bg Pakrac

Josip Svoboda Pharmacy

- Ulica Gojka Šuška 7 -
The one-story commercial building, which housed the pharmacy of the well-known pharmacist and long-time president of the Psunj Mountaineering Society, Josip Svoboda, was built somewhere at the end of the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th century. Josip Svoboda lived in Pakrac for a long time as an extremely respectable and socially active citizen. After a sudden tragedy in his life and the loss of his wife in 1935, he was left alone with his two children, Blanka and Zlatko. In 1937, Josip had the first mountain lodge on Velika Poljana built, which bore his name because he donated most of the money for its construction. During the , more precisely in 1942, the mountain lodge on Velika Poljana was set on fire. After the entry of the into Pakrac in 1944, his pharmacy was given a management commissioner and he was tried and sentenced to fifteen years of hard physical labor and was taken to the camp in Zvečevo.
Josip Svoboda
He left the camp in 1945 in a severe physical condition, after which he went to with his children. Not long after that, he was arrested, just like Blanka, who spent 20 days in prison in inhumane conditions. In the meantime, Zlatko and the housekeeper who looked after them were kicked out of the apartment, and for the next few years, they lived with their aunt in Zagreb. They received another message from their father from prison on July 4, 1945, after which all trace of him was lost. It is assumed that he was killed, but it is not known where or in what way. All property of the Svoboda family in Pakrac was confiscated in 1946. Blanka and Zlatko went through their ordeal for years, Blanka managed to get an education and finish her studies in pharmacy, thus continuing her father's path and dedicating her working life to the profession. Zlatko couldn't stand the various bullying and moved to Canada in 1969 and continued his life there.
Josip Svoboda standing on the left
In the yard of the pharmacy, there was a private garden, which was a large green area with a vegetable garden and a large number of fruit trees, but also beautifully landscaped grass and flower areas. Josip Svoboda loved nature and flowers very much, so he enthusiastically accepted and planted everything that his good friend, the famous gardener Franjo Kostlivy, often brought him. In the yard, there were many outbuildings, a large separately built basement where large oleanders and citrus fruits from the garden were kept in the winter, and a winter garden that was turned into a summer dining room by removing the windows during the summer.

The facade of the former pharmacy of Josip Svoboda was significantly changed in the mid-seventies of the 20th century. All decorations and moldings from the facade have been removed.
An old postcard from 1905 that shows the building on the right
The main facade of the Eclectic building was topped with a protruded part that featured several and decorative vases. The frieze contained various air vents decorated with a , as well as an . Above the windows, you could admire either a segmental, a straight, or a pointed , which were all supported by two or more , and of which the straight ones were embellished with a lovely ornament. The central part featured several and columns, which were all crowned with a Corinthian .
The building is visible on the right side of an old postcard