Vjekoslav Bastl

Vjekoslav Alojz Bastl really left his mark on Zagreb’s architecture during the Secession period. You can see his work all over the city, from the Trade and Crafts Chamber building on Marshal Tito Square to the Ethnographic Museum on Mažuranić Square. He also designed the Pečić Pharmacy on Ilica Street, the Rado house, commercial and residential building on Ban Jelačić Square, and the Feller building (also known as the Elsa-Fluid House) on Jurišićeva Street.

But if there’s one building that truly stands out, it’s the Kallina House. This unique and iconic Secession building sits on the southwest corner of Masaryk and Gundulić Streets.

While some of Bastl’s other projects in the Lower Town were seen as examples of rather traditional Central European historicism, he let his creativity flow when he was designing private homes and villas.

The Kallina House is now considered “the most consistent example of how Secession architecture sought to reshape city apartments and move away from conventional aesthetics.”

Born on August 13, 1872, in the Czech town of Přibram, Bastl studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. There, he was influenced by the renowned Austrian architect Otto Wagner, a pioneer of the Secession movement and one of the founders of the Vienna Secession.