Gruber Mansion () is a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

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 ...

, standing at 1 Astronomy Street () on the right bank of the

Ljubljanica The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Leybach'', is a river in the southern part of the Ljubljana Basin in Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, lies on the river. The Ljubljanica rises south of the town of Vrhnika and ...

, east of Levstik Square () and Castle Hill. It currently houses the

Archives of the Republic of Slovenia The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia (ARS) () are the national archives of Slovenia. They were created in 1945, but have their origins in 1773. They are supervised by the Ministry of Culture (Slovenia), Slovenian Ministry of Culture. They are ...

History

The mansion was built between 1773 and 1777 in a braided

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style by the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...

hydrology expert and architect

Gabriel Gruber Gabriel Gruber, SJ (4 May 1740 – 7 April 1805) was an Austrian Jesuit and polymath of Slovenian descent. Aside from his classical formation for the priesthood, his interests ranged across agriculture, architecture, astronomy, engineering, hy ...

, who was also known for the construction of the Gruberjev kanal drainage channel. Gruber used the mansion as a physics and hydraulics research institute, a testament that being the construction of an

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

as a portion of the institution. In 1840, the mansion was purchased by Anton Virant, who merged the property with his own adjacent and used it as a guest accommodation and cafe named "Zur Sternwarte" (meaning observatory). In 1887, it was bought by the

Carniolan Savings Bank The Carniolan Savings Bank (, ) was a financial institution in Ljubljana, the main city of the Duchy of Carniola in the Habsburg Monarchy and present capital of Slovenia. It was first established in 1820 as the ''Laibacher Sparkasse'' (, with th ...

and in 1965, become the National Archive of Slovenia, undergoing renewal in 1990.

Architecture

The mansion was designed in the late

and

style by highly skilled

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

artisans who commissioned to decorate its façade and interior. It is noted for its oval

staircase A stairwell or stair room is a room in a building where a stair is located, and is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height. Collectively, a set of stairs and a stairwell is referred to as a staircase or stairway ...

in cool pastel colors of the era and braided and is topped with a domed ceiling designed allegorically, it is a

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

crafts A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, completed in 1786 by Andrej Herrlein, two years after Gruber himself had been forced to leave. On the first floor of the mansion is a chapel adorned with paintings depicting the life of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

which were painted by the Austrian painter

Martin Johann Schmidt Martin Johann Schmidt, called ''Kremser Schmidt'' or ''Kremserschmidt'', (25 September 1718 – 28 June 1801), was one of the outstanding Austrian painters of the late Baroque/Rococo along with Franz Anton Maulbertsch. He was born at Grafenw� ...

, also known as Kremser Schmidt. The facade of the mansion is ornamented with the portrait of Gabriel Gruber, created by the sculptor Janez Pirnat.

References

External links

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{{Authority control Mansions in Ljubljana Baroque palaces in Slovenia Houses completed in 1781 Cultural venues in Ljubljana Center District, Ljubljana