Ljubljana Municipal Savings Bank 110 years

The Ljubljana Municipal Savings Bank (Mestna hranilnica ljubljanska) was built in 1904 according to the plans of the Sarajevo architect Josip Vancaš. The management obtained the plans for the new savings bank building in a public tender, prompted by the Ljubljana Mayor Ivan Hribar, and the tender was published in 1902 in the trade journals of Vienna, Prague and Zagreb.

The Ljubljana Municipal Savings Bank was one of the early works of Vancaš in the transition to the Vienna Secession. Secession elements are still mixed with late historicism, for instance in the decorative overloading of the facade, the exaggerated sectioning up of the facade surface and in individual decorative motifs. The relatively long facade is symmetrically divided into three vertical sections with a central risalite. This ends in a gable above which is the crest of the City of Ljubljana, while the central section is adorned with two allegorical statues personifying craft and industry. The facade adornment of late historicist and Secession motifs covers in effect the entire facade surface along the lines of the historicist “horror vacui”. The portal, with its awning of glass and wrought iron in the form of open flower petals, was created under the influence of the Franco-Belgian version of art nouveau.
In the interior, the architect devoted special attention to designing the entrance vestibule, staircase and business hall for clients with stucco adornment, decorative painting on the walls and ceilings, and etched ornamental glass.

Tatjana Adamič
Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia