divided about

preferences towards traditional or new language. Since the modern religious architecture

usually occurs in a defined urban setting, with every individual interpolation the basic

question is raised which methods should be applied to intervene in a given space. There are

many criteria obeyed by the planners and architects aiming to achieve that new architectural

solution brings quality to the environment, as well as to realize individual value in itself and

to potentially become a symbolic landmark in the space: objective and subjective evaluation

of the environment, identification with the space and individuality of expression. In the

1 Detailed analysis of urban rituals that appeared after 1990, studied in the context of retraditionalization of cultural identity can be found in: A. Mišetić, Gradski rituali, Zagreb, Hrvatska sveučilišna naklada, 2004. Author recognizes 6 types of rituals, but the focus for the underlying research was on the first three, described by Mišetić as devotion of cult figure/saint, restoration of the memory on the historical event and the political ritual.2 M. Aničić, 'Nacionalizam u svjetlu socijalnog nauka Crkve', Crkva u svijetu, no. 42, 2007, pp. 260 – 284. Author also brings into focus relations between nation and Catholisim referring to Swiss theoretitian Altermatt: ‘(…) national ideology shaped the norms and behavior of people using codes and pictures from the world of religious images. In this process occurred sanctifying of categories such as people and nations, and on the other hand the religious rituals and symbols found their expressions in a secularized form. (…)’3 J. Županov, Od komunističkog pakla do divljeg kapitalizma, Zagreb, Hrvatska sveučilišna naklada, 2002, pp.119 – 123. See also: R. Čičak-Chand, J. Kumpes, (ed.), Etničnost, nacija, identitet, Hrvatska i Europa, Zagreb, Institut za migracije i narodnosti, Naklada Jesenski i Turk, Hrvatsko sociološko društvo, 1998.4 B. Jandrić, 'Položaj Katoličke crkve u Hrvatskoj u poslijeratnim godinama (1945.-1953.)', Croatica Christiana, no. 42, 1998, pp. 49 – 61. The author discusses the complex position of the Church within the socialist Yugoslavia in the immediate after war period, that facilitates the understanding of the current state of affairs on this matter. 5 S. Vrcan, 'O politici identiteta: prilog prepoznavanju urbanog konteksta', Socijalna ekologija: časopis za ekološku misao i ekologijska istraživanja okoline, no. 1-2, 2003, pp. 69 – 86. ‘(…) behind different solutions to the problem of relations of identity and citizenship lies the problem of what the state and political society in a democracy can legitimately require from its citizens and what can be asked of them in terms of loyalty. This problem is substantially expressed as follows. In one case, state and political communities seek total and unconditional loyalty of citizens at the cost of being exorcised and stigmatized as traitors. Indeed, as a rule it seeks emotionally overheated engagement and loyalty in terms of worship, love and affection. It is requested that the state must be loved, and it is not enough to keep up its democratic constitution and the rule of law that it guarantees if truly democratic. As a rule a nation-state seeks such love as if it stands as a value above all other values, including democratic values. It is about that kind of governmental requirements to citizens which is symptomatically manifested in the general conscription without any exceptions.(…)’6 J. Županov, 'Dominantne vrijednosti hrvatskog društva', Erasmus, časopis za kulturu demokracije, no. 2, 1993, pp. 2 – 6. See also: L. Vincetić, 'Crkva u postkomunizmu', Erasmus časopis za kulturu demokracije, no. 3, 1993, pp. 41 – 46.7 T.Premerl, 'Sakralni prostor danas u nas', Čovjek i prostor, no. 10, 1987, pp. 10 – 13.8 D. Jendrić, ‘Teško oblikovanje duhovnog prostora’, Večernji list, no. 14700, 2004, p.40.

3

context of Zagreb contemporary religious architecture is burdened by the requirement of

identity construction so therefore the chosen interpolation methods most often are those of

accentuation and contrast in order encourage urban iconography10 at the level of the micro

ambient due to the symbolic saturation of the macro ambient.

The first church whose construction was commenced after the democratic elections in Croatia

in 1990 was the Church of St. Paul by Tomislav Premerl (fig. 1). The church is located in the

district of Retkovec which is at the level of micro ambient defined by the fairly dense

residential development of individual type, without prominent symbolic content in the

immediate environment. At the corner lot the church is shaped by the curved, simple, wall

surface with prominent apses and separate bell tower in front. Postmodern design refers to the

archetypal treatment of sacral space: a longitudinal, symmetrical ground plan of the one-nave

church with the transept and apse behind the altar. The facade is defined by the closed surface

of the wall, displaying mirror symmetry heightened by a deep notch in the axis of the portal

and the roof line that forms a free interpretation of the shallow pediment. A staircase leads to

the entrance, creating a small access square, spatial and mental break between the outer and

inner world. External design of the Church of St. Paul emphasizes its position in the

cityscape, but in an equal relationship to neighboring buildings, respecting the tradition of the

material (brick) and the symmetry of the design, as well as presenting the tendency to

anticipate the expectations of the community for which it was built11. The church possesses

those architectural elements that are associated with the traditional idea of the sacred space,

where a prominent verticality of the bell tower plays a role of the symbolic accent in the wider

spatial image. At the same time, the architect does not repeat the archaic elements, but offers a

contemporary interpretation of the church that is clear to users for its functionality and

typology. Although closed and rounded form, without the classic vertical articulation of the

4

wall, presents a challenge to the acceptance in the local context, a key element of artistic

expression that creates a dialogue with the environment is material, given that most of the

neighboring buildings are built in a brick, which is often, due to lack of funding, left as a final

layer. Church of St. Paul in Retkovec represents the first example that opens the issue of

urban iconography of the church in the new political and cultural context, and that through the

use of the post-modern design establishes a dialogue with tradition and native architectural

elements.

The same architect in the neighboring district of Čulinec, which is also characterized by dense

construction of single-family houses, built the Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes (2005-2008,

fig. 2). Remaining consistent in postmodern expression, the author opens the dialogue with

the surroundings by employing different spatial and formal articulation. The church is

symbolically accentuated primarily by the vertical tower that is fused to the narthex and

placed in the axis of symmetry. In this example the key principles of the previous Premerl’s

church are repeated, with the difference in applying central layout instead of the longitudinal

one and the integration of the bell tower with the body of the church. Modernity of the

expression is based on the architectural language that is purified of decorative elements and

on the setting of the building diagonally in the lot, but clear typological recognition refers to

the local traditional chapels characterized by their intimate character, the central plan, with

gable and tower in front. The Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes does not possess the symbolic

capital of the wider range, but shows an interesting dialogue with the immediate environment

which does not pander to the archaic architectural expression. Premerl in both churches

achieved a balance of tradition and modernity, without experimental breakthroughs, but with

the measured expression that builds on the collective memory of the church typology. The

function of these sacral objects that goes beyond the primary liturgical is to achieve a positive

5

relationship with the environment, which is recognized by reference to the tradition, but at the

same time to enrich the ambience that is lacking quality architectural achievements and

characteristic spatial forms, regardless of its content. Therefore, these examples act as a sign

in space, but their symbolic significance does not exceed the boundaries of the districts in

which they are located.

Quite the opposite result was achieved in the Church of the Passion of Christ (fig. 3) also in

the peripheral neighborhood of Vukomerec. Architects Anton Biba and Florian Škunca in

2002 built the single nave longitudinal structure of symmetrical layout with the isolated bell

tower, which through many quotations establishes a connection with the traditional

architectural language: portico, gable facade with an inscribed cross and side chapels, while

the use of red brick achieves visual contact with immediate environment. The church is

located in the environment defined by the modest family houses, on the spacious lot that is

like a wreath on all sides surround by the rather small scale houses, with colorful shapes

characteristic of the poor suburbs. Due to the very size and design of the church it is perceived

as a focus of the area, but its artistic language panders the values of the environment, without

true understanding what religious architecture in the context of urban iconography should

mean. Architectural forms were used only as visual cues and hints of tradition, without being

clearly embedded in the liturgical function of the building: gable as a false facade, side

chapels as unclear interpretation of the transept and the sanctuary as a series of shallow

rectangular apses. On the western outskirts of the city, in the Stenjevec district, the same

architects built a Church of the Bishop Nicholas (1998-2000, fig.4), which presents similar

pastiche of forms, empty eclecticism that is approaching the concept of urban anti-icons on

the micro-level of the settlement. Therefore, the question of modernity versus tradition does

not offer answers in the context of evaluating the contemporary religious architecture, but

6

points to the conceptual framework within which the best and worst realizations are possible.

Both extremes can be imposed in the environment as visual focus and be perceived as spatial

rappers, but if true architectural quality is absent, the church can become a sign marked by

negative connotations that undermines the value of the environment and degrades the very

liturgical content for which it was meant.

Interpolation by the method of accentuation, in a manner through which architect is trying to

reach the essence of spatial relations and to enrich them with his own expression, can be

recognized in the Church of St Jerome by Ivan Antolić (1995-1996, fig. 5). The church was

built within the protected park Maksimir, on the peripheral zone defined by road on the west

side and greenery on the other three. Although the church was built in the relative distance

from other facilities within the park, in certain elements of its design it establishes a dialogue

with the tradition of the 19th century that shapes their character. Most buildings in Maksimir

convey a central, symmetrical floor plan (Bishop Haulik’s New Villa, Bishop Haulik’s Villa,

Gatekeeper’s Cabin, Echo Pavilion, Gazebo, Chapel of St. George, Swiss House) and apply a

distinctive yellow facade. The interpolation corresponds exactly to these two elements, which

the architect recognizes as connection with the present environment and the leitmotif of the

wider complex. However, the design of religious space follows a postmodern fusion of

functional elements, such as the apse and the portico in the front, whose soft curved shape

continues vertically in the bell tower integrated with the front of the church. Although the

church is interpolated into a green park, it invokes the memory of the wider environment and

establishes itself as the spatial symbol, whose vertical bell tower became the recognizable but

unobtrusive element of the heritage of the perspective. Architect Antolić is also the author of

the Church of St. Anthony of Padua in Sesvetska Sela (1991-1995, fig. 6), on the eastern edge

of the city, which in the basic form resembles the church in Maksimir: central plan with a bell

7

tower integrated in the axis of the facade. The essential difference relates to the use of

materials – conditioned by quite a different context, the church in Sesvetska Sela implements

a window grid of the reflective glass on the entire facade, across from the entrance to gable

and tower, creating a rhythmic play of full and empty, tectonic and fragile. The use of

reflective glass as an element that redefines the tectonics of the entrance and the bell tower

can be interpreted as a kind of response of religious architecture to the attractive strength of

business architecture that after the 1990s, particularly in the peripheral zones of the city,

became main urban symbol. Church of St. Anthony of Padua stressed only one element of its

overall design, but pointed to the potential of the new material that is in the next decade to

become an important element of contemporary religious architecture.

The dominant role of glass in the articulation of the facade is identified in the Church of St.

Leopold Mandić in the Voltino district (fig. 7), by Željka Ružić and Silvia Lah (2002-2007).

The church is surrounded by blocks of buildings and its overall design establishes dialogue

with the basic elements of the architectural expression of the immediate environment. Above

the regular rectangular layout the geometric cube is erected, of slightly longitudinal character

and pronouncedly enclosed volume that is on the side walls articulated by niches. Wall

surface with the regular rhythm of vertically cut windows, flat roof and the strict geometrism

refer to the architectural expression of the surrounding apartment buildings, whereat only the

discreet sign of the cross in front suggests different typology. Three-part division of the front

is in the function of the visual articulation of the facade, behind which extends the one nave

church. The traditional elements of church architecture are almost completely abandoned: bell

tower, gable, transept, apse are omitted... A simple white wall mantle and glass surface in the

axis of the facade are read as motifs borrowed from the language of business architecture,

while basic volumetry and side wall articulation imply the form of apartment buildings. Even

8

the spatial disposition of the church placed longitudinally on the road, with the access square

in the function of the parking lot, indicate the different reflection of religious architecture as a

symbolic sign in the space - although by formal characteristics embedded in the micro

ambient, the church fails to clearly and unambiguously communicate its content and remains

functionally unrecognizable. Through assimilation of expressive elements that traditionally

belong to the other typology, contemporary architecture is built, but of uncertain content and

symbolism. This raises the question of whether architecture can become a sign in space if its

function and meaning cannot be decoded? Church of St. Leopold Mandić does not possess the

basic semantic feature, and that is the relation between the signified and the signifier - the

signifier is present in the space, it is inscribed as a visual image, but what is missing is its

mental concept that would enable the connection between the signifier and the signified in the

sign, i.e. the mental concept is recognizable to the limited number of users who adopted it

through their experience of usage. Thus, the community of believers reads the meaning of the

object as religious due to its everyday practice, but it is lacking the broad social recognition

which is defined by our culture. Since there is still searching for the social agreement on the

issues about the design of the contemporary church space, cultural codes are exposed to

questioning, interpretation, subversion.... In the search of adequate conceptual solutions the

existing sign system extends, but if the deconstruction of tradition does not lead to the design

of the new system, arbitrary shapes will not lead to the creation of new urban signs. Church in

Voltino dominates in the surroundings at the level of visual, but loses the role of symbol

primarily due to the impossibility for spontaneous and clear decoding.

A different approach of interpolation by accentuation has been made during construction of

the Church of St. Luke the Evangelist in the Travno district (fig. 8), whose architects Robert

Križnjak and Roman Vukoja (2006-2007) intervened in the defined environment of the

9

specific character. The church building is located at the margin of the park, with a mighty

background formed by Mamutica, the biggest building in Croatia and pride of Yugoslavia's

collective housing (built in 1974 by Đ. Mirković). The architectural design of the church used

the elements of modern visual language, whose principles could be traced in the construction

of the surrounding buildings, but they are transposed into the function of religious typology.

The asymmetrically indented layout completely negates the longitudinal character of the

building and the indentedness of the ground plan is transferred to volumetric articulation of

space that is rhythmisized by recessing and protruding certain parts, which is further enhanced

by differently nuanced colors. The main expressive element is constituted by the

geometrically defined surface that is not enclosed as in the church in Voltino, but is

superimposed, recessed, broken, truncated.... Even the displaced bell tower is treated as a

surface, and the depth of the plans of the overlapping surfaces changes depending on the

movement of the observer. Thus the authors expressed twofold respect of the context: on the

one hand the concept integrated the character of the park, which implies active user, i.e.

pedestrian, and on the other hand it achieved a dialogue with the geometric structure of

Mamutica, whose volume is animated by gradually recessed balconies, cut corners and

prominent staircases volumes. However, the church in the wider area does not form a

prominent sign, primarily due to its size and discreet design of the bell tower which only in

very close presence gains adequate visibility, but undoubtedly has a symbolic power on the

level of the micro ambient. The symbolic status of the building is partly intensified due to the

resistance of the public in the form of the first civil action which opposed the construction of

the church in the park12. The media attention caused by this certainly contributed to its

symbolization, indicating a variety of factors that influence the transformation of religious

architecture to urban symbol. Authors of the church in Travno did not only achieve a dialogue

between two architectural forms, but also between two functionally completely different

10

typologies, whose juxtaposition spurred the forced dialogue between social groups on

opposing ideological positions. Achieved consensus is a result of appreciation of all the above

positions. Opening up to the new architectural forms which are inscribed by the very

expressive primeval Christian sign enables double decoding: as a modern building that is

inspired by the modernist tradition of its environment and as a church, which through the sign

of the cross stands out from the very environment, becoming a new symbol.

In the neighboring district Sloboština in 2001 the Church of the Ascension of the Lord by the

architect Jagoda Bodić was realized (fig. 9), which also refers to the modernist tradition. In

the more unfavorable urban context, situated on a narrow lot squeezed between the road and

the residential building, the church through its volume seeks to refer precisely to these

limiting factors: the sloping roof line follows the contour of the building and asymmetrically

placed isolated bell tower in the front with its skeletal structure enables visual dialogue

between the church and the environment. The church is shaped like the addition of three

volumes: the bell tower, portico and liturgical space, which are loosely connected together

and simultaneously forming a continuous contact with the surroundings. Although the church

in Sloboština is strongly defined by the verticality of the bell tower as the key sign to

recognize the meaning in relation to the local context, it adapts to the predefined setting on the

level of stylistic elements, dimensions and materials. In the context of this specific Zagreb

district the employment of the contemporary architectural language does not represent the

visual accent, but precisely through such stylistic choice almost mimicry structure was created

that relies on the verticality of the tower in the front as the basis for the decoding its function.

Thus, the character of the environment is essential to ascribe the degree of spatial loudness of

an individual religious building.

11

Churches interpolated by the method of contrast

Interpolation by the method of contrast in the context of religious architecture indicates the

tendency of the building to impose itself, through its form and symbolic content, over the

expression of the existing environment and to establish itself as a bearer of new values and as

well as dominant in the present environment. Church architecture thereat applies

contemporary creative ideas that are often faced with a lack of understanding on the side of

the community of believers and the local population, as well as on the side of the professional

community that takes contrary opinions. There is still rarely the case to achieve broader social

and / or professional consensus in the evaluation of the success of these buildings, but there is

no doubt that in the context of urban iconography they often become prominent symbols of

the city.

Vinko Penezić and Krešimir Rogina in 1995 constructed the Church of St. Matthew in the

Dugave district in Novi Zagreb (fig. 10), creating an object that strives to contradict the

defined environment which is achieved at multiple levels: by the individualization of design

versus uniformity of forms of apartment buildings in the area that make up the basic content

of the settlement13, by the position in the green island on the edge of the lot and by the

function, considering that it was the first church built after 1991 in this part of town. Church

architecture in this case represents a complete novelty, and architects, unencumbered by

formal rules, freely interpreted religious space that should suit the aesthetic and spiritual

needs of modern man, but also leave a noticeable mark and become recognizable, symbolic

place in the picture of the settlement14. The main church space is based on the circular layout

above which wall is erected, covered with a metal plating of intensive blue color, with an

inscribed cross in the back of the church and the access square in front. The bell tower is

isolated, shaped like an open metal structure and its height does not exceed the height of the

12

church itself, due to which it loses visibility from a greater distance, and subsequently the

function of church symbol in the wider area. Characteristic design creates the building as the

visual focus within the micro ambient, but the moment of attractiveness is simultaneously

accompanied by the enigma, considering that until the immediate vicinity it remains

impossible to read the meaning of the building. The dominant blue cylinder borrows the shape

of the industrial silos and yet prismatic skylight and loose structure of the portico signal

another typology, but giving no precise answer. Can architecture become a sign in the space if

its function and meaning cannot be decoded? Or is the very puzzle part of the program of the

ecclesiastical building to use its visual attractiveness first to lead the observer to approach it,

and then to appropriate it as the space of spirituality. The question that opens the Church of St.

Matthew is whether spectacularization can achieve the primary goal of the liturgical structure

in terms of the framework of religious life, but also in terms of the reaffirmation of Christian

symbolism in the fabric of the city. The answer eludes the dialectic relationship between

tradition and modernity because local as well as international examples demonstrated that the

church becomes a sign if its form is derived from clear ideas, which can be materialized

within any stylistic mode. However, if there is an absence of relation between signifier and

signified it is impossible to create a sign, only an image that speaks a language whose

meaning remains closed. But over the process of time the collective memory is being

upgraded, and its holders gradually open up closed meanings - a building that was strange,

unreadable and hermetic, becomes part of everyday experience and, therefore, recognized not

only for its visuality, but also for its function, which opens possibility to transformation into 9 E. Heathcote, Contemporary Church Architecture, Chichester, Wiley Academy, 2007, p.74.10 The concept of urban iconography was largely based on the definition provided by P. J. Ethington, W. R. Schwarz, ‘Introduction: An Atlas of Urban Icons project’, 2006, http://journals.cambridge.org/fulltext_content/supplementary/urban_icons_companion/atlas/intro.htm (accessed 29th October 2014).11 T. Premerl, 'Novija hrvatska sakralna arhitektura', Crkvena kulturna dobra, no. 2, 2004, pp. 65 – 81.12 S. Šimpraga, Zagreb, javni prostor, Zagreb, Porfirogenet, 2010, p. 19. See also: V. Gulin Zrnić, ‘Transformacije novozagrebačkih prostora’, in: Akteri društvenih promjena u prostoru: transformacija prostora i kvalitete života u Hrvatskoj: međuregionalni znanstveno-stručni skup (okrugli stol) održan u Institutu za društvena istraživanja u Zagrebu 16. prosinca 2011., A. S. Gotovac, J. Zlatar (ed.), Zagreb, Institut za društvena istrživanja, 2012, pp. 171 – 187.

13

an urban symbol. If there is sufficient symbolic capacity, this added value can cross borders of

the micro ambient and be disseminated in a broader context. Church in Dugave in its nearly

20-year history participated in a similar process: from the non-recognition and rejection to

one of the most characteristic spatial signs in its surroundings.

Interpolation methods of other churches in Novi Zagreb that will be constructed in the next

decade as vital public content of the residential areas, in those planned in the period of

socialism, as well as in those resulting from the current urban planning, present the range of

possibilities. Church of the Body of Christ (fig. 11) in the Sopot district in Novi Zagreb (Ivan

Čižmek and Hrvoje Krajač, 2005-2009) also as a basic form employs the cylinder, again

colorfully highlighted, but instead of blue metal casing, it is made of red brick. The bell tower

is isolated, and at the back of the church prismatic volume of the pronounced horizontal

character is added. The church is situated on a spacious green lot, defined by roads on two

sides and by residential buildings of the longitudinal volumetry on the other two. The

amplitude of space focuses the view precisely on the church as the only object on the green

surface, and also as the only structure developed over a circular base whose archetypal form

does not refer to recycled forms of the immediate environment, but to the sacred symbolism

of the wafer as the Body of Christ. However, the symbolism of the church in the macro

environment has not been realized, while in the micro ambient, although in contrast to the

surroundings, only partially managed to establish dominance over the area. Simple wall

sheathing with discreetly inscribed cross on the facade and isolated bell tower with poor

vertical penetration are devoid of any ornamentation, but formalist purity did not achieve the

strength of the message. The volume of the building attracts attention and captures the view,

but simultaneously produces confusion and creates a semantic chaos, i.e. a perceptual gap

between the seen reality that is the building that is before us and its meaning that is the

14

function for which it was built. Exactly within the contemporary architectural language

applied to religious structures above mentioned problems in the communication are most

commonly occurring, which are all the greater if at least one sure signifier is not kept, like

clear verticality of the tower, a prominent cross, disposition of the ground plan or other

typological element that would serve as a key for decoding the meaning. An example of the

church in Dugave shows that the recipient of the message carries an important role in the

construction of meaning, namely that over time it can be learnt to recognize the sense,

provided that there is a certain level of emotional engagement. Church in Sopot has not yet

made such a relation, and its function remains on the level of utility of the interior without

symbolic power in the wider area.

In the neighboring district Utrina, the same year when the Church of St. Matthew in Dugave

was completed, the construction of the Church of St. John the Apostle and Evangelis15t

(Andrej Uchytil and Renata Waldgoni) began (fig. 12). Architecture dominates on the corner

lot along the most important city axis of Novi Zagreb - Dubrovnik Avenue, where the

dominant visual element is constituted by the undulating wall above the amoebaean layout,

covered with blue tiles. Colorist emphasis is stronger than at the church in Dugave, and its

soft folds establish semantic relationship to the symbolism of Mary's blue mantle. When

designing the church authors conveyed religious symbolism in a highly individual

architectural style that challenges not only the surroundings, but also the traditional

understanding of religious typology. Similar to the previous two examples, the key problem is

the ability to read the content: whether the symbolism of Mary's mantle (or the Body of Christ

in the church in Sopot), the thin line of the cross, cruciform arrangement of windows and the

bell tower send a clear and unambiguous message about the nature of the architecture.

Question of the visibility of the liturgical messages from architectural forms is constantly on

15

the agenda and does not constitute specificity in modern church architecture of Zagreb or

Croatia. The visual capital of the church in Utrina is indisputable; it authentically occupies the

space, taking into account the position along the fast road where the attention is caught from

the speeding car, but also opening up the space of the access square that acts as a place of

intimate gathering of believers. By the use of sculptural design the architects managed to

create a space that calls for moving, circling and almost tactile exploring, focusing on the

process of experience and contemplation as the basic features of the spirituality of religious

architecture. In the context of the micro ambient devoid of symbolic content and visual

surprises Church of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist occupies a very important place of

urban iconography. The power of symbolism is derived from the sense that is not

recognizable at first glance, but it is suggested on a deeper, subconscious level, like an

allusion which gives an indication of the content that could be reached by gradual immersion

into the associative links of forms. Although the authors deconstructed almost all elements of

traditional religious architecture and rejected the system of secure meanings, they offered

their own formal elements that constitute an alternative architectural system based on the

metaphor taken from the collective Christian heritage. Church in Utrina does not manipulate

any typical religious form in terms of verticality, floor plans and wall articulation, yet its

dominant volume focuses on the idea of the mantle that is monumental but rhythmisized in

soft folds, creating the allusion of the Church as the patron which under her aegis gathers

believers, providing both security and tenderness. Abstract language of contemporary

architecture in this case generates specific and compelling ideas and feelings that are read as

fundamentally Christian, and thus allows the creation of a symbolic spatial form that is

decoded by culturally determined connotations.

Church network in the last two decades has become very thick due to which religious

16

buildings are being constructed on small and urbanistically inappropriate lots, such as the

Church of the Blessed Augustin Kažotić in Volovčica district (1998-2000, fig. 13). The

interpolation was built on the peripheral zone of the residential area, huddled at the corner

defined by tramway track on the south side and a road on the west. Buildings north of the

church consist of longitudinally laid apartment blocks, while the eastern part is dominated by

verticals of the residential skyscrapers. Architect designed religious architecture based on the

described spatial situation, respecting the basic lines of spatial forces: the layout direction of

the church parallels the tramlines evaluated as stronger traffic route, and it coincides with the

classical disposition of the entrance on the west and the altar on the east end. Vertical

articulation is also gradually progressing, creating a dialogue with the height structure of the

micro ambient, whereby the tower over the crossing establishes a stronger penetration than

the isolated bell tower on the front, seeking a balance with residential towers that form its

visual background. Spatial limitations are further stressed by very strong directions of

movement that the architect respected in designing the church, but he contrasted the visual

language against orthogonal geometry of the immediate environment. Shell-like broken

surface of the roof very expressively emphasizes vertical growth, achieved in a rapid rhythm

that flows both from the front and the back side of the church, culminating in a tower whose

panes, other than the lighting, suggest symbolic opening to the sky. The dynamic sculptural

volume is a visual focus that draws attention from all directions and responds to the

challenges of the existing conditions. The symmetry of the layout, concentrated verticality

and repetition of the modified and stratified gable profiles refer to archetypal forms of

religious architecture, resulting in a church that does not lose its functional identity. However,

sacred space is seeking silence, contemplation, the ability to spiritual stabilization against the

urban rush which had not been achieved: in the loud micro ambient instead of the oasis a

higher octave was produced. Church of Blessed Augustin Kažotić in Volovčica presents a new

17

dimension that defines the iconicity of the religious building, and that is appropriate location.

The architect has successfully solved the dialogue between the tradition and modernity, which

resulted in the building clearly recognizable as a sacred, but still it has not established itself as

an urban symbol - for such a status it lacks the contextual support. Seen as interpolation, this

church is not integrated into the neighborhood, but because of the limited and inadequate lot it

acts as a foreign body that even with maximum effort by the architect fails to acclimatize to

its environment, and therefore to be perceived as its symbol.

One of the most successful church buildings created in already defined residential area is the

Church of St. Quirinus in Pantovčak (fig. 14), whose construction began in 2002 and is still

going on. Its architect Đivo Dražić designs the structure above the radial basis that makes a

distinctive visual sign in the surrounding area, which is formed by freestanding residential

buildings designed for the higher social classes. Positioned on a winding section of the street,

church makes the maximum use of the open views and its convex glass facade with a portico

and isolated bell tower act not only as an urban focus, but also on the semantic level

demonstrate a church that is open to dialogue with the community. The architecture is not

intrusive in the space in terms of dimensions, but the subtle shaping clearly sends a message

that this is a sacred building of the monumental character. At the urban as well as at the

architectural level the Church of St. Quirinus brings new values to the ambient: given the

location in the street line that is defined by the facades of luxurious detached buildings, the

emphasis is on the front of the church that does not borrow architectural elements of historic

styles of the surrounding houses, but uses modern language to create a distinctive style. The

whole curve of the front is resolved as a supersized portal which is defined by the glass wall

and open structure of the portico, sublimating the essential character of the sacred object: an

invitation to peek through the window and be seduced by what is behind. Although the author

18

employs entirely contemporary architectural language, within the heritage of religious

motives he finds the very one on which he will build the symbolism of the whole building,

and it is a symbol of the door. The layout as well as the vertical articulation is focused on the

front of the house of God, which is entirely viewed as a monumental entrance with reflective

glass surfaces that also evokes the passage through the mirror which leads us, like Alice, to

another world. The key to the symbolic power of the Church of St. Quirinus is

methodologically analogous to the church in Utrina, with a difference of architect’s individual

choice of the archetypal religious motive used to encode the semantics of the whole church

(mantle or door). Both religious buildings reject the traditional way of expression, but their

abstract language is conceived in deeper, almost subconscious meanings that sublimate basic

Christian values, making them familiar to the community of believers despite of the free

architectural form.

Completely different solution is offered by the Church of St. Mother of Freedom in Jarun (fig.

15), which is, similar to the church in Volovčica, located on the corner lot bounded with two

major roads (east with tram line), but the character of the micro ambient, as well as the

character of the building, are quite different. St. Mother of Freedom in Jarun dominates the

spacious grounds with open vistas, whereat the buildings in the surroundings do not create the

relationship with the church. Therefore the religious architecture, although immersed in the

urban matrix, looks like an island, developing highly autonomous artistic language. The

Church of St. Mother of Freedom (Nikola Bašić, 1995-2000) was built as a church-monument

dedicated to Croatian soldiers of War of Independence and has an important symbolic not

only in the context of Zagreb, but also the entire Croatia16. In its interior there is a cenotaph

with inscribed names of over 15,000 fallen veterans and the entire liturgical space is

ichnographically dedicated to the theme of the victim. Without getting into specific analysis

19

of the interior, problems of urban iconography of this sacred object raises a series of questions

exactly on the level of its dual role: the church and the monument. The first role can be

interpreted at the level of the micro ambient within which the object is observed in the

function of the local religious community and as a spatial sign at the level of the residential

area. The building is meant as horizontally indented volume dominated by the heavy roof

structure that encompasses the liturgical architecture and pastoral center with an inner

courtyard. The powerful slightly convex curve of the roof forms a basic expressive element of

the building, associating the idea of covering and spreading: the roof spreads over a vast area

that combines different functions and different forms, much like the church spreads over its

diverse community of believers. However, this free metaphor is not identically distinctive

enough to become a spatial sign: the fragmentation of the traditional elements of church

architecture in terms of symmetry, layout, longitudinality and verticality, does not produce a

new clearly readable dimension of the spiritual space. The very church welcomes the faithful

on its eastern façade, dominated by a closed cylindrical volume cut into the glass surface of

the wall. Symbolism of the portal, of the monumental entrance which forms the border

between the secular and spiritual space, is completely subverted by the mimicry cut doors that

are noticeable only at close range. The bell tower with two crosses on the top lowly rises over

the volume, being the only sign that suggests the function of the building. Slightly elevated

surface of the square together with the large courtyard act as sites of synergy, but are devoid

of spiritual symbolism. Church of St. Mother of Freedom opens up even bigger dilemma

about the identity if it is viewed as the monument of Croatian war veterans17. The symbolism

of the monument, which unites all Croatian war veterans, regardless of their religious

affiliation, should not be related to the sacral architecture, but when such an identification is

being imposed on, it remains incomprehensible18. The monument is raised in memory of those

to whom it is dedicated, to act in the public space as part of the collective memory of the

20

community in which it is installed19. Exclusion of the figurative design opens up space for

abstract associations, but they should possess the power of ideas and emotions that would

encourage the spontaneous remembrance and contemplation as memorial to Croatian war

veterans deserve. Church-monument with its expressive volume and contemporary

architectural language seeks to find adequate expression for the complex program for which it

was intended, and in this sense represents an important attempt in the context of recent

religious architecture in Zagreb, but fails to realize its ambiguous iconographical task to

become a clear symbol of ideological values. Conflict of form and concept is recognizable in

the inability to clearly recognize the function, primarily as the structure of a religious

character, and then as the monument. The signifier is doubly signified, but those for whom it

is intended fail to recognize it as an intelligible sign, and are condemned to dogmatic

acceptance without substantial connection with ideas that Christian architecture should

mediate. Due to this imposed one-way communication it is impossible to establish urban

symbolism, but potential ideological conflicts are allowed at the heart of which is exactly a

lack of understanding of what the modern church today should be, as an institution as well as

a sign in time and space.

Churches constructed in the undefined urban environments

Due to the continuous pressure for the construction of new apartments in Zagreb in the last 10

years new residential areas were built, which in its urban plan assume the construction of

churches. In environments that are only partially or not at all defined religious architecture

seeks to impose itself through design as the prominent urban sign, to become the hallmark of

the new settlement and potentially the place of attraction. In Vrbani district which is on its

southern and northern edges defined by two strong roads, in 2004 the construction of the

Church of the Annunciation of the Lord (Gordana Domić and Boris Koružnjak) began (fig.

21

16). The building is located on a lot that is drawn from the north road (Zagreb Avenue), but

due to the poor construction of the surrounding area it is easily visible from a greater distance

and adequately designed to be seen from a speeding car. The main facade of the church is its

presbiterial part defined by a large glass wall and asymmetrically installed tower. It is also the

highest zone of the rectangular cube whose shed roof line is sloping down towards the inner

courtyard area that connects the church and the pastoral center. Gates of the church is almost

hidden on the southern side of the building, without the access square or stairs that would

symbolically emphasize the entrance toward the space of spirituality. The most powerful

visual focus is the presbytery whose design refers to the architectural elements of the adjacent

office building of the Adriatic Insurance Company. Borrowing the language of business

architecture that has globally become the most powerful carrier of urban recognition, sacred

object opposes such a redistribution of symbolic capital and seeks to re-occupy a prominent

position in the city, adapting to the new conditions of time. These new times allow the

connection of new functions that were in historical periods clearly separated20: the pastoral

center houses the offices of two insurance companies, which suggests new connotations for

the associative links between the presbytery and the office building. The emphasized

verticality of the bell tower is the main element of identity of the described church, in the

micro ambient level as well as at the level of the wider area which is still in the process of

forming what will surely redefine the visibility of religious building. Regardless of the

architectural development of the environment, the Church of the Annunciation of the Lord is

inadequately located, and its inability to enrich its immediate surrounding indicates a lack of

symbolic power. Typological ambiguity which is recognized in the basic volume of the

building is partially solved by the unambiguous symbolism of the bell tower, however, such a

gesture is insufficient to speak of the sign in the space, even in surroundings that is poor in

terms of characteristic features. Seen from the nearby highway, the church evokes attention

22

because its linear articulated tower acts as a decoy to embark on further research, and

precisely at this point communication is based on quotations without sufficient distinctiveness

and authenticity of the concept.

The surprise represents the Church of St. Mary of the Angels (Srećko Kreitmayer) on the

eastern outskirts of Zagreb, in Sesvetska Sopnica, whose construction began in 2001 and is

still under way (fig. 17). The facility was built in an almost rural setting on a spacious lot,

whose immediate environment define loosely arranged family houses and the primary school

(Vedran Duplančić) that besides the church is the only visual accent. Despite the fact that

most religious objects in peripheral urban areas (Brestje, Trnovčica, Dubrava, Kozari Bok,

Granešinski Novak) is built in the dominant traditional architectural language that supports

clichéd expectations about the appearance of the church as a physical structure and usually

offers epigone solutions of poor quality, the architect of St. Mary of the Angels selected a

completely different approach and designed the biblical tent. Tentlike volume, with the front

access portico of the longitudinal character, gently rises towards the altar area in which the

lower part is dominated by stained glass by artist Đuro Seder. Exactly by means of these two

elements (portico and stained glass) the problem of orientation of the entrance and the

13 The analysis of characteristic elements of physiognomy of Novi Zagreb was conducted by O. Čaldarović in 1979, pointing to the lack of symbolical content of new settlements. Results are published in Suvremeno društvo i urbanizacija, Zagreb, Školska knjiga, 1987.14 T. Premerl, 'Crkveno graditeljstvo dvadesetog stoljeća', in: Sveti trag, devetsto godina umjetnosti Zagrebačke nadbiskupije 1094-1994, T. Lukšić, I. Reberski (ed.), Zagreb, Institut za povijest umjetnosti, 1994, pp. 601 – 605.15 This is the only contemporary church included in the overview of 100 selected buildings from Zagreb by Z. Karač, A. Žunić, Arhitektonski vodič Zagreba, Zagreb, Arhitektonski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebau, UPI-2M PLUS, 2012, pp. 182 – 183. 16 O. Žunec, 'Vojska i demokracija', Erasmus: časopis za kulturu demokracije, no. 1, 1993, pp. 47 – 56. Author analyzes the connections of Croatian army to the political party in power, illustrating the process of politicization of the army that becomes the platform for introduction and realization of the ideas of the dominant ideology. 17 N. Ožegović, 'Sveta nam mater slobode’, Vijenac, no.45, 1995, p. 20.18 M. Škreblin, 'Oltar domovine',Vijenac, no.45, 1995, p. 45. About the symbolism of Church in the context of statehood see also: N. Rajković, 'Povlačenje granica istoka i zapada: Antemurale Christianitatis i konceptualizacija hrvatskog nacionalnog i simboličnog identiteta', Diskrepancija, no. 16-17, 2012, pp.51 – 65.19 N. Moore, Y. Whelan, Heritage, Memory and the Politics of Identity: New Perspectives on the Cultural Landscape, Abingdon, Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2007, pp. 3 – 19.

23

sanctuary is easily solved. Conical form coated by gray sheath acts as a prominent sign in the

space that is still dominated by modest family houses and green gardens, but the reference to

the oldest human dwellings (tent) establishes a relationship with the historical memory of the

traditional housing that belongs to all the world's cultures. This in some way marks a step

forward from the native to the global and through architecture embodies the idea of

ecumenism. The basis for understanding the structure is the very idea of the Old Testament

tent, whose elemental form gives preference to contemporary architectural language,

remaining recognizable and familiar in the collective memory of the user. The principle

endorsed in churches in Utrina and the Pantovčak, in a totally different context of the urban

periphery, acquires new values; design which is on the first level read as extremely

autonomous and contrasted against the environment, on the second level is recognized as a

dialog mode based not so much in the context of the local environment, but in the context of

the beginnings of construction of religious spaces. In the relation between the tradition and

modernity, the first element presents the concept, while the other shapes its proper, modern

materialization.

Conclusion

Through selected examples iconographic analysis of churches was conducted, both at the

level of individual building in space that employs new elements of architectural languages

(taking over the language specific for other architectural typology - office buildings, hybrid

forms, etc.), and at the level of correlation to other buildings in micro ambient, whereby

offered explanations do not provide definitive meaning, but potentially open up space for

further interpretation21. Through the research the two key issues crystallized: the way in which

the relationship between tradition and modernity is established, and can architecture become a

sign in the space, if one cannot decode its meaning. The corpus of sacred architecture of

24

Zagreb includes a variety of solutions that represent different views on the above questions22.

Religious object is not only the frame of the liturgical content, but contains ambition to

symbolize hence the number of explorations arise to achieve this objective. In order to

establish a dialogue with the needs of man and the city of its time, church architecture often

reaches for contemporary architectural language, which is not based on intelligent reflection

on the essence of the sacred space, nor on the values of the immediate environment in which

it is built. This approach hides the risk of creating visually attractive buildings that lack

readability of the content, which consequently leads to the answer to the second key issue, and

it is a question of sign in the space. For an architectural object to be recognized as a sign it is

necessary that its idea is clear to those whom it is intended, and not on the level of dogma, but

of the true exchange of the identity that occurs within a social and urban context. Churches in

Utrina, Pantovčak and Sesvetska Sopnica demonstrate different ways of transforming the

motives of the Christian tradition through contemporary architectural language into the new

spatial sign, potentially becoming an element of urban iconography. The largest number of

churches, however, remained at the level of seeking a balance between the memory of the past

and the challenges of the future, and their characteristic forms become the visual focus, but

with no idea that would anchor them as symbols of clear values23. Churches in Jarun, Sopot

and Voltino illustrate this issue. Stronger ties to the formal features of traditional religious

architecture dismisses concerns at the level of perception of content, but without enough

symbolic capital for the church to become distinctive spatial sign in the broader context, as

indicated by analysis of examples of churches in Retkovac, Čulinec and Maksimir.

Interpolations are additionally faced with the issue of evaluation of context, which essentially

determines the possibility of symbolization24; wrong choice of location at the very beginning

of creating becomes almost insurmountable obstacle to successful implementation, such as the

20 I. Oštrić, 'Od kriznih ishodišta do krize identiteta', in: Novija sakralna umjetnost, V. Kusin (ed.), Zagreb, Galerija Klovićevi dvori, 2006, pp. 9 – 16.

25

position of the church in Volovčica.

New interpretations are important in the context of major ideological transformations that

have left a significant and indelible mark in the public space. The image of Zagreb as a

symbolic construct has radically changed in 1991, i.e., after changing the political and social

system in which Zagreb cease to be the second and became the only metropolis. This shift is

not only happening in real time and space, but also at the level of symbolic communication,

because each new identity (re)construction requires a new iconographic set to mediate new

social, ideological, cultural and political values25.

After 1990 Zagreb is no longer facing the projects of development in the spatial and formal

sense, but the projects of symbolic renewal of the city, the iconographic revival which returns

Zagreb back to the historical framework, reconstructing it as immanent Croatian, national

capital, and not as one of the capitals of the multiethnic federation26. This reconstruction of

identity includes the symbolization of space and events that reinforce the historicity and

revive the sense of national unity, and although within the conditions of the free market (that

is, outside the state proscription), iconographic set is very unified and consistent as in the

previous period. This phenomenon is easily explained by strong and comprehensive processes

of retraditionalization of the public life27, which, once started, have become a kind of

unspoken standard. Public communication, partly as a result of the first wave of national

euphoria, partly as a result of pressure on the communication patterns of the public media,

coming from the groups in power, and partly due to inertia to resist the above, perpetuated

established iconographic template.

The beginning of the new millennium Zagreb greeted as symbolically defined capital in the

26

Central Europe, which is reckoning on the identity of its 19th and earlier centuries past, while

ignoring the modernist tradition, which provided to Zagreb the size and shape of almost one

million people. In accession of Croatia to the European Union it is not done much on the

symbolic communication of some new values or is urban imagery visionary directed toward

Europhilia values. Previous analysis has shown that the great social changes inevitably trigger

great symbolic redefinition, and the future will show how Zagreb in this sense will respond to

challenges of large and powerful multinational and multicultural community28.

SUMMARY

Contemporary religious architecture in a global context is facing the question of how to

construct a spiritual space that remains distinctive in its function, symbolic in its place in the

cityscape and coherent with the spirit of the times in its artistic expression. Contextualization

in a society that has survived one ideological twilight period and is still undergoing transition

to stability in the new value systems is very specifically reflected on the urban iconography of

the city, which is in this transitional period searching for a new identity. The role of church

architecture is a significant and very presentable indicator of changes. After the breakpoint in

1990 the construction of new churches is intensively stimulated in all urban zones of Zagreb,

both in areas of existing parishes that functioned in inadequate facilities, as well as on new

locations that already in the very urban plan of the settlements include religious architecture

as an essential public content.

Most religious buildings are constructed by the interpolation method, whereby on the level of

the micro ambient new spatial relationships are established: in most cases by the use of

contemporary architectural language the church seeks to compete with the inherited values in

the environment and to impose itself as a prominent visual focus. However, urban emphasis is

27

not identical to an urban or architectural quality, especially when it comes to hybrid forms and

language of other typologies, which are not based in the functionality of the liturgical space,

but are used as an empty sign whose primary role is capturing attention in the tissue of the

city that is overcrowded by symbolic architecture of different character. The consequence of

such an approach to religious architecture is the existence of very different and recognizable

buildings that in many cases fail to clearly and unambiguously communicate their role, and

thus fail to truly reclaim the status of urban icons.

In the search for appropriate architectural language attempts have been made to respond to a

number of challenges: the needs and tastes of the community of the believers of the 21st

century, the complex spatial conditions with pre-defined symbolic values and the

establishment of a new typology of religious architecture that will be recognizable in its

function and powerful in its iconicity. Analyzed examples demonstrate the heterogeneity of

approaches: from radical contrasting against the inherited forms of micro ambient, to dialogue

which on one or more levels establishes a connection with the buildings in the immediate 21 The valuable resource for detailed information about religious architecture in Zagreb was a comprehensive catalogue of the PhD thesis by Zorana Sokol, Arhitektonska i urbanistička obilježja liturgijskih građevina u Zagrebu u 20. stoljeću, PhD Thesis, Arhitektonski fakultet, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, 2010.22 M. Gamulin, 'Promjene arhitektonskog jezika i nova hrvatska realnost', Čovjek i prostor, no. 3-4, 1994. pp.10 – 13. See also: I. Maroević, ‘Traganje za duhovnim’, Čovjek i prostor, no. 3-4, 1994, pp. 13 – 15.23 M. Mrduljaš, 'Testiranje stvarnosti', in: Suvremena hrvatska arhitektura, Mrduljaš, M. (ed.), Zagreb, Arhitekst, 2007, pp. 149 – 155.24 I. Oštrić, I. 'Nova sakralna arhitektura u zamci inverznog urbanizma', Čovjek i prostor, no. 3-4, 1994. p.10.25 I. Maroević, 'Identiteti povijesnog grada', in: Grad kao složen sustav, J. Božičević,(ed.), Zagreb, Hrvatsko društvo za sustave, 1996, p. 28.26 Rogić, I., Tko je Zagreb?, Zagreb, Hrvatska sveučilišna naklada, 1997.27 V. Pusić, 'Nova agenda za nove demokracije', Erasmus, časopis za kulturu demokracije, no. 2, 1993, pp. 7 – 12. In this text, written in 1993 when political transformations were still under way, author examines two possible directions of Croatian political model: modern liberal democratic society or pre-civil-heroic patriarchal community, the latter based on the process of retraditionalization that includes: ‘mythologizing history, glorification of the nation as the basis of political and individual identity, substituting requirements for civil loyalty formalized within the citizenship with the requirement for mythical-emotional loyalty expressed in sacrifice and readiness to sacrifice. On the level of structuring the state authorities that retraditionalization is reflected in state paternalism. State paternalism means copying the structure of the patriarchal family on the political conditions of the country.’ 28 S. Dragojević, 'Utjecaj kulturnog, društvenog i simboličkog kapitala na razvoj zemalja Srednje i Istočne Europe', in: Sociokulturni kapital i tranzicija u Hrvatskoj, M. Meštrović., A. Štulhofer (ed.), Zagreb, Hrvatsko sociološko društvo, 1998, pp. 71 - 87.

28

environment. The choice of method is not conditioning the construction of religious

architecture that will become a new element of urban iconography, but as the most successful

proved to be exactly those architectural objects that refer to some form of collective memory

or local features of the current image of the city.

29