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SCULPTURES AND MEMORIALS FROM HAULIK'S TIME

In the past Park Maksimir was adorned by sculptures of Reaper woman, Fisherman from Naples and a Group of children made from sandstone by sculptor Joseph Käschmann during 1846 and 1847, by the order of Haulik. Käschmann belonged to the last representatives of Viennese classicists aiming towards simplicity of composition. Haulik asked of Kässmann for the sculptures to be made in natural size. Haulik planed for the sculptures to be symbolic characters, and that is exactly how he presented his idea to Kässmann. With the sculpture of reaper woman he wanted to emphasize the impression that plantations, forest, meadows and fields should have on Park visitors. This idea was personified in the form of young woman, which was supposed to hold ears, flowers and some meadow tool in her hand. The sculpture a Group of children was envisaged as a group of children playing. At the beginning he wanted to place the sculpture in the Valley of dahlias, surrounded by flowers with the intention to increase the feeling of pleasure in visitors when visiting this valley. Finally he abandoned this idea. Haulik's suggestion for the sculpture Fisherman from Naples was initiated with the fact that a part of the Park is covered with lakes and streams. He thought that the most appropriate figure for this sculpture would be an older man with a net and a couple of fish. Kässmann came to Zagreb to get a complete sense, and to locate the positions of sculptures in the park, by which he had all the details necessary to start working on sculptures.

Haulik placed the Reaper woman near connecting point of Lower (first lake) and Upper (second lake), east of the bridge raised above Upper Lake 's waterfall. The sculpture of reaper woman with rake, sickle and a basket of flowers stood on two stone pedestals. Unfortunately, the Reaper woman disappeared during the I World War.

/ Sculpture Reaper woman from 1913, source: collection D. Kiš /

In Haulik villa's garden used to stand the sculpture Group of children, which represented three lovely boys playing with flowers, pigeons, silkworms, and weaved silk. One holds a piece of comb in his hand. In front is a beehive, and behind a pheasant, peacock and two ducks; industry and economy in the park were pointed out in this way. Central figure of a naked boy standing dominates this graceful group of boys. The Group of children symbolized the best the character of the Grange, because it showed in the best way industry and economy of the park. Sculpture was turned towards to the villa, surrounded with a flower bed. Today the sculpture Group of children is located in the depot of Museum of Zagreb City.

/ Sculpture Group of children /

Unfortunately from the three mentioned sculptures from Haulik's days only Fisherman from Naples still stands, far from sight, more as a mysterious surprise than as a part of spatial conception. Fisherman from Naples is shown as a young man looking in the water. In his right hand he holds a fishhook; he is wearing pants and a shirt, his body covered with cape with a hat on his head. At first the sculpture was placed on a small hill on the right-southeast side of Swan's island on the first Maksimir lake. Some time later the sculpture was moved to the south side of Swan's island. In 1995, Fisherman from Naples was transported to the Zagreb City Museum for safekeeping, and its replica made in white artificial stone was placed on the coast of the first Maksimir lake almost opposite of Swan's Island, where it still stands today.

/ Sculpture Fisherman from Naples, source: collection D. Kiš /

Next to the main entrance (portal) on Park Maksimir's alley used to be an equestrian sculpture of St. Jurij, work of sculptor Anton Dominik Fernkorn placed in 1867. It was a tin mould of a sculpture that Ferkorn made in 1853 as a decoration of a well in Montenuovo palace in Vienna. This mould was made in 1855 for a world exhibition in Paris, and Haulik's trustee Stjepan Pejaković purchased it in 1866. The pedestal was made of moslač granite by Viennese sculptor Robert Streschnack design, and his headman Fuchs placed it in Zagreb. He worked on the pedestal of Jelačić sculpture, as well. In 1884 the sculpture was moved to Academy square (Strossmayer square), and in 1908 it was moved to University square (Marshal Tito square), where it still stands today.

/ Equestrian sculpture of St. Jurij, source: photo I. Standl from 1867 /

Pyramidal shaped monument OBELISK, work of sculptor Josepha Käschmann, Archbishop Juraj Haulik placed in 1843 in the Valley of dahlias in the honor of the end of works in Park Maksimir. It was built in a way that a square pedestal was placed on the bottom steps, and on it a pyramidal shaped obelisk was placed. On the back, left and right side of square pedestal three bronze laurel corollas were embedded. On the pyramidal part of the monument, on each side embedded are another four smaller bronze laurel corollas. On the front side of the square part stands a metal panel with text written in Latin. In it Haulik stated his motive for designing Park Maksimir. A stone panel is placed below the metal panel and on it a translation of the Latin text by landscape architect Smiljan Klaić (1912 - 1989) is carved in, which says:

»AS A HELP FOR THE NEEDY, WHICH DID NOT GIVE WAY TO SLOTH, TO PEACEFUL CITIZENS AS ENCOURAGEMENT FOR MORE USEFUL AND PLEASANT FARMING, AS AN ADORNMENT OF METROPOLIS, AS WELL AS THE PRIDE OF HOMELAND AND SOLES TIRED OF PUBLIC WORKS AND LIFE'S REALITY, TO FRESHEN UP WITH INNOCENT DELIGHTS OF NATURE, THESE GROVES, WHOSE EMBELLISHMENT I WANTED FOR A LONG TIME, AND RECENTLY SOMEWHAT TRIED ALONG WITH SURROUNDING FIELDS AND ACCORDING TO CAPABILITY EMBELLISH, AND PLACED THIS AS A MODEST PROOF JURAJ HAULIK, ZAGREB'S BISHOP, KINGS DEPUTY OF BAN'S HONOR IN THE YEAR OF SALVATION 1843.«

/ Obelisk, source: archive PIM /