Kresija Building
The Kresija Building (Slovene: palača Kresija) is a building that together with Philip Mansion marks the entrance to the old town of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.[1] It stands at the Adamič and Lunder Embankment (Adamič-Lundrovo nabrežje) on the right bank of the river Ljubljanica immediately after the Triple Bridge and borders Pogačar Square (Pogačarjev trg), Stritar Street (Stritarjeva ulica), and Maček Street (Mačkova ulica).[2] Until 2007, the Ljubljana Center Administrative Unit was stationed in the building.[3] Now, it houses a number of municipal offices, the Kresija Gallery, and the Ljubljana visitor centre.[4][5]
History
The name of the building comes from the German word Kreisamt, referring to the district office of Ljubljana. Before the 1895 Ljubljana earthquake, there was a building of a hospital and a school at the place.[5] At the first floor, the district office was stationed in the first half of the 19th century.[6] St. Elizabeth's Church stood next to it until 1831.[7]
Architecture
The building has an irregular square plan and an inner court.[8] It is noted for its Neo-Renaissance façades and interior.[8] The decoration resembles of the Baroque.[1] It was designed by the Graz architect Leopold Theyer and erected in 1897 and 1898, after the earthquake in 1895.[8] The entrance portal of the building is turned towards the Adamič and Lunder Embankment. Above it, there is a balcony with a wrought iron fence, and above the balcony, there is a coat of arms of the city of Ljubljana in a cartouche, encased with a sculpture of a genius on each side. The genii are work by the sculptor Alojzij Repič (1866–1941).[9]
Memorials
Since 1999, there are two busts on the southwestern facade, turned towards Stritar Street, of the Kresija Building, a bust of the Protestant grammarian Adam Bohorič and a bust of the 17th-century physician Marko Gerbec. Below the turret on the northwestern corner side, a plaque was installed in 2005 in remembrance of the Manoeuvre Structures of National Protection, a paramilitary force that secretly operated in the building in 1991 and contributed to the establishment of the independence of Slovenia. Another plaque, dedicated to the Ljubljana Coordination Group of Independence Efforts in 1991, was installed in 2008.
References
- "Filipov dvorec in Kresija" [Philip Mansion and Kresija]. Arhitekturni vodnik [Architectural Guide] (in Slovenian). Zavod Trajekt. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- "5595: Ljubljana - Kresija" [5595: Ljubljana – Kresija]. Register nepremične kulturne dediščine [Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage] (in Slovenian). Ministrstvo za kulturo Republike Slovenije. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- "Za Kresijo na mestu še nimajo novih načrtov" [The Town Has no Plans for Kresija Yet]. Dnevnik.si (in Slovenian). 14 November 2011.
- Dobnik, Jože (2006). "Točka Ljubljana" [Point: Ljubljana]. Pot kurirjev in vezistov NOV Slovenije [Path of Couriers and Operators of the National Liberation War of Slovenia] (in Slovenian). Društvo Domicilnega odbora kurirjev in vezistov NOV Slovenije. ISBN 961-238-581-5. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- "Kresija – stanovska latinska šola – Adam Bohorič – protestantsko šolstvo" [Kresija – Protestant Estates' Latin School – Adam Bohorič – Protestant Education]. Sprehod po poti kulturne dediščine šolstva v Ljubljani [A Walk Along the Path of the Cultural Heritage of Education in Ljubljana. Slovenian School Museum. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- Andrejka, R. (19 April 1935). "Ljubljanske ulice, ki so izginile" [Streets of Ljubljana that Have Disappeared]. Slovenec: političen list za slovenski narod. Vol. 62, no. 91a. Ljudska tiskarna. ISSN 1408-2381.
- Stare, Vida (1991). "Pokopališče pri sv. Elizabeti v Špitalski ulici v Ljubljani" [The Cemetery at St. Elizabeth's Church in Hospital Street in Ljubljana]. Kronika: časopis za slovensko krajevno zgodovino [The Chronicle: the Newspaper for the Slovenian History of Places] (in Slovenian). Association of Slovenian Historical Societies, Section for the History of Places. 39 (3). ISSN 0023-4923.
- Lutman, Marjana. "Kresija". In Šmid Hribar, Mateja; Golež, Gregor; Podjed, Dan; Kladnik, Drago; Erhartič, Bojan; Pavlin, Primož; Ines, Jerele (eds.). Enciklopedija naravne in kulturne dediščine na Slovenskem – DEDI [Encyclopedia of Natural and Cultural Heritage in Slovenia] (in Slovenian). Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- Rožič, Janko (2010). "Nacionalni slog v arhitekturi" [National Style in Architecture]. 46. seminar slovenskega jezika, literature in kulture: Slovanstvo v slovenskem jeziku, literaturi in kulturi [The 46th Seminar of the Slovene Language, Literature, and Culture: Slavism in the Slovene Language, Literature, and Culture] (PDF) (in Slovenian). p. 135. ISBN 978-961-237-363-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2014-04-14.