The port warehouses no. 13 and 15

address: The port of Rijeka
Period: Neoclassicism
Kind: Immovable material heritage
Century: 19
Year: 1893
Purpose: warehouse

The incentive for the development of trade and navigation in the waters of the Gulf of Kvarner came from Charles VI in 1719, when he issued a decree that the city of Rijeka was to be considered a free port. In 1779, Rijeka was annexed by the Kingdom of Hungary. The construction of adequate roads started to connect the port to the hinterland. Those were the beginnings of the development of Rijeka’s harbour and the Monarchy’s investment of capital into the city upon its recognition of its major maritime and commercial potential.

From the 1870s until 1940, parallel to the life and development of the port of Rijeka, the construction of port warehouses took place. The size of the port is witnessed by the fact that, on the eve of World War I, it had 24 permanent storages, all of them with characteristic elements of Historicism and Art Nouveau.

At first glance the warehouses no. 12 and 13 built on Budapest dock appear to be a single building because they are interconnected. They were built between 1893 and 1898 in the spirit of Historicism. First the eastern warehouse no. 12 was built according to the project of Lajos Luigi Burgstaller. Monier’s reinforced concrete structure was used, with lots of columns and beams, enabling a load-bearing capacity of 1,200 kg/m2. The façade creates the impression of representativeness due to avant-corps and tall pilasters which extend up to the roof attic and have pyramidal endings. It appears that such decoration tried to emphasize the administrative functions of this part of the building, normally intended for offices. The western warehouse no. 13 was designed by Vjenceslav Celligoi and Istvan Bacsak and built in 1897. In his project Celligoi used the same warehouse structure system. The moulding and the decoration of the façade are adapted to the existing neighbouring warehouse no. 12.

Valorization:

Warehouses are used today for the Rijeka port, warehouse and office space and they are categorised as cultural heritage.