Josip Stiller is an architect, urban planner and visionary whose architectural legacy gave Karlovac today's recognizable views. He was born in the Czech Republic, but little is known about his life before coming to Karlovac. Coming to the city as a young man, he began his career as a bricklayer, then became a fortification master, served as consul and deputy judge, and gained a high reputation in the city. His style is recognizable through the reconstruction of the old City Hall, he designed and built civic houses, upgraded the Franciscan monastery and began building a hospital in Dubovac. He expanded the church of St. Trinity and upgraded the upper floor of the bell tower and began the reconstruction of the fire station.
The greatest achievement that Stiller left in the lasting legacy of Karlovac is the construction of the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas. His life ended in an accident by drowning in the river Mrežnica. He left behind several unfinished plans and conceptual designs, but what he completed forever defined today’s appearance of the city.
Church of SV.Nicholas.....Its patron saint, St. Nicholas, is the patron saint of sailors, but also of river navigation, which in the time of the historical economic development of Karlovac was the most logical choice that connects river navigation with sea and emphasizes the connection of Karlovac with sea trade routes. She's not here. This sentence radiates a complete disregard for those who build that church and their faith. The church is not built by the guild of Cup boatmen, but by the Orthodox community, and St. Nicholas is one of the most important saints in Orthodoxy, who competes with the Mother of God herself in terms of the number of her patronages. He is hyperhagios or supreme, allos soter or other savior, and, as an old Russian proverb says: If God died once, we would still have Saint Nicholas. " Nice written article!