STA, 16 October 2019 - After a number of revelations showing that the Ljubljana and Maribor universities paid out millions of euros to professors in addition to their salaries, the commercial broadcaster POP TV reported about internal audits at Ljubljana University showing that nearly EUR 12 million had been paid to employees in addition to salaries in only three years.
Between 2016 and 2018, 200 individuals received EUR 11.8 million stemming from commercial projects in addition to their salaries. The funds were paid out on the bases of freelance contracts.
The audits have taken issue with the payments, according to POP TV, raising the issue of a conflict of interest, unfair competition and a lack of clarity about whether the work that was paid extra had indeed been performed outside regular work hours.
POP TV ran a list of 15 names who received more than EUR 100,000 each through various freelance contracts between 2016 and 2018. Moreover, another 210 employees received more than EUR 30,000 each in additional payments in this period.
The highest sums had been paid out at the faculties for electrical engineering, medicine, engineering, construction and administration.
Topping the list of the highest earners is regular professor Janko Drnovšek, the head of the robotics department at the Electrical Engineering Faculty, who also heads a metrology and quality lab.
In three years, he received EUR 197,000 in payments in addition to his annual salary of EUR 60,000 gross. He told POP TV that he had performed all of his work at the faculty for the past 35 years.
The work he does on commercial projects does not encroach on his teaching job, he said. "It's the opposite. Becoming a regular professor takes many, many years of sacrifices. It encroaches on your family life," he said.
The list of 15 highest earners includes seven who work at the Faculty of Medicine. Its Dean Igor Švab told the broadcaster that only a small fraction of the money the faculty makes with its commercial activities is spent to reward the people who work there.
The Faculty of Medicine makes the most of all faculties from commercial projects. Commercial funds account for EUR 19 million of its EUR 54 million budget.
STA, 17 October 2019 - The parliamentary Finance Committee has finalised a package of tax bills that slightly reduce the taxation of labour in favour of higher taxes on capital, after adopting last-minute amendments to counter criticism that the legislation amounted to a generous handout to the rich.
Under the legislative package confirmed last evening and slated for passage at the National Assembly plenary next week, the thresholds for all five brackets will be slightly increased and the general tax credit will rise.
In the second and third tax brackets, which cover mostly the middle class, the tax rate will drop by a percentage point.
Those on the minimum wage will see their earnings rise only marginally, while those on average pay can expect roughly EUR 150 more per year.
The original government proposal also involved a significant tax cut for the richest, as the threshold for when the highest, 50% tax rate kicks, was to rise by over EUR 9,000 to EUR 80,000.
Bud amidst criticism, especially by the opposition Left, that this amounted to a generous handout to the richest, the committee set the threshold at EUR 72,000, about a thousand euro higher than now.
There are only about 3,900 individuals who fall into this tax bracket, or 0.3% of all income tax payers.
The income tax changes are coupled with higher capital gains tax, which will rise to 27.5% from 25%. This rate will also apply to rental income.
Additionally, companies will be subject to a minimum corporate income tax rate of 7%, as tax credits for investments and losses from previous years will be reduced.
The committee debate saw parties clash on taxes along ideological lines.
The Left unsuccessfully sought to withdraw the income tax changes altogether, arguing that the legislation would create a huge budget shortfall while doing too little to benefit the poorest.
The centre-right opposition, on the other hand, came up with amendments that would reduce the taxation of capital and accused the Left of "trying to banish managers out of the country", as New Slovenia (NSi) MP Jožef Horvat put it.
All opposition amendments were voted down.
And even an MP of the coalition, businessman Marko Bandelli of the Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), wondered why the Left hated people with high pay "who push our country forward".
Robert Pavšič of the ruling Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) countered that the government was heeding warnings by international organisations that labour is too heavily taxed and capital too little.
"The underlying purpose is to provide greater tax equality," he said.
The government had originally proposed a much more far-reaching tax reform package but the bills, first presented in February, got watered down due to GDP growth data and forecasts showing that economic growth is cooling down.
In 1786 Emperor Joseph II ordered that the Discalced Augustinians monastery in Ajdovščina, Ljubljana, be rearranged into the first civilian hospital in Slovenian lands.
Among the reasons why Ajdovščina monastery was chosen over the Franciscan monastery at Vodnik square, another venue considered, were given its more appropriate interior design, beautiful garden and fresh air from Kamnik Mountains.
On the day of the opening, the hospital had three departments (internist, surgical and dermatological) and only 12 beds; three for women and nine for men. Two years later a psychiatric ward or – in the language of the day, “mad house” – was added. The hospital was managed by Brothers of Mercy from Trieste.
During the Illyrian Provinces and French occupation of Ljubljana, the French were in need of space for their wounded soldiers, and demanded the civilian hospital for this. The Brothers of Mercy refused to comply, so the French dismissed their order, seized the hospital, and handed its management to the city government. In 1849 the hospital was taken over by the provincial government of Carniola.
Due to lack of space a new psychiatric hospital was built in Polje, Ljubljana in 1881, and in 1889 children were also moved to a new paediatric hospital at Streliška street. In 1888 the Carniolan government decided to build an entirely new hospital on Zaloška street, Ljubljana. Construction work started in 1893 and was expected to be finished in 1896.
However, the damage caused by Ljubljana earthquake in 1995 forced the authorities to move the patients in old Ajdovščina hospital into tents in the hospital garden, and complete the work on the new hospital in the same year.
Ajdovščina monastery was so heavily damaged by the earthquake that the entire building had to be pulled down. In its place two secessionist buildings were erected at the addresses of Slovenska street 44 and 46: the Sloveniasport building (1906), designed by Ciril Metod Coch, and Hribar house (1905), designed by Max Fabiani.
Sloveniasport building with Hribar house to its left, 2014 Photo: Tia Monto, Wikimedia Commons
In memory of the hospital a memorial plate was built into the façade of Sloveniasport.
Jože Plečnik was the architect responsible for many of Ljubljana’s most iconic and well-known features, like Triple Bridge and the Market Arcades, or Križanke and Shoemaker’s Bridge. But despite the grand projects that Plečnik was able to complete, in Slovenia and abroad, there were other plans that remained even grander, and unrealised.
Starting on 18 October and running until 26 January, 2020, visitors to the Plečnik House (Karunova 4–6, Ljubljana 1000) will have a further delight to go with the many they’ll find when touring the great man’s home, designed to his own demanding specifications and full of characteristic touches. In these months the museum is hosting an exhibition titled Plečnik’s Unrealised Projects for Ljubljana, which will show how the city would have looked if the architect had been able to build four of his major works: New Town Hall, Butchers’ Bridge (on the site where the one with "lovers locks" now crosses the river), a monumental octagon with a tower on the Castle Hill and the Cathedral of Freedom in Tivoli Park.
While sketches of these works have long existed, the displays for this show utilised 3D modelling, visualisation and 3D printing, bringing them to life in the context of the city today, as seen in the following images.
New Town Hall: Nejc Bernik, ZRC-SAZU
New Town Hall: Nejc Bernik, ZRC-SAZU
Plan for New Town Hall. Source: MGML
Butcher's Bridge: Nejc Bernik, ZRC-SAZU
Butcher's Bridge: Nejc Bernik, ZRC-SAZU
Plan for Butcher's Bridge. Source. MGLM
An addition to Ljubljana Castle. Nejc Bernik, ZRC-SAZU
Plan for an addition to Ljubljana Castle. Source: MGML
Plan for an addition to Ljubljana Castle. Source: MGML
The Cathedral of Freedom, Tivoli Park. Source: Nejc Barnik, ZRC-SAZU
The Cathedral of Freedom, Tivoli Park. Source: Nejc Barnik, ZRC-SAZU
Plan for the Cathedral of Freedom. Source: MGML. If you have a 10-cent coin you might be able to see this on one side - one of Slovenia's contributions to the visual image of the euro...
The exhibition is free to enter with a ticket to the Plečnik House, which also includes a very informative guided tour of the building, as written up here. Tickets are €6 for adults, €4 for the over 60s, students, and children. The place is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, and closed on Monday. More details here.
In 1888 the Cyril and Methodius Society established the first Slovenian school in the city of Trieste. On today’s date after years of efforts, Slovenes from Trieste finally got a school in their mother tongue. At the time around a quarter of the city’s population spoke Slovenian, while the rural areas surounding the city were mostly Slovene.
Until then education in the Slovenian language was opposed by the Italian nationalist elite, defending the exclusivism of the Italian schools, a means against “Slavization” and a guarantee of the Italian-only image of Trieste. The city children of Slovenian parents were thus only able to attend Italian schools, which promoted national assimilation.
The Cyril and Methodius School in Trieste performed its invaluable mission until the forced fascist abolition in 1930.
STA, 14 October 2019 - The 54th Maribor Theatre Festival (Festival Borštnikovo) will get under way today with an international conference on ways to develop theatre audiences. Running until 27 October, the country's leading theatre event will feature a record 42 productions from Slovenia and abroad.
While the festival officially opens on Friday, the busy schedule, which is in keeping with last year's programme expansion, already starts with the segments Young and Student Theatre today.
"Both were already conceived last year as permanent festival features, which we want to develop further in the future. They feature Slovenian as well as foreign productions and make for a kind of joint festival platform for the development of new audiences, which we see as a primary mission," the festival's artistic director Aleš Novak said.
Meanwhile, a selection of theatre productions staged in Slovenia in the last season reamins at the core of the festival. The first of 12 shows in the competition programme is scheduled for Saturday.
Awards will be conferred on the final day of the festival, including the Borštnik Ring for lifetime achievement, which this year goes to Marinka Štern.
The list of the competing shows includes two productions each by SNG Drama Ljubljana (In the Name of the Mother, and Ali: Fear Eats Your Soul), by Mladinsko Theatre (No Title Yet, and The Opposite) and by Ljubljana City Theatre (Fireflies, and A Silent Breath).
Also selected were the Damned by Drama SNG Maribor, Inventor On Earth by Anton Podbevšek Theatre, Macbeth by SNG Nova Gorica, At Dawn by the Prešeren Theatre from Kranj, River, River by the Delak institute, and The Misanthrope by the Slovenian People's Theatre from Celje.
The accompanying programme features 19 more productions, seven of which from abroad. One of the highlights will be a performance by British critically-acclaimed physical theatre company Gecko, led by artistic director Amit Lahav, who will play their hit show The Wedding.
The festival will also feature talks about the shows, an international conference on theatre criticism, a regional meeting of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), a panel on theatre professionals, concerts, and guided tours of Slovenia's second largest city.
The website with all the details can be found here
In 1809 Napoleon signed a decree establishing a special status zone called the Illyrian Provinces (Slo: Ilirske province), subordinated directly to the French central government. It included western Carinthia with Villach, Gorizia, Trieste and its surroundings, Istria, part of Croatia with Karlovac, Dalmatia with Zadar, the Republic of Dubrovnik and Boka Kotorska. Ljubljana became the administrative and cultural capital of the provinces.
The purpose of this territorial formation was not to restore Slavic Illyria, as Valentin Vodnik wrote in Illyria Revived in 1811, but to create a buffer zone along the Adriatic coast, which would cut off German lands from the sea, and a direct land between France and the Middle East would be established across Istria and Dalmatia.
Despite the dissatisfaction of the Slovenian population with the severe economic crisis (trade with Austrian lands was hindered) and the new tax burden and the recruitment of men into the French Army, the four years of rule under the French authorities were still quite important for the development of the Slovenian language and culture.
The first governor-general of the provinces Marshal August Marmont, made sure that elementary and middle school levels were all in Slovene, while Valentin Vodnik was in charge of providing textbooks. For this he published first Slovenian grammar written in the Slovenian language - Literacy or grammar for first schools. He also became a headmaster at a lower secondary school and headmaster of folk and art schools.
The integration of the Slovene lands into the Illyrian Provinces had a significant impact on the development of the Slovenian nationalist movement. However in 1813 Austria, following Napoleon’s defeat, regained its full control and sovereignty of the Slovenian lands, while Valentin Vodnik got into trouble for his support to the French. He was banned from working in schools in 1815 and died four years later.
Čokoljana is an annual fair which will, for the sixth time, overflow Ljubljana centre with chocolate.
Every chocolate lover will find something for themselves on Saturday, October 19, from 9:00 till 21:00 at Pogačar square, next to the central marketplace in Ljubljana – one that hosts Open Kitchen on Fridays in the warmer months.
Like in previous years, more than 50 stalls will put on offer various sorts of chocolate in various delivery systems, which this year will include a chocolate porter from Loo-blah-nah craft brewery.
Certain areas of Slovenia are prone to flooding, and many of these were highlighted in 2010, when over the weekend of 17 to 19 September heavy rain caused the waters to rise in Ljubljana, the Central Sava Valley, Laško, the Slovene Littoral and Lower Carniola. In all the extreme weather event impacted 60% of Slovenia’s municipalities (137 out of 212), and the total damage was estimated at more €240 million.
Source: Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Flash Floods in Slovenia, Tajan Trobec (2016). Link to full paper.
Flooding in Celje. Source: Wikimedia - Brane Petrovič & Borut Podgoršek, mors.si, public domain
Unknown location. Source: Wikimedia - mors.si, public domain
Unknown location: Source: Wikimedia - Emil Jalovec, GŠSV
Unknown location: Source: Wikimedia - mrwho00tm
Unknown location: Source: Wikimedia - mrwho00tm
Unknown location. Source: Wikimedia - mors.si, public domain
Unknown location. Source: Wikimedia - mors.si, public domain
Flooding in Litija. Source: Wikimedia - poldek_tedy CC-by-3.0
Hubelj Creek, Ajdovščina. Source: Wikimedia - Brane Petrovič & Borut Podgoršek, mors.si, public domain
LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor will host a debate on Slovenia's vision of the EU's development, involving experts, government and parliament officials and MEPs. LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar will take part in a session of the EU Foreign Affairs Council discussing relations with Turkey. BELGRADE, Serbia - National Assembly Speaker Dejan Židan is attending the Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union focusing on sustainable development and enhancement of international law. LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec will take part in a meeting of EU ministers of agriculture. LJUBLJANA - The Peace Institute will hold a debate on migration and political responsibility. LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Committee on Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Disabled will debate alleged maltreatment of the elderly in pension homes. LJUBLJANA - Environment and Spatial Planning Minister will set out amendments to the housing act. LJUBLJANA - A conference on micromobility organised by the European Commission to talk about electric bikes, scooters and drones; introductory address by Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc. BRDO PRI KRANJU - An international conference on occupational diseases and psychosocial risks on the job from the gender aspect. SORICA - A media presentation of the multinational military exercise Triglav Star 2019. MARIBOR - The 54th Maribor Theatre Festival, the country's largest, will get under way featuring a record 42 productions from Slovenia and abroad, until 27 Oct.
TUESDAY, 15 October LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar will take part in a session of the EU General Affairs Council focusing on launch of accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. VENICE, Italy - Defence Minister Karl Erjavec will take part in a defence ministerial of the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative. LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Commission will be in session, discussing staffing at the intelligence agency SOVA, and budget documents for 2021 and 2020. LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Health Committee will discuss treatment of rare diseases. WASHINGTON, US - The International Monetary Fund will release its latest global economic outlook, including forecasts for Slovenia. LJUBLJANA - The National and University Library will launch an exhibition marking the 200th anniversary of the death of Žiga Zois (1747-1819), a key Enlightenment figure in Slovenia. LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office will release August pay data. PARIS, France - Primož Roglič will be one of the favourites to win Vélo d'Or as the French cycling magazine Vélo Magazine presents the road cycle racing award.
WEDNESDAY, 16 October LJUBLJANA - Day of National Security, a conference, with keynote addresses by Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar and Defence Minister Karl Erjavec. LJUBLJANA - The budget documents for the coming two years will be discussed by the parliamentary committees on foreign policy and economy and by the public finance oversight commission. LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Finance Committee will debate amendments to several tax laws. LJUBLJANA - A conference by the Employers' Association will discuss the impact of the higher minimum wage on collective bargaining agreements. FRANKFURT, Germany - Culture Minister Zoran Poznič will attend the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair. LJUBLJANA - A photo exhibition by the National Geographic Slovenia themed (Un)Known will be launched, showcasing little known parts of Ljubljana.
THURSDAY, 17 October BRUSSELS, Belgium - PM Marjan Šarec will join other EU leaders for a two-day European Council meeting to discuss EU long-term budget, priorities for the next 5 years and Brexit, among other things. NICOSIA, Cyprus - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar will start an official two-day visit to Cyprus, accompanied by a business delegation. LJUBLJANA - The weekly government session. LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will hold a special session on long-term care at the behest of the opposition Democrats (SDS). LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary inquiry into alleged wrongdoing at Bank Asset Management Company will interview central bank officials. LJUBLJANA - Budget documents for the coming two years will be discussed by the parliamentary commission for the Italian and Hungarian minorities. LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Justice Committee will debate a report on courts' efficiency in 2018, among other things. LJUBLJANA - A panel debate on women in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics featuring US Ambassador Lynda Blanchard and Labour Minister Ksenija Klampfer. LJUBLJANA - A concert will mark World Day against Trafficking in Persons. LJUBLJANA - A press conference before IKEA starts building its Ljubljana store. PORTOROŽ - Golden Drum, an international two-day advertising festival, will get under way. TRBOVLJE - Speculum Artium, an international three-day festival of new media, will open.
FRIDAY, 18 October LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Finance Committee will prepare budget documents for 2020 and 2021 for the plenary session of parliament. LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary EU Affairs Committee will debate a report on the implementation of European cohesion policy by the end of June 2019. LJUBLJANA - A committee in support of Catalan leaders imprisoned in Spain will be established. LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office will release the latest general government surplus and public debt estimates. LJUBLJANA - An exhibition of select unrealised projects for Ljubljana by architect Jože Plečnik. VIPAVA - The University of Nova Gorica will hold a scientific conference to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci. ORMOŽ - The Grossmann Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Comics Festival will get under way, until 20 Oct.
SATURDAY, 19 October LJUBLJANA - Ljubljana will hold a chocolate festival.
If you're not in town for the week of this guide (14 - 20 October, 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 Sloveniahere.
The annual Month of Design continues until 8 November, with details here and the food and travel part of the season coming on Thursday. More details here.
Monday 20:00 Kino Šiška has a concert from the pianist Manca Udovič and her band Romanca, while Wednesday 20:30 there’s U pol ‘9 kod Sabe, “humorous and melodic songs at the crossroads of indie pop and cabaret”. The week in Šiška then ends on Saturday with a show at 20:00 by the Police Orchestra with soloists Stéphane Rudaz and Bratko Krivokapič on the soprano and tenor helicon. Don’t know what a helicon is? See the third video below – they’re very cute.
Thursday Cankarjev dom has Kormatika 3 at 19:30, with the South Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son the RTV Symphony Orchestra playing Prokofiev, Symphony No.1; Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 24; Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 8; and Dubugnon, Chamber Symphony No. 2 (Slovenian premiere).
New movies opening this week include Abominable (Mali jeti) – and note that most kid’s movies are dubbed – Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Preboj and Zombieland: Double Tap.
Friday, 18 October at 20:00 the Oslo Philharmonic are in town, playing at Cankarjev dom with Leif Ove Andsnes on the piano. The programme is Richard Strauss, Don Juan; Edvard Grieg, Piano Concerto in A minor; and Shostakovich, Symphony No 10 in E minor. Also on Friday, this time at Orto Bar, there’s a very different show on offer from Gutalax, Spasm, and Guineapig.
Open Kitchen ends soon, at the end of the month, so catch it while you can. Meanwhile, on Saturday the same square will host the Čokoljana Chocolate Fair, bringing sweet treats to the Central Market / Pogačarjev trg from 09:00 to 21:00.
Saturday and Sunday you can see and buy minerals at MineralFest, starting 09:00 at Cankarjev dom. Looking further ahead, you can now get tickets for Vlado Kreslin’s traditional December shows at the same venue – Slovenia’s biggest arts centre – with the dates being 9 and 10 December.
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.
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).
Friday night SHXCXCHCXSH will be playing at Klub K4
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.
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.
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 Florahere.
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 tosix 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.
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.
Most public galleries and museums are closed on Mondays, although not the National Museum.
From 15 October to 17 November various venues around town will be hosting events related to Transform 2019: Trans-form:action, featuring students from academies from Zagreb, Sofia, Bucharest, Skopje, Istanbul and Ljubljana. Details.
Looking to buy some high end, big name local art from a trusted gallery? Check out our look at Sloart.
Bežigrajska galerija 2 – Take a trip to Vodovodna cesta 3 between 3 October and 13 November you can see “selected works by the Prešeren awards recipients originating from Slovenian Istria, coming from the collections of the Piran Coastal Galleries and the Prešeren Award Winners of Fine Arts Gallery Kranj.” The free to enter show includes the following work.
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.
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 - Until 10 November you can see After the Canal, there was only "our" world: “The exhibition is an invitation to explore a variety of historical and geographical connections between Europe, especially its Easts, and the Middle East, particularly Egypt, with the Suez Canal as the trigger, while contemplating their reflections in the mirror of the present.”
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
Galerija Kresija – The gallery between the Triple Brdge and City Hall has some architecture-related activities this week.
Galerijia Y – Walk along to Trubarjeva cesta 79 and until 19 October you can see some contemporary art from four Slovenian painters, with all the works for sale. See some of them here.
Drink like a pro - find gallery openings. Photo: JL Flanner
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.
Rafikun Nabi: Poet, 1980, print, 96.5 x 110 cm. Courtesy of the Contemporary Art Center of Montenegro. On display at the Metelova branch of the Moderna galerija
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 Ageshere. 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. Running until 3 November is Roma Aeterna: Masterpieces of Classical Sculpture. With sculptures from the collection of the Santarelli family in Rome, ranging from the age of the Roman Empire to that of neoclassicism. 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.
Natural History Museum – On until the end of December 2019 is Our Little Big Sea, which takes a look at the oceans.
Roma Aeterna: Masterpieces of Classical Sculpture - see below
Union is "the Ljubljana beer", but now both it and Laško are owned by Heineken. There are many local brews on offer around town, though, if you want to explore IPAs, stouts, wheatbeers, sours and so on Photo: JL Flanner
Vžigalica Gallery – Until 27 October you can explore a spatial installation from the Berlin-based artist Sinta Werner.
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.
Vžigalica Gallery – If you’re curious about the man who commissioned that Melania Trump sculpture, then you can see more of activities here, in a show called Brad Downey: This Echo.
Volčji Potok Arboretum - Running until 3 November you can see a large collection of cacti 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 Ljubljanahere.
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.
Open Kitchen brings market stalls selling food and drink from some of the best restaurants in town every Friday, from 11am to 11pm, in the square between the cathedral and the river - just follow your nose and the crowds. Read more about it here.
Photo: Open Kitchen
Ljubljana has some beautiful buildings from the early 20th century, in the Secessionist style, like the one below. Learn where to find them here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
