Zgodbe o mestu in ljudeh ter nekem drugem času.
(Slovenian above | English below)
Vile, ki s svojo lepoto in karizmo nosijo ne samo vpogled v neki drugi čas, so zame tudi arhitekturni biser. Ko sem jih občudovala, sem se spraševala, le kakšno zgodbo nosijo. In tako se je začelo raziskovanje ne samo hiš in zgodb ljudi iz drugega časa, ampak predvsem spoznavanje mesta.
Prvo kar je prišlo na plano, je ponavljanje iste zgodbe o razdeljenem mestu, v čigar prostoru je močno prisotna zgodba o konfliktih, kjer je vedno nekdo proti nekomu, kar je še posebej izraženo v obdobju velikih sprememb. Potujoč sto let nazaj v čas, ko se je iz razpada ene države rodila druga in iz te tretja, je ta obmejni prostor zaznamovan veliko bolj intenzivneje kot sem sprva domnevala, zato sem se osredotočila na obdobje od približno 1900 pa do 1945.
Čas velikih sprememb in hkrati obdobje, ki je zame eno izmed najbolj estetskih obdobij, od koder me fascinira ne samo moda in način obnašanja, ampak predvsem arhitektura, za katero menim, da je ogrodje mesta, skozi katerega se pretaka energija prostora. In če je arhitektura danes predvsem pod vplivom trendov, so takratne gradnje pričale o velikem znanju. Energetske linije in točke, na katerih so te vile zgrajene, so le delček, kako so takrat mojstri arhitekture usklajevali prostor in usklajevali celotno mesto kot en organizem, ki dihal je s človekom.
Nekatere vile nosijo izjemno zgodbo, druge le omembo v listinah, pa vendar je vsaka na svoj način zanimiva in posebna. Celoten projekt je podan na spletni strani: VILE V MARIBORU.
Prva v tej seriji zgodb je Vila Langer.
V I L A L A N G E R
Ko je Joseph Langer v oporoki leta 1851 izrazil željo, da bi bil park v Mariboru dostopen vsem meščanom za oddih in razvedrilo, verjetno ni imel v mislih zaraščene in propadajoče vile, obkrožene s športnimi poslopji, ki delujejo, kakor da hočejo vilo iztisniti iz prostora. In to je zgodba ne samo izjemne vile, ampak tudi prvega mariborskega parka, ki narejen je po vzoru angleškega parka, obdanega z velikim številom eksotičnih dreves in nasadov, kakor je bil takrat.
Joseph Langer je bil lastnik glažute pri Jospidolu, ki ga je smrt edinega sina, ki se je ponesrečil pri padcu s konja, močno prizadela. Prodal je posest in glažuto ter se preseli v Maribor, kjer je zgradil vilo Langer in posest oblikoval v prvi mariborski park. Ime posesti je nadomestilo ime Volks-Garten, kjer so potekale tudi različne prireditve. Kar kmalu so teren ob vili zasedli privrženci nogometa na eni strani in ljubitelji tenisa na drugi. Leta 1919 je tukaj ustanovljen prvi slovenski športni klub in takrat se Volks-Garten preimenuje v Ljudski vrt.
Vilo je v letu 1843 ustvaril neznani arhitekt, tekom let pa so jo po svoje oblikovali in dograjevali arhitekti, Anton Černe, Maks Czeike, Milan Černigoj. Vila je bila preurejena v restavracijo in rastlinjak, po vojni pa je Anton Černe preuredil stavbo, ki je tako postala dnevno zavetišče za otroke. V letih 1928- 31 je v vili nastal Mladinski dom, ki ga je oblikoval arhitekt Maks Czeike ter je vili dodal prvo nadstropje in prizidek. Po drugi svetovni vojni je leta 1951 stavbo dobilo v upravljanje športno društvo Branik, ki je leta 1958 po načrtih arhitekta Milana Černigoja pritličje stavbe bilo preurejeno v šolo za gostinstvo, ki se je po štirih letih izselila, na njihovo mesto pa se je odprla restavracija, ki je Mariborčanom ostala v spominu, kot kvalitetna restavracija, kamor so hodili tudi na ples.
Na ples pa so hodili tudi prvi privrženci elektronske glasbe, saj je v 90-tih ta prostor dobil ime mariborski Manhattan in tako je po tej izjemni in graciozni stavbi odmeval zvok v ritmu pesmi »No no there’s no limit.« Danes je vila Langer v zanemarjenem stanju, duha o izjemnem parku je ostalo bore malo, prav tako kot spomin na nekdaj številna domača in eksotična drevesa, pa vendar kljub vsemu, odseva lepoto, ki prebuja spomin na dobo uglajenosti in estetike nekega drugega časa.
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(English)
With beauty and charisma, Villa is to me not only insight from another time but also an architectural pearl. I admired them and so often wondered what kind of story it will reveal. So I began to research not only the story of houses and people who lived there but also the place where I was born.
The first thing that came to the surface was the repeated story of a divided city that still today have the same battles ”us against them”, and that conflict was especially evident in the period of time known as the great change.
So I went hundred years back in time, when one country collapse and give birth to the second and that to the third. This border area is marked much more intensively than I first assumed, so I focused on the period from around 1900 until 1945, a time of big changes for such a small place named Maribor. That period of time fascinated me with graceful behavior, fashion, and especially architecture. To me, architecture is the skeleton of the city through which flows the energy and creates space. And if architecture is now under the influence of trends, in that time was visible possession of big knowledge, not only about how to build it, but where to build it. Energy lines and points on which villas were built reveal just a fraction that masters of architecture had when creating space in coordination and harmonization with the entire city as a single organism, that breads in and out with a person.
Some villas bear a remarkable story, others are only mentioned in documents, yet each one is interesting and special. The first in this series Villas in Maribor tells the story of Villa Langer.
When Joseph Langer in 1851 in his will expressed the wish that the park was in Maribor available to all residents for rest and entertainment, he probably didn’t have in mind an overgrown and decaying villa, surrounded by sports buildings that want to squeeze her out from her place. This is not only the story of an exceptional villa but also the story of how the first park in Maribor was found. It was designed as an English type of park and was surrounded by a large number of exotic trees.
Joseph Langer was the owner of the glassworks in Jospidolu and the death of his only son (he felled down the horse) was devastated to him, so he moved to Maribor, where he built a villa and his estate designed as the first park. Name from German language Volks-Garten was soon replaced in Slovenian language Ljuski vrt (in translation Peoples garden) and it was the place for a variety of events. The place was occupied by football supporters on one side of the estate and tennis fans on the other side. In 1919 the firs Slovenian sports club was established and in that time name changing occurred.
The villa was created in 1843 by an unknown architect and was over the years changed and upgraded by different architects as Anton Černe, Max Czeike, Milan Černigoj. The villa was converted into a restaurant and a greenhouse after the war, at that time Anton Černe remodeled the building that has become a daily refuge for children. In the years 1928- 31, it was formed as Youth Hostel, designed by architect Max Czeike and he added the first floor and extension. After the Second World War, in 1951, the management of sports club Branik become the manager of this place and in the 1958 architect, Milana Černigoj converted part of the villa into a catering school. After four years of school moved out and a restaurant was open that is still today known for its quality and ballroom dancing. And through dance, I remember this place. In the 90s there was a club named Manhattan that was placed in this beautiful villa where the sound of electronic music fulfilled this place.
Today, the villa Langer is in a neglected state and almost nothing was preserved from the extraordinary park with exotic trees, and yet building reflects the beauty that awakens the memory of sophistication and aesthetics from another time.
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Almira Ćatović 