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Vila Rafut, Nova Gorica, Slovenija, zgrajena 1912–1914, obnovljena 1928–1929

Rafut Villa, Nova Gorica, Slovenia, built 1912–1914, rebuilt 1928–1929

Rafut Villa – a Decaying Beauty

Vila Rafut – propadajoča lepotica

Vila Rafut predstavlja neprecenljivo vrtno arhitekturno dediščino, a žal niti država niti lokalna skupnost ne zmoreta v njej prepoznati vsaj tolikšne vrednosti, da bi jo zaščitili pred nezadržnim propadanjem.The Rafut Villa represents an invaluable garden and architectural heritage. Regrettably, however, neither the state nor the local community acknowledge its value, at least to the extent of working to prevent its inevitable decay. 24

Anton Laščak

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Podobno kot je arhitekt Anton Laščak v svojih mladih letih rad zahajal na Kapelo – danes Kostanjevico, od ko-der se odpira lep pogled na Gorico, se tudi sam odpravim iz Gorice mi-mo Kostanjevice do Vile Rafut peš. Sprehod začnem izpred arhitektove

rojstne hiše, na vogalu, ob cerkvi sv. Roka v goriški četrti Podturn, ki je bila v času Laščakovega rojstva v multietnični Gorici izrazito furlanska. Kasneje se je njegova družina preselila nekaj sto metrov niž-je, kjer so mu ob prenovi hiše postavili tudi kamnito

ploščo z napisom. Na trgu poleg cerkve sv. Roka sto-ji tudi monumentalni kamniti vodnjak, zaključen z egipčanskim obeliskom, ki je bil predviden v rdečem oziroma rumenem egipčanskem granitu. Svojemu rodnemu kraju naj bi ga arhitekt podaril, a do tega iz neznanih razlogov ni prišlo. Arhitekt je tako doniral zgolj načrt zanj. Namesto vode so danes v koritih žal rože, vodnjak pa je obdan z avtomobili.

Pot nadaljujem čez Antonov trg na goriški grad in pod grajskim obzidjem iščem sledi dveh vil, za kateri je Laščak pripravil načrta prenove. V prvo, ki je bila hiša ženinih staršev, se je preselil takoj po

Anton Laščak � 19

poroki. Vili sta stali na priviligirani poziciji, na juž-nem pobočju griča – gorice – po katerem je mesto dobilo tudi ime, in sicer v izteku ozke srednjeveške uličice. Fabianijev urbanistični poseg je žal enega najstarejših predelov mesta porušil, da bi omogočil boljšo povezavo s predelom grajskega griča.

Z gradu se mi odprejo krasni pogledi na gozd Panovec, ki se na robu razcepi na grič Rafut nad Rožno dolino in na greben Kostanjevice, na katere-ga prisojnem pobočju si je Laščak postavil svojo vi-lo. Območje je bilo zaradi izredne lokacije, zaščitene pred burjo in s sončno lego, že v preteklosti izredno cenjeno. Med vinogradi, vrtovi in oljčniki so še da-nes posejane številne vile, ki so bile v preteklosti sta-len motiv na goriških »kartolinah«. Da bi bolje razu-mel lokacijo, kjer vila stoji, se povzpnem po Poti na Kapelo na Kostanjevico, kjer se je dobrega pol stoletja za Laščakom v iskanju samote in miru rad sprehajal tudi Zoran Mušič (Goriške skice). Pot, ki je tlakova-na z mačjimi glavami, je bila včasih edina povezava Gorice s Kapelo. Po njej so se dvakrat na leto v proce-siji zgrinjali številni Goričani. Zaradi postavitve me-je po drugi svetovni vojni je bila tudi romarska pot prekinjena. Na slovenski strani meje se tako pot žal spremeni le v ozko blatno stezo, ob kateri nekaj osa-mljenih primerkov spominja na nekoč številna ko-stanjeva drevesa, ki so griču dala tudi ime.

Grajski grič s srednjeveškim gradom in Kostanjevica s Kapelo in samostanom tvorita prepo-znavno entiteto osrednjega goriškega prostora. To je tudi prostorski miljé, v katerem si je v začetku 20. stoletja Anton Laščak, predvsem v Egiptu že uve-ljavljeni in premožni arhitekt, zgradil svojo goriško rezidenco.

Pravljično podobo nenavadnega objekta, ki pri-tegne pozornost z osemindvajset metrov visokim vo-galnim stolpom v obliki minareta, zmoti le stihijska pozidava Pristave ob vznožju. Izredni primerki red-kih eksotičnih dreves izrisujejo obrise celotnega, več kot 3 hektarje velikega kompleksa, katerega trije gra-dniki: vila, park in vratarnica so povezani v izjemno celoto, ki je v našem prostoru dragocena redkost. S približevanjem mogočnemu vhodu – vratarnici, v katero je Laščak nastanil tudi skrbnika, da bi lažje nadzoroval gradnjo, se to, kar je bilo od daleč videti skrivnostno, pravljično in navdihujoče, počasi spre-minja v bledo senco nekdanjega sijaja. Vratarnica, ki

je nekakšen vstopni paviljon na posest in napovedu-je nekaj posebnega, izjemnega, pomembnega, je na-mreč v zelo slabem stanju.

Razočaranje je ob vstopu v zasebni park še toliko večje, saj me že takoj na začetku zmotijo številne ko-munalne naprave. Skoraj zabrisana je sled dveh dre-voredov, ki sta potekala ob makadamski parkovni po-ti. Tudi obojestranski muldi iz mačjih glav sta zasuti in zapleveljeni. Dovozna parkovna pot kmalu prečka potoček, ki izvira na posesti in ga je Laščak kanalizi-ral ter razširil z manjšim zajetjem.

Avtomobilom namenjena cesta, ki je da-nes popolnoma razrita, se proti vili nadaljuje v

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serpentinastih zavojih. Peš pot, ki se od ceste odce-pi na prvem zavoju, pa je načrtovana položno, da je hoja po njej prijetna. Obdelana je z betonskimi rob-niki in tlakovana z manjšimi prodniki. Ob njej se vr-stijo različni prostori, ki še stopnjujejo radovednost. Približno na sredini poti stoji pergola, ki jo je glicini-ja močno prerasla, pod njo sta nameščeni dve beton-ski klopi, kjer si obiskovalec lahko v senci odpočije. Zanimivo počivališče na poti predstavlja tudi beton-ski kalup, ki je služil za odlitek kupole stolpiča. Na obeh straneh je razširjen z dvema klopema in z zele-nim ozadjem spominja na grotto.

Krajinska arhitektka Katarina Iskra v svoji di-plomski nalogi poudarja, da park kljub številnim uj-mam in sramotno slabemu vzdrževanju še vedno ohranja prepričljivo podobo in doživljajsko zmo-žnost. Vsaka krajinska ureditev namreč potrebuje tudi čas, da se pokaže v svoji zreli podobi. Izjemni habitusi drevnine, ki so zaradi ugodne mikroklime celo prerasli predvidene dimenzije, dajejo parku po-seben čar. Zasnova Rafutskega parka sicer oblikovno ni zahtevna, vendar je park doživljajsko in zaznavno izjemen. K temu pripomore tudi umeščenost v vzpe-njajoč se teren, ki obiskovalcu ne dovoljuje istoča-snega dojemanja celotne parkovne ureditve. Zanimiv pa je tudi zaradi eksotičnih vrst dreves in zapore-dij doživljanja različnih ambientov, ki se razvijajo v »prostorsko-časovnem sosledju. Različni prostori oziroma vzdušja so tisto, kar v obiskovalcu spodbuja občutek zanimanja za nadaljnje odkrivanje. Kontrast med temnimi in povsem osončenimi deli, usmer-janje pogledov, spreminjanje smeri, odprti in zaprti

prostori, poti, ki se izgubljajo za gmotami vegetaci-je … Vse to so uporabljena oblikovalska načela, ki po-nujajo obiskovalcem zanimivo in privlačno krajino«.1 Skratka, Laščak je z Rafutskim kompleksom pokazal na visoko možno mero smiselne izrabe reliefnih da-nosti lokacije, saj je povezanost vile z vrtom v pro-storskem in oblikovnem smislu dovršena.

Navdušenje obiskovalca doseže vrhunec, ko pot preide izpod bolj pokritega dela parka na odprto in se pred obiskovalcem prikaže vila v vsej svoji veliko-sti in mogočnosti. Skoraj osemsto kvadratnih metrov velik gosposki objekt, ki ga je arhitekt Laščak zgra-dil zase in za svojo družino, je bil poškodovan med I. in ponovno tudi med II. svetovno vojno. Njegova današnja zunanja podoba je tako le odsev prve re-konstrukcije. Obnova, za katero v Pokrajinskem ar-hivu Nova Gorica ne hranijo nobenega dokumenta, se namreč ni opirala na prvotni Laščakov načrt. Pri adaptaciji sta bili zazidani terasi s kovinsko ograjo in masivnim kotnim stebrom v prvem in drugem nad-stropju. Izginile so tudi bifore s podkvastim lokom ter številni dekorativni elementi.

V vilo se je leta 1951 vselil Higienski zavod Gorica, ker je bila po presoji Centralnega higienske-ga zavoda SRS najprimernejša stavba daleč naokrog, ki je ni bilo treba posebej adaptirati. Dokončati je bi-lo treba le v vojni porušene dele in jo opremiti s po-trebno vodovodno in električno napeljavo. Pozneje so v neposredni bližini stavbe sezidali še garažo in drvarnico. Ta zaradi sorodnih materialov, kot so jih 1 Katarina Iskra, Obnova Rafutskega parka pri Novi Gorici. Diplomsko delo, Ljubljana, 2012, str. 60.


uporabili za gradnjo vile, spominja na Laščakovo av-torsko delo, čeprav to ni.

Sredstva za obnovo vile je prispeval Centralni higienski zavod, ki je notranjo stavbno površino po-večal in povsem prilagodil svojim potrebam. Vsi po-segi so bili izvedeni izredno slabo in do objekta, ki je bil zgrajen v visokem standardu gradnje, zelo grobi. Zidan je namreč iz vidnih opečnatih zidakov nor-malnega formata s klasično zidarsko zvezo, le vhodni portal je zgrajen iz betonskih zidakov. Prefabricirani elementi iz umetnega kamna, ki so bili večinoma narejeni v Egiptu in pripeljani na gradbišče, so zelo kvalitetni obrtniški izdelki. Isto velja za napušče, ki so leseni in izrezljani. Fasade vile, ki je posebna tudi zaradi izrazitih tehnoloških novosti, tedaj izjemno redkih na slovenskih tleh (armiranobetonske stropne plošče, sovprežnega stropa, sestavljenega iz betonske plošče in valjanih jeklenih nosilcev), so bile na števil-nih mestih poškodovane.

Podobno žalostno usodo je doživela tudi notra-njost vile. Originalni tlaki so večinoma predelani, sa-mo ponekod je še viden izvirni teraco v opečnatem odtenku in keramični tlak iz šesterokotnih ploščic, ki sestavljajo barvni vzorec v obliki satovja. Avtorsko oblikovani keramični tlak v satovju je tudi v predd-verju, kuhinji oziroma kabinetu in v sanitarijah. Tla v drugih prostorih so bila obložena s parketom, naj-večkrat v rastru ribje kosti. Tudi stene in stropovi so bili večkrat prebarvani, saj je originalna poslikava

prostorov vidna le na posameznih delih. Vse origi-nalno notranje stavbno pohištvo je kasetirano in v beli barvi. Steklena in polna kasetirana vrata so bila prvotno opremljena z avtentičnimi kljukami in ščiti, ki pa jih več ni. Na srečo hrani nekaj vzorcev Zavod za varovanje kulturne dediščine.

Zavod za zdravstveno varstvo Nova Gorica je domoval v vili do leta 2003, saj so postali njeni pro-stori pretesni in neprimerni za opravljanje labora-torijske dejavnosti. Po izselitvi zavoda je bila vila prepuščena sama sebi. Leta 2007 je bil pripravljen konzervatorski program za vilo in vratarnico, leto kasneje pa še konzervatorski program za park, saj se je pojavila realna možnost prenove. Upanje, da bo spomenik oživel, je vlila nekdanja visokošolska ministrica Mojca Kucler Dolinar, ki je leta 2008 že odkrila marmorno ploščo na fasadi kot neke vrste temeljni kamen za izvedbo prenove, s katero naj bi v vili dobile prostore tri ustanove: Center za evro-mediteranske študije Emuni, podiplomska fakulteta Univerze v Novi Gorici in znanstveno-raziskovalna postaja SAZU Nova Gorica. Vendar je projekt kmalu padel v vodo in vila je bila spet prepuščena nemi-losti časa.

Leta 2015 je Ministrstvo za izobraževanje, zna-nost in šport poskusilo z javnim pozivom poiskati zasebnika, ki bi Laščakovo vilo obnovil in jo z ustre-znimi vsebinami oživil. Pri iskanju zasebnih vla-gateljev je sodelovala tudi občina, ki je lastnica več


kot polovice parka. Z obnovo so želeli »prispevati k trajnostnemu ohranjanju slovenske kulturne in na-ravne dediščine ter njenih vrednot in skozi njihovo predstavitev povečati prepoznavnost in atraktivnost kraja in širše regije«. A na pozivu nihče ni ustrezal kriterijem. Med tem časom so objektu, da bi ga za-ščitili pred vandali, pozidali tudi vse odprtine pritli-čja. Vstop je mogoč le skozi odprtine nadstropja. V objektu zamaka, nosilni konstrukcijski deli minareta imajo že velike razpoke, številni prefabricirani arhi-tekturni elementi objekta so izropani.

Zanimivo je dejstvo, da je bil kot kvalitetna na-ravna vrednota leta 1952 prepoznan zgolj Rafutski park in kot tak tudi zaščiten. Vila in vratarnica sta bili tako dolga leta kot kulturna spomenika spregleda-ni, saj ju je občina šele leta 2003 z odlokom razglasi-la skupaj s parkom za vrtno arhitekturno dediščino. Tekstualni opis enote se glasi: Vila, zgrajena v neo-islamskem slogu, s simbolnim minaretom in mo-gočnim vhodom. Obdaja jo park, oblikovan v maniri parkov z začetka 20. stoletja z uporabo eksotičnih ra-stlin, organsko izpeljane poti, asimetrija, ortogonal-ne zasaditve. Arhitekt A. Laščak.

Vila Rafut je edini primer neoislamskega slo-ga v Sloveniji in obenem eden najlepših ohranjenih primerov v širšem evropskem prostoru. Obdana je s čudovitim parkom, ki ga poleg originalnih arhitek-turnih kosov krasijo pri nas redka eksotična drevesa in grmovnice. Izjemna drevesa danes zakrivajo po-gled na vilo, zato nas na arhitekturno mojstrovino, ki se kljub drugačni estetiki presenetljivo dobro staplja z okolico, opomnita le vratarnica ob vhodu na pose-stvo in stolp. Kljub temu, da gre za edinstveno vrtno arhitekturno dediščino, pa na slovenski strani meje zanimanja za ustrezno ovrednotenje arhitektove za-puščine še vedno ni. Niti država niti lokalna oblast v izjemnem spomeniku, ki z oblikovnimi dimenzija-mi presega geografske in kulturne meje, ne zmore-ta prepoznati niti tolikšne vrednosti, da bi ga zaščitili vsaj pred neustavljivim propadanjem.


Just like the architect Anton Laščak loved to visit Kapela – now Kostanjevica – as a young man, to enjoy the very beautiful view that opens from there over Gorizia, I myself also often walk from Gorizia, past Kostanjevica to the Rafut Villa. I start my walk at the house where the architect was born, on

the corner, near the St Rocco church in the area of Gorizia called Podturn. When Laščak was born, this part of the already multina-tional Gorizia was very Friulian. Later his family relocated some several hundred metres away, and that is where a plaque was unveiled in his memory upon the renovation of the house. The square near St Rocco church features a monumental stone foun-tain, complete with an Egyptian obelisk, which was originally planned to be implemented in the red or yellow Egyptian granite. The fountain was supposed to be the architect’s gift to his native town. It is not clear why, but the full donation never really took place, and Laščak thus gave only the plans for its execution. The fountain today is not functional, is full of flowers instead of water, and is surrounded by cars.

I continue across Anton’s Square up to the castle of Gorizia, and underneath the castle walls I look for the remains of two villas, the renovation of which was designed by Laščak. The first belonged to his parents-in-law. Laščak moved there soon after get-ting married. Both villas held privileged positions at the end of a narrow medieval street on the south-ern slope of the hill – a gorica, a term that gave the

town its name. Unfortunately, following an urban planning proposal by Max Fabiani, this part of the town – one of the oldest – was demolished in order to enable a better connection with the area of the castle hill.

Magnificent views open from the castle over the Panovec forest, which eventually runs into the Rafut hill above Rožna dolina, and the Kostanjevica ridge. On its southern slope Laščak built his villa. Due to its extraordinary location, protected from the bora wind on the sunny side of the hill, this area had al-ready been much praised in the past. Numerous vil-las are today scattered among the vineyards, gardens and olive groves which used to be featured regularly on the cartoline, or postcards, of Gorizia. To better understand the location of the villa, I climb the path to the Kapela to reach Kostanjevica, where, a good half a century after Laščak, Zoran Mušič would walk in search of peace and solitude (a period which in-spired his Gorizia sketches). The path is paved with cobblestone, and used to be the only one connect-ing Gorizia with the Kapela. Twice a year numerous people from Gorizia would join the procession there. The state border set after WWII severed this pil-grims’ path. On the Slovene side it turns into a nar-row muddy path, unfortunately, and only a few lone specimens testify to the formerly rich grove of chest-nut trees which gave the hill its name.

The hill with its medieval castle, and Kostanjevica with the chapel and the monastery, to-gether form a recognisable entity in central Gorizia. This is also the spatial milieu which Anton Laščak, a


recognised and affable architect who built his repu-tation mainly in Egypt, chose as a location for his Gorizia residence.

The fairy-tale form of this unusual building, which attracts attention with its 28-metre corner tower in the shape of a minaret, is disturbed only by the chaotic urban development of Pristava at the foot of the hill. Extraordinary examples of rare ex-otic trees trace the contours of the whole complex, covering more than three hectares. Its three con-stituent parts – the villa, the park and the entrance lodge – create a comprehensive whole, a rarity in

our contemporary spatial reality. By approaching the imposing entrance – the lodge, where Laščak also organised the residence for his steward in order to facilitate the supervision of the construction – what seemed to be mysterious, fairy-tale like and inspir-ing slowly turns into a pale reminder of former glo-ries. The entrance lodge, which serves as a kind of entry pavilion for the estate and announces some-thing special, extraordinary and important, is in a very poor condition.

The disappointment upon the entry into the pri-vate park is all the greater, for I am greeted at the


very beginning by numerous utility facilities. The trace of both alleys running along the unpaved park driveway is barely visible. The cobblestone-paved gutter-moulds on either side of the driveway are covered with dirt and weeds. Soon enough the park driveway intercepts a brook which comes from a spring on the estate. Laščak built a bed for the brook, and also expanded it with a small catchment area.

The driveway, today completely demolished, continues towards the villa in hairpin turns. The walkway which starts from the first turn of the drive-way is less steep – a design which makes walking comfortable. It has a border made of concrete bor-der stones and is paved with smaller pebble stones. Different elements are displayed along the path, which spur our curiosity. Halfway along the path there is a pergola, now mainly overgrown with wis-teria. Two stone benches stand under this structure, offering a welcome shade and resting place for visi-tors. Another interesting resting area is the concrete mould which served as a cast for the cupola of the tower. The mould is expanded with two benches on each side and complete with the green background resembles a grotto.

In her diploma work, the landscape architect Katarina Iskra pointed out that despite numerous ca-lamities and shamefully negligent maintenance, the park still preserved a convincing image and experi-ential value. Each landscape setting requires some time to develop its mature image. The extraordinary habitus of the trees, which outgrew their foreseen proportions due to the favourable climate, makes the

park particularly enchanting. The formal concept of the Rafut park is not complex, and yet the park offers a full experience in terms of senses and perception. This is enhanced by the rising terrain which does not allow the visitor to savour all the landscape ele-ments park at once. The park is also interesting due to the exotic tree species and experiential motifs laid out »in a chrono-topical sequence. Different spaces or ambiences spur the visitor’s curiosity and a de-sire for further exploration. The contrasts between the shaded and sunny parts, vistas, changes of direc-tion, open and closed spaces, pathways that disap-pear among rich vegetation… all of these are design principles, employed to create an interesting and at-tractive landscape.«1 In brief, with the Rafut complex Laščak demonstrated a high degree of inventiveness regarding the efficient use of the terrain’s charac-teristics, for the villa is perfectly connected with the park both in terms of space and design.

The visitor’s enthusiasm reaches its peak when the path leaves the dense part of the park and comes out on a clearing – at that moment the visitor sees the villa in all its might and glory. This monumental building, with a surface area of almost 800 m2 and which the architect built for himself and his fam-ily, was damaged during WWI, and then again dur-ing WWII. The exterior as we see it today is there-fore only a reflection of the first reconstruction. The renovation, for which the Land Archive of Nova Gorica does not have a single document, was not 1 Katarina Iskra, The Renovation of the Rafut Park near Nova Gorica. Diploma work, Ljubljana, 2012, p. 60.


based on the original plan made by Laščak. During the renovation, the two balcony terraces with metal balustrades and a massive corner pillar on the first and second floors were closed, while the biforas with the horse-shoe arches and numerous decorative ele-ments disappeared.

In 1951, the villa became the headquarters of the Nova Gorica Institute of Hygiene, based on the as-sessment of the Central Institute of Hygiene of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia that this was by far the most suitable building in the vicinity, and one which did not require any special adaptation. Only the parts demolished during the war needed to be rebuilt, and the necessary plumbing and electricity systems installed. A building with a garage and a woodshed was later built next to the house. Built with simi-lar materials as were used for the construction of the villa, this new building resembles the works of Laščak, even though it is of a later date and origin.

The renovation of the villa was funded by the Central Institute of Hygiene. The institute expanded the interiors and adapted them to its own needs. All the interventions were executed very poorly, and ap-pear as extremely rough works on an object that was built in an era of high building standards. The villa is made of visible, standard format bricks in a classical bricklaying pattern, and only the front portal is made of concrete blocks. The pre-fabricated, artificial stone units, mainly brought on the site from Egypt, were very high-quality stone-masonry products. Much the same can be said of the wooden, carved eaves. The villa was also special due to a number of


state-of-the-art technological novelties, which at that time were rarely seen on Slovenian soil (such as the reinforced concrete ceiling slabs, a composite ceiling made of these slabs and hot rolled steel beams), but its façades were damaged in several places.

A similar sad destiny befell the interior. The original floorings no longer exist, and in some places one can only see the original terrazzo in a terracot-ta nuance, and the ceramic floor made of hexago-nal ceramic tiles creating a honeycomb pattern. The same original honeycomb ceramic floor can be seen in the vestibule, in the kitchen, in the study and in the bathrooms. The remaining rooms have parquet flooring, mostly in a fish-bone pattern. The walls and ceilings were repainted several times, and the origi-nal paint can only be seen in certain fragments. All the original interior furnishing is painted white and coffered. The glazed and full, coffered doors were originally equipped with authentic door handles and backplates. None remained in the villa, and only a few specimens are kept at the Institute of Heritage Protection.

The Nova Gorica Institute of Public Health was located in the villa until 2003, when its needs were no longer met in terms of the available surface area and the requirements for laboratory activity. When the institute moved out, the villa was left to itself. In 2007, a conservation plan was drafted for the villa and entrance lodge, and a year later for the park, as there seemed to be a very realistic prospect of reno-vation. The Minister of Higher Education, Mojca Kucler Dolinar, raised hopes for the rehabilitation of the building when she unveiled a marble façade plaque in 2008, as a foundation stone for the reno-vation. Upon its completion, the villa was to become

the headquarters of three institutions: EMUNI – the Euro-Mediterranean University, the Post-Graduate Faculty of the University of Nova Gorica, and the Nova Gorica scientific-research station of the Slovene Academy of Science and Arts. The project, however, was soon abandoned, and the villa was again left to decay.

In 2015, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport published a call to find a private investor to renovate the villa and give it an appropriate function. The municipality was also involved, for it owns more than half of the park. The renovation project was to »contribute towards the sustainable preservation of Slovene cultural and natural heritage and its values, and to increase the recognisability and attractiveness of the place and the wider region through heritage promotion.«. However, none of the participants in the call met the required criteria. In the meantime, all the windows on the ground floor were covered or built over, so as to protect the building from vandal-ism. It is thus now only possible to enter it through the openings on the first floor. The roof is leaking, the load-bearing construction elements of the mina-ret already display wide cracks, and numerous pre-fabricated architectural elements have been stolen.

It is an interesting fact that only the Rafut park was recognised and therefore also protected as natu-ral heritage in 1952, whereas the villa and entrance lodge have been overlooked as heritage units for many years. It was only in 2003 that the municipal-ity issued a decree declaring the villa, entrance lodge and park features of garden-architectural heritage. The descriptive part of this decree is as follows: »A villa, built in a neo-Islamic style, with a symbolic minaret and a monumental entrance. Surrounded


by a park, designed in the style of early 20th centu-ry parks, featuring exotic plants, organic pathways, asymmetry, orthogonal plant formations. Architect A. Laščak.«

The Rafut Villa is the only example of the neo-Is-lamic style in Slovenia, and at the same time one of the most beautifully preserved such cases in the wider European context. It is surrounded by a magnificent park, featuring original architectural elements and rare, exotic trees and shrubs. Today, the extraordinary trees obstruct the view of the villa. Only the entrance lodge and the tower remind us of the architectural masterpiece which blends well with the surroundings despite its unusual aesthetics. Even though this is a unique piece of garden and architectural heritage, the Slovenian authorities still do not show adequate inter-est in preserving the architect’s legacy. It seems that for this monument, which surpasses both geographi-cal and cultural borders with its design and form, nei-ther the state nor municipality are capable of recog-nising its meaning and value, at least to the extent of preventing its imminent decay.


vila rafut - propadajoča lepotica Članeka... · 2017. 12. 1. · a c Š v vila rafut, nova...

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