bg Slavonski Brod

Stjepan Horvat Palace

- Ulica Ante Starčevića 8 -
The two-story building, which is locally known as the Horvat Palace, was built around 1880, originally for residential purposes, but later also gained a cultural function. On this same plot, the Horvat family owned an old building that was destroyed in a big fire in 1872. The building was built by the butcher craftsman Stjepan Horvat, who would become the mayor of Slavonski Brod in 1894. Although he was a butcher, Stjepan, who was born in 1844, reached the position of mayor with his ability and intelligence. He succeeded the mayor Josip Filipović, a merchant, who died suddenly after only three months in charge. However, Horvat's leadership did not last long either, only one year, and he had to resign. The occasion was a fight at a Hungarian ball between the ship's boys and officers. The mayor had nothing to do with it, he was not an oppositionist, nor a Hungarian, but in response to the complaint against the grand prefect of , that he was tactless towards the fraternal Hungarian people, he didn't want to justify himself, but thanked for the honor and duty of the mayor.
The project for the construction
In 1926, Stjepan founded a foundation named , in memory of the Slavonski Brod professor and painter, to support the poor and gifted students of the state high school in Slavonski Brod. He died in 1927 and left all his properties to the city of Slavonski Brod to help the city's poor, and to show their gratitude, the citizens erected a tombstone for him.
An old postcard that shows the building on the left
Underneath the roof cornice of the Eclectic building, you can alternately see an motif and adorned with foliage and . Underneath the , which are placed above the second floor windows, you can either see a or a . Two of these windows are flanked by that are embellished with a cartouche and a and they're crowned with Corinthian . The two balconies are secured with a stone balustrade with incorporated and secured with three massive corbels. Between these corbels, you can see two , which are decorated with a total of three each. Underneath the balconies, you can see even more pilasters, which are crowned with Composite and Doric capitals.
The building is shown in an old photo