The Reconstruction of Kranj after the Fire of 1749

Abstract

The author investigated the consequences of the fire that destroyed most of the town of Kranj in 1749. Based on numerous damage inventories and correspondence between the town authorities and regional and state offices, he determined the reasons for the disaster (lack of water in the town), the extent of the damage, life in the town during the reconstruction, and the plans and methods of rehabilitation over a period of twenty years. The state authorities only partially co-financed the renovation with financial grants and limited tax exemptions. The townspeople bore the majority of the burden, which is why the revitalisation of Kranj took a long time. Mainly due to the lack of money and despite the ambitious initial ideas, the town, which was already in debt, was not notably urbanised or improved in terms of fire prevention compared to the Middle Ages. Some of the more notable changes in Kranj did not take place until the aftermath of another disastrous fire in 1811.