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Here's a fact for you; Slovenia is one of the only countries in the world that has a Culture Day, also known as Preseren Day, as a national holiday. You learn something new every day, huh? History has seen Ljubljana go from being a part of the Roman empire, to a town in the Austro-Hungarian Empire to a city in Socialist Yugoslavia, and then on to where it is today, the capital city of Slovenia, a central European country in the European Union. All of this has added up to mean that today Ljubljana is a meeting point of the cultures of east and west where the old comes together in rich harmony with the new.
In the first half of the 20th century the world famous architect Joze Plecnik placed his distinctive personal stamp on his native city while also taking European standards into consideration. Had it not been for Plecnik, crossing over the banks of the Ljubljanica river would be extremely difficult as he designed the Sustarski most (Cobblers' Bridge), Tromostovje (Three Bridges) and played a big part in the regulation of the Ljubljanica river itself, not to mention designing the market, and practically everything else in the city, too. Here at Ljubljana Life we've even talked about getting a petition going to rename the city Plecnikville!
There is no shortage of museums here. In fact, there is practically no field for which the city doesn't have its own exhibition. Fans of the big screen can enjoy the international film festival, that comes here every November. Another big event is the Summer Festival which, surprisingly, comes every summer.
If you're not around for any of the big festivals, worry not. In Ljubljana there is always something of a cultural nature taking place, you just have to find it!
If you want to taste the culture of today's Ljubljana, it's simple. Just let yourself get swallowed by the cafe culture. If the sun is shining, half of the population of the city will be occupying the cafes along the banks of the river, just sipping drinks and watching the world go by. The other half of the city will be roller-blading in Tivoli Park, or just lying on the grass there reading a book and licking an ice-cream. Culture, what's not to love about it? | |
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