Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The heart of Slovenia's counterculture, this former military installation is now a colorful,
funky, graffiti-and-wild-art-slathered squatter's colony, billed as an “autonomous cultural
center.” Built by the Habsburgs in the 1880s, the complex—with barracks, warehouses, and
a prison—was used by a laundry list of later occupiers, from Italian fascists to Nazis to the
Yugoslav People's Army. After Yugoslavia pulled its troops out of Slovenia (following the
Ten-Day War), the cluster of buildings sat derelict and abandoned. In 1993, transient artists
movedintothesprawlingcomplexandsetupgalleries,theaters,bars,andnightclubs.While
controversial at first, Meltelkova City has gradually become accepted by most Ljubljanans,
andthecity(whichownstheproperty)notonlytoleratesbut,insubtleways,encouragesthis
hotbed of youthful artistic expression. While edgy, this place is fascinating to explore—it's
sleepy by day and lively by night (
www.metelkovamesto.org
)
.
Anchoring the area is
Hostel Celica,
one of Europe's most unusual youth hostels, which
fills a former prison building. Twenty artists were invited to decorate cells that have been
turnedintoaccommodations,andthegroundfloorfeaturesvibrantpublicspaces,agoodand
affordable restaurant (a nice place for a €4-7 lunch or a light dinner), and a shoes-off “Ori-
entalcafé.”Themessage:Thoughtfulartandarchitecturecantranscendanuglyhistory.You
can drop by to see the building anytime, and ask to borrow a flashlight to explore the dank
and gloomy basement solitary confinement cells, with a small but interesting exhibition on
the history of the building (and the various prisoners who have called it home—including
Janez Janša, who did time here during communism and later became Slovenia's prime min-
ister). But if you're interested in this place, make a point to visit at 14:00 for a free guided
tour of the entire complex (tours run daily; you can also try calling to arrange a tour at other
times, tel. 01/230-9700,
www.hostelcelica.com
)
.
Ljubljana, with its easygoing ambience and countless boutiques, is made to order for whil-
ing away an afternoon shopping. It's also a fun place to stock up on souvenirs and gifts
for the folks back home. Popular items include wood carvings and models (especially of
the characteristic hayracks that dot the countryside), different flavors of schnapps (the kind
with a whole pear inside—cultivated to actually grow right into the bottle—is a particu-
larlyclassygift),honeymeadbrandy(
medica
—sweetandsmooth),barsofsoapwrappedin
wool (good for exfoliating), and those adorable painted panels from beehives (described on
here
). Rounding out the list of traditional Slovenian items are wrought-iron products from
Kropa, crystal from Rogaska, lace from Idrija, salt from Piran, and Peko shoes (similar to
high-fashion Italian models, but cheaper; the name is an abbreviation of its founder's name:
Peter Kozina).
