Villas by Antal Magyar along the Adriatic Sea

Text: András Hadik

Postcard, archive

Concerning the history of the Unger and Magyar families and its members who were excellent architects, the former Monarchy provides data about the educational history of the Nyolcak („Eights”) in the present-day Carpathian Basin. A descendant of this family, architect Antal Magyar bought a piece of land near Hercegnovi, on the outskirts of the village Sarović and in 1898 he built the first seaside villa, a surprisingly modern building with a flat roof and ribbon windows. A few years later, another villa was built on a nearby hillside. The result was a symmetrical building with a central tower flanked by two lateral ones, housing a restaurant in the middle overlooking the sea. After World War I the region was annexed to the Serbo-Croato-Slovene Kingdom. In 1948 the hotel was nationalised, and from 1960 on it was used as a children’s resort. During the civil war, up until 2005 the building was possessed by the admiralty. In 2007, Dr. Zoltán Magyar, the eldest grandson of Antal Magyar surveyed the building and made its extension designs. At the same time the family announced its claim for the building. The law court approved this claim twice, but Sarajevo appealed, and no final decision has been made since then.