The Government Building and President's Office (), also simply the Government Building () or the President's Office (), is a building in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, the capital of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, that houses the Office of the President of Slovenia, the

Secretary-General of the Government of Slovenia The Government of the Republic of Slovenia () exercises executive authority in Slovenia pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of Slovenia. It is also the highest administrative authority in Slovenia. The government carries out the country's d ...

, and the Protocol of Slovenia. It stands at the corner of Prešeren Street (),

Erjavec Street Erjavec is a South Slavic surname, occurring mainly in Slovenia and Croatia. Notable people with the surname include: * Davor Erjavec (born 1970), German water polo player * Karl Erjavec (born 1960), Slovenian lawyer and politician *Mladen Erjave ...

(), and Gregorčič Street () in the Center District, next to the

Cankar Centre The Cankar Centre or Cankar Hall () is the largest Slovenian convention, congress and culture center. The building was designed by the architect Edvard Ravnikar and was built at the southern edge of Republic Square in Ljubljana between 1977 and 1 ...

. It is used for state and ceremonial functions, as well as for receptions and meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries and heads of state. Occasionally, exhibits take place there.

History

The project documentation for the building was prepared by the engineer Rudolf Bauer based on work by the architect Emil von Förster. The first excavations took place in October 1886; foundations were laid in spring 1897. The usage permit was issued on 11 November 1898. The building was at first used as the headquarters of the provincial Carniolan authorities. After World War II, it housed the Mayors of Ljubljana, the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

and, since 1975, the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia. Since 1993 it has housed the Office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, the Office of the Prime Minister of Slovenia and the Secretary-General of the Government of Slovenia. That year it was protected as a cultural monument.

Architecture

The three-storey building was built in the

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

style and has an atrial ground plan. There are two courtyards and the great hall, called Crystal Hall, which is now used for receptions, but was originally a chapel. The front façade, turned towards Prešeren Street, has three entrances. On the sides of the main entrance, which is in the middle, stand the allegorical statues of power and law, created by the Viennese architect Josef Beyer. There are also two minor entrances at the front, one to each side of the main entrance. These entrances open to a busy city avenue and do not make an impression typical of a protocol building. In addition, there are entrances from Erjavec Street and Gregorčič Street. The corners of the building are emphasised by towers. The interior was decorated in the interwar period (20th century) by

Gojmir Anton Kos Gojmir Anton Kos (January 24, 1896 – May 22, 1970) was a Slovene academy-trained painter, photographer, and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana. Gojmir was born in the town of Gorizia (then part of Austria-Hungary, now in Ita ...

with scenes from the

history of Slovenia The history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovenian Lands, Slovenian territory from the 5th century BC to the present. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto-Illyrians, Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the ...

References

External links

*
Virtual Panorama
President of the Republic of Slovenia. Accessed 14 February 2012. {{Assembly buildings of Yugoslav Banovinas Presidential residences Official residences in Slovenia Cultural venues in Ljubljana Palaces in Ljubljana Renaissance Revival architecture in Ljubljana Center District, Ljubljana Houses completed in 1899 Palaces in Slovenia