Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Architecture
Examples of Romanesque architecture can be found in many parts of Slovenia and include
the churches at Stična Abbey in Dolenjska, at Muta and Dravograd in Koroška, and at
Podsreda Castle in Štajerska.
Much of the Gothic architecture in Slovenia is of the late period; the earthquake of
1511 took care of many buildings erected before then (although both the Venetian Gothic
Loggia and Praetorian Palace in Koper date back a century before). Renaissance architec-
ture is mostly limited to civil buildings (eg townhouses in Škofja Loka and Kranj, Brdo
Castle in Gorenjska).
Italian-influenced baroque of the 17th and
18th centuries abounds in Slovenia, particu-
larly in Ljubljana (eg the Ursuline Church of
the Holy Trinity and the cathedral). Classicism
prevailed in architecture here in the first half of
the 19th century; the Kazina building in
Ljubljana's Kongresni trg is a good example.
The turn of the 20th century was when the Secessionist (or art nouveau) architects
Maks Fabiani and Ivan Vurnik began changing the face of Ljubljana (Miklošičev Park, the
Prešeren monument, the Cooperative Bank on Miklošičeva cesta) after the devastating
earthquake of 1895. But no architect has had a greater impact on his city or nation than
Jože Plečnik (
Click here
)
, a man whose work defies easy definition.
Postwar architecture is generally forgettable - Edvard Ravnikar's Trg Republike in
Ljubljana is a blight on the national capital - but among the most interesting contempor-
ary architects working today are the award-winning team of Rok Oman and Špela
Videčnik, whose OFIS Architects designed the extraordinary Ljubljana City Museum
(2004), the Maribor football stadium (2009), and participated in building the landmark
Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies (KSEVT) in Vitanje in 2012.
Valvasor's explanation of how the water system in
Lake Cerknica worked earned him membership in
1688 in the Royal Society in London, the world's
foremost scientific institution at the time.
SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK: PHILOSOPHER
Slovenia's best-known son has authored some 60 philosophical works and starred in several films, including the
recently released
The Pervert's Guide to Ideology
.
How does it feel to be the most famous Slovene outside the borders?
Fame… The irony of it all! That's not
true in the USA. That would be the ice hockey star Anže Kopitar or maybe Donald Trump's wife who German-
