ELEVATOR

You are standing before the door of the elevator designed and installed in 1938, during the reconstruction of the Governor's Palace under Italian rule. Just when it was removed, remains unknown. The door with the manufacturer’s mark and the operating mechanism in the attic have been preserved.

Installation of an elevator became necessity after the extensive rearrangement of the Palace's space, to facilitate vertical movement in the western and eastern sections as required by the Palace's various users.

Namely, both floors of the eastern part of the Palace were intended for guests who used the formerly private staircase of the Hungarian governor and his family, while the western part of the Palace was set aside as the Italian governor’s residence. His living quarters were located here, on the second floor, and his office (Small Salon) was directly below it, on the first floor. However, with the exception of the servants' staircase, there was no vertical communication in the western part of the Palace for the governor to use while the one in the eastern part intended for guests was inappropriate. Therefore it was decided that an elevator had to be installed, leading from the governor's office on the first floor to his residence on the second floor.

On 14 June 1938 the design was assigned to Officine meccaniche Stiegler from Milan. The cabin was luxurious – lined with finely worked wood of dark walnut colour with decorative details in the Baroque style. Its double-leaf doors had double glass and the floor was lined with linoleum. There was a mirror facing the door and two chairs in the corners, upholstered with red velvet.

After the elevator was removed, the part of its shaft on the first floor was turned into a room where the Kresnik Collection is now exhibited.