bg Karlovac

Hotel Central

- Ulica Samostanska 1 -
The three-story residential and commercial building was constructed in 1894 as a hotel with the name Hotel Central. It was built on the place where the then-famous inn stood with the name To The Eagle, which was bought by Ljudevit Schroiff, who also commissioned the construction of Hotel Central. The inn, which was the largest in the city, existed as early as 1779 and was visited by Emperor on May 3, 1783. The newly built hotel housed a beautiful dining hall and 40 hotel rooms on each floor. Ljudevit Schroiff was born in 1857, in , as Ludwig but adapted his name to the local language when he moved to Karlovac and changed it to Ljudevit. Ljudevit's father Mihally Schroiff and mother Theresia Füchstocker were prominent restaurateurs in Steinamanger, nowadays . According to family sources, Ljudevit acquired his first knowledge in 's top hotels. As a young man, he came to Karlovac and perfected his catering trade as a long-term tenant of the inn called Rieci Town.
Ljudevit Schroiff with his grandchildren Jerko Cerinić and Lucijana Smokvina
Ljudevit Schroiff was married to Otilia Zsidovitz, who was born in , as the daughter of engineer Michael Zsidovitz and Eugenia Schroiff, who originates from . The young married couple Ljudevit and Otilia Zsidovitz had three daughters, Otilia, Eugenia, and Terezia, of which the latter died young. Otilia died at the young age of 32 on February 17, 1889, and the grieving husband ordered extra marble from Sweden for her grave. In 1900, as a widower, at the age of 43, Ljudevit married the 43-year-old, also a widow, Elizabeta Troha from . After the death of Ljudevit Schroiff, his son-in-law Nikola Cerinić took over the main role for the functioning of the hotel. He was married to Otilia Schroiff, daughter of Ljudevit. Later, Nikola brought his brother Ivo Cerinić and sister Katarina to Karlovac from the island of Brač. Their mother Lukrecija, born in Karlovac, comes from a famous Karlovac family. Nikola was later joined in the business by his son Jerko Cerinić, who was born in 1908 in .
Otilia Schrioff and Nikola Cerinić
After the , on May 4, 1948, the City People's Committee of Karlovac issued a decision on the handover of the hotel. According to the decision on Nationalization, the family was deprived of Hotel Central with its entire inventory, and they had to move out of their own hotel. The family was given the right to live in a suitable apartment in the city, but they were soon evicted from that area. They got a small apartment elsewhere in the city, in which it was not feasible to place a wardrobe and a bed in the bedroom. Nikola Cerinić died in Karlovac in 1956, and his wife Otilia in 1964.
An old postcard that shows the building
On top of the Neo-Renaissance building, you can see several balustrades with incorporated , as well as a that's embellished with . The that stretch all the way up from the second until the third floor, are all crowned with a Corinthian . The window sills underneath the third floor windows are supported by two , which are adorned with foliage and . Above the second floor windows, you can see that are similar to the corbels, and pointed, segmental, and even a broken segmental . The pilasters and columns, which are supported by another corbel, that flank these windows are also crowned with a Corinthian capital. The imposing keystones placed on the first floor beautifully complete the arch consisting of stone blocks in the middle.
An old advertisement that shows part of the interior