[SLO] 4. Poglavje: Po sledeh arhitekta Alberta Vallija
The idealisation of rural life and the desire for refuge in picturesque nature encouraged wealthier citizens to build holiday villas. In addition to the cultural and historical point of view, the construction of villas is also important from the urban development perspective. It dictates the formation of urban areas that connect individual rural hamlets into a whole. In Jesenice, the construction of the railway also played an important role.
The architect Albert Henrik Valli left a big mark here. He designed the Villa Valli (C. maršala Tita 13 Street), built in 1908. The villa is an Art Nouveau building located on a small hill by the main road; it also has a large orchard at the back. At the same time, Valli was also commissioned to design a new house by the factory doctor Dr Orest Wolff, who was his best man at his wedding. His villa was built below today's TVD Partizan. It was demolished in the 1970s or 1980s. The beautiful appearance of Valli’s first villa also impressed the pharmacist Ernest Koželj, who commissioned Valli and in 1909, Koželj's villa was built in the immediate vicinity of Valli’s first villa. Today, it houses the Dolik showroom. The front side was originally intended to be a pharmacy, this is why the windows were larger. The living area was directed more towards the courtyard, where it was quieter. Among other things, Valli also designed the chapel at Plavž.
Albert Henrik Valli was born in 1877 in Würenlos, Switzerland, and died in 1941 in Saarbrücken, Germany. He came to Jesenice at the beginning of the 20th century, presumably because of his business connections related to the construction of the railway and road infrastructure in the area. He married a local woman, Marija Klinar, the daughter of the Jesenice innkeeper and mayor Jožef Klinar, who provided him with a residence in Jesenice. In 1910, Valli's wife died of tuberculosis and the architect and his sons emigrated from Jesenice.
At the beginning of the 20th century, he was one of the most educated architects in Gorenjska and he gained fame with the designs of his beautiful villas. He also participated in the construction of a new primary school in Jesenice (today's secondary school), was active as a building expert for the Municipality of Jesenice, and designed other buildings in other places in Gorenjska, e.g. in Bled. He influenced local builders, who copied his ideas especially in façade ornaments.
