Cukrarna, Cultural gallery in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Cukrarna is an art gallery building in Ljubljana with an unconventional inner structure that defines its character. Inside, four white cube-shaped exhibition spaces hang from a steel framework suspended from the roof, which allows them to float freely without touching the outer walls.

The sugar refinery, granted a permit on 20 July 1828, began test boiling on 27 December 1828 with 22 workers and one boiler. By 1855 it processed 111,512 quintals of sugar worth 3,934,978 guilders, making it the leading refinery in the Habsburg monarchy. A fire on 25 August 1858 destroyed the factory and ended sugar production; the building later served as a barracks and residence.

The building's name, Cukrarna, comes from the sugar refinery that operated here. In the courtyard annex, the poets Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn died young, in 1899 and 1901, and a 1955 memorial plaque names them with Cankar and Župančič as founders of the Slovenian Moderna. Today the centre hosts exhibitions, performances and interdisciplinary projects by Slovenian and international artists.

Cukrarna stands on the right bank of the Ljubljanica at the eastern end of Ambrož Square, just south of Fabianijev most, and the building is cut through by the bridge. The Ljubljanica weir is immediately nearby. The complex offers around 6,000 square metres of floor space, so plan enough time to walk through all the exhibition halls.

The renovation preserved more than 300 original windows from the factory era, which remain part of the building's outer appearance today. These windows link the site's industrial past with its present role as a contemporary art venue.