The Slovenian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage wishes all lovers of culture and heritage an inspiring Slovenian cultural holiday. May your heritage connect you, enrich you and accompany you in many beautiful moments.
Today, 6 February, Vrba hosts the opening ceremony of the renovated Prešeren House and Homestead.
During the previous restoration work, graffiti, a variety of short manuscript inscriptions, mainly in Latin and German, dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries, were discovered on the first floor of the courtyard façade of the north wall of the town hall, in the arcade corridor under the whitewalls.
The Rotovž Centre, which will house the central unit of the Maribor Library, the Maribor Art Gallery and an art cinema, is expected to come into operation at the end of the year. The complex renovation of this important cultural monument 2022-2026 is being carried out by Dr Eva Sapač, Conservation Adviser at the Maribor Branch of the ZVKDS, who is the author of the paper published below.
The Maribor Town Hall, built by 1565, is considered to be a remarkable example of Italian fortification architecture, led by Domenico dell'Allia and Peter Antonio Pigrato, and is comparable to the Graz Regional and former Town Halls.
During the previous restoration work, graffiti, a variety of short manuscript inscriptions, mainly in Latin and German, dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries, were discovered on the first floor of the courtyard façade of the north wall of the town hall, in the arcade corridor under the whitewalls. Unfortunately, they are badly damaged and it will not be easy to explain their significance to the experts who are already studying them.
In the rooms of the town hall floor, Renaissance beams with high quality carved, partly symbolic patterns were discovered under plastered flat ceilings, which, in addition to the already known significance of the exterior, also show the engaged design of the interior of the town hall from the 1660s.
Probing work in the interior will continue. It is also remarkable to discover that the courtyard façade, adjacent to Rotovški trg, was as ambitiously designed as the main façade, which is the central building of the Main Square. The parapet railing under the Renaissance columns of the arcades was originally designed as a full-length balustrade railing with intermediate rosettes, the only one of which was discovered during the renovation in the 1950s. The details are almost identical to those on the famous balcony of the town hall.
Balcony of the Town Hall 1565
In Renaissance times, the importance of the driveway or access to the Rotovžíž from Rotovšek Square was certainly very representative. This discovery is also topical and telling in the light of the significance of Rotovské Square, which has long been considered a courtyard and a minor square, but now, as in the Renaissance, will come to life with new amenities.
In the context of the renovation, it is also worth mentioning a remarkable monument, the house Main Square 15, which is adjacent to and connected to the town hall to the east. The three-storey building in the development dates from the 15th century (early Renaissance beamed ceilings) with a three-bay façade dating from the 1870s. The latest restoration survey work in 2022-2025 has contributed to new findings.
House painting Glavni trg 15, Maribor
On the main façade, a late Gothic-early Renaissance ornamented façade from the 15th century was discovered and documented on the damaged parts, under the existing façade from 1777, which was mostly reconstructed in the 20th century, but of a very high quality design. The latter is of exceptional importance for the face of the main square and will continue to adorn the town with its characteristic whalebone decoration. During the renovation, a stone tablet with an inscription and a chronogram (18th century) was discovered on the first floor of the main façade. At the end of 2022, the interior of the eastern two rooms on the first and second floors was renovated and the paintings on the walls of the two eastern rooms were discovered. The frescoes on the second floor in particular are of very high quality. In terms of style and motifs, it is a profane interior, a typical example of Classical architectural geometric composition, which divides the whole space into several segments. The central field of the ceiling features a stuccoed roccaille motif, which is a key feature of the Rococo style and was undoubtedly executed at the same time as the interior painting. The most important feature of the painting is the festoons or garlands which appear in several places in a yellow-brown ochre, giving the effect of gold paint. It is therefore a combination of Rococo and Classical aesthetics, combined in the transitional Whig style, and a rare direct link to the same motif on the façade, which is why we can speak of the renovation of an older, essentially early Renaissance house from the 15th century into a town »palace« from the Whig period during the reign of Joseph II.
On Monday, 19 January 2026, the first event of the series »Rotovžské stories of once and tomorrow« took place at the Maribor Puppet Theatre, dedicated to the illumination of Rotovž Square in the light of the construction of the City House of Culture Rotovž, where Dr. Eva Sapač (second from the right) took part and presented her findings.
