The Town Hall is an ancient building that houses the Ljubljana City Municipality. The building is over five centuries old. The building was originally built in the Gothic style favoured by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Baroque was in vogue in Ljubljana in the 17th and 18th centuries. Famous Italian architects made efforts to create a unified architectural appearance of the old city. Thanks to them, Ljubljana is considered the Baroque capital of Eastern Europe. In 1817-1719, the Town Hall was rebuilt in accordance with the general style of the city - in the late Italian Baroque style. The construction was led by Gregor Maček, but he used the designs of Carlo Martinuzzi, the architect of the famous Bishop's Palace, the Ursulina Church of the Holy Trinity and other beautiful baroque buildings in Ljubljana. Maček's special merit was the use of the sgraffito style of decoration, which is labour-intensive but allows architectural decorations to remain in their original form for thousands of years. So the mythological sculptures, the 17th century map of Ljubljana on one of the facades, and other elements of decoration have been in pristine condition for the fourth century.
In front of the Town Hall is another famous Baroque monument, the Carniola Rivers Fountain. It is the last work of the Venetian architect Francesco Robb, who lived and worked in Ljubljana in the 18th century. The trefoil-shaped base is modelled on the ancient seal of the city. The fountain is surrounded by allegorical statues of three, representing the three rivers of Ljubljana - the Krka, the Sava and the Ljubljanica. However, when designing it, Robba did not take into account that river in Italy is a masculine word, while in Slavs it is a feminine word. Therefore, the rivers are depicted by male figures. This error does not prevent the Roman-like fountain from being a true ornament of the Town Hall Square.
In the inner courtyards of the Town Hall there is another work by the same architect, the Fountain of Narcissus. Later, in the same courtyards, a monument was erected to Ivan Hribar, a famous politician and burgomaster of the city, who was a follower of Slavic ideas.
The Town Hall is open to the public.
