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In the northwestern corner and Congress Square (Kongresni Trg No. 1), at its
intersection with Slovenska Ulica - between the wars known as Šelenburgova Ulica
after the wealthy merchant and philanthropist Johann Jakob Schell von
Schellenburg (1652-1715) - stands an imposing Neoclassicist building which to
this day is still known today as the ÒKazinaÓ. Dating from 1837, it was built at
the initiative of the Casino Society, whose members included the eminent Slovene
poet France Prešeren (1800-1849) and his good friend the Polish emigrant Emil
Krotytka, who also lived in this building until his death in 1839. The Casino
was a venue for entertainment and the meeting place of the elite and cream of
Ljubljana society. In addition to having a well stocked reading room, the Casino
was the venue for numerous events and functions; one of its balls was attended
by more than 1,400 guests. By the turn of the century the restaurant had become
a meeting place for the city«s German community, thus its name - Deutches
Casino. At a time when ethnic tension between Ljubljana«s Slovene and German
populations was high, Slovene students would demonstrate in front of the
building and throw stones at the windows. Between the world wars, the caf. on
the ground floor of the building came under the management of Fran Krapež,
nicknamed ÒŽiveliÓ (ÒCheersÓ) because of his characteristic greeting. Krapež
rearranged the caf., restaurant and veranda garden, and erected a pavilion in
the adjacent Star Park (Zvezda Park). Today«s Kazina houses several
institutions, including the Institute of Modern History and the National
Archives.
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