bg Osijek

Gillming-Hengl House

- Europska Avenija 24 -
The building, which was most likely built according to a design of the Croatian architect and the Austrian , was built in 1906. There were many applicants for the construction site, but it was eventually purchased by Matilda and Ladislav Gillming, who built a house on it for one of their daughters, Matilda Gillming Junior, who was born in 1880, in Osijek. She got engaged and later married to Vjekoslav Hengl, who was born in was born on April 15, 1875, in , in the family of Ivan Hengl and Barbara Balković. He finished elementary school in Donji Miholjac and high school in Osijek, and later on, he completed his law studies in , after which he became a lawyer and royal notary in Osijek in 1910. From 1920 until 1934, with the exception of a break in 1927, he served as the mayor of the city of Osijek and was responsible for major infrastructure investments and urban development of the city.
The building during its construction
Vjekoslav's name is associated with the demolition of the fortress ramparts in order to connect the city units with an electric tram. The electric power plant was completed, numerous public buildings are being erected, and great progress has been made in the area of ​​city road construction, sewerage, and other city infrastructure. Vjekoslav Hengl died on December 6, 1961, in Osijek, and his wife Matilda Gilming Junior, died five years later in 1966.
Vjekoslav Hengl and Matilda Gilming Junior in 1926
In 1957, the building became the property of the city and university library of Osijek, which was founded on February 8, 1949, by the decision of the City People's Committee. With the establishment of the University of Osijek in 1975, the library, one of the founders, is expanding its activities and taking over the functions and tasks of the central university library, and changing its name to the City and University Library of Osijek.
Anohter photo of the couple
An is placed on the corner of the building, which is built in the styles of Eclectic and Art Nouveau. The oriel window is supported by four and covered by a majestic dome, which is adorned with and crowned with a . The piers around the dome are topped with a globe, and the dormers that can be seen around the same height, are surrounded by , , and . The protruded part underneath it is embellished with singular and pairs of . A pediment has been placed above the second floor windows, of which an motif is part. Above the first floor windows, you can see a decorative shell, while above the main entrance door, you can see a richly decorated . A balcony is placed above this entrance, which is secured with an alluring wrought iron railing and supported by six corbels, which are adorned with foliage.
The building is shown in an old postcard