Little is known about the Knoll family in Vukovar. The head of the family, Jakob Knoll, is a Vukovar craftsman, a cooper.
The family lived in Komletinci, where a son Antun was born in the family in 1823. Along with his father, with whom he learned the trade, little Antun quickly acquired the skills needed in this business. Still, he goes out into the world to expand his knowledge and become a successful lumber wholesaler. Around 1865, he returned to Vukovar and the family built a representative villa in Novi Vukovar, the so-called Knoll villa on the site of a former silk mill that was located there.
This extraordinary example of a country classicist building surrounded by a magnificent park was completely different from the rest of the representative palaces of New Vukovar precisely because of its "indented" position and its surroundings surrounded by a park with beautiful trees. In the shade of beautiful trees, under the lordship of Mr. Ana Knoll (wife), the flower of the Vukovar intelligentsia of that time met.
As early as 1867. Antun Knoll buys a health resort in Lipik, and, knowing the needs of the visitors there, gradually expands it, builds spa baths and springs, expands and enriches the spa park.
From that period we are familiar with the Lipik Park with the original pavilion, tastefully built in the style of that time and which is still named after its builder Knoll "Antunovo vrelo"
Such interventions were fashionable, so the Zagreb Zrinjevac and its pavilion, which was built at the same time, testify to this.
Villa Knoll in Vukovar did not stay in the family for long. It was bought at the turn of the century by the noble Eltz family, which already owns its own court and several mansions. Since then, the villa has been called the "Little Court" or "Erwin Eltz's Court". We know from that time that Eltz built a one-story wing along Mirogoj Street, and probably a wrought-iron fence that surrounded the entire park.
Since 1927. The villa is owned by the City of Vukovar, which buys it for 600,000 dinars, so it houses the administration of the Srijem region and the governor's apartments. Since 1938, the villa has been issued to the Sisters of Mercy of St. Cross for the hospital, but works on its adaptation (well, kitchen, operating room, morgue, apartments for nurses) have been going on for almost two years. It is worth mentioning that the donors of funds for the hospital were Sofia Eltz, Marija Najpar, and others.
The press at the time described the Vukovar hospital as one of the most beautiful provincial hospitals. Then flower alleys are arranged and benches are set up for patients and visitors.
At the time of the Second World war hospital is working, it is located and a small hospital chapel of St. Crisis
After the Second World War. war villa Knoll was nationalized.
Renovation of the villa was carried out in 1978. Until 1991, it housed one ward of the new hospital.
After the war, the complete renovation of the villa began, so today it houses the hospital administration.
Villa Knoll is a protected cultural monument of the C category. On the old cadastres, its ground plan and a large park can be seen, which extended in length and extended to today's Gundulićeva Street. Today, there is a bust of Dr. J. Njavre in the courtyard of the villa
Of the other architectural legacies of the Knoll family, apart from the Lipik parks, buildings and springs, we know the chapel in Komletinci which the family built in the middle of the 19th century, then a special large wine cellar buried under the monastery hill, which unfortunately has not been restored. Towards the end of his life, old Antun Knoll moved his nephew to the Germans and died there in 1907. He was buried in Komletinci, where he was born.
It is worth mentioning that a member of the Knoll family was also the famous architect Dr. Petar Knoll, educated in Vienna where he also worked at the Institute of Art History. Later he moved to Zagreb to the civil service, then as a lecturer for art history at the Faculty of Philosophy. Since 1923, assistant professor at the Technical College in Zagreb.
This family has left a big mark in the culture and art of the city of Vukovar, and with its great influence and cosmopolitanism, on other cities and people, and their contribution is still highly valued.
