bg Novi Sad

Grand Hotel Mayer

- Trg Slobode 5 -
The construction of the three-story building, which houses a commercial function on the first floor and a residential function on the upper floors, took place somewhere between 1892 and 1893. It was built on the plot of the tavern that went by the name Zeleni Venac, which was first mentioned in 1754 when it was recorded that it was opened in the house of Captain Sava Nikolić. The current building was built as a luxurious hotel under the name Grand Hotel Mayer for the owners Emmerlich and Regina Mayer. In 1916, the hotel was bought by , and on November 25, 1918, the Grand National Assembly of joining Serbia was held in the great hall of the hotel.
Grand National Assembly in the great hall of the hotel
After the , the name was changed to the Hotel Sloboda, and in this period, the Odeon Cinema was opened in the courtyard of the hotel. The cinema was built according to a project of the architect according to the project of August Nayar, and after the , the name of the cinema was changed to Slavica. There were also performances held at the Serbian National Theater in the hall of the Hotel Sloboda. The hotel operated until 1953, after which it was nationalized and was given to the Yugoslav army to serve as the Army Club, and later on, it was bought by the Vojvodina Bank.
The building somewhere before 1904 shown on an old postcard
On top of the building, which is built in the Neo-Baroque style, you can see a majestic dome that's crowned with a , which contains a that features the Cyrillic letters В.Б. (V.B.). A bit further down, you can admire a huge swan neck , as well as a with underneath it an motif and different types of , one of which is adorned with foliage. More dentils are used to decorate the roof cornice, as well as the cornice that's placed between the first and second floor. The round-shaped that stretch all the way up from the second until the third floor, are crowned Composite . Above the third floor windows, you can either see a in combination with a decorative shell and acanthus foliage, or a pediment supported by four , which in the midst of two of them a . More cartouches and corbels are placed underneath the third floor windows, but in the same places there are also present. The second floor windows are topped with even more cartouches, corbels, and pediments, but underneath these same windows, you'll be able to see a beautifully decorated . The balcony that's placed in the central part of the main facade is secured with a wrought iron railing and supported by three massive corbels embellished with and . A is placed above the circular windows, which are decorated with even more volutes and acanthus foliage.
The building somewhere after 1904 shown on an old postcard