bg Slavonski Brod

Viktor Selinger House

- Šetalište Braće Radić 6 -
The two-story building, which was solemnly built for residential purposes, was constructed in 1905 by a design that was created by the Croatian architect . The building was built for the trader, entrepreneur, and prominent cultural and political activist who sponsored many cultural and humanitarian associations, Viktor Selinger, who was born in in 1838. He inherited his father's business and gradually became the first to focus on the wood trade. Around 1870, he moved to , where he became one of the largest timber merchants in Slavonia. In 1873, he bought the house of merchant Antun Jobst, and two years after he moved to , in 1879, he sold the house to merchant Lavoslav Kugel. During his stay in Đakovo, he was not only focused on trade in oak, but he was also involved in the social and cultural life of the city and the area. In Osijek as well as in Đakovo, he was almost omnipresent in the life of the city. In these activities, his part in founding Branislav, the first Osijek political newspaper in the Croatian language, is of particular importance. Viktor was close to Bishop , not only in business as a supplier of wood material for the needs of the new cathedral they were also friends who often played cards together.
Viktor Selinger
Around 1888, he moved to Brod na Sava, nowadays Slavonski Brod, where Viktor's younger brother Josip Selinger was also living. In 1892, he founded a new company there called Viktor Selinger and Sons, of which the main activity was trade. From the beginning of 1895, the activity was expanded with the establishment of a new, regionally licensed Information Bureau for trade, which was the first of its kind in Croatia and Slavonia.

Viktor Selinger got married to Emilia Selinger, maiden name Heim, who was born in Sarajevo in 1843. Together they had twelve children, who were named Hugo, Lavoslav, Justina, Irena, Hermina, Amalija, Berta, Agatha, and Milan, and apart from them, they had three other children who died young, who were named Josip, Lotte, and Sidonia. Viktor Selinger died in 1906 in Slavonski Brod.
Lavoslav Selinger
The building, which is built in the styles of Art Nouveau and Neo-Gothic, features a top gable surrounded by two statues of an eagle. Within the top gable, you can see a shield-shaped ornament surrounded by floral decorations, and underneath the two windows, you can see a head of a surrounded by two wings. Around the , you can admire two that feature and . The beautiful ornamentation above the loggia consists of another mascaron, some floral decorations, some more shield-shaped ornaments, as well as squirrels that symbolize diligence. You can find more of this kind of ornamentation around the main entrance, which also counts for the second floor windows, under which another mascaron is placed that depicts .
An old postcard that shows the building on the right