Philip Mansion ( sl, Filipov dvorec) is a building in central

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, the capital of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It is located along the river

Ljubljanica The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Sava'', 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 flow ...

, at the corner of the Cankar Embankment () and Stritar Street (), next to the

Triple Bridge The Triple Bridge ( sl, Tromostovje, in older sources also ''Tromostje'') is a group of three bridges across the Ljubljanica River. It connects Ljubljana's historical medieval town on one bank and the modern city of Ljubljana, the capital of Slov ...

. On the other side of Stritar Street stands the Kresija Building. The two buildings mark the entry into the town's medieval part under

Ljubljana Castle Ljubljana Castle ( sl, Ljubljanski grad, german: Laibacher Schloss) is a castle complex standing on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a key landmark of the town. Originally a medieval fortress, it was probably ...

. The two buildings were designed after the 1895 Ljubljana earthquake by the

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

architect Leopold Theyer and completed in 1898. The mansion was built by the tradesman Filip Schreyer. Philip Mansion is distinguished by a

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

style. It is said that small

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

s on its

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

s were built at the explicit demand of the Mayor

Ivan Hribar Ivan Hribar (19 September 1851 – 18 April 1941) was a Slovene and Yugoslav banker, politician, diplomat and journalist. During the start of the 20th century, he was one of the leaders of the National Progressive Party, and one of the most ...

, who was an admirer of

Czech culture Czech culture has been shaped by its geographical position in the middle of Europe. Influences from its neighbours, political and social changes, wars and times of peace have all left their marks on Czech culture. Prague's significance as a Europea ...

and wanted Ljubljana to resemble

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, the "city of a hundred spires". However, the more probable explanation is that the spires were meant to serve as a reminder of the town gates in the old defensive wall that stood in their place.Hrausky, Andrej and Janez Koželj. ''Arhitekturni vodnik po Ljubljani: 107 izbranih zgradb''. Ljubljana: Darila Rokus d.o.o., 2007. . Pp. 10, 83.

References

{{coord, 46, 3, 3.08, N, 14, 30, 22.49, E, type:landmark_region:SI, display=title Mansions in Ljubljana Renaissance Revival architecture in Ljubljana Cultural venues in Ljubljana Center District, Ljubljana Houses completed in 1898