Sights in Ljubljana
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Gruber Palace
Across Karlovška cesta is Gruber Palace. Gabriel Gruber, the Jesuit who built the Gruber Canal (Gruberjev Prekop) that regulates the Ljubljanica, lived here until 1784. The palace is in Zopf style, a transitional art style between late baroque and neoclassicism, and now contains the national archives . If you look eastward on Karlovška cesta to No 1, you'll see what was once the Balkan Gate, the southernmost point of the Old Town.
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Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity
The Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity, which faces the Kongresni Trg Square from across Slovenska cesta and dates from 1726, is the most beautiful baroque building in the city. It contains a multicoloured altar by Robba made of African marble.
To reach the church use the Plečnik underpass (Plečnikov podhod) at the western end of Kongresni trg and, as you descend, look to the right for a small gilded statue on top of a column. It's a copy (the original is in the National Museum) of the Roman-era Citizen of Emona, dating from the 4th century and unearthed nearby in 1836.
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National Museum of Slovenia
On the western side of parklike Trg Narodnih Herojev, the National Museum of Slovenia occupies an elegant 1888 building. It has a large collection but at the time of writing only highlights from the rich archaeological and coin collections were on display.
The Roman glass and the jewellery found in 6th-century Slavic graves is pretty standard fare, but the chef d'oeuvre here is the highly embossed Vače situla, a Celtic pail from the late 6th century BC unearthed in a town east of Ljubljana. Make sure you check out the ceiling fresco in the foyer, which features an allegorical Carniola surrounded by important Slovenes from the past and the statues of the Muses and Fates…
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Museum of Modern Art
Housed in an ugly modern building (Edvard Ravnikar; 1939-51), the inwardly vibrant and inspiring Museum of Modern Art exhibits a permanent collection of 20th-century Slovenian art on two floors that helps put some of the socialist-inspired work of sculptors such as Jakob Savinšek (Protest) into artistic perspective.
Watch out for works by Tone Kralj (Peasant Wedding), the expressionist France Mihelič (The Quintet) and the surrealist Štefan Planinc (Primeval World series). Some people might consider the works by multimedia group Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK; Suitcase for Spiritual Use: Baptism under Triglav) and the artists' cooperative IRWIN (Kapital) 'fun' rather than…
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Cathedral of St Nicholas
Dominating Pogačarjev trg is the Cathedral of St Nicholas. A church has stood here since the 13th century, but the existing twin-towered building dates from the start of the 18th century. Inside it's a palace of pink marble, white stucco and gilt, with frescoes by baroque master Giulio Quaglio and 19th-century artist Matevž Langus.
Have a look at the magnificent carved choir stalls, organ and the angels on the main altar - another Robba creation. Two stunning bronze doors were added in 1996 to commemorate the late Pope John Paul II's visit - the (main) west door facing the Bishop's Palace symbolises 1250 years of Christianity in Slovenia, and the six bishops on the…
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National Gallery
Slovenia's foremost collection of fine art, the National Gallery offers works from the 17th to 19th centuries (check out works by 'national Romantics' Pavel Künl, Marko Pernhart and Anton Karinger), copies of medieval frescoes and a wonderful Gothic statuary (1896). Although the subjects of the earlier paintings are the usual foppish nobles and lemon-lipped clergymen, some of the later works are remarkable.
Take a close look at the works of the impressionists Jurij Šubic (Before the Hunt) and Rihard Jakopič (Birches in Autumn), the pointillist Ivan Grohar (Škofja Loka in the Snow) and Slovenia's most celebrated female painter Ivana Kobilca (Summer). The bronzes by…
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Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia
The Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia, housed in the 18th-century Cekin Mansion (Grad Cekinov) just northeast of the Tivoli Recreation Centre, traces the history of Slovenia in the 20th century through multimedia and artefacts. Note the contrast between the sober earnestness of the communist-era Room G and the exuberant, logo-mad commercialism of the neighbouring industrial exhibit in Room H.
Its multimedia story begins on the eve of WWI, leading you through a surprisingly effective reconstruction of a typical trench into the quieter days of the postwar Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It gets pretty turbulent in Room E, which deals with WWII and the Italo-German…
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Ljubljana Castle
Known as Ljubljana Castle (Ljubljanski Grad), there have been fortifications of one kind or another on Castle Hill (Grajska Planota) since at least Celtic times, but the existing Ljublijana Castle mostly dates from a 16th-century rebuilding following the 1511 earthquake. It was a royal residence in the 17th and 18th centuries and a prison and barracks in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.
About 80% of the castle has been renovated in recent years, and it is now frequently used as a venue for concerts and other cultural activities, and as a wedding hall on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
The castle was a royal residence in the 17th and 18th centuries and a…
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Ljubljana Zoo
The 20-hectare Ljubljana Zoo, on the southern slope of Rožnik Hill (394m), contains 580 animals representing more than 150 species. There's also a petting zoo for children. It's an upbeat and well-landscaped menagerie.
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Prešernov Trg
The centrepiece of Ljubljana's wonderful architectural aesthetic is this marvellous square, a public space of understated elegance that not only serves as the link between the Center district and the Old Town but as the city's favourite meeting point. The square itself is dominated by a monument to the national poet France Prešeren.
Immediately south of the statue is the city's architectural poster-child, the small but much celebrated Triple Bridge (Tromostovje). The original Špital Bridge (1842) was nothing spectacular, but between 1929 and 1932 superstar architect Jože Plečnik added the two pedestrian side bridges, furnished all three with stone balustrades and lamps…
reviewed
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