The more than 100-year-old former bank building is located in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is an attractive location in the city centre. Today, the building is one of the most important buildings in the city and its unique appearance is the result of the architect’s work on the so-called national style
The building was designed by Ivan Vurnik. Its construction began in 1921 and was completed just one year later. The building was designed as a residential and commercial building, and was built as the headquarters of the Ljubljana Co-operative Bank (Slovenian.Stavba Zadružne gospodarske banke)
Located at 8 Miklošičeva Street, the building has five storeys. Its façade is impressive. It is colourful and resembles a painting. Architect Ivan Vurnik worked on the design of the building in collaboration with his wife Helena Vurnik. The architects designed the building in the so-called Slovenian national style. What elements bear witness to this? Above all, it is the colourful façade, which refers to the colours of the coat of arms of the Duchy of Kraina. The Duchy existed from 1364 to 1918 and included Ljubljana with its immediate surroundings, and the colours of its flag are the same as those of Slovenia today
The former bank building is decorated with elements in white, yellow, red and blue. The customer service area was designed on the ground floor. A large banking hall was built there, and flats were designed on the upper floors. Fans of the architecture will certainly appreciate the details. The staircase is decorated with stained-glass windows with geometric motifs. To illuminate the interior, the architect designed two skylights that run from the two-storey hall up to the roof. The hall itself is a spacious room, which was divided by columns into three sections. The middle one was for customers and the two side ones for bank employees
Both the facade and the rooms were painted by Helena Vurnik. The designer used the pointed arch motif, characteristic of her work. This motif can also be seen in the window decorations
Today, the Slovenian Land Registry (Zemljiška knjiga) operates in the former bank building
source: Ljubljana Tourism Archive
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