From the second half of the 19th century, Kanjiža began to undergo dynamic development. Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the town experienced rapid economic and infrastructural growth. Mills, brick factories, and sawmills were established, and the municipality was connected to the national railway network. As a result of this progress, Ókanizsa was granted the status of a town with an organized municipal council in 1908, opening new opportunities for local government-led urban development (Bácskai Dárium blog).
Following this elevation in status, one of the municipality’s top priorities became the construction of a new, monumental town hall. A national design competition was launched, attracting 29 submissions. The winning proposal came from Zoltán Reiss, a prominent architect from Budapest. He designed an imposing Art Nouveau (Secessionist) building with an asymmetrical layout and a corner tower.
However, due to budget constraints, the tower and the rear wing facing the courtyard were omitted from the final plans. This reduced the construction cost to half of the original estimate, bringing it down to 250,000 crowns (Valkay 2018a: 441). Construction began in 1911, and by December 1912, the municipal offices had already moved into the new building.
The ground floor housed the police department, financial offices, and administrative service rooms, while the upper floor was home to the assembly hall, the mayor’s office, and various administrative departments (Klamár 2022).
Style
The town hall was built in the Art Nouveau style, yet Zoltán Reiss’s approach reflects the more refined, Budapest-style interpretation rather than the more ornate and expressive Secessionist designs typical of Subotica. The building has a U-shaped floor plan, with the main façade articulated by ribbon windows, “Saarinen-style” openings, and a prominent central projection (risalit).
The façade’s ornamentation is restrained—cornices and decorative elements are only suggested rather than emphasized. Much of the original dynamism envisioned in the plans was lost during construction (Valkay 2018a: 441).
A particularly distinctive feature of the building is the slim, delicate side turret that juts out toward the main square. Another notable aspect is the intentional orientation of the structure: the north–south alignment ensures that sunlight enters the rooms at optimal angles throughout the day.
Present day
Although the town hall still functions as the administrative center of Kanjiža, several factors detract from its appearance today. The later addition of air conditioning units disrupts the visual coherence of the façade, while the surrounding high-rise apartment blocks along the main street diminish the spatial prominence of both the town hall and the nearby Serbian Orthodox church. The square’s former airy, rural atmosphere has been lost, and the newly planted trees with dense foliage often obscure the building for much of the year (Valkay 2018a: 441; Bácskai Dárium blog).
Heritage and Significance
Despite these changes, the Kanjiža Town Hall remains one of the most important architectural monuments of the Art Nouveau movement in Vojvodina. It is particularly valuable because it fits organically into the urban fabric that developed around the turn of the 20th century and continues to play a central role in the town’s identity and landscape. Both historically and symbolically, the building holds lasting significance.
Sources
Örökségünk: Kanizsai képeskönyv. Magyarkanizsa
by Klamár Zoltán (1995), Cnesa Oktatási és Művelődési Intézmény
