Lifestyle
Uroš Umek was one of the key players responsible for the development of the electronic scene in Slovenia, and is now one of the most wanted DJs globally. This Friday he’s returning to Kurzschluss, Ljubljana, to present the latest developments on the dancefloor. From his recent Creamfields Festival set we might conclude that faster and harder music is coming back, although whether Umek believes that Kurzschluss is ready for this remains to be seen. We very much hope so.
Kurzschluss opens at 22:00 and tickets for Friday night are available here.
Those who prefer a softer, disco sound, are advised to wait for Saturday night, also at Kurzschluss, and the UK based travelling party called Glitterbox, with Roger Sanches.
On Saturday Kurzschluss will open at 23:00 and tickets are available here.
The Slovenian Financial Administration (Finančna uprava) has issued a reminder that if you have property advertised on Airbnb, Booking and other non-Slovene providers then any income earned is subject to VAT. As such you much register as soon as possible, and submit your monthly VAT returns retrospectively (if needed) as a self-declaration in order to avoid fines.
If you rent out rooms, apartments or houses through intermediaries or advertising providers on websites (Airbnb, Booking, and the like) that are based outside Slovenia, you must pay 22% VAT as a recipient of brokerage services or advertising space. In order to benefit from such services you must first identify yourself for VAT purposes (even if you are not identified for VAT purposes because your turnover is below the mandatory VAT identification limit of €50,000).
You must submit monthly VAT returns electronically (via eDavki) and are not entitled to deduct VAT. You can correct any errors from previous periods by including them in your first (or current) VAT return. You also have to submit a VAT invoice even if you do not receive any income from the property in a given month (in which case you submit an empty invoice).
You must issue an invoice to the guest to whom you provided the service (i.e., renting out property for tourist leasing) and confirm it in the case of cash transactions. This is the case even if the guest paid for the service with a card or paid the advertising provider (Airbnb, etc) from whom you indirectly received this payment.
Taxpayers who "forget" to submit a monthly VAT return will receive a personal electronic warning in their personal inbox on eDavki. Failure to respond will result in a fine of €2,000. The Financial Administration notes with some regret that many people are not paying attention to the messages they receive on eDavki, and thus is asking all taxpayers to provide an e-mail address to ensure they receive such communication. This e-mail address must be sent to the Administration via the eDavki portal using the eSign-POS form.
Please note that this issue is of extra urgency given that the Administration is set to tighten controls in early 2020.
More information, in Slovene, can be found in a document entitled Oddajanje nepremičnin v turistični najem in DDV (Leasing of real estate for tourism and VAT).
STA, 16 December 2019 - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec has announced legislative changes to prevent an increasing number of parents citing health reasons to avoid their children getting the compulsory vaccinations.
Amendments to the contagious diseases act will be ready by April that will bring changes to long-term administrative procedures related to refuse inoculation out of medical reasons, Šarec told MPs in Monday's question time.
He said that the law was often abused: in more than 95% of applications to avoid vaccination, there is no medical reason for objection to inoculation, but rather personal reasons of those who oppose vaccination.
The prime minister said that vaccination had saved many more lives than any other healthcare measure. He cited WHO data showing it prevented al least two million deaths a year, and if the inoculation rate was higher an additional million and a half.
Šarec noted the growing number of measles cases in Slovenia, noting that Slovenia's vaccination rate was falling, so that at 93% it had already fallen below the recommendable level of 95%.
Meanwhile, the number of measles cases in the country rose from zero between 1999 and 2009 to a couple of cases later on, with the exception of 52 registered in 2014, while 30 have been recorded so far this year.
The latest global study on attitudes towards immunisation showed that 13% of Slovenians believe that vaccines are not safe, almost double the world average.
Only a handful of politicians understand the influence of the social media today and are able to use it successfully. One of them is certainly the Slovenian President Borut Pahor.
Borut understands that social media is one of those tools that can reach an audience who might never read a newspaper or watch a news report, and should therefore not to be bogged down with much serious or complex content, but should match striking images with easy to digest text, along with plenty of hashtags.
The medium thus fits perfectly the President’s propensity to happiness, his vast array of hobbies, and last but not least his refined sense of visual aesthetics and rugged good looks.
In 2019 President Pahor also received a local Instagram celebrity award, and so we present part one of our selection of “the best” of his Instagram posts for the year, and hope to show how well he managed to use this new medium in his own favor.
- January 7th: Borut Pahor on an important telephone mission.
- January 21: Borut likes Rock and roll.
- January 30: Borut’s cute socks
- February 2: Stay composed no matter what.
- February 9: The three topics journalists want to hear about.
- February 19: Just don’t touch the hair.
- March 11: Quiz question
- March 11: Quiz answer
- March 12: Presidential nightmare.
- March 17: This is about the pants, not legs, you dirty minds!
- March 24: Making Instagram friends is harder than we thought. But it’s worth it.
- April 14: Wrong trousers.
- April 17: When vanity tricks you into eating too much.
- May 6: Borut into every Slovenian phone!
- May 13: A good photo saves the world.
- May 17: Girls managed to control themselves this time.
- May 29: Right trousers.
- June 12: Limelight? -Yes, please.
- July 14: Saying no to alcohol, while saying yes to beer.
- July 21: Flat landing?
- July 25: Hipster Accessories: Renault 4 aka Katra #1
- July 31: wet & cute swimmer Borut
Kris Zudich is showing signs of progress, including sitting on his own for about four minutes, his parents report from Los Angeles, where their son is under medical supervision after receiving a one-time genetic treatment earlier in November.
Kris is a little boy with a genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1, which affects children at an early age and has an extremely grim prognosis. A drug has recently been developed that has not yet been approved in the European Union which changes the genetic composition of the cells, hence removing the problem at its source. The drug under its trademark Zolgensma is currently available at EUR 2.3 million, which makes it the world’s most expensive single treatment drug. The money for Kris’ treatment has been raised in one of Slovenia’s most successful campaigns of this kind.
Kris in October 3, 2019 Photo: Go Help Kris, Facebook
STA, 15 December 2019 - There were 250,000 immigrants in Slovenia at the start of 2018, or 12.1% of the country's population, national statisticians said before International Migrants Day, which is observed on 18 December.
The figure puts Slovenia 16th on the list of EU countries by share of immigrants; Luxembourg leads with 46.5% and Poland is at the bottom with 1.8%.
Statistics Office data also shows that Slovenia is quite generous with granting immigrants citizenship.
Related: Foreign Nationals in Slovenia, by Country, Region & Continent
Demographic indicators – population born abroad by the period of immigration, Slovenia, 1 January 2018
Migration indicators – population born abroad by the period of immigration, Slovenia, 1 January 2018
Alongside Croatia, Sweden and the Netherlands, it is one of the four EU countries with the largest share of immigrants having its citizenship.
The share stands at 55%, while it is as high as 94% among those who migrated to Slovenia when the country was still part of former Yugoslavia, before June 1991.
This is because migrations between Yugoslav republics were considered internal migrations, so it was easier to gain citizenship after Slovenia's independence.
Consequently, around 170,000 people were granted Slovenian citizenship in the first eight months after independence.
However, the figure for the past decade is much lower, at 15,000; of these new Slovenian citizens, 70% still originate from the area of former Yugoslavia.
Among the immigrants who came to Slovenia in the past decade, between 2008 and 2017, 6% already had Slovenian citizenship, with over 3% receiving it after immigrating.
These immigrants have come to Slovenia from as many as 163 countries.
Related: The Places Foreigners Live in Slovenia and Where They Come From
Socioeconomic characteristics – population born abroad by the period of immigration, Slovenia, 1 January 2018
Living conditions – population born abroad by the period of immigration, Slovenia, 1 January 2018
Although Bosnia and Herzegovina is the source country of 43% of these immigrants, immigration from Kosovo has seen the steepest rise, doubling compared to pre-2007.
An average immigrant who moved to Slovenia between 2008 and 2017 is a man from Bosnia aged 30 to 39 with a permanent residence permit.
He lives on his own (without family) in one of Slovenia's eleven urban municipalities, has a job and vocational education.
Their education is slightly lower than that of those who immigrated here before 2007, and one in two works in the manufacturing or construction industry.
More details can be found at SURS
Keep up with the daily news in Slovenia by checking the morning headlines here. What to find out what happened last week in Slovenia? Look no further.
The following schedule was prepared by the STA:
MONDAY, 16 December
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will start its plenary for December with questions time.
MADRID, Spain - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar will take part in the final day of the Asia-Europe Meeting, discussing multilateralism, global and regional issues and sustainable connectivity.
LJUBLJANA - A round table on crisis management organised by the European Commission Representation in Slovenia and the STA will feature European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič. Lenarčič will also be received by National Assembly Speaker Dejan Židan.
LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office will release data on average pay for October.
TUESDAY, 17 December
BELGRADE, Serbia - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, accompanied by five ministers, will pay a working visit to Serbia, which will include a joint session of both governments.
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will debate legislative amendments concerning family allowances and employment relationships.
LJUBLJANA - Former and current finance ministers and central bank governors will be on hand for a ceremony marking 30 years of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.
LJUBLJANA - The Athlete of the Year Awards will be presented to winners picked by the Association of Slovenian Sports Journalists.
WEDNESDAY, 18 December
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will debate a report on intelligence and counter-intelligence activity during the process of arbitration on the border between Slovenia and Croatia.
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec is expected to receive representatives of trade unions of defence, customs and intelligence staff.
LJUBLJANA - International Migrants Day will be observed.
THURSDAY, 19 December
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will debate amendments to the health care and insurance act and tonnage tax act.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Environment Minister Simon Zajc will take part in a session of the EU Environment Council discussing EU environment and climate policy in relation to the European Green Deal.
LJUBLJANA - ZPIZ, the manager of the national pension fund, will debate the financial plan for 2020.
LJUBLJANA - The left-wing association Forum 21 will hold a debate marking the centenary since the Carinthia plebiscite.
LJUBLJANA - Public broadcaster Radio Slovenija will declare its person of the year.
LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Philharmonic will perform a Christmas concert.
LJUBLJANA - Mahlzeit, the latest production of the dance troupe Beton Ltd.
FRIDAY, 20 December
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will wrap up the regular sitting for December by discussing Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek's replies to deputy questions about the EU's next multi-year budget and about railway infrastructure.
LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office will release the business sentiment index for December.
SATURDAY, 21 December
RATEČE - Individual events for men and women will be held at the cross-country World Cup.
SUNDAY, 22 December
RATEČE - Team events for men and women will be held at the cross-country World Cup.
LJUBLJANA - The Symphony Orchestra of RTV Slovenija will give a Christmas concert.
If you're not in town for the week of this guide (16 - 22 December, 2019) then you can see all the editions here, and if there's event or activity you want to promote in a future edition of What's on in Ljubljana please get in touch with me at flanner(at)total-slovenia-news.com or try and find me on Facebook. If you want something a little different and easy to print, then a comprehensive PDF of events for the next seven days, as prepared by Ljubljana Tourism, is here. If you're in town and want to follow the news then check out our regular morning headlines for Slovenia here.
It’s the last full week before Christmas and the only thing we’ve done so far is string up some lights in the new office / yoga space and buy too much chocolate and wine, along with some orders of books. Which, now I see it written down, seems quite enough.
As usual at this time of year the downtown area of the city itself is the focal attraction, and just wandering around and following your inclinations will lead you closer to what you desire, be that live music, mulled wine, a new pair of gloves, some meat in a bun or any of the hundreds of other delights that line the streets and sneak off into cafes and bars, museums and galleries, nightclubs and other locales.
Things you’ll see around town include the Land of Ice exhibition of ice sculptures in Congress Square / Zvezda Park, in a corner with a very good view of the Castle. That requires a ticket, but something free is the same area is the Magical Forest, 16:30 to 19:00, which will host creative workshops of making environmentally friendly Christmas decorations. The Ice Queen will also be appearing until 22 December and offering “ice artists who will impress with juggling, sorcery and acrobatic points that will convince even the most discerning viewers”. This will move around as the evening progresses, following this route from 17:00 to 19:00: Krekov trg Square, Petkovškovo Embankment, Prešernov trg Square, park Zvezda, Gallus Embankment, and Mestni trg Square. There will also be organ grinders wearing vintage clothing and performing without monkeys. There's also live music (and food, drink) in Pogačarjev trg (the square that usually hosts Open Kitchen) from 17:00 to 22:00
The Castle has a festive fair, and it’s a great place to get a bird’s eye view of the city at night.
Want to see Dedek Mraz, aka Grandpa Frost, back in 1959 and 1961? Click this way.
It’s a varied week at Opera and Ballet Ljubljana. Monday and Wednesday sees Tales of Hoffmann, Tuesday The Bartered Bride, Friday Nabucco, Saturday and Sunday Carmen. If were hoping for Nutcracker, that was last week.
Monday to Wednesday, 17:00 to 19:00, a series of short concerts by children's choirs will be presented in front of Town Hall, just a short walk forward, or back, along the Triple Bridge.
Tuesday, 17 December, the Iranian singer Alireza Ghorbani will be on stage at Cankarjev dom, with tickets here.
Friday is jazz night at the Castle, and this week it’s Eargonauts. Meanwhile, at Hala Tivoli the Harlem Gospel Choir will be performing.
Saturday Croatia’s Severina will be playing Arena Stožice
The weekend is big and long for Kurzschluss, with Friday seeing a night headlined by the biggest international DJ from Slovenia, Umek, coming back to check in on the scene he helped create. Saturday it’s Glitterbox w Roger Sanchez & more, while Sunday there’s a show with Senidah.
Sunday the Symphony Orchestra and Big Band RTV Slovenia will be having their traditional Christmas concert at Cankarjev dom, with “a selection of the finest Christmas songs in rich orchestrations for a large orchestra”. Tickets.
Heard of MENT? The annual music festival hosted by Kino Šiška will be back in the first week of February 2020, and 30 acts have already been announced. It’s too late for early bird tickets, but you can start planning ahead here.
Christmas is coming and, if your in the market for toys, check out Ristanc in the Old Town for high quality, classic and interesting toys, while for older children and adults there’s the To Je To, just a few doors down. (Not an ad, but sincere promotion for a great place.)
New or recent movies this week include the following
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In town and looking for a gift or souvenir? Take a look at Cook Eat Slovenia - the book.
How much do tourists spend in Slovenia? Find out here
You may have heard about Free Tour Ljubljana, the tour company that’s #1 on TripAdvisor for the city and gives away its main product. What’s the deal with that? Find out here.
While the Old Town is quaint, and full of music, where does Ljubljana really shop? One popular answer is BTC City, a vast complex of malls, entertainment facilities and more, including more than 70 different food vendors, offering everything from Slovenian to Thai, Indian to Italian, Mexican to Chinese. Check out my recent visit here.
Looking for something different to eat? Trubajeva cesta, running right by Dragon Bridge, has the greatest concentration of "ethnic food" places in Ljubljana, and thus perhaps the country. Check out our walk through guide as of June 2019.
In warmer days than you'll see this week. Photo: JL Flanner
Ljubljana is forecast to be the fastest-warming city in the world over the next few decades.
You're in the town of Slavoj Žižek, but do you find yourself lost when conversation turns to the philosopher? If so, check out our collection of quotes and clips to learn more.
Screenshot from YouTube
- Cinemas and films
- Clubbing
- Live music
- Theatre and dance
- Harm reduction and drug testing
- Things to do with children
- LGBT+ Ljubljana
- Ljubljana Castle
- Museums and galleries
- Other things to do in Ljubljana
- Daytrips
- Getting around
- Emergencies
Cinemas and films
You can read about all the cinemas in town here, while a selection of what’s playing this week is below, and note that kids' movies tend to be shown in dubbed versions, while non-English language movies for older viewers will have Slovenian subtitles.Parents should also pay attention to Kinobalon, which is Kinodvor's regular weekend series of film screenings and events for children, from babies on up, with special parent/child events, "first time in a cinema" screenings, and babysitting. Learn more about it here, and see the current schedule here.
Note - most children's films will be dubbed (sinhronizirano) - for subtitles look for 'podnapisi'.
Kinodvor –This is an arts cinema, not far from the train station, that shows new features as well as hosting the occassional festival.
Kinoteka – And not far from Kinodvor you can find this revival cinema, which shows art house classics along with some deep dives in the archives.
Kino Bežigrad - A relatively small theatre, but one which usually has the biggest of the new releases.
Kolosej -The multiplex out at BTC City Mall shows all the big movies, with well over a dozen titles on the schedule, although note that there are far more movies than screens, so some of the older ones mayonly be playing once or twice a week.
Komuna – The cinema in a basement behind Nama department store shows two or three different features a week, usually including the biggest titles.
Looking for a souvenir you'll really enjoy? Take a look at Broken Bones Gin, the first gin made in Ljubljana (learn more here, and try it at the Central Market or selected downtown bars).
Photo: Genius loci d.o.o.
Know that big triangular building behind the train station? Learn what's inside here.
Clubbing
Compared to some European capitals it can seem that nightlife in Ljubljana ends rather early, especially along the river, but there are still bars that stay open late and clubs were you can dance until dawn, and perhaps the best place to stumble across something interesting is the legendary Metelkova. Be aware it's a grungy kind of place and not for all tastes, but also that there's considerable variety to found within the various clubs there, from death metal to electropop, gay cabaret to art noise. You can read "the rules" of the place here. And if you're curious about how the place started then read our story, and look at some pictures, about last year's 25th anniversary.
Božidar - DJ events aren't too common here, but when they happen they often have a big name.
Channel Zero – DJs shows here include regular dub nights as well as electronic music.
Gala Hala – Another Metelkova venue, you can sometimes hear bhangra and Bollywood here, but more often funk, hip hop, breakbeat and so on.
Klub Cirkus – The more commercial end of clubland, and a venue that aims to serve the student party scene. Expect house, anthems, and bangers.
Klub K4 – The home of techno, old and new, along with various other electronic genres,
Koncertna Dvorana Rog– There are irregular DJ sets at this underground (not literally) venue at the far end of Trubarjeva cesta, and they range from techno to goa to drum'n'bass.
Orto Bar– 80s and 90s throwback nights can often be found here, along with rock-based DJ sets.
Live music
Balassi Institute – Free Hungarian music, when available, from the Hungarian cultural institute just a short walk downriver from Dragon Bridge.
Cankerjev dom – The main arts venue in the country hosts classical, opera jazz, folk and occassinally pop.
Cvetličarna – Regional pop and rock concerts can be found here.
Channel Zero – This Metelkova venue sees live shows from punk and rock bands, as well as others.
Gala Hala – Another Metelkova venue with indie bands of various styles.
Kino Šiška – One of the top live venues in the city, with a varied programme that include indie, rock, pop, experimental, hip hop, and so on.
Klub Gromka – Live music is often metal, from sludge to stoner, death to thrash, while punk bands also appear, as do others.
Križanke – The venue that hosts the Ljubljana Festival often has classical music, and some rock, in the open air.
Orto Bar– The home of live rock, metal, punk and other guitar-based genres.
Pinelina dnevna soba – LIve music is rare here, but it does happen.
Slovenska filharmonija– Classical music in the centre of town.
SNG Opera and Ballet - As the name suggests, here you'll find the best of opera and ballet in the country.
Španski borci - While dance is more common here, they also have some contemporary and experimental music shows.
Slovenska cesta, 1959. Wikimedia. See more pictures of Old Ljubljana here
Theatre and dance
Cankerjev dom- The main arts venue in the country always has something of interest going on.
Gledališče IGLU - IGLU Theatre – Saturday night this group is usually putting on an English improv show somewhere in town, but it’s generally promoted after this is written, so check the Facebook before putting on your shoes.
Kino Šiška – One of the top live venues in the city also hosts some dance performance, often of the more experimental variety.
Mini Teater Ljubljana –The English schedule of varied performances, for adults and children, for the month is here.
Ljubljana Puppet Theatre - Puppetry has a long and noble tradition in Slovenia, and you can see performances for children and adults (including non-puppet shows) drawing from the Theatre's rich repetoire as well as new productons.
SNG Opera and Ballet - As the name suggests, here you'll find the best of opera and ballet in the country.
Španski borci - The home ofcontemporary dance(and the EnKnapGroup) in Slovenia.
Pocket Teater Studio– There are regular flamenco evenings at perhaps the smallest venue town, but note that the number of seats is very limited, and thus you should make a reservation via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 070 325 522.
Harm reduction and drug testing
Drogart is an organization that aims to minimise harm on the party scene, and offers drug-testing services and reports on their webpage. It’s in Slovene, but you can Google translate it or work things out yourself, and our story on the group is here.You can find the latest warnings on fake drugs and high strength pills and powders (in Slovene) here. However, be aware that all the usual drugs are illegal in Slovenia.CBD is legal, though, and our retailer of choice can be found on Trubarjeva cesta - read more about Sena Flora here.
Photo: Igor Andjelič. See more of his work here
Things to do with children
You can find our Top 12 list of things to do with kids in Ljubljana here. If want to read more about the philosophy behind the wonderful House of Experiments look here, while our trip to the Museum of Illusions is documented here, and there’s always riverside walks, pizza and ice cream. With regard to the latter, take a look at our guide to six places that serve good ice cream in winter, and thus are serious about the dessert.
Mini Teater Ljubljana – The season sees a lot of puppet performances for children, in Slovene, at this theatre not far from Križanke. The English schedule for the month is here.
Ljubljana Puppet Theatre - The puppet theatre near the Central Market and next to the Castle funicular has a full programme or shows, for children and adults, with the schedule here.
LGBT+ Ljubljana
If you're looking for more general links on "gay Slovenia", including a history of the scene and various projects, then you can find that here, while our stories about the community can be found here.
Klub Monokel – This lesbian bar in Metelkova is open every Friday, although sometimes there are other events
Klub Tiffany –And the gay bar next door is also open on Fridays. Other things coulds also be planned, so click on the name to find out.
Pritličje – This seems to be the only "always open" LGBT-friendly cafe / bar / events space in town, and perhaps the country, so it's a good thing it's such a good one, open from morning to night, and with fliers and posters letting you know what's happening outside the narrow confines of, say, a general interest online what's on... guide.
Screenshot from Google Maps, showing the location of the Castle vineyard
Ljubljana Castle
The city’s main attraction is said to be the top tourist draw in the country overall, and to my mind it earns a spot near the top just for the history and views. But beyond that the current owners, the City of Ljubljana, have laid out a varied, interesting and enjoyable programme of events, one that rewards regular revisits. On until 17 November Mighty Guardians of the Past: Castles in the Slovenian Lands, a presentation that delivers on the promise of its title.
I try and get up there every Saturday morning to clear my head and move my feet on the trails, and never tire of that end of the hill. At the other end, where the Castle sits, there’s a lot more than fresh air on offer. There are guided tours, restaurants, a café, Castle museum, puppet museum, a Watchtower you can climb to the highest point in the city, art shows, dances, live music, movies under the stars, festival days and more – enough to reward multiple trips up the hill through the year. All of these activities and events can be found on the Castle website, while on TSN you can see “25 things to know about Ljubljana Castle” here, and “Ten Ways to Enjoy Ljubljana Castle” here.
Museums and galleries
Most public galleries and museums are closed on Mondays, although not the National Museum.
Bežigrajska galerija 2 – Take a trip to Vodovodna cesta 3 and until 8 February 2020 you can see Lojze Spacal (1907–2000): From the Littoral and the Karst Region.
Cankerjev dom – On until 3 March 2020 there's an exhibition on Ancient Greek Science and Technology. Details here.
Plečnik's desk. Photo: JL Flanner
Plečnik’s House is worth a visit if you want to learn more about the architect who gave Ljubljana much of its character, and it's also in a really nice part of town, Trnovo, just a short walk or cycle upriver. Read about our guided tour here. On until January 2020 you can see plans and models for some of the things Plečnik planned but never built in Ljubljana. Take a look at some pictures here.
Image: Nejc Bernik. ZRC-SAZU
Balassi Institute – The Hungarian culture centre is next to a Spar and Hofer, and not far from Dragon Bridge, and always has something interesting going on. Learn more here. This month there's also an exhibition with more works like the one shown below for a show described as follows: “The concept of the exhibition “Awkwardly Close” in Balassi Institute is exactly the self-conscious unease coming from artistic and content similarities between the works of Kata Bereczki, and the Slovenian artistic collective Son:DA."
City Gallery - From 28 November until 19 January 2020 there's a sculpture by Jiři Bezlaj.
Jiři Bezlaj, Hrošč, 2010 - 2016. Source: Mestna galerija
City Museum – The Museum in French Revolution Square an interesting permanent exhibition on the history of Ljubljana, from prehistoric times to the present day, with many artefacts, models and so on that bring the story alive.You can read about my visit here
The Faces of Ljubljana in the City Museum. Photo: JL Flanner
Drink like a pro - find gallery openings. Photo: JL Flanner
Ljubljana - (Un)known Ljubljana is on at the top of the hill, a free to enter National Geographic exhibition with photographs of some of the lesser seen parts of the city, with one example below and more here.
MAO – The Museum of Architecture and Design has much of what you'd expect, along with some temporary shows and a good cafe.
Moderna galerija – The main branch of this gallery, to be found near the entrance to Tivoli Park, has a good collection of modern art, as well a nice café in the basement. The 9th Triennial of Contemporary Art U3 is also on here until 12 January 2020. Titled Dead and Alive: “The exhibition unfolds around three contradictory states of now – the dead and alive state of conceptualism, analogue and liquid materiality, and the subconscious as the battlefield of cognitive capitalism. Because – how do art and avant-garde progress? By making sensible what is beyond. At the end of the day, Dead and Alive is a quantum time search for an engaged form.” More details here, on one of the works on show below.
© Aleksandra Vajd, Collage by K. E. Graebner Nature the Unknown Acquaintance (1971) and a unit of five hand-dyed photograms titled: ‘rivalry of superior vs. inferior’, 2017
Alan Ford was recently at the National Gallery - read more about this comic book here.
National Gallery – The country’s main gallery has “the best” of what’s on offer from the Middle Ages to non-contemporary modern visual arts, and is in a great location for exploring other areas, just by Tivoli Park and opposite the main branch of the Moderna galerija. You can read about our visit to the room containing sacred art from the Middle Ages here. Art for the Brave New World runs until 5 January 2020: “The exhibition will present the beginnings and development of an early government art collection in Slovenia, which, despite the economic and political crisis, was created in the 1930s by artistic and professional personalities gathered around Dr Marko Natlačen, the last ban of the Drava Banovina.”
JL Flanner
The real Robba Fountain can be found in the entrance to the National Gallery - the one you see in the Old Town is a genuine fake, as seen below and reported here.
Photo: JL Flanner
National Museum of Slovenia – There’s plenty to see in the permanent collection here, from Roman times, Egypt and more. Meanwhile, the museum's Metelkova branch, located between one branch of the Moderna galerija and the Ethnographic Museum has some rooms on Church art, furniture and weapons, with the latter including more guns than you'll see anywhere else in town, and quite a thrill if coming from a nation where such objects are not household items.
A fragment of a Coptic textile; 5th–6th cent.: Upper Egypt; linen, wool; National Museum of Slovenia. Photo: Tomaž Lauko
Until 24 May 2019 you can see Coptic Textiles from the Collection of the National Museum of Slovenia at the branch in the Metelkova museum quarter, by the Ethnographic Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Details.
Natural History Museum – On until the end of December 2019 is Our Little Big Sea, which takes a look at the oceans.
National Museum of Contemporary History - Tucked away in park Tivoli, you can see a permanent exhibition on Slovenians in the 20th century.
Slovene Ethnographic Museum – The museum has two permanent exhibitions. One of these is called Between Nature and Culture, and has a great collection of objects from Slovenia and around the world, well worth the trip up to the third floor to see it (as recounted here).
Vžigalica Gallery – On until 12 January 2020 is SAEBORG: SLAUGHTER HOUSE 17 from the Japanese artist Saeborg, which is being promoted with the following image. Details here.
SAEBORG: SLAUGHTER HOUSE 17. Photo: © DARKMOFO
Union Experience – The Ljubljana-based brewer has a museum showing the history of the company, with the ticket also including access to part of the factory and a few samples of the product. You can read about our visit here.
It's not a formal museum, but if you're interested in "Yugo-stalgia" then you'll enjoy a trip to Verba, a small, privately run space that's crammed with objects and pop culture items from the era, and is conveniently located at the start of one of the short walks to the castle. It's also a great place to take pictures, if you leave a donation, and you can read more about it here.
Verba. Photo: JL Flanner
Alternative Ljubljana isn't a museum or gallery, as such, but instead turns the city streets into a museum and gallery. Learn more about their tours of street art, history and LGBT Ljubljana here.
Photo: JL Flanner
Other things to do in Ljubljana
Learn more about Ljubljana with "25 things to know about Slovenia's green city of dragons", or take a look at our guide to spending from four to 48 hours here.
If you like the city's architecture then check out this great book, Let’s See the City - Ljubljana: Architectural Walks & Tours, with our review here and a page from the book shown above. We took a walk with one of the authors who showed us how much there is to learn and enjoy if you slow down and pay attention - read about that here.
Ljubljana has some beautiful buildings from the early 20th century, in the Secessionist style, like the one below. Learn where to find them here.
Photo: Neža Loštrek
For something a little more brual, check out Republika trg / Republic Square, in the heart of the political quarter.
Photo: JL Flanner
Photo: JL Flanner
Some view of the city you can only get from the river. If you'd like to take a boat ride then read about my experience here. If you'd like to spend an evening painting with others, then take a look at Design with Wine, which organises painting parties on Trubarjeva cesta,
If you want to see some antiques, then check out the wonderful Antika Carniola, as discussed here. The man behind it, Jaka Prijatelj, has a fine eye for life on this street, as you can see on his Facebook account.
Photo: JL Flanner
If you’re in town and want to go jogging or walking in nature, why not take another look at the Castle, with a brief guide to the trails here. If you want something bigger, head to Tivoli Park.
And if you're bored with the Old Town, why not take a walk, cycle or boat ride to nearby Špica and enjoy the riverside life. Learn more about that here.
visitljubjana.si
Want to stretch and breath? Then check out our list of drop-in yoga classes for tourists, visitors and the uncommitted. We go to Nataraja Studio, by Dragon Bridge, and here's a story about it.
Prefer to have someone else stretch you? The check out the totally legit massages you can get from Sense Wellness - either in one of their spas or in you home, office or hotel. (And - to repeat - these are legit and non-sexual in nature)
There are some golf courses near Ljubljana, but even ones further away are not far, as seen in our list of all the golf courses in Slovenia, which usually run until the first snow.
Photo: maxpixel.net, public domain
Daytrips
Most of Slovenia is only a few hours from Ljubljana, and you can easily visit Lake Bled, Lipica Stud Farm, Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, the coast and other locations, while if you'd like to take a photo of from that bench in Bled, then you can learn how to get there here. If you’re looking for something more ambitious, then check out our recent guide to the 17 members of the Association of Historical Towns of Slovenia. We've also written guides on spending from four to 48 hours in Bled and Piran.
Photo: Google Image Search
Getting around
If you want to get a Ljubljana Tourist Card, which gives you travel on the city buses and entry to a lot of attractions, then you can read more about that here, and if you want to use the bike share system, as useful for visitors as it is for residents, then you can learn more by clicking this. Visitors with reduced mobility will be pleased to find that downtown Ljubljana is generally rated as good with regard to accessibility, and that there’s a free, city-sponsored app called Ljubljana by Wheelchair highlighting cafés, attractions and so on with ramps, disabled bathrooms and Eurokey facilities, which you can read about and download here. Manual wheelchair users can also borrow, for free, an attachment that will motorise their equipment, as reported here.
Screenshot from a Twitter video
If you’re driving into town and don’t know where to park, our guide to how to park in Ljubljana is here.
Emergencies
Ljubljana is a small and relatively safe city, but if need to contact the police then there’s a special number for foreigners, and that’s 113.
Photo: JL Flanner
There aren't many places to eat after midnight, and most of them are by the train station, as reported here.
Want / need cigarettes but the stores have closed? Here's an incomplete list of bars downtown that will satisfy your craving for the demon weed. While if you’re having trouble with the ATMs then here’s a guide to the Slovene you’ll see on screen. If you get a hangover then find out where to get paracetamol (and prescription drugs) in Ljubljana here, while details on emergency birth control can be found here.
STA, 13 December - Slovenia ranks 13th in the latest Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index compiled by Solability, a sustainability think tank based in Switzerland and South Korea, among a total of 180 countries.
Slovenia scored 53.8 points, and fared best in terms of governance efficiency, trailing only Ireland and the Czech Republic.
Governance efficiency measures the results of core state areas and investments - infrastructure, market and employment structure, and the provision of a framework for sustained and sustainable wealth generation.
In the field of intellectual capital - the capability to generate wealth and jobs through innovation and value-added industries in the globalised markets - Slovenia ranks 13th.
Its ranking in social capital - health, security, freedom, equality and life satisfaction within a country - is 14th.
Slovenia meanwhile performed much worse in terms of resource management - the efficiency of using available resources as a measurement of operational competitiveness - placing 84th among the 180 countries.
It fared the worst in natural capital - the given natural environment, including the availability of resources, and the level of the depletion of those resources, placing 94th.
The index for 2019 is topped by the Nordic countries - Sweden is first with 60.6 points, followed by Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Switzerland. Placed at the bottom of the list are Yemen, Haiti and The Bahamas.
A PDF of the full report can be found here, while you can see the data in XLSX form
Grandpa Frost (Dedek mraz) has been around for about 70 years now, and despite the 1990s poor projections about his survival after the change in political system, is about to enter the 2020s alive and well. You can read more about this gift giving figure read here.
Below, you can see some of the early pictures from Maribor and elsewhere of Grandpa Frost (Dedek Mraz) on gift-giving visits to schools, hospitals and public halls that might be even more interesting in terms of the event’s surroundings and kids’ fashions of the day.
Dedek Mraz at OŠ Franc Rozman - Stane, 1961; Photo: Danilo Škofič
Dedek Mraz at OŠ Franc Rozman - Stane, 1961; Photo: Danilo Škofič
Dedek Mraz at OŠ Franc Rozman - Stane, 1961; Photo: Danilo Škofič
Dedek Mraz at OŠ Franc Rozman - Stane, 1961; Photo: Danilo Škofič
Dedek Mraz at OŠ Franc Rozman - Stane, 1961; Photo: Danilo Škofič
Dedek Mraz at OŠ Franc Rozman - Stane, 1961; Photo: Danilo Škofič
Dedek Mraz at OŠ Franc Rozman - Stane, 1961; Photo: Danilo Škofič
Dedek Mraz at pediatric hospital in Maribor, 1959
Dedek Mraz at pediatric hospital in Maribor, 1959
Dedek Mraz, location unknown, 1961, Photo: Jože Gal
Dedek Mraz, location unknown, 1961, Photo: Jože Gal
Dedek Mraz, location unknown, 1961, Photo: Jože Gal
Dedek Mraz, location unknown, 1961, Photo: Jože Gal
STA, 12 December - The office of President Borut Pahor has asked the relevant ministry to closely examine the case of an Afganistani who is facing deportation from Slovenia, as it believes it stands out from usual cases. This comes as NGOs have again called on the authorities not to deport Noor, who has found a home and has family in the town of Novo Mesto.
The president's office told the STA on Thursday that while it did not have direct jurisdiction in the international protection procedures, the Ministry of the Interior should examine the case in detail.
The call comes after two Slovenian NGOs urged Pahor, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina last week not to allow the Afganistani, who has lived in Slovenia since 2015, to be deported.
The NGOs have noted that Noor had asked for asylum before finding himself in a deportation procedure, which is taking years. In the meantime, he has integrated himself in the Novo Mesto community, and is living with his Slovenian partner and her son.
According to his partner Dragana, a family reunion procedure has been initiated at the relevant administrative unit, but the police had again taken Noor in October to the centre for foreigners in Postojna, where he is facing deportation.
"His family, home, friends and work are waiting for him. He is an excellent cook and he has been offered a job several times, but no employer can hire him because his status has not been tackled," she told the press recently.
Noor was recently visited by journalists of the public broadcaster TV Slovenija, and spoke with them in Slovenian.
While forwarding the letter from the NGOs to Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar, the president's office has also sent a request for the case to be examined carefully.
It said that rulings of the European Court of Human Rights place emphasis on family life and family reunion in cases of people who ask for asylum.
The NGOs have noted that before the first interview in Postojna aimed at establishing facts about Noor's family life, the Novo Mesto administrative unit had decided not to give him a residence permit.
This way the foreigner and his Slovenian partner have been left without legal means to prevent deportation. "The treatment is shocking because the police are being so apparently wrong in their interpretation of laws."
The NGOs said that the European Court of Human Rights argued that the right to family life must not be made conditional on how the person in question had entered the country.
You can sign a petition in support of Noor here
