This article deals with new concepts in urban planning at the turn of the 19th century. It represents three key persons, all architects and urban planners: Camillo Sitte, Otto Wagner and Maks Fabiani. All three left an indelible mark on urban planning in the Hapsburg Monarchy. In particular, it focuses on Maks Fabiani, whose work is closely related with the reconstruction of Ljubljana after the earthquake at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Even though Fabiani was one of the most distinguished and respected urban planners in Vienna, his contribution to the history and theory of urban planning was until now relatively overlooked and not stressed enough upon in the context of the urban history within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.