- Gruber Palace
Gruber Palace is a palace in
Ljubljana , the capital ofSlovenia located on theLjubljanica river bank. It currently houses the National Archives of Slovenia (Narodni arhiv Slovenije).History
The palace was built between
1773 and1781 in a braidedBaroque andRococo style by theJesuit Viennese hydrology expert and architectGabriel 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 astronomicalobservatory 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 toRussia around1784 .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 andRococo style by highly shilledstucco artisans who commissioned to decorate its façade and interior. The Palace is noted for its ovalstaircase in cool pastel colors of the era and braided and is topped with a domed ceiling designed allegorically, it is afresco oftrade ,crafts andtechnology , completed in1786 byAndrej 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 painterJohann Martin Schmidt , also known asKremser Schmidt .References
External links
* [http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/slovenia/ljubljana/sights/1000297730 City location
Lonely Planet ]
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