Gruber Palace

Gruber Palace is a palace in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia located on the Ljubljanica river bank. It currently houses the National Archives of Slovenia (Narodni arhiv Slovenije).

History

The palace was built between 1773 and 1781 in a braided Baroque and Rococo style by the Jesuit Viennese hydrology expert and architect Gabriel Gruber who as the builder of the Gruberjev kanal drainage channel used the palace as a physics and hydraulics research institute. Testament to this is that he equipped the palace with its own astronomical observatory for the purposes of Gruber's School of Hydraulics and Mechanics [ [http://www.ljubljana-tourism.si/en/sights/baroque_ljubljana/gruber_palace/default.html Ljubljana tourism.si] ] . Gruber was later deported to Russia around 1784.

In 1840 the palace 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 Saving Bank and in 1965, become the National Archive of Slovenia, undergoing renewal in 1990 [ [http://www.ijs.si/slo/ljubljana/gruber.html www.ijs.si] ] .

Architecture

The palace is designed in the late Baroque and Rococo style by highly shilled stucco artisans who commissioned to decorate its façade and interior. The Palace is noted for its oval staircase in cool pastel colors of the era and braided and is topped with a domed ceiling designed allegorically, it is a fresco of trade, crafts and technology, completed in 1786 by Andrej Herrlein [ [http://www.ijs.si/slo/ljubljana/gruber.html www.ijs.si] ] [ [http://www.ljubljana-tourism.si/en/sights/baroque_ljubljana/gruber_palace/default.html Ljubljana tourism.si] ] , two years after Gruber himself had been forced to leave.

On the first floor of the palace is a chapel adorned with paintings depicting the life of the Virgin Mary which were painted by the Austrian painter Johann Martin Schmidt, also known as Kremser Schmidt.

References

External links

* [http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/slovenia/ljubljana/sights/1000297730 City location Lonely Planet ]