07 TEXT No.23 — POD NEBOM VEDRE VJERE - Islam i Evropa u iskustvu Bosne ENG

Josip Pospišil is one of the Pleiad of architects who left an indelible trace both on architectural heritage and on the cultural history of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 20th century.

This Czech, who draws origin from Czech province of Moravia, was born in Nahošovnice in 1867. He was educated in Brno and Vienna, and worked in architectural offices in Vienna, Brno, Zurich, Budapest, Zagreb, Tuzla and, for a longer time, in Prague, where he was awarded prizes at prestigious architectural contests for planning the Bohemian capital. He came to Sarajevo in 1908, having married the daughter of a professor of classical philology in a high school in Sarajevo, and remained there until his death on 1918. However, before his critical encounter with Sarajevo and Bosnia, Josip Pospišil had already built an enviable career of architect, working in various centers across Europe. However, his creative climax is related to Sarajevo, where both his career and life ended, and where he left behind an enviable creative oeuvre.

Although he, in his architectural expression, was a representative of Secession, which was the prevailing style in Europe at the time, he expressed a strong interest in Bosnian architectural heritage in his first encounter with Bosnia already. Together with architect Josip Vancaš, he was one of the main advocates of the “Bosnian syllable (style)” who strove to find his contemporary architectural expression by searching for the indigenous and original solutions of the architectural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was in this style that his most significant architectural creations were made, such as Musafija Palace, Solomon Palace and the building of “Radnik” pharmacy and the recently renewed Music Pavilion in Sarajevo. Musafija Palace, which summarizes elements of Secession, Bosnian style and early Modernism, has been designated as a national monument of exceptional significance, both due to its architectural solution and to the ambiental value within the ambience unit of the main street of Sarajevo.

It is little known that it was Josip Pospišil who designed the facility of Sarajevo Sebilj, one of the most significant symbols of the city of Sarajevo.

Besides practical activity in architecture, primarily designing, Josip Pospišil was involved in theoretical work, mainly in crucial issues of architecture and urban planning in the early Modern Age. His contribution to the issues of evaluation and protection of architectural heritage is immeasurable. He supported the resolution of Josip Vancaš to Bosnian Parliament in 1911 and thus entered the history of the development of legal protection of cultural-historical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A particular significance in his entire oeuvre is attached to his artistic legacy consisting of several maps with drawings, mostly in pencil, made in his Sarajevo period. The drawings are stored in the archived of the Federal Institute for Protection of Monuments, thanks to his daughter, Mrs.Tilda Frid, who kindly gave them to the Institute. They were first presented to the public at large in te form of posters within the event “Days of European Heritage” in 2021, which is organized by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It is little known that, although he never graduated, architect Josip Pospišil studied at the Academy of Art in Vienna, which can clearly be seen in these extremely valuable drawings. The drawings were a result of his true interest in and romantic exhilaration of Secession architects, and particularly of his professor and role model Otto Wagner in search for the indigenous traditional architecture, and they are material of priceless value.

Although the drawings also depicted the cities of Jajce, Travnik, Visoko and Kiseljak, most of them pertained to Sarajevo, to which Josip Pospišil devoted most time and space. He studies features and the genesis of residential and sacral architecture of the capital with a particular interest and passion, which is very significant especially in the context of the program for developing the first modern urban development plan of Sarajevo, which he implemented as the manager of the Building Department of Provincial Government. His standing up for the preservation of character of the old Sarajevo Baščaršija is of invaluable significance.

These drawings, which are without any doubt artistically mature, have both the cultural-artistic and an extreme documentary value. It is therefore not accidental that this architect, who spent only about a dozen years in Sarajevo, is considered one of its most significant chroniclers, together with Mula Mustafa Bašeskija; unlike Bašeskija, he used drawings for the purpose.

“The drawing was realistically made, architecturally exhaustive and, for today’s circumstances, modern. It is characterized by simplicity in the transposition of architectural details, knowledge of perspective, choice of motifs and sensibility of line and therefore in this case we can speak of a quality drawing which, by its artistic expression, transcends the limit of a purely documentary character. The softness of line of this consummate draughtsman is particularly impressive…”, Mehmed Hrasnica, PhD, would say in his doctoral dissertation on the topic of life and work of Josip Pospišil.

These accurately signed and dated drawings, carefully systematized in folders, have a doubtless artistic value and are a valuable documentary material which may be used for research and protection of architectural heritage of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Finally, it is not pretentious to conclude that, by its immeasurable contribution and activity in our environment, Josip Pospišil has certainly deserved the attribute of “Bosnian architect”, since Bosnia has crucially defined his profession and life, same as his short and fruitful life marked the architecture of Bosnia in the early 20th century.