Dorotheum, formerly “Englisches Haus“ Foto Umgeher, around 1960

The Loss of Historical Building Stock

In the second half of the 20th century, many historical and protected buildings in Graz disappeared from the cityscape. The “Englische Haus“ (English House) on Jakominiplatz—a department store which had been erected as a modern skeleton structure in 1908—was converted into the auction house Dorotheum in 1969/70 after plans by Anton Potyka and Franz Comsi. The adjacent inn “Zur Stadt Triest” from 1790, which had been converted into the “Steirerhof” hotel around 1900, was finally replaced by a shopping centre planned by Adolf Krischanitz in 1993. The “Kommod House” opposite to Tummelplatz, which was built in 1785, was named like this only since its demolition in 2003, after the trendy pub that it had hosted. On its premises, an office and residential complex, which has been designed by Zaha Hadid, has been built.