The article considers the main features of modernization of the Slovenian city of Ljubljana in the late 19th – early 20th centuries under the leadership of Župan (mayor) Ivan Hribar. Following the example of the major European cities and their achievements, this prominent Slovenian liberal politician sought to turn Ljubljana into a beautiful, modern, and technically equipped city that could compete with other urban centers of Austria-Hungary. He also made it his mission to develop national identity of the Slovenes and remove the signs of German influence in Ljubljana, which, in his opinion, was to become a city of Slovenian character. He became a župan in 1896, after a major earthquake, which caused enormous damage to the city. In 15 years he managed to implement most of his plans for improvement and to form the new image of Ljubljana, that of a modern Slovenian city. This work is the first attempt to describe Hribar’s activities as a župan of Ljubljana in detail and also to retrace the influence of his national and political views on the formation of municipal policy.