Structures of the Proto-industrial and Early Industrial Age in Rijeka, Croatia

ABSTRACT The proclamation of Rijeka as a free port in 1719, and the construction of the lazaretto (naval quarantine station) of St Charles Borromeo in 1725, initiated the economic and urban development of Rijeka, which grew from a small coastal town into a significant centre of manufacturing and industry. With the lazaretto and the largest factory, a sugar refinery built in 1750, the city’s first manufacturing zone was formed. In the second zone, along the Rječina River, in 1821 a paper mill was built, which in 1833 received the first steam engine, with which the industrialisation of the city began. This article describes the materials and structures of the industrial buildings that characterise this period. In proto-industrial and early industrial times, construction consisted mainly of massive stone and brick walls or masonry-vaulted structures. In the 19th century, buildings begin to adapt to the production processes, which influenced the development of a new architectural typology. The internal structures were made of wood, a readily available and inexpensive material, with which the builders already had extensive experience.