65 years ago, the prominent Slovak architect Dušan Jurkovič passed away

Bratislava/Prague - He was a significant representative of Art Nouveau architecture. The Slovak architect Dušan Jurkovič created a distinctive style, significantly influenced by folk architecture. He also sought inspiration from the English Arts and Crafts movement. His unique ensembles of buildings adorn Luhačovice, Brno, and the Wallachian Radhošť. He died on December 21, 1947.
     The roots of Jurkovič's relationship with folk forms can be found in his family background (born on August 23, 1868), his father was a well-known Slovak patriot, and his mother was an expert in folk art. After studying at a lower gymnasium in Sopron, he moved to Vienna, where he studied at the State Industrial School from 1884 to 1889.
     During his internship in the studio of architect Bully in Martin, he became interested in the work of folk carpenters in wood. He worked for six years in the studio of architect Michal Urbánek in Vsetín, where he studied Wallachian folk architecture. Together they designed a Wallachian village and other folkloric buildings for an ethnographic exhibition in Prague.
     Later, he moved to Brno, where he quickly became involved in the cultural life of the city, establishing friendly relations with Jiří Mahen, the Mrštík brothers, and Josef Merhaut. He became a member of the Art Friends Club, with whose support he published a brochure on Pustevny on Radhošť (1900).
     Among his notable realizations in Brno is his own villa in Žabovřesky, which combines the principles of folk creation with current inspirations from Viennese Modernism and British models. In Luhačovice, between 1902 and 1914, Jurkovič significantly influenced the appearance of individual buildings and the entire urbanism of the local spa. During World War I, he also realized several military cemeteries in folk style in Polish Galicia.