Central European Horizons, Volume 1, Issue 3 (2020)
The city of Rijeka/Fiume underwent an array of transitions in the long twentieth century, from the port of Hungary in the Dual Monarchy to a free city, to D´Annunzio´s Italian Regency of Carnaro, annexation by Italy, incorporation into Yugoslavia, and eventually the independence of Croatia. The paper examines the processes of urban reconstruction and architectural reconfigurations in the city as “frontier urbanism”, building on Wendy Pullan’s (2011) discussion of how various actors employ architectural and place-making practices to secure the state in contested urban space. The article focuses on the period between 1945 and 1960. By analysing decisions to rebuild or not to rebuild a particular building damaged by war, as well as the demolition of the 1943-built votive temple in Mlaka, the paper inquires how reconstruction and urban planning became avenues to secure the state at its new frontiers. It examines the urban transformations of the city as the demographic landscape is reshaped after the departure of the local Italian-speaking majority and the arrival of workers from various parts of Yugoslavia, but also from Italy. The paper also explores the frictions that existed at the local level between such state concerns and the local place-making practice in such frontier cities.
Keywords: Austro-Hungarian Empire, Rijeka, memory, Márai, interetnic relations, city, identity