National Home palace, Zagreb

On the site of today's Palace there was a once monastery used by the Order of Saint Clare. After the order was abolished in 1782 the land was abandoned until Count Karlo Drašković bought it in 1835 with intention to build a residential palace for his family. The Palace was complicated in late 1838, and is considered to be the work of architect Bartol Felbinger. This is corroborated by the fact that Felbinger was sued in 1843 because the portico on the east facade of the Palace collapsed. The only question is whether Felbinger built the Palace according to his own plans, because the 3 blueprints which are kept in the Croatian History Museum are unsigned and undated.

At the time of construction the Palace was one of the most beautiful palaces on the Upper Town. It was built in the neoclassical style with overdressed facade and impressive classicist interior. Drašković family never fully settled in their newly built home, so they sold it under favorable terms to the members of the Illyrian movement. Specifically, in year 1845 the Illyrians heard that Count Drašković was selling his Palace with more than 30 rooms for 28 thousand silver florins, or 25 silver florins for each room. They intended to place the National Museum with reading room and casino, as well as the Croatian-Slavonian Economic Society into the Palace. On February 27, 1846 they bought the Palace and named it the National Home or National Hall, after the largest room which they used for social gatherings, balls and various assemblies. The original purchase agreement is today kept in the National and University Library.

Luxurious hall known as the Casino, National Hall, Hall of Zagreb, Illyrian Hall, and most recently Revival Hall, dominates Palaces interior. In the central part of the ground floor the Croatian National Museum was hosted since 1846, while the wings housed the Husbandry society, reading room and casino. The interior was renovated by architect Aleksandar Brdarić. This Palace became the center of all important cultural, educational and other social events of the 19th century Zagreb, while the hall was used for political gatherings and balls. On March 25, 1848 the Demands of the Nation were adopted on the session of the Grand National Assembly that was held in the grand hall.

From 1868 to 1880 the National Home palace was seat of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (today Croatian). In 1878, palace was purchased by the state which turned it into the seat of the Table of Seven, supreme court of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. The Palace was owned by the state until the end of World War II when it was given to the Academy. Palace lost its original charm over the years because it was redesigned into the office space. It was brought back into its original state in 1994, when the last renovation was completed. Today, Palace hosts the Institute for the History of Croatian Literature, Theater and Music of the Croatian Academy of Science and Arts.

• Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti kroz fotografije-Slobodan Kaštela, Damir Fabijanić, HAZU, 2007
• Upoznavanje sa Zagrebom-Bruno Sušanj, Josip Bilić, Nikola Štambak, Vito Andrić, Božica Brkan, Ivana Crljenko, Dijana Štambak, MASMEDIA, 2004, ISBN 953-157-464-2
• http://www.matica.hr/omatici/Pala%C4%8Da%20Matice%20hrvatske/
• http://www1.zagreb.hr/galerijakd.nsf/c31dd4a135787898c1256f9600325af4/e237384dedaa21d9c1257999004b7271?OpenDocument