e-infrastructure Roadmap for Open Science in Agriculture

The Kuffner family mausoleum in Sladkovicovo (1926) and the mausoleum in the village of Pomaz near Budapest (1912) are the only realized sepulchral structures from the exceptionally extensive work of M. M. Harminc. Despite their subtle character, they reflect the diversity of their creator's typological range and stylistic adaptability, in an interesting manner complementing his historicizing motifs which, joined with mondernist elements, lingered well into the 20th century. Present in the background of their creation were several interesting personages, attesting the architect's connection with prominent patrons, mainly successful businessmen; the cast of characters spans first period of Harminc's work the Budapest period, along with pro-Slovak oriented members of the intelligentsia and business circles, as well as patrons of Serbian origin. Information about the two mentioned typologically unique structures of Harminc's is currently sparse. The on-going research of Harminc's legacy in the Slovak National Gallery, however, has delivered interesting knowledge based on the yet-unpublished drawings pertaining to these structures. The family mauseoleum in Pomaz dates back to 1912. Chronologically, it can be categorized in the context of works from the Budapest period which falls between 1887 and 1916. The existing scholarly literature does not fully appreciate Harminc's Budapest period, yet a look into this period's work portfolio offers a typologically extensive collection of structures of high architectonic quality, especially rich in stylistic variations of historical architectural styles. Predominant are sacral structures, representative buildings of banks and financial institutions, residential architecture town palaces, villas, apartment buildings, as well as industrial complexes (tanneries), health facilities, museums, schools and sometimes also works of a sepulchral character, which are the current subject of interest. This period's key realizations in Slovakia include the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Prybilina (1901 - 1902), the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Cernova (1905 - 1907), the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Prietrz (1906 - 1907), the Stodola villa in Liptovsky Mikulas (1902 - 1903), two realizations in the town of Martin the first Slovak National Museum (1906 - 1908) and Tatra banka (1910 - 1911), and a series of realisations for banking institutions with exclusively Slovak capital the Slovenska banka (Slovak Bank) in Ruzomberok (1901 - 1902) and in Trstena (1903), the Ludova banka (People's Bank) in Nove Mesto nad Vahom (1904 - 1906) and in Vrbove (1906), and the Slovenska hospodarska banka (Slovak Agricultural Bank), in Trnava (1914). The mausoleum in Pomaz is situated on a mound at the edge of the village, not far from the capital of the Hungarian Empire. It was commissioned by local families, the Luppa or the Mandics family. These names can be found on the header joist of the main portal of the mausoleum in Harminc's designs, which preserved only partially in the collections of the Slovak National Gallery. Let's take a closer look at the family names linked with this structure. According to lexicons of the period, the Luppas were the wealthiest Serbian family in Pomaz. The second name in Harminc's designs, an embossed inscription above the entrance, is the name of the Mandics family, which too claimed Serbian descent. The mausoleum is a central structure with a hexagonal floor plan. The subtlety of the work with its simple and clean form along with its placement on a natural mound enhance its monumental appearance. After more than a decade, Harminc designed another sepulchre the neoclassical mausoleum of the Kuffner family in Sladkovicovo (Dioszegh, 1926) which is, considering the time of its creation, associated with the second work period and other significant works of this builder of European caliber designed in the style of monumental modernism. We should mention the Palace Sanatorium of Dr. Szontagh in Novy Smokovec (1917 - 1926) and three buildings in Bratislava Tatra banka (1923 - 1925), the Agricultural Museum (1925 - 1928) and the Carlton-Savoy Hotel (1927 - 1928). The Kuffner mausoleum is one of the most prominent of Harminc's subtly toned works. The creation of this structure, too, has a noteworthy background of important personages. The building of the tomb in Sladokvicovo, in the English garden surrounding the mansion, was commissioned by the descendents of Baron Karl Kuffner de Dioszegh (1847 - 1924) and his wife. The Kuffners - a family with Jewish roots - originally came from the Czech town of Breclav and ran a successful business in the Austro-Hungarian sugar industry. The person most responsible for its flourishing was Karl Kuffner, who arrived in Sladokvicovo in 1869 and lived there with his family until his death, emerging as one of the most prominent figures of the European, Hungarian, and later Czechoslovak sugar industry. Although at the time of Kuffner's death, burial in newly built family tombs on private property was no longer in fashion, doing so corresponded with the exceptional social status of the deceased. Unfortunately, archival documents lack information on how such a renowned and experienced architect as Harminc received the commission from the Kuffners. It is certain, however, that during his time spent working in Budapest he met landowners and industrial and financial magnates who later became his influential clients and patrons, which could well have been the case with the mausoleum in Sladkovicovo. Its insconpicuous design amidst the English garden is characterized by simplicity of form, abstraction and sensibly toned monumentalism. Like the design of the mausoleum in Pomaz, the architect created a central concept, this time on a square floor plan. Based on the unusually well-preserved project documentation, we can create a mental image of its layout and architectonic rendering. Harminc placed the two-storey mausoleum on a mound with access via a single flight of straight stairs. Expensive materials - rare grey and pink marble which he used for wall facing, epitaphs and the floor, enhance the imposing atmospehere of the tomb interior. The mausoleum stood in the centre of the garden on a fenced terrace, half-way between the family mansion and the grounds of the sugar refinery, to whose development the baron practically devoted his entire life. The architect designed reinforced floor panels in front of the entrance and around the tomb with smaller lawn-covered parts and rare woody plants. The grounds' fence ensured privacy for the family, thus achieving the highest degree of intimacy for this dignified place of remembrance. One more question deserves emphasis in connection with the architecture of the Kuffner mausoleum - Harminc's sense of contruction detail. Here again, he showed his structural craftsmanship. Together with the simple architectonic substance and the traditionalist form, the structure's sensible context and natural environment, and the adequacy of the proportions in connection with the person buried in this tomb, it emphasizes the appropriately monumental appearance of this subtle structure - a clear demonstration the author's inclination towards the modern way of design. Along with the mausoleum in Pomaz, the Kuffner mausoleum in Sladkovicovo completes, in a significant way, the wide typological and stylistic range of Harminc's structures of his first two work periods. And though the scholarly literature has thus far preferred the importance and quality of the second period which is associated with modernism, the mausoleum in Pomaz belongs among several interesting structures which prove the exceptionality of Harminc's so-called Budapest period - the period which, for the architect, presents a solid stepping stone towards modern, representative and monumetal forms.