Secession in Ljubljana

Secession in art meant a departure (separation/break away) from the mainstream neo-classical idea of art at the end of the 19th century. This was manifested in various artistic trends such as Art Nouveau, Secession (Munich, Berlin, Vienna), Jugendstil, … where prominent representatives were Klimt, Schiele, and Munch. But in this article, we will focus mainly on architecture, the Viennese Art Nouveau, where Otto Wagner was the most recognizable representative and Maks Fabiani, as his student, was the most important secession architect in Ljubljana. Also, Plečnik was a student of Wagner, but did just a few works in this style while in Vienna

In Ljubljana, the Secession movement had a profound impact on the city’s architecture. After the devastating earthquake in Ljubljana on the 14th of April 1895, the renovation took place with the urban post-earthquake regulation plan in 1895 and ended in 1908 by Fabiani (also Sitte) and supported by mayor Hribar (also Grasselli) that acquired finance. Most buildings in the secessionist style were built in the first decade of the 20th century. Koch and Vurnik designed buildings in this style till mid-’20s. Today Ljubljana (along with Barcelona, Glasgow, Rijeka, Havana, Riga, Helsinki, Budapest, Brussels…) belongs to the network of 20 Art Nouveau cities of the world.

The bourgeoisie wanted to get closer to the nobility with the possibilities of serial industrial production and new raw materials (iron, steel, glass, reinforced concrete). They looked for their inspiration in the flora and fauna, folklore motifs, exotic cultures and religions, geometric shapes and implemented them in cast iron details, corniche, oriel with turret, colorful facades with ornaments (tiles, smooth and rough plasters), balcony, canopy, sculpture, etc.

Also, an important moment was the rising of Slovenian national identity with Ljubljana as its capital. At the turn of the 20th century, Slovenia was struggling to define its place within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This period meant Ljubljana’s rebirth and transformation from a provincial town into a modern center for the Slovenian nation with infrastructure (gas line, new sewer and plumbing systems, first asphalt, …), reform of urban administration, health, education, and tourism that followed. 

Secession buildings in Ljubljana

There are around 70 buildings in Ljubljana that are built in the Secession style, where some are completely in that style and others that have just a few elements. You can find most buildings in the area between the railway station and the old town along Miklošičeva Street, around Miklošič and Prešeren squares (both designed by Fabiani). Also, Slovene, Tavčar, and Trdinova streets have some prime examples. Below you can find a map of those buildings and further there are their photos and description. The first 20 are the most representative examples and it continues with less markable buildings listed alphabetically by address.

Krisper house, Miklošičeva 20, Maks Fabiani, 1900/01

Krisper house is located at Miklošičeva 20 and was built in the years 1900 and 1901. The first house on Miklošič Square was planned by the architect Maks Fabiani himself and thus showed how he imagined the walled square to be. The corner building with an oriel topped with a turret forms the northeastern corner of Miklošič Park. The facade of the house is designed in a light art nouveau style modeled on modern Viennese architecture and decorated with typical plant and floral stylized motifs in an elegant line reminiscent of Hort’s popular whipping motif.

The Belgian version of the new art was also reminiscent on small wrought iron details, a peephole, a bell, door handles, and a mailbox. Some have already disappeared from the house and are only preserved in pictures. As the architect Maks Fabiani himself wrote, he used the floral Art Nouveau decoration at the request of the owner, municipal councilor Valentin Krisper.

Čuden house, Cigaletova 3, Ciril Metod Koch, 1902

Čuden House is an Art Nouveau commercial and residential three-story building located at Cigaletova Street 3 on the northwest corner of Miklošič Square in Ljubljana. It is named after investor and watchmaker Fran Čuden. It is considered to be the most recognizable Art Nouveau-style house surrounding Miklošič Square. The plan for the house was made by the architect Ciril Metod Koch at the same time as the neighboring Pogačnik House. It was built in 1902 after the model of Joseph Maria Olbrich’s houses (plastically rich, organic, and decorative) in Vienna. Koch overemphasized individual architectural elements in the design:

• the corner tower (resting on consoles), starts with a square, continues with a cylinder, and ends with a globe on a square slab, under the slab the top of the tower is decorated with heads in relief and initials of investor in gold,
• semicircular canopy of the balcony on the main facade, facade decorations,…
• the balconies have artfully designed wrought iron railings, and the windows are two- and three-part, with colored ceramic tile circles above the windows.
• semicircular canopy stands above a cantilevered balcony above two pylons
• originally, the facade of the house was painted purple-red, but during the renovation, it was painted in a neutral color.

Pogačnik house, Cigaletova 1, Ciril Metod Koch, 1902

Pogačnik house is located at Cigaletova 1, west side of Miklošič Park. The investors were Štefan and Jožef Pogačnik. Architect Koch designed it in 1902. It was designed as a tenement building and is located in the main part of the western facade of the square in front of the courthouse. The architect used more flat-oriented forms in the design of the facade. Due to its location, Pogačnik’s house does not have a corner tower, a balcony, or the wrought iron decoration associated with it. The most interesting part of the facade is the decoration above the entrance with a relief of a female figure holding twigs in outstretched hands.

It resembles the plan for the facade of the Worker’s Home in Vienna. All the windows on Pogačnik’s house are simple two-part. The ground floor windows have horizontal incised lines. On the first floor, the windows are connected by a single line. The upper floors of the house are connected by vertical bands between the windows, which lead from the circular cornice in the middle of the third floor and hang down to the windowsills of the second floor. Just before the end, they are interrupted by a strip of decoration made of sterilized leaves. Between the windows of the second and third floors of the house, there is a decoration with a geometric figure.

Deghenghi house, Dalmatinova 7, Ciril Metod Koch, 1904/05

The factory owner, Anton Deghenghi, had two buildings constructed simultaneously to the same plan as an apartment house on the Dalmatin Street 7. The one at the corner is accentuated with an oriel, which is topped with a bell-shaped roof. According to Koch’s original plan, the facade was to be richly decorated with typical Secession plant ornamentation, but the execution of the facade was more modest. The decoration was reduced. The facade was realized in a combination of smooth and rough plasters in brick red and yellow.

Regalli house, Miklošičeva 18, Fran Berneker, 1904/6

The plans for Regalli’s house were made by the architect Fran Berneker (1904 – 1906), who was otherwise a sculptor by profession and the author of the beautiful monument to Primož Trubar in Tivoli Park. The building an ariel topped with a turret completes the southeastern corner of Miklošič Park, the facade is finished with a wave-shaped cornice above the windows of the second floor and is decorated with glazed green ceramic tiles. The bronze door with two shallow reliefs depicting the allegories of Day and Night, is also Berneker’s work. The stone sculptures of the Atlanteans, which support the corner pier, were also made according to Bernekar’s design.

Bamberg house, Miklošičeva 18, Fran Berneker, 1906/07

Bamberg house is located on the corner of Miklošič Street and Dalmatin Street in Ljubljana. The construction was financed by the well-known Slovenian publisher and printer Otomar Bamberg (Kleinmayr & Bamberg printing house). Bamberg’s house was built between 1906 and 1907 according to the plan of the architect Maks Fabiani, who also designed the nearby Miklošič Park (then Slovenski trg) and the Krisper’s House. In his design, Fabiani strove to connect architecture and its environment. He designed it in a modernist neo-baroque style and moved away from Art Nouveau.

This can be seen in the selection of materials and building elements, among which the Borromini facade of the side along Dalmatinova Street is particularly interesting. The building’s imposing vertical bands in gray concrete plaster stand out. Ceramic relief images and sculptural decoration with figures of the printing trade can be seen under the canopy on the facade. They are the work of the Austrian sculptor and ceramicist Hugo Franz Kirsch. There is a pier above the entrance from the front of the building and a balcony above it.

Cooperative Bank (Zadružna gospodarska banka), Miklošičeva 8,  Ivan Vurnik, 1921/2

The former Zadružna gospodarska banka on Miklošič Street is one of the most famous buildings in Ljubljana. With its richly decorated facade, it stands out from the framework of the otherwise similar Art Nouveau, a colorful part of the city. It was built in 1921 by the architect Ivan Vurnik, and it is considered one of the most beautiful examples of national romantic style architecture. Inside the building, there is a painted banking hall with a glass ceiling, which consists of small blue glass squares, and a decorative strip of multi-colored glass is embedded in it.

Colored stained-glass windows in geometric motifs also decorate the stairwell on the first two floors. The painting of the hall and the facade is the work of the architect’s wife Helena Vurnik, originally from Vienna, who participated in her husband’s research and creation of typical Slovenian architecture. The geometric decorations in the red-white-blue color combination of the Slovenian tricolor are complemented by motifs from Slovenian iconography: a stylized landscape of spruce forests and wheat fields and vines and the motif of women in Slovenian traditional clothes.

People’s Loan Bank (Ljudska posojilnica), Miklošičeva 4, Josip Vancaš, 1907

The building has a typical Secession facade with Wagnerian decorative elements, such as gables in the form of a basket handle, a ceramic coating to the facade, and Fabianian shallow bow windows. The roof of the central projection is surmounted by two seated figures, barefoot and with bare shoulders, holding a small purse and a beehive respectively, and cartouches on which bees and ants are depicted, symbols of industry, economy, and wealth.

Grand Hotel Union, Miklošičeva 1, Josip Vancaš, 1903/5

Grand Hotel Union Eurostars is considered one of the most elegant and beautiful hotels in the region in a famous Art Nouveau building that was built between 1903 and 1905. A plan by the architect Josip Vancaš was made for the biggest building (100 meters long) in Ljubljana at the time and the biggest hall in the Balkans, which was also considered a technological achievement due to its demanding iron roof structure.

The entire building, both the exterior facade and the interior with all the furnishings and a rich etched glass collection (now replaced by copies), was designed in distinctly Art Nouveau. It is divided into two wings, which are connected to the whole by a prominent corner tower with a dome. The facade is decorated with plant motifs, which are different on each floor. The building was later remodeled twice but basically kept its art nouveau look.

Urbanc store (Centromerkur), Trubarjeva 1, Fredrich Sigmundt, 1902/3

The first department store in the city was built in 1902 by the merchant Feliks Urbanc. It was completed in 1903, and it was designed by the Graz architect Friedrich Sigismund and is considered his best work. It is modeled after contemporary department stores in Paris, Vienna, Graz, or Budapest. The entrance to the building is highlighted by a semi-circular canopy in the form of fan-shaped flower petals made of glass and wrought iron.

At the top of the building stands a neo-baroque statue of Mercury, the god of trade and patron of merchants. The interior of the shop still serves its original purpose. It has an interesting decorated wooden staircase supported by two rows of columns. Between the columns stands a female statue, the personification of the craft. The staircase railing is finished below with two wooden female heads. All the interior decorations, furniture decorated with plant motifs, motifs on the etched glass of the shop windows, and the lighting design reflect the influences of the Belgian and French versions of “nouveau art”. The latter is a rarity in Ljubljana, which was otherwise more inspired by Viennese Art Nouveau.

Hauptman House, Wolfova 2/Prešeren square 1, Ciril Metod Koch, 1904

This is the only house on Prešern Square that survived the earthquake. After the earthquake, the house was bought by the merchant Adolf Hauptmann, and Koch drew up a plan to renovate the building in the Art Nouveau style. The house was renovated so that the facade was covered with colored ceramic tiles in a geometric pattern and in contrasting green-blue-red color tones concentrated on the upper part of the facade and on the cornice. From the artistic point of view, it is considered to be one of Koch’s best architectural works in Ljubljana.

City Savings Bank (Mestna hranilnica), Čopova 3, Josip Vancaš, 1903/04

The Secession facade with historicist decorative elements is one of the earliest of Vancaš’s Secession works. The Secession portal in the central axis is emphasized with a glass and wrought-iron awning in the shape of open petals; the original Secession signboard is preserved above the entrance. The interior of the building is one of the few Secession ambiences, which have been more or less faithfully restored.

Girls’ Lycee (Mladika), Prešernova 25, Max Fabiani/Ciril Metod Koch, 1906/12

The school is a good example of architecture that is well integrated into the local tradition and also in the urban context of the garden city on the edge of Tivoli Park. The turret above the entrance imitates the clock tower on Ljubljana Town Hall, the facade is ascetic, pure in form, without ornaments, and made of local material. The only decorations on the building are the owls as the symbols of wisdom on the keystones of the entrance porch and a relief of grey stone on the facade of the gymnasium. The facade of the boarding house facing Tivoli Park is horizontally partitioned with molding surrounding the entire building and bearing stylized Secession plant ornaments.

National Printhouse, (Narodna tiskarna), Ciril Metod Koch, 1902/04

The building was the first printing house in Slovenia suitable for large-scale production. The facade is horizontally divided by a course of floral reliefs between the ground floor and the first floor and by a color floral frieze on the course between the second and third floors. The central axis of the building is emphasized with an awning above the portal and a balcony on it and is terminated with a pediment reaching high above the facade. The geometric decoration is combined with wreaths and heads, and the interior of the corridor is decorated with colored floral ornament.

Deutscher Theaterverein (Drama), Erjavčeva 1, Alexander Graf, 1909/11

The German-oriented townspeople, united in the Deutscher Theaterverein in Laibach, built their own, German theater – the current Drama. The building was built between 1909 and 1911, the plans for it are the work of Viennese architect Alexander Graf, who built several theater buildings for the German ethnic community in the Czech Republic. The Ljubljana Theater is a copy of the theater that Graf had previously built in Ústí na Laba.

The interior is luxuriously decorated. The entrance hall is designed in a classicist style, and the exterior of the building is decorated with Art Nouveau elements. Above the entrance stands a balcony supported by columns. The building’s triangular front, which was originally decorated with the inscription Deutsches theater, stands out.

Royal lmperial State Craft School (Cesarsko kraljeva državna obrtna šola), Aškerc 1, Vojteh Dvorak, 1909/11

The school is a monumental palace with rich figural and plant decorations on the facade and in the vestibule. The central projection is emphasized with a triple-arch entrance flanked by figures of two children: to the left is a girl with the coat-of-arms of the city of Ljubljana, and to the right is a boy with the coat-of-arms of the province of Carniola.

Gymnasium Tabor (Sokolski dom), Tabor 13-14, Ivan Vurnik, 1923/26

Sokol Gymnastic Society’s Hall in secession style 1923-1926 on Tabor was built and ornamented in the Slovenian folk style according to the plans of Ivan Vurnik, the last of his work. One of the first indoor sports facilities in Slovenia. The facade is in a unified color tone. It is designed exclusively with architectural elements, profiled architectural members, and stuccowork, articulated with pillars, pointed pediments, hipped gables, and unusually designed capitals of the columns on the first floor, and is ornamented with inexplicable decorative motifs.

Public bath (City playground), Prečna 7, Wilhelm Bruckner & Co, 1899-1901

Committed to modernizing the city after the earthquake of 1895, the municipality supported the building of public baths to enable the poorer classes to bathe at an affordable price. The reinforced concrete baths building was constructed on the model of a public bath house in Lipsko, Poland, by the Wilhelm Brückner & Co Architectural Studio in Graz, 1899-1901.

Its double entrance on the truncated corner is surmounted by a triangular attic supported by a volute on each side. The building is accentuated by a single-story hexagonal tower. Its neo-romanesque façades are segmented by round-headed, two-light mullioned windows and lesenes standing out against pale-colored walls. Today, the building houses a family center with a playground intended mainly for pre-schoolers

Dragon bridge, Zaninović, 1900/01

The Dragon Bridge, decorated with famous dragon statues, is the most famous image of Ljubljana. The bridge is also a completely unique creation. It is considered an exceptional technical monument and a superb creation of Art Nouveau architecture from begining of 20th century. It was built between 1900 and 1901 and was the first real reinforced concrete structure in the city and one of the first and also the largest bridges of its kind in Europe at the time.

At the time of its opening, it was called the Franz Joseph I Jubilee Bridge, and winged lions were initially planned instead of dragon statues. For the first time in Slovenia, an asphalt coating was laid on it. The bridge project was made by prof. Josef Melan, the famous designer of reinforced concrete bridges and the father of the theory of static calculation of large suspension bridges.

The art nouveau look of the bridge is the work of the Dalmatian architect Juri Zaninović, otherwise a student of the famous Viennese architect Otto Wagner. According to Zaninović’s plans, concrete linings, balustrades, as well as dragon statues made of copper sheets were made. The lamps on the bridge railing are also part of the original decoration and were originally gas-powered.

The dragon bridge replaced an older, wooden one called the Butcher’s Bridge, which had stood there since 1819. At the time, the city municipality decided on a modern design and reinforced concrete construction of the bridge mainly to save money, as it was significantly cheaper than the more common stone one.

Beethovnova 2, Ciril Metod Koch, 1923

Office Building in secession style, designed by Ciril Metod Koch in 1923

Adriatic Insurance Company (Jadranska zavarovalna družba v Trstu), Beethovnova 4, Ciril Metod Koch, 1923

The building has a late Secession facade with two shallow oriels and is the last of Koch’s works in Ljubljana. A floral relief decorates the facade panels under window sills on both oriels, and there is a decorative geometric pattern under the cornice. The symmetrical facade is emphasised in the centre by a portal with semi-circular termination, and a triangular attic on the roof. On either side of the entrance is a medallion with the initials of the company that owned the building: JZDT.

Croatian Savings Bank, Beethovnova 7/Cankarjeva 8, 1920

The corner building has a late Secession facade. The ground and first floors are vertically connected by fluted pilasters, and the upper two floors by a decoration of plant branches and leaves. Two powerful horizontal mouldings divide the facade into three horizontal parts, the corner is emphasised with a cupola.

Peternel House, Beethovnova 9, Gustav Tonnies, 1910/11

The tripartite facade is almost identical to the facade of 8 Župančičeva ulica. The central portion is recessed from the street line, accentuated with balconies on the first and second floors, resting on columns and concluded with a curved gable which contains a tripartite window. The facade surface on the ground-floor is decorated with a chess-board pattern, executed in rough and smooth plaster, and the upper part is ornamented with geometric motifs between the windows and on the cornice.

Philip Mansion, Cankarjevo nabrežje 1/Stritarjeva 9, Leopold Theyer, 1896/97

The monumental building with a corner turret emphasizes the entrance to the medieval city center. The facade, which is designed in the style of German neo-Renaissance, is decorated with historicist plant motifs, among which individual Secession elements appear. The building was famous before the end of the last century because of Mayer’s coffee house, which had been arranged on the ground floor of the building, in typical Secession style; it can today only be seen in old photographs.

Pirc House, Cigaletova 5, 1905/06

A corner building with a typical corner turret. The facade, treated in two tones of green, is decorated with Wagnerian decorative elements in gold, which are concentrated on the corner oriel, above the windows of the first floor and below the eaves.

Grobelnik House, Ciril Metodov trg 1, Anton Wolf, 1899/1900

A corner building with an oriel which extends from the second storey to the top of the house . The facade is decorated with late-Historicist and Wagnerian motifs, concentrated between the windows of the second floor, on the cornice and on the corner oriel.

Agricultural Savings Bank (Kmetska posojilnica), Dalmatinova 1/Slovenska 44, Ciril Metod Koch, 1906

The neo-Renaissance facade is treated in a combination of plaster and light ceramic tiles. The bright facade is decorated with dark floral garlands under the windows of the second floor, and the spaces between the windows of the third floor and the cornice are embellished with geometric ornaments.

Smielowski House, Dalmatinova 3, Robert Smielowski, 1903

The Secession fac:ade is decorated with geometric patterns in the combination of white and yellow plaster and blue and white glazed ceramic tiles. The door with wrought-iron latticework is designed in a typical Secession plant pattern. It is set in an Olbrich-like round headed doorway in white stuccowork into which blue circular ceramic tiles are inserted. Two features stand out on the Art Nouveau building: the blue and white checkerboard strip across the entire width of the facade and the accentuated entrance. The latter is semicircular in shape and has a canopy protruding towards the street.

Tertnik House, Dalmatinova 9, Viljem Treo, 1910/11

The modest Secession facade has an emphasised central part with semi-circular balconies on the first and second floors and is decorated with geometric patterns around the windows.

Dvorni trg 2, Gosposka 1

A neo-Historicist building in which a Secession coffee-house in national style was arranged on the ground-floor in 1898, to the plans of Janez Jager. It operated until 1932. Its appearance is preserved only in photographs.

Ilirska 28, Polz & Knoch, 1906/07

Investor: Vekoslav Šešek, from 1907 Adolf Hauptmann Building type: apartment house A corner building with an oriel from which a balcony projects on the second storey, at the top being termina ted with a circular, bell-shaped roof. The corner is additionally emphasised with two gables of the side projections. Geometric decoration is concentrated in the rounded pediments of the windows on the first storey, and on the cornice.

Kersnikova 5, Viljem Treo, 1902/03

The building has a seven-axis fa~ade. The entrance hall and the staircase are set in the left axis. Typical Wagnerian decorative elements emphasise the portal and surround the windows of the upper storeys. The decorative geometric patterns are concentrated at the top of the building, under the eaves.

Kersnikova 7, Viljem Treo, 1903/04

The fac;ade is articulated with typical Secession oval or curved door openings leading to the balconies in the central and side axes of the first and second floors, additionally decorated with Wagnerian omamen tal patterns (undulating lines, circle s, etc.).

Girls’ Primary School (Dekliška osnovna šola), Levstikov trg 1, I. Sbrizaj, 1897-1901

The monumental building is distinguished by pure lines, clear articulation of the facade surface, and reduced facade decoration. Horizontal bands of windows are separated by shallow mouldings running continuously around the building. The portal in the central axis of the building is made more prominent by the inclusion of the city coat-of-arms at it s top, the only decoration of the facade being stuccowork with plant motifs on the corners of the main and side facade, and stylised floral garlands.

Levstikov trg 9/Stiška 1, Viljem Treo, 1899

The late-historicist building was rebuilt after the earthquake and the facade was decorated with elements of Secessionist decoration.

Drofenig House, Mestni trg 23, Karl Briinnler, 1914

The building boasts the first modern prefabricated facade in Ljubljana, made entirely of iron and glass. The building is considered as one of the most successful examples of the integration of the modern style into the historical city fabric.

Miklošičeva 6, Robert Smielowski, 1903/04

The only decoration of the Wagnerian facade is ceramic color tiles around the windows.

Mutual Loan Bank (Vzajemna posojilnica/Koteks Tobus), Miklošičeva 7, Ivan Ogrin, 1922

The late-Secession facade is distinguished by decoratively treated window surrounds and the moldings that divide the building horizontally into three parts. Below the windows of the first floor, there are reliefs with stylized figural motifs, interesting also for their iconography (horn of plenty, the rich man and a beggar, etc.).

Poljanska cesta

Today there is just flora motif on door.

Catholic Printhouse, Kopitarjeva 6/Poljanski nasip 2, Alois Cantoni, 1907/08

The first industrial building in Ljubljana with a reinforced concrete roof construction; otherwise it is a standard brickwork. The facade is designed with typical Wagnerian decorative motifs and eaves.

Ljubljana Court, Kolodvorska 11/Pražakova 15, Josip Costaperaria (Krick), 1922/25

The geometrical decoration of the late Secession facade is concentrated above the windows of the second floor and on the cornice. In addition, masks embellish the windows of the first floor in the central projection, and reliefs decorate the cornice. Figural reliefs above the main portal and between the windows of the third floor are the work of the sculptor Lojze Dolinar.

Prešernova 1, Gustav Toennies, 1902/03

The Wagnerian facade is designed with typical horizontal lines, circles, and hoops with ribbons at the top. The entrance is emphasized with an oriel that extends from the first floor to the third, where it ends in an open balcony.

Prešernova 3, Gustav Toennies, 1902/03

The building was being designed and built simultaneously with Prešernova 1 and for the same client. It has a similar Wagnerian facade, the portal is ornamented with plant motifs, as is the corner balcony on the second floor. The sides of the fa~ade are emphasized with lesenes protruding from the smooth plaster, tapering towards the top, and concluding with turrets above the roof.

Prešernova 12, Robert Smielowski, 1904/05

The Secession fa~ade is decorated with typical decorative geometric motifs made of plaster and metal, reminiscent of Olbrich’s Friedman House in Hinterbriihl, and of examples of handicraft products.

Prešernova 14, Robert Smielowski, 1903/04

The house has a similar facade decoration to the neighboring house at Prešernova 12. The geometric decorative elements are concentrated between the windows of the third floor. The portal is richly decorated, and the fanlight above the door is furnished with wrought-iron lattice designed in Secession style.

Frisch House, Prešernov trg 3, Filip Supančič, 1896/97

The corner building with an oriel topped with turret marks the entrance to Čopova ulica. Among the late-Historicist ornaments of the facade, which are concentrated above the windows of the first floor, on the cornice below the roof and on the corner oriel, individual Secession elements appear.

Third town Boys’ Primary School, Prule 13, Ciril Metod Koch, 1910/11

The facade is decorated with typical Wagnerian decorative motifs, such as hoops, laure garlands with stylised ropes and a frieze with key pattern on the moulding, running around the building above the groundfloor.

Hotel Bellevue, Pod gozdom 12, Alojz Zajc, 1909

The hotel building with a big terrace looking towards the town, and the pertaining music pavilion, are situated on the slope of Šišenski hrib. The hotel facade and the pavilion are decorated with Secession elements (window surrounds, wrought-iron railings of the terrace, balconies and pavilion, candelabra on the terrace with lamps of etched glass). Hotel is burnt and demolished

Hotel Tivoli (Švicarija), Pod turnom 4, Ciril Metod Koch, 1908/09

The Secession building designed in the national style imitates elements of the vernacular architecture of the Gorenjska region. The original function of the hotel was dropped after the second world war; today it shelters some artists’ studios.

Resljeva 7, Filip Supančič, 1900/91

The facade is decorated with pilasters which vertically link the upper two floors above the rusticated groundfloor. Wagnerian ornamentation is concentrated between the windows of the first flo or and on the cornice below the roof.

Railway workers’ Block, Resljeva 35, Josip Costaperaria, 1920/21

The portal, decorated with a mask of Mercury with bolts of lightning set on the rounded pediment, is the principal accent of the symmetricallate-Secession facade. The upper floor is designed as a blind arcade into which the windows are set. On the left and right edges of the facade are the dates of the construction of the building (1920 and 1921).

Rimska 20-22, Filip Supančič, 1899/1900

The late-historicist facade with Secession motifs (medallions, foliage and ribbons be1ow the eaves) is reminiscent of the facade of the building in Wenceslas Square in Prague by the architect, Jan Katera.

German House (Nemška hiša), Slovenska 11/Gradišče 6-8, Ernest Schafer, 1913/14

The group of apartment houses of the Carniolan Savings Bank was designed in the style of Viennese Secession. The richly articulated facades (oriels, balconies, Joggias) are decorated with geometric patterns composed of ceramic tiles below the crown moulding. The only figural decorations on all three fapdes, are ceramic statues with bouquets, bows or garlands, magnified copies of the statuettes by the famous workshop of Viennaer Keramik, and were probably made in Vienna.

Kolinska coffee blending Factory, Šmartinska 30, Kfička, 1909/10

The large factory complex is located between Šmartinska cesta and the railway line. A dynamic, asymmetrical Secession facade faces Šmartinska cesta and was originally articulated with dark lesenes against bright background and with varied gables. The main facade facing the rail way line is emphasised by an octagonal tower, which originally had a bell-shaped roof. The exceptionally beautiful, partially preserved factory chimney has an octagonal ground-plan.

Mansion on Šubičeva 10, Robert Smielowsky, 1906/07

One of the few single-family villas on the edge of Tivoli Park to have a Secession facade. The decorative motifs are concentrated on the surrounds of the windows, doors and roofed veranda.

Hribar house, Tavčarjeva 2, Slovenska 46, Max Fabiani, 1902/03

Judged from the formal aspect, this is one of the most ascetic of Fabiani’s works. It is designed according to classical antiquity proportions, with a cube as a basic module, alternating with a semicube on the ground floor. The obviously geometrically clear facade is divided with squares protruding like reliefs from the background, executed in rough and fine plaster. Ornaments are limited to narrow belts above the windows, which include little antique lion heads. The facade facing Slovenska cesta undulates three times with three shallow axes of windows, extending from the first floor up to the upper floor.

Vodnik House, Tavčarjeva 4, Ciril Metod Koch, 1902/03

The simply designed facade is decorated with undulating lines cut into the plaster above the windows of the second floor and running from one end to another. A stylised carnation is used for the first time as a decorative motif on a facade.

Tavčarjeva 10, Filip Supančič, 1907

A painted colour frieze decorates the cornice under Wagnerian eaves. The central axis of the building is dominated by a monumental portal designed with a semi-circular rose-window above the door.

Tavčarjeva 11, 1903

The fashionable Secession facade is treated in vivid colours. The cornice is decorated with painted ornament representing flowering roses among green foliage on the sides and sunflowers in the centre, in which are set three medallions with female busts.

Tavčarjeva 13, Valentin Accetto, 1904

The Wagnerian facade is treated in two colours. It is divided by pilasters reaching from the groundfloor to the top of the building into three vertical parts. Geometric decoration which is distributed around the windows concentrates towards the top of the facade where it is combined with an intensely coloured cornice below the eaves. The entrance door is decorated with a metallatticework with floral motifs.

Tavčarjeva 15, 1906

The facade is a five-axis one with an oriel in the centre which is terminated with a bulb-shaped roof. Wagnerian decoration is concentrated on the oriel, around the windows and under the eaves.

Agricultural Loan Bank (Kmečka posojilnica), Trdinova 2 & 8, Ciril Metod Koch, 1906/07.

The two corner buildings are identical and have identical decorative facades treated in intensive colours. Floral motifs decorate the windows of the first floor, borders of green and blue glazed tiles encircle the windows of the second, and a chessboard motif embellishes the cornice below the eaves.

Karol Pollak Leather Factory (Rog), Trubarjeva 72, Josip Jakutsch, 1900-17

The first industrial building in Ljubljana, built entirely of reinforced concrete; the structure of characteristic vertical and horizontal concrete links is visible on the facade. Here, for the first time in Ljubljana, the construction system of the French engineer, Francois Hennebique, was used. The building is remarkable for its monumental exterior and also for its interior which represents a unified spatial structure without intermediate supports, unique for its dimensions. The facade columns are reminiscent of neo-Cubist Czech examples.

Elementary School Vič, Tržaška 74, Jan Bednar, 1911

The main entrance to the building erected on a symmetrical groundplan and emphasised with a central projection is facing Tržaška cesta. The facade is decorated with floral motifs above the main entrance and above the window above it on the first floor. The attic bears the inscription Izobrazbi 1 To the education/ and the two side facades bear inscriptions in typical Secession frames, enclosing the name s of two important Slovene school workers: on the south facade there is the name of Franc Močnik, on the north of Andrej Praprotnik.

Mansion on Veselova 13, Filip Supančič, 1908.

Mansion in secession style.  

Župančičeva 8, Ljubljana

House on Župančičeva 8 in secession style.

Saint James Rectory (Šentjakobsko župnišče), Gornji trg 18, Maks Fabiani, 1907/08

The facade of the building is a typical example of Fabiani’s so-called reductionist style. The decoration is reduced to stylised Baroque-like motifs under the windows. The central projection is terminated with a triangular attic, the main entrance is set in the right axis. The stairwell in the form of a circular reinforced concrete tower capped with a coni cal roof is attached to the courtyard side of the building.

Ulica Janez Pavel II 8, Filip Supančič, 1905

A family villa in a garden, with rich architectonic articulation.

Ulica Janez Pavel II 12-14, Gustav Tonnies, 1904/05

The modest Secession facade is decorated with geometric patterns in plaster.

Ulica Stare pravde 5, Valentin Accetto, 1904

A simple fac;:ade with modest plant decoration above the two-light window in the attic of the side projection.

Ulica Stare pravde 9, 1905

The simple facade is horizontally divided by a moulding, coloured gold, between the ground-floor and the first floor and a cornice, coloured gold as well, completed at the lower side with a course of golden stucco squares.

Villa Vesna, Ulica talcev 2, Filip Supančič, 1909

A two-apartment villa, whose exterior design imitates examples of vernacular architecture in its timber-treated gable and balcony on the second, mansard, floor. The horizontal course between the ground-floor and the first floor is decorated with geometric pattern composed of squares; the portal and the railings are embellished with metalwork with stylized plant motifs.

Veselova 13, Filip Supančič, 1908

The architectonic articulation of the building is fairly rich: there are a central projection, an oriel and a turret, loggias, balconies, etc. and abundant, fashionable decoration around the windows of the first and second floors and on the railings of the balconies.

Villa Madelaine, Veselova 17, Anton Wolf, 1902

The neo-Classicist villa was originally decorated with fashionable Secession patterns on the railings of the balconies, on the cornice and in the attics above the side windows. After the adaptation of 1910 for the new owner, K. Triller, the facade retained only few Secession decorative elements on the pilasters between the windows of the upper storey.

Dolenc House, Wolfova 10, Jakob Accetto, 1897/98

A type of apartment house with two parallel wings enclosing a narrow courtyard. A late-Historicist fat;ade with Secession elements, the most distinguished being the wrought-iron lattice above the door of the vehicle access.

Anatomical Institute (Anatomski inštitut), Zaloška 2, Ivan Vurnik, 1919/20

A simple facade, divided vertically by pillars triangular in plan; between them the windows are set, and the wall is ornamented with a zig-zag pattern, thus being reminiscent of motifs of Czech neo-Cubist architecture.

Župančičeva 7, Gustav Tonnies, 1910/11

The facade is treated in two colours, in bright and dark plaster. The central part is accentuated with a slightly protruding oriel reaching from the first floor to the third. Geometric decoration is concentrated above the windows and becomes denser on the gable.

Župančičeva 8, Gustav Tonnies, 1910/11

The facade is designed in a similar way to the fat;:ade of Hugo Peternel’s building at 9 Beethovnova ulica. It only differs in the form of the central portion which is articulated with balconies supported by brackets and in decorative details.

Bridge across the Gradaščica Jekar bridge (Jekarski/Razorčev most), 1903

The east iron construction is covered with iron plates decorated with wrought-iron floral motifs. The iron balustrade is decorated with stylised flowers mounted on iron bars curving in Secession lines.

Source: List of Secession buildings in Ljubljana