Archivalia of the month - October 2026

Renovated building of Slava Raškaj in Ilica 83

SLAVA RAŠKAJ - history of the building

The building of the Slava Raškaj Center for Education in Ilica 83, whose premises have been used by the Academy of Fine Arts since the fall of 2026, was once one of the oldest public hospitals in the city of Zagreb, and its most significant phases of construction (1870 and 1888) are associated with the Sisters of Mercy Hospital and the First Zagreb Maternity Hospital and Midwifery College. This newly renovated building, with its volume and representative neoclassical façade, still represents a recognizable view of the Lower Town block bordered by Ilica, Kačićeva, Primorska and Prilaza streets.

With the arrival of the members of the Society of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Vincent de Paul in Croatia, the provision of institutional care to the sick and the needy began and the level of education of the primarily female population was raised. In 1870, the Sisters of Mercy bought a plot of land with the house of the Matošić Kotar family in Ilica 83 with three acres of land with money from the legacy of Bishop Haulik. After the extension of the southern wing, the General Provincial Hospital operated in the building, with courtyard areas of stables, hospital carpentry and mortuary, and a few years later the Royal Midwifery College was opened. The Midwifery College and the National Maternity Hospital began their work on November 1, 1877, and it was the 1st specialized institution for childbirth and midwifery education in Croatia.

The hospital got its present representative appearance in 1888 when the building was raised by 1 floor and the façade was extended to the west. The builder who gave the building its present recognizable appearance in 1888, in the second phase of construction, was Ivan Holz, a builder from Požega.

In 1894, thanks to Izidor Kršnjavi, the Institute for the Education of Deaf-Mute Children was moved to the building of the Sisters of Mercy Hospital in Ilica 83, where the practical, theoretical and scientific development of Croatian surdology began. Since 1895, the National Institute for the Education of Blind Children has been operating in the building. At the end of the 70s, 20.st. the Slava Raškaj Education Center began to operate in the building.

One of the most interesting parts of the building is the former hospital chapel, popularly called the "Blue Room" (due to the discovered blue vault with golden stars) located in the central part of the building on the first and second floors. Recent renovation has restored its true dimensions and appearance.

Although this building is not an individually protected cultural asset, its interesting history and purpose, as well as the high range of architecture of that time, make the building in Ilica 83 important in the history of the construction of Zagreb at the end of the 19th century. Therefore, this renovation was a fortunate circumstance that for the first time since its construction, the renovation of the original architecture with characteristic design features was carried out.