About the building

The construction of the building began in 1954 to a plan by Vinko Glanz and completed in 1959. Thus, the building hosted the first session of the People's Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia on 19 February 1959. The building measures 2200 m². The first sessions in the building were held by the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia; since independence, the building has been home to the National Assembly and the National Council.

National Assembly building, front view

The construction was guided by the principle that local materials such as marble, stone and wood should be used. Thus the entire building is tiled with karstic marble from Kopriva, while the areas under the windows on the façade are filled with green granite from Oplotnica.

The façade is adorned by a portal rising halfway up the first floor on five granite pillars, where its top serves as a balcony. The creators of the symbolic sculptural composition – with figures symbolically depicting real life (peace, family happiness, child's play, industry, etc.) – were sculptors Karel Putrih and Zdenko Kalin. The front doors are made of oak.

Local materials – including marble, stone and wood – were also used in the interior of the building. The lobby is covered with marble from the Bela Krajina region; the walls of the stairway and those on the second floor are tiled with light marble from Hotavlje, while the walls on the first floor are covered with red marble from the same area. The flooring is of green and grey granite from Pohorje, and the walls of the ground floor are covered with dark stone from Podpeč. The corridor on the third floor is tiled with karstic limestone.

The mosaics and frescoes adorning the interior of the parliament are by renowned Slovenian artists: Jože Ciuha, Ivo Šubic, Marij Pregelj, Ivan Seljak-Čopič, while the lobby of the Great Hall is dominated by a fresco by painter Slavko Pengov depicting the history of the Slovene nation from settlement to the period following the Second World War.

National Assembly building, side view

The mural is complemented by the permanent exhibition The History of Slovenian Parliamentarism on glass, which portrays the development of parliamentarism from the enthronement of princes in the Carantanian Principality to the first democratic elections in Slovenia and the constituting of the ninety-member National Assembly in December 1992. The exhibition also illuminates important milestones in the recent history of the establishment and development of Slovenian state, such as the plebiscite on independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Slovenia, the ten-day war, Slovenia's membership of international organisations, and the introduction of the euro.

The sculpture Wrestling Boys, a work by France Kralj dating to 1942, is displayed in the lobby of the Great Hall.

The lobby of the Great Hall is intended for receptions, protocol meetings, oaths of office of judges, public statements, and other events.

Tomšičeva street entrance

The walls of the first-floor corridor, next to the entrance to the Large Reception Room, are adorned by portraits of former Presidents of the National Assembly.

In 1991, a number of accesses were created to link the parliament building with the adjacent building on Tomšičeva Street. The latter building was constructed in 1879 and 1880 as Carniolan Savings Bank; later on, the premises were taken over by the Banate administration, which extended the building, and before World War II, by the Banate Savings Bank. After the war, the offices were taken over by the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Slovenia. Today, the building contains offices for deputy groups, working bodies, and various services of the National Assembly. Since 2010, the walls of the main corridor (stairway) on the first floor have been graced with the photography exhibition The Moment's Turning Point.

 


 

The Slovenian house of democracy is a mighty four-storey building in the centre of Ljubljana designed in the mid-20th century by architect Vinko Glanz. The entire building has been declared cultural heritage. It houses both the National Assembly and the National Council. It is possible to visit the building during Open Doors Days or in prearranged groups.

More in (only in Slovene):

Grabar, N. (2012): The Architecture of Parliament from the Plans of Vinko Glanz. (PDF 10MB)