Banski dvori

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Banski dvori

Banski dvori (pronounced [bâːnskiː dvɔ̌ːri], Ban's Court) is the name of the historical building on the west side of St. Mark's Square in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the historical official residence of the Croatian Bans (viceroys). Currently, this building is occupied by the Government of Croatia.

[edit] History

The Banski dvori is a long, two-story baroque building that was built by ban Ignaz Gyulai in first half of 19th century.

The building was the residence of Croatian bans from 1809 until 1918, hence the name banski dvori which means "palace of the ban".

In time of World War II in Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945) it served as office of Poglavnik Ante Pavelić and it was called Poglavnikovi dvori (Poglavnik's Residence).

During SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1991) it was the official residence of the Presidency of Socialist Republic of Croatia.

In May 1990 it became the official residence of Croatian government.

On October 7, 1991 Banski dvori were damaged in a large explosion. It was later attributed to the Yugoslav People's Army which shot rockets at the building, trying to hit Franjo Tuđman, the newly elected president of Croatia, Stipe Mesić, the president of Presidency of Yugoslavia, and Ante Marković, the Yugoslav prime-minister, yet all of them were lucky to survive. The day after that, the Parliament of Croatia declared independence, and this date is currently commemorated as a public holiday in Croatia.

In 1992, the President of Croatia moved its residence to the Presidential Palace, Zagreb (at Pantovčak).