Some cities have individual architects involved in reshaping the city so their names are used together like they own those cities, i.e. Gaudi’s Barcelona, Niemeyer’s Brasilia, and today’s topic Plečnik’s Ljubljana.
After the great earthquake in Ljubljana (1895), the devastation was vast, and the city needed revitalization and modernization. In the next two decades, Mayor Ivan Hribar would arrange financing, and architect Max Fabiani would prepare an urban development plan for Ljubljana and introduce the Secession style of architecture. These lay down a great foundation for the modern city. But we need another person to come and put a soul into the bricks and concrete. That was done by Plečnik in the period 1921-1957.
Even though he was born in Ljubljana, he had to make a circle before returning to home town and implementing his vision of the city that became his greatest legacy. After failing in high school, he joined his father’s carpenter shop. Later, he finished school in Graz as a carpenter and continued his studies in Vienna as an architect under Professor Otto Wagner. One year, he studied in Italy on a scholarship. After finishing his studies in 1901, he stayed in Vienna for a decade and designed a few Villas and a Church of the Holy Spirit.
In the next decade, he was teaching in Prague and again built a church (Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord) and a few Villas. Before leaving, President Masaryk assigned him to the renovation of the castle Hradčany; hall, residency, park (1920-1939). In 1920, Ivan Vurnik invited him to teach at a newly established University in Ljubljana after Fabiani declined.
In his work, one can find a few characteristics, from modernism taught by Wagner, Beuron art, clean lines, and geometrical shapes, use of new materials such as reinforced concrete or materials obtained locally, motives from antiquity, trees and sculptures as pieces of city furniture, a lot of symbolism, always completing a holistic work of art. Also, he did a lot of interior work, from furniture to church equipment. But here we will talk about the exterior.
He had envisioned Ljubljana as modern Athens. The idea was to form a grid of Axis and pin objects on them. First is the Water Axis, from Špica to the river lock on Ljubljanica. The second is on land (Green Cultural Ally) and is parallel with the first one. It starts at his home in Trnovo and finishes at Prešeren Square. Together they form the backbone of the city. He had in mind also the perpendicular Axis to the other two. The main axis was from Castle to park Tivoli, another one is Zois street to Castle, and yet another as Gradaščica river bed. But he didn’t have enough time to finish them all.
Table of Contents
Water Axis
It starts at the banks of the Ljubljanica River from Špica (a place where the Gruber canal splits off) to the inflow of Gradaščica (Trnovski pristan). Both sides are arranged for visitors so they can sit in the shadow of willow trees, on multiple terraces.
At the Saint Jacobs bridge, on the left bank, there is Zois street in place of the medieval wall. Plečnik remodeled the street with a tree-line and Zois pyramid, commemorating Žiga Zois, representative of the Enlightenment and patron of the arts, living in the palace next to the pyramid.
Continuing to the right bank, there is Levstik park, part of the perpendicular Axis, Plečnik’s work from 1926-27. He placed Hercules’ Fountain on the square. He fenced the square with concrete spheres and planted maples. 10 years later, he mounted a sign of Mary on a 9.5 m high pillar made of Podpeč marble /restoration). It continues to Saint Florian church, where he remodeled the exterior, and concludes with the path up the castle hill.
Because Ljubljanica was still flooding after building Gruber’s canal, they decided to deepen the riverbed and to concretize the latter. Banks were again in the domain of Plečnik, rails (partially destroyed by Zoran Janković) and trees on both sides, two bridges, and a market.
First is Cobbler’s Bridge. It represents the central spot of medieval Ljubljana, connecting the City and Old Square on the right side with New Square on the left side. It replaced a cast-iron bridge that was here before. The name is from an older, wooden bridge that housed cobbler shacks. The concrete bridge, long 27 meters and wide 11 meters, was meant as the marketplace. With a balustrade on the sides and pillars that have smaller spheres at the top. A cheap solution to replace a roof that was planned originally.
The most recognizable project is probably Triple Bridge (Tromostovje). Plečnik added to the existing bridge one additional bridge on each side of the existing bridge. Balustrades for railings are used on all three bridges. Also, stairways are added, and they lead to the lower level with poplar trees as decoration. Here Axis intersect.
On the right side, it continues with the main market covered with arches, also called Plečnik’s Arcades. It was renovated last year; special roofing was an extra challenge. In 2010, Bucher’s glass bridge was added, which differs from Plečnik’s style (another intervention by Mayor Janković).
The last object that concludes Water Axis is a water lock, with parks on both sides (Vraz and Ambrož square). Locks have strong antique motives, 3 towers resembling Egypt, Greek pillars, and Etruscan vases. On the downstream side, there are faces watching the river that is leaving the city.
Land Axis
This Land Axis is also called Green or Cultural Avenue. It starts at his house in Trnovo, Karunovi street 4–6. He planned to live here with his brothers and sister, but it never happened. He bought two houses and joined them. In the garden, he built a circular tower and greenhouse. Today, it is owned by the city and converted into a museum.
Trnovo Bridge connects the Trnovo and Krakov quarters. In the corners of the bridge, there are small pyramids. In the middle, there is an obelisk with a statue of John the Baptist. The bridge has a line of birch trees, which is the first time on a bridge in Europe.
Following Emonska street, we come to Križanke. Križanke is an ex-monastic complex with a church and residential and other buildings of the Teutonic Order of Knights built in the 13th century. The church is from the 18th century by Italian Domenico Rossi. After WW2 complex was assigned to the Ljubljana Festival and the High School of Design and Photography. This renovation was Plečnik’s last project and was finished by his pupils. His main work was done on three courtyards, with arcades, colonnades, and decoration, by including various architectural elements from demolished houses in Ljubljana. He added a lapidary and graffiti.
French Revolution Square is on the north side of the Križanke. The main feature here is the Ilirian obelisk with Napoleon’s head sculpture, and is rear occurance as such outside France. For Slovenia, Ilirian provinces created by Napoleon meant more rights for Slovenes, the Slovene language, and Ljubljana as the capital of the wider area. There is also a pergola with a monument to the poet Simon Gregorčič.
Vegova Street is next. On this street, Plečnik plants different types of trees, sets paving, includes city furniture, monuments (Slovenian composers’ alley), and small buildings for special effect while merging all into one whole unit (i.e. NUK, Music school, etc).
NUK – National and University Library is a monumental building at the beginning of the street and is probably Plečnik’s greatest work. Set as a massive block with a facade in red (brick) and white (irregularly shaped stones). When entering the building, you ascend on dark stairways (ignorance) into a well-lit reading-room (knowledge). The building is full of small details, from the pegasus-shaped door handle to furniture in the reading-room. This building was hit by a plane in 1944.
Congress Square is at the other end of the street, where a medieval Capuchin monastery once was. Square is named after the Congress of Laibach, where allied sovereigns met after Napoleon’s defeat to decide how to divide Europe. One-third is paved with a pillar of the Holy Trinity at the west end toward the Ursuline church, with stairways, both set by Plečnik. It offers the best view of the castle on the hill. The other two-thirds are Star Park (named after the layout of paths in the park). Each of the 8 triangles of the green surface has 9 platan trees.
In the park, there are some objects of interest as an anchor (gaining access to see), bandstand, fountain, Emona citizen on a pillar. In the North-West corner of the park, there is a high school with an elaborate facade that was designed by Plečnik and is now named after him. An interesting fact is that the corridor is on the outer wall, and classrooms are on the garden side, so traffic wouldn’t disturb pupils. On the Eastside, there are two stairways connecting the square to the river, at Gledališka stolba, and at Makalonca.
This Axis should finish at South Square as Ljubljana’s Agora, but this idea was never realized. On this axis, we have the main educational and cultural points, such as the University, the National and University Library, the Musical and ballet high school, Križanke as a venue and design high school, the Music society, and Realka – today’s IT high school.
Churches
Plečnik was religious and had many projects for the Catholic church in his lifetime, from whole buildings from scratch to minor additions to exterior or interior. Here are enumerated the most remarkable ones.
Church of St. Michael in Črna Vas, suburbs of Ljubljana, is one of the prominent works of Plečnik. The soft grounds required the church to be built on supports rammed into the mud. He used concrete for tiles and walls. Stone and wood were from local sources. The bell-tower was constructed separately from the main building. The church aisle is elevated, with a staircase leading to it. Again, he set the altar in the center, closer to people. The church was completed in 1939.
The Church of St. Francis of Assisi was built between 1925 and 1927 according to Plečnik’s design in the Šiška quarter of Ljubljana. The hall with a flat wooden ceiling and a series of top windows creates the impression of an early Christian basilica. It is designed as a hall with an altar in the middle, which is supposed to establish more direct contact with the people.
Church of St. Bartholomew in Šiška – The old church is considered one of the oldest preserved architectures in Ljubljana, first mentioned in the 14th century. Between the two world wars, the church and its surroundings were rearranged by Plečnik.
Plečnik’s Church of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius was demolished in 1957 due to the expansion of the Gospodarsko razstavišče. The church would be rebuilt on the location in Vodovodna Street in Bežigrad. All movable equipment was transferred to the church of St. Cyril and Methodius at the new location.
Other buildings
Upon his return to Ljubljana, he started slowly. First, he had to build a school where he would teach later, the Old Technical School on 7 Aškerčeva Street, with a basic layout, as there was no money for something more.
Next was the stadium in Bežigrad ordered by the Catholic church association Orli (Eagles). Because of the financing problem, it took 2 decades before it was finished. Villa Stadion was designed by Plečnik for the lottery that should help finance the project. During WW2 here soldiers pledged their allegiance to Hitler. Later, it was used by the football club Olimpija. Since 2008, it has been closed and in decay, because the owner, the city governance, and local inhabitants couldn’t agree on its renewal.
Central Cemetery Žale was a project done in the period 1938-44. The main entrance is a grand 2 stories portal with pillars and marks the entrance to the world of the dead. Behind administration buildings, there is oratory and further, there are 14 mortuaries named after parish saints. This cemetery is considered an important European monument. The architect himself was buried here.
The mutual insurance company commissioned the city palace on the intersection between Miklošičeva street and OF square (also arranged by Plečnik). The main focus was on the staircase and facade. They used local materials, bricks from Vrhnika and stone from Podpeč. Brick pillars represent a pile of coins, and this is just one of the symbols embedded in this building.
Navje Memorial Park is a Slovenian version of the Pantheon. In a place where once was the main city’s cemetery (Saint Christopher’s), Plečnik built a commemorative park for prominent Slovenes (poet Anton Aškerc, Janez Bleiweis, Matija Čop, Ivan Grohar, Johann Nepomuk Hradeczky, Josip Jurčič, Anton Tomaž Linhart, Valentin Vodnik, and others). But because of WW2, it was never finished as originally planned.
The Roman wall of Emona at Mirje was restored in the 1930s to a design by Plečnik. His additions to the surviving Roman walls include a stone pyramid, upward extensions of the walls, the gates to the walled complex, an arched vault covered in stone remains from nearby Roman buildings, and a park inside the walls. Also, the colonnade next to the main southern gate is of non-Roman origin.
In Tivoli park, Plačnik replaced Latterman’s tree-lined avenue between 1931 and 1933 with the new Jakopič aka Plečnik promenade. It connects Tivoli Castle with the city. He arranged the promenade as a sandy path with curbs (25 meters wide), centrally placed concrete beams for glass lamps and benches along the sides, newly planted chestnut avenue.
Šance is part of the hilltop fortification arranged into the strolling area in the shadow of trees that were redesigned by the architect. It is an interesting path with walls, the main staircase, pillars, fences, and loggias.
Croatian Square was originally arranged as a park by the city gardener Anton Lap, but in 1938-39 it was rearranged by Plečnik. He erected an oval retaining wall with diagonal and circular paths, built a kiosk, and moved here a monument to the fallen soldiers in the First World War.
Šlajmerjev park is named after surgeon Ed Schleimer. A small triangular ground plan and the geometric design emphasized by symmetrically planted trees were arranged in 1933 by Plečnik. In 2013, a statue of Šlajmer was stolen.
The Academic College (also Barag’s Seminary) is a building in the Bežigrad part of Ljubljana, on Vilharjeva Street. Construction began in 1936 with the design of Plečnik. The academic college was opened after World War II, but was never fully completed. This four-story semicircular building (the second semicircle was never added, although planned) is modeled after the Roman Colosseum and Angel Castle. In the northern part of the building, there is the Slovenian Youth Theater and the Pioneer Home with the Festival Hall. In the southern part, there is a student dormitory with 300 beds.
Plečnik’s House of Spiritual Exercises is today called Ignatius’ House of Spirituality and it was built in 1925. In the entrance hall, on the right, there is a public chapel. This place was nationalized after the Second World War. A maternity hospital was arranged in the building. With the addition of the elevator tower, Plečnik’s facade was destroyed.
Peglezen aka Iron is a triangular building on Poljanska Street. It was built between 1934-35. It is designed to be varied, with the floors differing from each other. In front of the building, there is a high wooden flagpole on a round pedestal, painted in the colors of the tricolor.
The shelter of St. Joseph is now the Veterinary Clinic, designed by the architect Plečnik in 1938 and drawn up by J. Valentinčič. It consists of three parallel elongated buildings decorated with elements of bourgeois and peasant architecture.
The house on Glinška Street 14 in the Vič part of town is one of the rare examples where Plečnik designed a private house in Ljubljana. Another example is Prelovšek villa on Zarnikova 11 (1931-1933)
Conclusion
Plečnik has left a big mark on Ljubljana with his projects, as they were all connected into one whole unit. Such a unique and beautiful influence by one architect on a city’s landscape is rare on a global scale. Some of his plans were too bold or too extravagant to be implemented. Namely, the Cathedral of Freedom was designed for parliament in Tivoli park with a colonnade and 120 meters tall cone-shaped dome. Today it is engraved on 10 cents €.
The next idea was a parliament instead of a castle. The last idea was administration buildings instead of the main market. Even though his work is now protected (listed in the Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Slovenia), in the past, some parts were destroyed (Yugoslavia), and some parts were altered (independent Slovenia, Mayor Janković), so they don’t fit into the original concept. The architect was privately an ascetic, a workaholic who enjoyed his cigarette and coffee. As a Christian, he often worked on church commissions for free. His heritage has been listed under UNESCO since 2021. We will see what the future holds for us. But next time you walk around Ljubljana, take a moment to see how dots connect.