The palace was projected as a modern department store. The owner of the palace was Miksa Bence, owner of the local
furniture factory (established in 1861). He wanted to have a huge, modern showroom for his products. Building has large shop-windows, which shows that it was a trade object. Bence's house represents the first modernly designed building in the
King Alexander I Street, main pedestrian street in
Zrenjanin. As of 2010, Bence House is still a furniture shop. ==References==