It is an exceptionally valuable monument of the Secession. By its content, purpose and location, represents a temple of wisdom and literacy. The building is a rectangle 80 meters long and 50 meters wide. Its north and south wings are connected by a central part. Above it rises a high semi-dome with four pillars on which there are four owls carrying globes, symbolizing knowledge. In the central tract, which connects the north and south wings, there are entrance, vestibule with stairs leading to the first floor, atrium and Great Reading Room. On the east side of the atrium are the halls of the Small and Professors’ Reading Rooms, and on the west side are the Book Issue (today’s User Service) and Catalogs Room. All spaces of the central tract have zenith lighting. The Great Reading Room is 30 meters long, 15 meters wide and 30 meters high. The chandeliers and lamps on the tables were made in Vienna from gilded and crystal glass of top quality. In the premises of the Archives are the most famous Croatian painters. The magistral work of the Great Reading Room is the huge composition of Vlaho Bukovac’s The Development of Croatian Culture located above the central load-bearing arch. The building of the Archives is an immovable individually protected cultural property