GALERIJA EMPORIUM, LJUBLJANA; This mercantile building represents one of the finest complete works of art nouveau in Ljubljana. The year on the facade tells us that it was built in 1903, on the site of two smaller suburban buildings that had been severely damaged in the earthquake. Ljubljana merchant Felix Urbanc combined three lots and in July 1902 submitted an application to the city authorities for planning permission to build a three-storey retail building.
He entrusted the plans to the Graz architect Friedrich Sigmund, and in the opinion of some art historians, this was supposedly the architect's highest-quality work. The concept of the store as a single sales premises, which was linked via a monumental staircase to a walk-through sales gallery, was reminiscent of the department stores of that time in Paris, Vienna or Budapest. In his plans, Sigmund also supposedly drew from some Budapest department store.
