The most beautiful buildings in Maribor are telling stories
We rush by them to do errands. We drive by them by bike or by bus to the faculty. We walk by them in the evening, when the sun sinks behind the Drava River. They’ve been here for centuries. Many generations walked by them and they are caught in the same place, silently greeting everyone who passes by. They don’t talk, but they tell stories about historic eras, different events, if we only know how to see or listen.
A coffee shop, then a casino, today an image of Yugoslavian bourgeoisie
When you drive by Narodni dom, before you go into roundabout, the eyes can see a big sign CASINO in the first floor of the impressive brown building. On one side city hustle and bustle, on the other side calm Drava River and between them, the building from the beginning of 20th century. On the main square Glavni trg 1, right before the old bridge Stari most, German brothers Franz built this building. It was named Teresienhof, after Mother Theresa.
In this building, there was a coffee shop where Maribor eminence talked while sipping coffee. It was the centre of the social life in the fifties and the sixties. It was a pride and a status symbol of citizens in Maribor who chatted here with a cup of coffee, danced in the dance hall in the first floor, flirted on the terrace, knowing Drava River will wash away their secrets.
And then there was a casino, whose career quickly ended. First the financial crisis, then the smoking ban and then the opening of another casino near the city, which lead the casino to close in 2008 and the name stayed in the minds of people.
It is now a space for creative cooperative PERON and the ground floor was turned into an urban city living room named Salon uporabnih umetnosti. The salon wants to join the past and the present. While visitors drink their tea from a porcelain cup, they can listen to an instrumental music, played by local musicians, who always have their door open to the salon.
The Pearl of Styrian secession
On the crossroads of Smetanova and Prežihova streets there is a house, that was built in 1903 for baroness Emma Mixich Rast, named also Baroness’ House. The archive plans from 1902 tell that the architect Fritz Friedriger first planned a more monumental house than he built, but the house still resembles secessional art and has in the past. It was restored in 2015, after long decades of decay, being a shame to the city and the people, passing by.
The building is a work of Fritz Friedriger, a German who lived in the city from 1891 to 1913 and left Maribor an amazing work. But the city never recognized him as its own. Even though he’s important for Styria not only as an architect, but also as a builder, a leader of regulation plan of Maribor, his name is forgotten.
After the restoration, worth 2.2 million Euros, the building finally got what deserved. The blue beauty is one of the nicest and cleanest examples of secession building. The building in shape of an L is now home to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
On the west (looking to Prežihova Street) there is a balcony with an ornamented fence. Ornamented window trim and yellow ceramics are signs of amazing architectural style and the masks on the facade are the main features. Geometrical ornaments and plant ornaments are typical secession and the staircase inside is also a great example of secession. The ceiling has amazing concrete mouldings and the forged fence is also full of secession motifs.
Defence tower with smell of witches
While walking by the Drava River, you can’t overlook the round tower, which lies between the Maribor market, puppet theatre and the bay, named Benetke. The tall tower with wooden blinds, right beneath the dome roof is one of the defence towers of the city wall, which used to protect the city. They are named Judgement Tower, Round Tower and Monastery Tower. The history of the tower is interesting, it got a lot of additions and changes, it was caught by fire many times, which lead to the different architectural styles.
The tower was built in 14th centuries, it was a defence tower and touched the city defence wall. In 16th century, around 1540, it was turned into a fort and covered with a dome roof. It burned down in 17th century. After the fire, the renaissance tower was preserved till the second floor and the top was built again. In 19th century (around 1830) they added the fourth floor. The tower was caught by fire again in 1937 and was again restored after World War II.
The tower, which opens its door during the Lent festival and hosts concerts, but didn’t have a happy purpose in the past. It was a site of trials where women were charged of witchcraft. Because they were tortured, they confessed everything and then they were executed by drowning them or burning them.
From a court to the prisons to the “I do”
The symbol of local authority once stood on the Koroška Street, but was ruined by fire in the beginning of the 16th century. They built a new town hall on the Castle square in late gothic style, where town council and town judge got its home. The Italian masters rebuilt the building between 1563 and 1565, the proof of it is loggia, which ornamented with a relief of the city coat-of-arms, surrounded by lions and the year 1565. The building was a court until 17th century and a prison in ground floor and in the cellar.
One of the most important buildings in the city was also a municipality until 1967. From 2010 it is a space for protocol events. In the baroque hall with beautiful mouldings there are now weddings and mayor receptions. If we stand on the main square and we see towards Rotovž, we can see the clock tower, which is moved a little to the right. Legend says that the builder didn’t receive a fair payment and moved the tower to the right because of revenge.
Maribor is a great city, worth a visit. Walk on the narrow streets in the city centre. Climb to the hills Piramida or Kalvarija and sink in the views. Drink a coffee on the roof of the Slavija building, which will charm you every day of the year. Don’t forget to visit the oldest vine in the world. We invite you to stay in
hostel UNI in the city centre. On the other side of the Drava river, they expect you in the
hostel Pekarna. In the first, you will be looked after like kings. Youth hostel UNI has the highest category of accommodation, marked by 5 triangles. Hostel Pekarna on the other side of the city is also close to all of the city buzz, as it’s only a few minutes away from the city centre. It’s a part of the complex, built by Austro-Hungarian military at the end of 19th century to satisfy the need for bread in the military post on the side of the city. The name is still here, and the new rooms are furnished by latest trends.
