bg Zrenjanin

Lazar Dunđerski Palace

- Žitni Trg 2 -
The residential building, which is part of the Lazar Dunđerski Brewery complex, was built in 1905 and was designed by the architects Mocsányi Károly and . On the corner, there was a cafe and a ballroom with a music podium. There was also a ceremonial hall, where citizens gathered for various celebrations, balls, and similar festivities. It was even used for renting purposes or holding exhibitions. The rooms on the second floor were used for rest and leisure. The building housed children's bedrooms and rooms for adults, rooms for servants, guest lounges, and dining rooms.
Part of the technical drawing of the building
The building was built for the landowner and industrialist Lazar Dunđerski, who was born in in 1833. He was the third, youngest son of the rich economist and landowner and Persida Dunđerski. He had two brothers, Aleksandar and Novak, and a sister Marija, married to priest who was married to a priest. Lazar finished the Serbian elementary school in his hometown, and then the first three grades of the gymnasium in . His studies were interrupted by the in 1848 and later continued in , and then higher classes in Požun, nowadays , where he graduated in 1853. After less than a year, he left his law studies in due to illness at the age of twenty and devoted himself to the economy.
Lazar Dunđerski
As a landowner, he owned large amounts of land where he kept pigs and sheep. He was the owner of two breweries, two spirits factories, two mills, and a large inn, and in 1902 he bought the carpet factory called the Serbian Carpet Factory. He owned a large number of commercial and industrial enterprises in limestone, leather, and wool. He is the founder and supporter of a large number of industrial and economic companies. The founding of several Serbian financial institutions is linked to his name, like the Central Credit Institution in , the Serbian Bank in , the Opšte Privredna Bank in , the First Sentomaška Savings Bank in Srbobran, and more. During the and the , he made a large contribution to the Serbian Red Cross Society in the Kingdom of Serbia. He was a large donor to several institutions and humanitarian work organizations.

Lazar Dunđerski was married to Sofija Đorđević in 1855, the daughter of a priest from Srbobran. Together they had eleven children, six of whom died young and the only five who lived to be older age were Olga, Emilija, , , and .
Lazar Dunđerski with his daughters Olga, Milka, and Lenka
On the northeastern corner of the Art Nouveau building, you can see a , which is crowned with a bell-shaped dome with a on top of it. The two supportive corbels underneath the turret give the turret a harmonious connection with the walls below them. The beautiful curved lines of the roof , the window frames, as well as the ornaments that can be seen around the entire building, are typical features of the Art Nouveau style. Many surfaces are treated with coarse stucco, which radiates nicely against the flat stucco.
An old postcard with the brewery in the foreground and the palace in the distance