Mestni trg square

From the 12th century, the Mestni trg square was one of the centres of medieval Ljubljana. A large amount of its medieval architecture was destroyed in the earthquake of 1511 and later replaced by Renaissance and Baroque buildings, which have survived until the present day. The best known is the Town Hall (Magistrat) with the famous Robba Fountain (Robbov vodnjak), sculpted by Francesco Robba between 1743 and 1751, in front of it. The Town Hall complex also includes the flanking buildings, purchased by the municipal authorities in the 17th and 18th centuries respectively. The building located at no. 2 Mestni trg used to belong to the distinguished Dolničar family. Its façade was redesigned around 1780.

Mestni trg owes its distinctive appearance also to a number of other interesting buildings: Haman House (Hamanova hiša), which presently houses the City Art Museum (Mestna galerija); Lichtenberg House (Lichtenbergova hiša), renowned for its façade decorated with reliefs by the sculptor Osbalt Kittl in 1540 and a staircase dating from the 18th century; Skoberne House (Skobernetova hiša) with a façade dating from the same period; Rakovec and Obrez Houses (Rakovčeva hiša, Obrezova hiša), both built by the architect Matija Persky; Souvan House (Souvanova hiša), the square's highest building with a 17th century Empire-style façade decorated with Francesco Coconi's reliefs representing art, trade and agriculture.