The Works of Budapest Architects Lipót Baumhorn and Károly Kovács in Novi Sad at the Turn of the Century. New Findings on the Building History

• Main Author: Oszkó, Ágnes Ivett
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: International Association of Research Institutes in the History of Art (RIHA) 2017-11-01
• Series: RIHA Journal
• Subjects: Lipót Baumhorn (1860–1932); Novi Sad; Károly Kovács; urban context
• Online Access: https://www.riha-journal.org/articles/2017/0181-oszko

Designer of the new synagogue building complex in Novi Sad at the beginning of the 20th century, Lipót Baumhorn (1860–1932) exercised a significant influence on the architecture of the city (then part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and today second largest city of Serbia). Apart from the synagogue, the Budapest-based architect created five more buildings in Novi Sad: the bank building in the main square, the highly representative palaces of a local furniture maker and a wine trader, and a small two-storey town house. In addition, the research I conducted in the local archives has revealed the address and fundamental details of one more Baumhorn building, considered up to now to have been demolished; this archival information was inaccessible to local researchers for language reasons. The purpose of this study is to provide a short introduction to the works of Baumhorn – known for his synagogues only – as well as of a direct colleague of his, Károly Kovács, foreman of the new synagogue complex. I find it crucial to recognize these buildings less for their stylistic features – characterizing the turn of the century – than for the role they play in the urban context, both from a typological and a social perspective.