The Infantry Barracks from 1889 and the competition for a secondary city center at French Republic Square from 1977 - roles in the urban development of the western part of Zagreb

Abstract: Shortly after the Law on Military Housing came into force in 1879, the city designated locations for the construction of new barracks. The infantry barracks initially planned at the beginning of Savska Street were relocated due to plans to establish educational and cultural facilities in that area. The new location was confirmed in the Regulatory Plan of 1887 at the western edge of the Lower Town. The barracks were built in 1889 based on a design by Rupert Melkus, inspired by a project by Gruber & Völckner Office from 1881. After World War II, the barracks were abandoned. The 1865 Urban Development Program for the City of Zagreb and the 1971 General Urban Plan proposed the creation of a secondary city center on the site. In 1977 a competition was held, and the following year, most of the former barracks complex (eight out of 13 buildings) was demolished. The 1986 General Urban Plan proposed a park for the area. The park, inadequately designed and urbanistically unresolved for a central city location, still occupies the site today. Key words: the western part of Zagreb, Infantry Barracks, Prince Rudolph Barracks, competition for the secondary city center, French Republic Square, dr. Franjo Tuđman Square