Construction of the Seminary in Đakovo: Historical Background

Biskupsko sjemenište u Đakovu više je od jednoga stoljeća bilo smješteno u baroknoj zgradi negdašnjega franjevačkoga samostana. Godine 1908. arhitekt Josip Vancaš (Sopron, Mađarska, 1859. – Zagreb, 1932.) izradio je projekt opsežne adaptacije Sjemeništa, no 1911. odlučeno je izgraditi novu zgradu. Projekt novogradnje izradio je zagrebački arhitekt Dionis Sunko (Sisak, 1879. – Zagreb, 1935.). Sunko uspijeva funkcionalno povezati različite sadržaje života u Sjemeništu. U pojedinim prostornim rješenjima, ali primarno u oblikovanju pročelja i uređenju unutrašnjosti sjemeništa, arhitekt pokazuje izniman senzibilitet prema kontekstu. On uvažava lokalnu folklornu tradiciju, a – prema vlastitim riječima – susjedstvo biskupskoga dvora potaknulo ga je da u projektu koristi i elemente baroknoga oblikovnoga govora. U opremi enterijera i u detaljima na fasadi naći će se i secesijski i motivi bliski art décoovskom ekspresivnom stilskom izričaju. Takvo smjelo kombiniranje različitih stilskih elemenata jedinstveno je u hrvatskoj arhitekturi prvih desetljeća 20. stoljeća.The Diocesan Seminary in Đakovo was situated in the Baroque building of the former Franciscan monastery for more than a century. In 1908 the architect Josip Vancaš (born in Sopron, Hungary, in 1859; died in Zagreb in 1932) made the project of the full adaptation of the Seminary. However, in 1911 a decision was made to build a completely new building. The project was developed by Dionis Sunko, architect from Zagreb (Sisak, 1879 – Zagreb 1935). Sunko managed to functionally include different aspects of the seminary life. Certain spatial solutions, primarily the one made for the façade and the interior, showed the architect’s exquisite sensibility for the context. He respected the local folklore tradition and, according to his own words, the vicinity of the Bishop’s Palace had inspired him to use the elements of Baroque formative style. In the interior design and the details on the façade we can find certain Secession motifs as well as those close to Art Deco suggestive style expression. This audacious combination of the elements of various styles is unique in the Croatian architecture of the first decades of the 20th century