Mojca Ramšak
Ljubljana, Slovenia

Patients, physicians, and staff at Maribor University Clinical Centre pass an extraordinary piece of artwork each day: a blue wall made of elongated ceramic tiles with welded iron metal reliefs.

The “Blue Wall,” officially titled Times Were Better Once (Nekoč so bili boljši časi), is a 3.4 x 16-meter wall featuring two-dimensional modernist elements. Located to the left of the old general hospital entrance, it was created by Ivan Čobal, an artist who significantly influenced the visual art scene in Maribor during the second half of the twentieth century.^a Though this monumental mural forms part of the everyday hospital environment, many people never pause to consider what it represents.

Čobal’s mural, created in 1959 at the hospital’s request, ranks among Maribor’s most important public artworks and stood out for many years as the only large blue surface in the city. Its composition merges modernist and symbolic elements that express the hospital’s mission. Reading from left to right, it portrays the key phases of a hospital stay—from patient admission through treatment to recovery. The wall features stylized human silhouettes and geometric shapes that clearly reference the hospital’s medical purpose and its connection to Maribor. According to the artist’s daughter, Nadja Čobal,^b his family has no information about the wall’s creation, as he never discussed it; we can only interpret its symbolism from the depicted motifs.

Reading the wall from left to right, it first displays the silhouette of the city’s coat of arms with “BOLNICA” (hospital) inscribed above, representing strong ties to the local community. The connection between Maribor and the General Hospital, today’s University Clinical Centre, remains strong, even though many have forgotten that citizens themselves helped build part of the new hospital through community self-funding (samoprispevek).^c The hospital also serves as the region’s central healthcare facility.

Moving right, a motif of five figures carrying a patient on a stretcher symbolizes the hospital’s accessibility, care, and commitment to comprehensive patient treatment. This imagery conveys that patients need not suffer at home or treat themselves, but instead receive transport and protection within its supportive environment.

The mural’s center depicts an abstract operating theater with masked surgeons, reflecting advances in medical hygiene and safety standards crucial for effective healthcare delivery. Such central symbolism further represents the hospital’s core mission of medical advancement and development.

The final motif, showing a recovering patient in a hospital setting, symbolizes the successful fulfillment of the hospital’s purpose. This image is accompanied by a stylized omega (Ω), the last letter of the Greek alphabet, signifying the patient’s final recovery and return to everyday life. Below appears the artist’s signature, “ČOBAL,” as if conveying that his hospital narrative concludes here, passing responsibility to the physicians, symbolized on the far right by the Bowl of Hygeia with its entwined snake (similar to the mortar and pestle or the Rod of Asclepius^d).

The wall’s light blue color scheme carries additional symbolic associations with health, tranquility, and trustworthiness. Time has taken its toll on the left side of the wall, where some missing tiles have been replaced with paint in approximately the same shade.

Čobal typically depicts figures in simplified, schematic form. The individual motifs appear rather static, despite portraying three different actions requiring some dynamism. The people appear in profile, without facial features, their clothing subtly suggesting hospital staff. Nevertheless, these symbolic motifs combine medicine’s rational efficiency with human elements of compassion, hospital acceptance, recovery, and connection to Maribor. The wall represents a meaningful dialogue between art and architecture. The artist’s approach integrates function with aesthetics and translates healthcare’s duality—balancing professional efficiency with compassionate patient care. This integration of art and architecture in the hospital’s public space enhances positive experiences and creates a sense of belonging.

The “Blue Wall” has become so thoroughly integrated into the hospital environment through the last six decades that many pass it daily without a second glance. However, by understanding its rich symbolism and historical context, we can appreciate this remarkable piece of public art that has silently witnessed countless stories of healing and hope.

End notes

• a. In addition to the blue wall, Ivan Čobal left a significant mark in Maribor with several other public works combining art and architecture, including the mosaic at the entrance to the former Commercial Building at Partizanska Street 3-5 “Modna Hiša”; three terrazzo mural drawings in the Secondary Electro-Computer School Maribor (SERŠ); New Settlement (view of Gosposvetska Street), mosaic; Maribor Dairy Shop, corner of Gosposka and 10. October streets; and Shop Branka, Gosposka Street, oil on glass.
• b. Information accessed via email correspondence, January 19, 2025.
• c. The Slovenian term “samoprispevek” refers to a community-driven funding mechanism where citizens voluntarily contribute money toward public infrastructure construction, such as hospitals. In this case, citizens helped finance a surgical tower (hospital building) through this local self-taxation approach. The foundation stone for the surgical tower was laid in 1955 and construction began in 1964. Due to financial difficulties, construction halted completely in 1966. Citizens of Maribor and neighboring municipalities then began collecting “samoprispevek” contributions, enabling completion of the surgical tower, which was inaugurated in 1976.
• d. The Bowl of Hygeia, which has its roots in Greek mythology, symbolizes pharmacy worldwide. Hygeia, the daughter of Asclepius, was the goddess of health and hygiene, whose bowl stands for medicine and the snake for healing. First appearing on a Parisian Pharmacy Society coin in 1796 it’s now known worldwide. Together with the Rod of Asclepius (a single snake on a staff), it is one of the oldest symbols of Western medicine.

References

1. Nejc Lazar. Nekoč so bili boljši časi – kovinski relief na starem vhodu v UKC [Times Were Better Once – metal relief at the old entrance to the University Clinical Center]. Maribor: Umetnostna galerija. 2020. http://museums.si/sl-si/Domov/Zbirke/Predmet?id=487312
2. Gregor Pivec. 200 let bolnišnice: Bolnišnica Maribor (1955-1999). [200 years of the hospital: Maribor Hospital (1955-1999)] Part 7. Isis: glasilo Zdravniške zbornice Slovenije [Journal of the Medical Chamber of Slovenia]. 2000; 9 (7): 49-52.
3. Štuhec Mojca. UGM [Maribor Art Gallery]. October 9, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/ugm.maribor/photos/ivan-%C4%8Dobal-1926-planina-pri-rakeku1995-maribor-neko%C4%8D-so-bolj%C5%A1i-bili-%C4%8Dasi-1959-st/10157549700867647/?locale=ms_MY
4. Štuhec Mojca, Peterlič Jan, Pogačar Vojko. Popis članstva organiziranih likovnih dejavnosti skozi stoletje [Registry of organized visual arts activities through the century]. In: Monografija Društva likovnih umetnikov ob stoletnici organizirane likovne dejavnosti v okoljih severovzhodne Slovenije [Monograph of the Association of Fine Artists on the centenary of organized visual arts activities in northeastern Slovenia]. Vojko Pogačar, Primož Premzl, eds. Maribor: DLUM; 2020:119-237.
5. Umetnostna galerija Maribor. Iščemo stenske poslikave [Maribor Art Gallery. Searching for wall paintings]. Maribor: Maribor Art Gallery. 2019. http://www.ugm.si/dogodki/novice/?tx_news_pi1[news]=3378&tx_news_pi1[controller]=News&tx_news_pi1[action]=detail&cHash=11ac6ee669afb2f5ce14fb4898a9fe46
6. Personal correspondence with Nadja Čobal, the artist’s daughter on January 19, 2025.
7. Archive of the Maribor University Clinical Centre.

* A shorter version of this article was previously published without references or footnotes in the May 2025 issue of Isis, the journal of the Medical Chamber of Slovenia.