A journey through time and transformation
Disclaimer: Original text was published here.
Tuzla – a city thousands of years old, today the third largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tuzla – a city built and dismantled by its industry. And salt! Fatefully connected – salt and people: witnesses to times that have passed and times that are coming. For centuries – due to the uncontrolled exploitation of brine, which peaked in the 1970s, the city began to sink.
Since its inception, which according to historians dates back to the younger Stone Age, Tuzla has been known as a place where various cultures, customs, dialects, accents, as well as peoples and nationalities, coexisted harmoniously.
It is recorded that according to the census of 1910, among others, Germans, Czechs, Hungarians, Poles, Slovaks, Russians, Spaniards, Slovenes, Romanians, and Jews lived in Tuzla. Data indicate that the Tuzla settlement of Kreka, where over 20 nations lived, was often referred to as “Europe in miniature,” while walking through Tuzla at that time one could hear almost all the languages of the world”.
And today, in Tuzla especially during summer, you can hear various languages and dialects, mostly thanks to the numerous Tuzlans dispersed around the world and the Pannonian lakes, as well as the desire for this city to transform from its industrial past into a tourist future.
Cultural historical and architectural heritage in Tuzla
Since the Stone Age, through mud brick houses, wooden cities, medieval Bosnian fortresses, Ottoman mansions, Austro-Hungarian Baroque and Romanticism, to socialism – neoclassicism and realism, today’s transitional capitalism – every period, every style has changed the city’s appearance. Even today, Tuzla can boast that it hides cultural-historical monuments – objects of national importance, listed as monuments that should be protected by the state. However, a much larger number of them have permanently disappeared from Tuzla due to land subsidence caused by excessive salt extraction, but not from the memories of its people, not from stories passed down through generations, not from photographs. If they existed today, they would be, just as they are in documents, photographs, and archives – a valuable European heritage.
Architectural Symbols of Tuzla
Today, the representative architectural symbols of Tuzla can be divided into three categories: the first includes buildings that are in good condition and represent symbols of Tuzla’s cultural heritage. The second category consists of buildings that were demolished due to subsidence but have been restored due to their significant importance. The third group comprises buildings that were demolished and replaced with new structures or converted into green spaces.
Among the preserved buildings are: Hastahana, the Bridge with Statues, the Serbian Orthodox Church (Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin), and Turalibeg (Polish) Mosque. Among the demolished buildings, which were once symbols of Tuzla, are the Austrian Post/National Library, the Great Gymnasium, Hotel “Bristol” and Hotel “Grand”, the building of Behrambey’s Madrasa, the Municipality building…
Among the originally demolished and subsequently restored buildings, notable examples include the Čaršija (City) Fountain, the Baroque Building, and the Catholic Church. Let’s take the Baroque Building as an example – one of the reasons the original building was demolished was precisely the penetration of brine into its foundations and bricks, causing significant damage that necessitated its complete demolition.
Or “Hastahana” – the building of the first hospital in Tuzla still exists, is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it has been completely devastated. It’s a matter of time before it is irretrievably lost, like the Austrian Post or the Great Gymnasium.
Lost European Architectural Treasure
It would be wonderful if we could take a walk through Tuzla as it once was. Perhaps we can’t take actual steps, but we can imagine how Tuzla would look if the buildings that once existed were restored to their places. Let’s give it a try!
Great Gymnasium in Tuzla
Opened in 1899.
Due to the subsidence phenomenon in the urban area of Tuzla, the building was permanently damaged.
Completely demolished in 1966.
◾️ The video includes photographs provided by collector and researcher Zoran Tarade, and video footage from RTV Slon Tuzla archives.
The Great Gymnasium in Donja Tuzla (Tuzla) was opened on September 12, 1899, and classes began in the newly constructed building in 1905. The Gymnasium building was the first project designed (and built) in Tuzla by Cordignano and Candotti. In the first school year of 1899/1900, two classes of first grade were enrolled, and the school started operating at full capacity in September of the 1906/07 school year.
The two-story building consisted of the main gymnasium building and a gymnasium hall, surrounded by an ornamental iron fence with wide concrete pillars. In later years, probably after 1945, the fence was removed primarily to facilitate the construction of a road in front of the school leading to the Square.
Due to ground subsidence in the urban area of Tuzla, the Great Gymnasium building suffered permanent damage, and it was completely demolished in 1966. The gymnasium hall structure was retained until 2008, when it was demolished due to deterioration.
The building was constructed in 1901.
Alongside the “Baroque” building, according to experts, it was considered the most architecturally significant structure in Tuzla. The building was constructed in an area of intense ground subsidence, leading to significant damage.
After the library was relocated, reconstruction of the building began, but in 1992, reconstruction was halted due to the onset of wartime events in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the interruption of reconstruction, the building has been rapidly deteriorating, left completely abandoned and no longer serving any function.
In November 2015, the building was demolished.
◾️ The video includes photographs provided by collector and researcher Zoran Tarade, as well as video footage from RTV Slon Tuzla archives.
The District Post Office building was constructed in 1901 for military purposes, funded by the “Provincial Administration of Posts, Telephones, and Telegrams in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” The magnificent facade of the building, rich in architectural details typical of the 19th century, was designed by engineer Vilhelm Dvoržak and built by the construction company “ Cordignano and Candotti.” According to many architects, alongside the Baroque building, the original District Post Office in Tuzla is considered the most architecturally significant structure in the city from the Austro-Hungarian administration period.
The building is constructed of solid brick, with intermediate wooden floors reinforced with reinforced concrete beams. The roof is tiled with multiple water channels, and the facade is plastered. The interior staircases between floors consist of 145 concrete steps with terrazzo decoration and wrought iron railing. The facade is lavish and rich in architectural details characteristic of the Austro-Hungarian period.
The capitals of the columns were modeled after the Doric and Ionic styles, often accompanied by the use of pediments and arches, which were common on numerous buildings constructed from around 1880. The building retained its original purpose for 45 years until the post office relocated to a new building. From 1947 until the late 1980s, the original District Post Office building changed its purpose several times, with the National Library of Tuzla occupying it for the longest period.
Due to intense ground subsidence caused by salt deposits exploitation, the building suffered significant damage, leading to the relocation of the library to another location. After the library was relocated, reconstruction of the building began, but in 1992, reconstruction was halted due to the onset of wartime events in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the interruption of reconstruction, the building has been rapidly deteriorating, left completely abandoned and no longer serving any function. In November 2015, the building was demolished.
Hotel Bristol
The building was constructed in 1906.
It is considered to be by far the most beautiful and best-equipped hotel of that era.
The hotel was confiscated in 1941 and demolished in 1961.
◾️ The video includes photographs provided by collector and researcher Zoran Tarade, as well as video footage from the RTV Slon Tuzla archives.
The former hotel “Bristol” was built in 1906. Historians claim it was widely regarded as the most beautiful and best-equipped hotel in the Balkans at that time:
with a spacious tavern, cinema hall, billiard room, summer and winter – enclosed garden – café with a restaurant where artists, magicians, and similar artistic acts performed. The hotel garden was enclosed by a wooden fence and paved with red stone gravel. At that time, the hotel also had elevators, both personal and freight, as well as central heating. The hotel “Bristol” was later renamed Hotel “Beograd”. Confiscated in 1941, it was demolished in 1961. Later, a new Hotel Bristol was built in another part of the city, which was also demolished. Today, the tallest building in Tuzla, Hotel “Mellain”, stands in its place.
The building of the old municipality
The building was built in 1937 and has the status of a rare cultural monument of the “European Modern” artistic style.
The building was located in a subsidence area.
Although it was a rare cultural monument, it was never declared a national cultural monument because, as stated at the time, there was no possibility for restoration.
The building was completely demolished in September 2015.
◾️The video includes photographs provided by collector and researcher Zoran Tarade, as well as video footage from the RTV Slon Tuzla archives
The building known as “Stara općina” (Old Municipality), constructed in 1937, was a rare example in Tuzla that maintained its original appearance and dimensions until its demolition. With its unique architectural style falling under the category of “European Modernism,” it possessed the characteristics of a rare cultural monument. The “Old Municipality” structure represented a unique aesthetic phenomenon of modernist creation between the two World Wars, characterized by its symmetrical and voluminous design, which appeared monumental and superior. Its projecting gallery mansards silently echoed the history of Tuzla. The building’s particular appeal lay in its two-level entrance facade, which emerged prominently from the building’s wall mass. The central part, housing the portal segment, was enriched by a colonnaded portico, with columns of substantial dimensions emphasizing the importance of entry into this administrative building. At its top was a clock, and in the final years before its demolition, an air quality monitor screen was installed on the frontal part of the building. Besides municipal administration, the ground floor housed various other functions such as the Red Cross office, a hairdresser, and some municipal services. Despite its designation, the building retained its original purpose throughout its existence. However, due to its location in a subsidence zone, its functionality became increasingly limited by damages and deformities that were beyond repair. All services vacated the building completely by 2003, and it was demolished entirely in September 2015.. Despite being a rare cultural monument, ” Old Municipality ” was never declared a national cultural monument because, as stated at the time, there was no feasible way to restore it.
An appeal for the restoration and rehabilitation of buildings that have not yet collapsed.
Even for a moment, we strolled through the old streets of Tuzla, among buildings that have simply vanished, some collapsed, some merely sunk. Times that have passed cannot be returned, but the architecture we once had and which remains in our memories, along with what we have today, will forever represent a unique European heritage. The sinking of the city has been halted, yet due to industrial development, we bear scars on our cultural and historical heritage. The price seems too high. For future generations, let us strive to restore and preserve at least the buildings we still have, like the Hastahana or those in the narrow old core (built by Cordignano and Candotti in the early 1900s), which bear witness to styles of urban life. Let’s preserve them as important elements of our collective identity and European heritage in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
◾️ For the preparation of this text, data and photographs from various authors were used, either owned or published in different publications, as well as information from the Institute for the Protection and Use of Cultural-Historical and Natural Heritage of Tuzla Canton, the Tuzla Canton Archive, and the Facebook group “Tuzla – Back to the Past.” Testimonies from older residents of Tuzla also contributed. (The photographs were primarily collected, systematized, and processed by the collector and researcher Mr. Zoran Tarade, to whom we extend our sincere gratitude for his kind contribution.)
Author: Albina Vicković
