OLDEST - Department store in Ljubljana, Galerija Emporium - Prešernov trg, Ljubljana
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SMacB
N 46° 03.105 E 014° 30.390
33T E 461822 N 5099915
Built in 1903, this is the oldest department store in Ljubljana.
Waymark Code: WMT565
Location: Slovenia
Date Posted: 09/28/2016
Views: 9
"Ljubljana's oldest department store in Urbanc House (Urbanceva hiša) was commissioned by the local merchant Feliks Urbanc in 1902 and completed in 1903. Designed by the Graz-based architect Friedrich Sigismundt, it was modelled on contemporary department stores in Graz, Vienna, Paris and Budapest.
The building's entrance is enhanced by a semicircular canopy in the shape of a flat open, fan-like petal cluster made from glass and wrought iron. On top of the building, above the front façade, there is a neo-Baroque statue of Mercury, the god of commerce and protector of merchants.
The inside of the department store features an interesting ornamented wooden staircase supported by two rows of columns. Among the columns there is a female statue symbolising crafts. The end of the banister is decorated with a wooden female head on each side. Everything about the interior decor, from furniture, decorated with plant motifs, to etched-glass shop windows and lamp design, reflects influences from Belgian and French Art Nouveau. This makes the Centromerkur building a rarity among Ljubljana's Art Nouveau monuments, most of which were inspired by Viennese Secession models."
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