Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Jože Plečnik (1872-1957)
There is probably no other single architect who has shaped one city as Jože Ple
č
nik
(YOH-zheh PLAYCH-neek) shaped Ljubljana. From libraries, office buildings,
cemeteries, and stadiums to landscaping, riverside embankments, and market halls,
Ple
č
nik left his mark everywhere. While he may not yet register very high on the
international Richter scale of important architects, the Slovenes' pride in this man's
work is understandable.
Ple
č
nik was born in Ljubljana and trained as a furniture designer before his in-
terest turned to architecture. He studied in Vienna under the Secessionist architect
Otto Wagner. His first commissions, done around the turn of the 20th century in Vi-
enna, were pretty standard Art Nouveau stuff. Then Tomáš Masaryk, president of
the new nation of Czechoslovakia, decided that the dull Habsburg design of Prague
Castle could use a new look to go with its new independence. But he didn't want
an Austrian architect; it had to be a Slav. In 1921, Masaryk chose Jože Ple
č
nik, who
sprinkledthecastlegroundswithhisdistinctivetouches.Bynow,Ple
č
nikhadperfec-
ted his simple, eye-pleasing style, which mixes modern and classical influences, with
lots of columns and pyramids—simultaneously austere and playful.
