Labin - City Administration Building

Labin is a town in eastern Istria whose historic hilltop centre and newer centre developed in different periods. Public institutions have therefore left their mark in more than one part of town.

Around Marshal Tito Square, public life expanded outside the old town gate. This open space also became home to new administrative institutions.

The city administration building stands along the square's open side. Its multi-storey façade with ground-floor arcades differs from the smaller houses around the square and clearly marks a later civic centre outside the old walls.

The present municipal building was constructed in the late 19th century and formally opened in 1900. The town's heritage survey places it on the site of former small churches and cemeteries. Moving administrative work here marked a shift away from the old Podestà's Palace inside the walls.

Its arcaded ground floor, regularly spaced windows and greater height set the building apart from its immediate surroundings. The relationship between its façade, the loggia and the town gate explains how the square became a new public centre beside the older historic entrance.

Construction began with the laying of the foundation stone in 1896 and lasted about four years. The building did not house only municipal offices: other public services also operated here in the past. This helps explain its size and position on an open square that people could reach without passing through the old town gate.