Plečnik's Ljubljana

2007 – Sovenia celebrates the year of Jože Plečnik.

by brian požun

The architect Jože Plečnik (1872-1957) is almost a mythological figure in Ljubljana – of the 100 buildings in a recent architectural guide to Ljubljana, no less than 12 were designed by Plečnik. It is hard to over-exaggerate Plečnik’s impact on the city. In honor of the 50^th anniversary of his death, 2007 has been named Plečnik Year, with a wide array of exhibits and events both in Slovenia and elsewhere.

Plečnik studied in the 1890s in Vienna under the Secessionist master Otto Wagner, and established himself in Prague afterwards. In 1920, he was invited by Tomaš G. Masaryk to recreate Prague Castle into a fitting seat of the government of the newly-independent Czechoslovakia. Plečnik continued to work in Prague until the early 1930s, but his attention was already focused on Ljubljana.

At the same time as he began his work on Prague Castle, he also became a professor at the newly-founded Technical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, a post he kept until his death. Plečnik's first work in Ljubljana was his house at Karunova 4 in the Trnovo district, built in 1924-30 and converted into a branch of the Architectural Museum of Ljubljana in 1972.

The house, now the Plečnikova zbirka (Plečnik Collection), is open Tuesdays to Thursdays from 10:00 to 18:00 and Saturdays from 9:00 to 13:00, as well as Mondays and Fridays from 10:00 to 13:00 by appointment only (Tel: 01/280 16 00, email: pz@aml.si, website: www.aml.si). The main branch of the Architectural Museum at Fužine Castle usually has an extensive permanent exhibit about Plečnik, but it is currently under renovation.

Plečnik's most important work in Ljubljana, however, was his urban planning – in fact, much of his architectural masterpieces really must be considered in the wider context of the urban fabric he designed around them. For example, it was Plečnik who laid out the plan for the Bežigrad district north of the train station, and his stadium (1925-1941) and Navje cemetery (1937-1938) – strong projects in their own rights – are both aspects of Plečnik's overall plan for the entire area.

Similarly, many of Plečnik's masterpieces are all the more powerful when they are seen as part of his development of the riverfront around the Ljubljanica. This massive project included the Tromostovje (1929-32), the Tržnica (1940-4) and the Zapornica (Lock Gate, 1939-44).

One of Plečnik's most impressive buildings is the National and University Library (NUK, 1936-41) at Turjaska 1. Until 18 April, visitors will have the opportunity to see Not to Fall into Ruin and Oblivion: Plečnik's Vision for Ljubljana as the Athens of Slovenia, an exhibit of unexecuted urbanist and architectural plans that Plečnik donated to the library. The exhibition hall is open Mondays to Fridays from 10:00 to 18:00 and on Saturday from 10:00 to 13:00 (Tel: 01/200 11 10, website: www.nuk.uni-lj.si).

The most important of Plečnik's unexecuted work is definitely his design for a Slovene parliament towering some 120 meters. The plans were drawn up in 1947 but the scale of the conical tower was deemed inappropriate for Ljubljana, then a provincial capital in Tito's Yugoslavia. The plan lives on, however, on the back of Slovenia's ten-cent euro coin.

The National Gallery at Prešernova 24 is featuring a major exhibit about Plečnik, Jože Plečnik (1872-1957): An Architect in Ljubljana, Prague and Vienna, which unfortunately closes on 15 April. The National Gallery is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00 to 18:00 (Tel: 01/241 54 34, website: www.ng-slo.si).

Other exhibits are sure to pop up throughout the year. Free guided tours led by experts from the Architectural Museum are also being offered monthly at selected Plečnik sites. On 7 April there will be a tour of Križanke, and on 5 May of the @ale Cemetery. Tours later in the year will feature the Bežigrad Stadium, the Tromostovje and Tržnica, the Zapornica on the Ljubljanica, Zavarovalnica Triglav, the Constitutional Court building and the Church of St. Michael on the Barje. Spaces are limited and free tickets should be picked up at the Plečnik Collection the week before the tour. Reserve tickets by calling 01/280 16 00 or email pz@aml.si, but be sure to inquire as to availability of the tours in English.

If you can't make it to one of the Architectural Museum's tours, you can book a group tour through the Tourist Information Center (www.ljubljana.si). You can also download a 24-page bilingual English/Slovene walking tour of Plečnik's Ljubljana from the Tourist Information Center in PDF format from: www.ljubljana.si/en/tourist_services/publications/32758/podrobno.html.