Josef Hlávka

15 February 1831, Přeštice – 11 March 1908, Prague

Josef Hlávka was born in Přeštice, western Bohemia, into a family of a court clerk and a not very successful local politician. After grammar school in Klatovy, he studied civil engineering at Prague Polytechnic and architecture at the academy in Vienna, where his teachers included August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll. At the same time, Hlávka earned for his tuition by working blue-collar jobs in the construction firm of the Czech entrepreneur Josef Šebek in Vienna. There he learnt the bricklaying trade and earned his craftsman’s diploma. Hlávka was an excellent student and the end of his studies was awarded the so-called Roman Prize, which allowed him to travel across Europe and study different architectural styles. After his return to Vienna, Šebek left him his construction company and building concession. Soon he became one of the most sought-after Viennese builders (he employed 19 architects in his office). In thirteen years (1860–1873), he built 150 important buildings in Vienna, the most famous of which include today’s Vienna State Opera, tenement and commercial houses in Ringstrasse and Mariahilferstrasse, two churches, aristocratic palaces, banks, the Arsenal, apartment buildings, etc. In Prague, he designed and built the Neo-Gothic building of the Land Maternity Hospital and the Neo-Renaissance foundation houses in Vodičkova Street. He was also commissioned to build the Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans of the Greek Catholic Church in Chernivtsi, Bukovina (now a part of Ukraine). Hlávka designed it in the spirit of Romantic Historicism and was awarded a silver medal at the Paris world exhibition in 1867. The complex now houses the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University.

In 1869, Hlávka fell seriously ill, withdrew and became a rich businessman. Ten years later, he recovered and became active in monument protection and conservation. For example, he repaired Charles Bridge damaged in the 1890 flood, financed the Czech and German edition of the monumental multi-volume Topography of Historical and Art Monuments in the Kingdom of Bohemia from its Beginnings to the Beginning of the 19^th Century (Topografie historických a uměleckých památek království českého od počátků do začátku 19. století), to which he also personally contributed. However, he primarily focused on patronage. He became one of the biggest Czech patron of sciences, education and art. He contributed to the foundation of the Emperor Franz Joseph Czech Academy for Sciences, Literature and Arts in Prague (he persuaded the Emperor to sign the foundation charter in Czech) and the Economics Institute. He built a dormitory in Prague for talented and poor students. He founded several foundations, the largest of which – the Foundation of Josef, Marie and Zdeňka Hlávka – has been actively and continuously supporting science and education to this day. He invited the elite of Czech art to his Lužany castle, e.g. Antonín Dvořák, Josef Suk, Oskar Nedbal, Jaroslav Vrchlický, Julius Zeyer, Julius Mařák, Josef Václav Myslbek, the entire Bohemian Quartet and a number of other artists, and financed their work. Many institutions and institutes, some of which still exist, could not have worked without Hlávka’s help. Without his generosity, many literary, musical and art works that are regarded as the treasure of Czech culture would not have been made. The largest debt, however, is held by very many Czech scientists, engineers, physicians, lawyers, teachers, merchants, industrialists and artists, for the financial support and scholarships that allowed them to study. Many of those “Hlávka’s knights” who lived in Hlávka’s dormitory are still alive. Hlávka also participated in public and political life – he was a member of the Bohemian Diet and the Imperial Council, and in 1891 he was appointed member of the House of Lords. Josef Hlávka died in Prague and after receiving a truly royal funeral he was buried in the family tomb, which he had built himself, in his hometown Přeštice.

In Vienna, Josef Hlávka is primarily recognised as architect of many important buildings, while in the Czech Republic he is remembered as a patron of Czech science, culture and education. In Ukraine, he is known as an eminent architect and artist. Hlávka is the only Czech architect whose work (the Chernivtsi complex) has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (2011). Hlávka’s close collaborator and successor in many functions Knight Antonín Randa spoke these words above his coffin: “What in other countries is dedicated to cultural goals by the state or land, and partly the higher social circles, for the Czech nation was given, as almost the only one, a people’s hero of spirit and work: Josef Hlávka! He worked for his nation until his last breath and his loyalty had no limits.”