The House of Sorrow was created by Ján Blicha in cooperation with his wife Tatiana Blichová. It is situated in the cemetery of the largest settlement in Trenčín - Juh. The architecture of the House of Sorrow is designed as an atypical project with an emphasis on artistic expression. The House of Sorrow is considered the masterpiece of Ján Blich, an important architect of the city of Trenčín.
In the design of the House of Sorrow, the author followed up on the architectural tendencies of the 1960s, especially on organic modernism. He used not only the curvature of the walls and facade elements, but also the typical material combination of white glass mosaic, fair-faced concrete, wood and terracotta. The characteristic element of the building is the vertical bell tower, which represents a modernist reduction of vernacular forms. Blicha was in this project looking for his own artistic language to contribute to the nascent typology of funeral halls and crematoria in Slovakia.
This artistic language was reflected not only in the overall character of the architectural work and its location within the landscape of the cemetery, but also in the interior details. Architect collaborated with several important artists of the period, such as Iľja Holešovský (guiding wall in the exterior), Miroslav Kopecký (interior), Lýdia Jergušová–Vydarená (interior), Juraj Gavula (stone elements), Milan Gašpar (enamel art works), Miroslav Mlynček (artistic feature of interior elements).
The House of Sorrow in the Juh district is an important contribution to the wider collection of post-war architecture of the former Czechoslovakia. Within the rich production of sepulchral objects from this period, it ranks among the exceptionally successful works.
Bibliography:
Koula, J. E.: Katedra teórie a dejín architektúry; Projekt 1967, č. 10
Blicha J.: Urbanistický komplex Trenčín Soblahovská; Projekt 1975, č. 6
Stopka, E.: Najväčšie trenčianske sídlisko oslavuje. Juh má 45 rokov od začatia výstavby; zverejnené 1. 4. 2016, Zdroj: MY Trenčín, dostupné online na: https://mytrencin.sme.sk/c/20129850/najvacsie-trencianske-sidlisko-oslavuje-juh-ma-45-rokov-od-zacatia-vystavby.html
Jurikovič, M.: Staviame mesto pre stotisíc obyvateľov; zverejnené dňa 16. 2. 2019, Zdroj: denník N, dostupné online na: https://dennikn.sk/blog/1384262/staviame-mesto-pre-stotisic-obyvatelov-rozmach-trencianskych-sidlisk/
Plánujú vybudovať cintorín a krematórium; Slovenské pohrebníctvo, zverejnené 16. 12. 2013, Zdroj: Slovenské pohrebníctvo, dostupné online na:
https://www.pohrebnictvo.sk/planuju-vybudovat-cintorin-a-krematorium/
