a perfect rendezvous

pr!
a perfect
rendezvous
For everybody ready
to be surprised.
Visit Citypark
the city of dreams come true
More than 53.000 m2 of shopping area,
more than 120 stores, different types of cousine,
over 1700 parking places,
events for entire family.
Opening hours:
Shopping mall, Šmartinska 152 g, 1000 Ljubljana
www.citypark.si, info: 00386 1 587 30 50
Monday to Friday
Saturday
Sunday
09.00 – 21.00
08.00 – 21.00
09.00 – 15.00
3
Ljubljana – World Book Capital
2010 Calendar
From 23 April 2010 to 23 April 2011, Ljubljana will hold the prestigious title
of World Book Capital. In celebration of the title, Ljubljana Tourism has
published a special calendar of an unusual upright shape and non-standard
size (12 x 48 cm). For each week, there is a photograph of Ljubljana
depicting a scene somehow related to books. What is special about the
calendar is that it reminds its users of the birthdays of Slovenian and
international literary artists who, each in their own way, shaped the history
of books. The calendar is bilingual, in Slovenian and English. It is available
from all Ljubljana’s Tourist Information Centres at a price of €8.00.
New Promotional Materials
about Ljubljana
Ljubljana on
Social Networks
Connect to Ljubljana Tourism via
social networks and follow our
activities on the internet.
• Keep track of our posts on
Twitter.
twitter.com/visitljubljana/
• Become our fan on Facebook.
www.facebook.com/
visitljubljana/,
• Check out our videos on
YouTube.
www.youtube.com/
TourismLjubljana/
Ljubljana Tourism offers a wide range of free publications about the Tourist Destination of
Ljubljana. September and October 2009 saw the release of several new publications aimed at
tourism and meeting professionals.
and meeting professionals.
One of the recent publications
is the Ljubljana Accommodation
Guide 2010. The guide presents
hotels, hostels, pensions, holiday
rooms and apartments, and
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Ljubljana Tourism offers a
wide range of free publications
about the Tourist Destination of
Ljubljana. September and October
2009 saw the release of several
new publications aimed at tourism
1
campsites located in Ljubljana
and its surrounding areas.
The publication entitled
Ljubljana’s Top 70 Tourist Delights
brings together a selection of
70 most beautiful experiences
that Ljubljana has to offer. It is
available in English, German and
Italian.
New publications created for
professionals include A Key to
Ljubljana for Meeting Planners,
specially tailored for congressand event organisers, and A
Key to Ljubljana for Travel Trade
Professionals, intended for tour
operators, travel agents and
journalists. Both publications are
comprised of 80 pages and are
available in English. They have
been released both in printed and
digital form.
The publication entitled
Ljubljana Invites is a helpful tool
for presenting standardised
destination bids to attract
international conferences and
other events. The new leaflet
Welcome Back to Ljubljana,
created for hotel professionals,
is intended as an invitation to
business visitors to return to
Ljubljana on a private visit.
All publications were partially
financed by ERDF. They are
available from Ljubljana’s Tourist
Information Centres and at the
website at www.visitljubljana.si.
The My Visit Online Tourist Visit Planner
An online tourist visit
planner My Visit is available
from December 2009 at the
website at www.visitljubljana.si.
The planner can be used as
an online basket for collecting
contents of interest and a
calendar of activities.
Using the planner, to which
contents can be added and
saved, visitors can make a
schedule of activities they
want to undertake in Ljubljana.
To use the planner, they must
register at the above website
and create their profile.
The My Visit daily and
hourly planner is simple to
use. Visitors who have already
booked their accommodation
can, for instance, use the
planner to save the location of
the nearest car hire company,
restaurants serving lunchtime
meals, the sights they want to
see, shopping and recreational
opportunities, events, city
tours, trips to places across
Slovenia and much more.
The planner makes it easier
for visitors to find their way
around the city and make more
of their time.
Register at
www.visitljubljana.si/myvisit/.
A Perfect Rendezvous, newsletter for travel trade professionals
Publisher: Ljubljana Tourism, Krekov trg 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. Phone: +386 1 306 45 83, Fax +386 1 306 45 94, e-mail: [email protected], www.visitljubljana.si
Editorial board: Petra Stušek, Tatjana Radovič, Barbara Vajda, Meta Stvarnik
Production: Mediamix, Maribor; Head of advertising: Zdenka Šarlah, Mediamix. Phone: +386 2 235 05 67, e-mail: [email protected]
Printed by: Razvedrilo d.o.o., Brnčičeva 31, 1000 Ljubljana
Autumn 2009 / Winter 2010
4
News from Ljubljana Castle
Photo: M. Kranjec
The Outlook Tower, one of the most frequented tourist spots in
Slovenia, affords lovely views of the city and its surroundings in all
seasons, but in fine weather, as much as one third of Slovenia can be
seen from there. Having been closed for renovation since October
2008, this panoramic spot was reopened in July 2009. The tower
can now be accessed again all year round, in the winter from 10 AM
to 6 PM. In early summer, the castle’s facilities were improved by
opening the Info Centre at Erazem Tower. This pleasantly furnished
office provides tourists with information about the castle and on-site
activities. www.ljubljanafestival.si/en
Important Anniversaries
The UNESCO declared Ljubljana the 2010 World
Book Capital. A series of book-related events will
take place in Ljubljana, which is so far the 10th
city to boast this distinguished title. The aim of its
international programme will be to foster the culture
of reading in various target groups. A venerable
200 years are celebrated by the Ljubljana Botanic
Garden, which has been running since 1810 as the
oldest cultural, scientific and training institution with
an unbroken tradition. www.visitljubljana.si
Ljubljana Facelift
For some years now it has only been a question of time regarding when Ljubljana would get a makeover
and inspire us with fresh wonder. The wonder is here.
A stroll from Dragon Bridge
to the Slovenian Tourist
Information Centre will take you
across Kopitarjeva cesta Street,
where archaeological finds
unearthed during infrastructural
repairs have shed entirely new
light on prehistoric times in
this area. So far, no traces of
prehistoric inhabitation have
been discovered, but the finds
indicate that the area was
intensively used.
To our right, the recently
opened Ciril Metodov trg Square
spreads out, finally reclaimed by
pedestrians after a long reign
of wheels. Cafes and the Sokol
restaurant, boasting traditional
Slovene food, have laid out
their tables and chairs, and
pedestrians have occupied the
square, which is again breathing
a genuine atmosphere. A newlypaved cobblestone road will
lead us past splendid facades
in the oldest part of Ljubljana,
past the Ljubljana cathedral and
to the crossing with Stritarjeva
ulica Street. Also recently
reconstructed, it lures visitors to
walk towards the Triple Bridge.
Our way, however, takes us
past the noted Robba Fountain
of the Three Carniolan Rivers,
across Mestni trg Square and
the famed Cobblers Bridge to
the Breg embankment, where
the first river landing used
to be. Now, a lovely pathway
winds along the Ljubljanica
river connecting the city centre
with greener river banks. By
following the soft bend of the
green beauty, we will arrive at
the renovated Trnovski pristan
embankment.
The place is distinct for
its design by architect, Jože
Plečnik, combined with broad
stone steps and weeping
willows rising above them, a
favourite with people wishing
to hang out, read, just lounge
on wooden benches or soak in
the sun on the stairs as bathers
did so many years ago on this
former central town beach.
Moving on along the
Ljubljanica, we come across
yet another novelty. At Špica,
the point where the natural
watercourse of the Ljubljanica
forks away from the Grubar
Krakovo Embankment, Photo: M. Fras
Canal, comprehensive
townscape arrangement is
underway, to be completed
in 2010. The first project was
building a bridge across the
river providing a link to the
Botanic Garden, which finally
brought into being the longexisting idea of incorporating it
into the Ljubljana promenade
and making it even easier to
access on foot.
Efforts are not focused only
on the old heart of the city.
The railway station and tracks
have been a hurdle rather than
a junction for decades, dividing
the city in two, which is to be
corrected by a new investment Emonica, a complex of business
premises, housing and other
contents. But what is most
important is the new coach and
train terminal with a greatly
improved passenger service for
Fashion Avenue on the
Renovated Streets of Old
Ljubljana,
Photo: Zaklop
Ursula and Waterman on
Krakovo Embankment,
Photo: D. Wedam
the visitors and residents of
Ljubljana.
Last but not least, we should
mention the Stožice Sports
Centre which will have a football
stadium with 16,000 seats and
an area for concerts by world
famous stars that are to come
to Ljubljana.
Tjaša Janovljak
5
Culinary Stop-Over
Fun in the City
Makalonca,
Photo: D. Wedam
TOP – Eat&Party is a combination of a restaurant serving Asian,
Mexican and Mediterranean cuisine and a club hosting jazz,
electronic music, funk and disco club nights. At Makalonca, located
right next to the Ljubljanica river, visitors can taste excellent coffee
and assorted desserts while enjoying music, dance and literary
events. The Flex club jazz club, located in the centre of Ljubljana,
has reopened its doors. It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8
p.m. to 3 a.m. The Metelkova mesto alternative culture centre’s
Gala Hala club is well known for hosting concerts by local bands,
international DJ shows, video screenings and themed evenings.
The Gornji trg square’s Le Coq Blanc bar
and restaurant, open for early breakfasts,
leisurely lunches and late dinners, serves
selected Slovenian, Balkan and French
dishes and Slovenian varietal wines.
To indulge your taste for the delights of
Tuscan cuisine, visit the Angel restaurant
and pizzeria at the Mercator Center
Ljubljana Šiška shopping centre.
www.angel-kaval.si
Welcome to Ljubljana, a City of Dance
People in love with dancing can have a great time in Ljubljana. No matter where they are from, they can
always find a dance floor and join their tribe.
Flamenco at Ljubljana Festival, Photo: Ljubljana Festival Archive
Ljubljana has put itself on the
dancing map of Europe as one
of the social dance capitals
attracting renowned dance
teachers from around the world.
This is particularly due to the
city’s numerous international
dance festivals, dance schools
producing world championship
medallists, and increasing
numbers of amateur dancers of
all generations. There are more
and more dance venues where
passionate tango, energetic
salsa, playful swing and elegant
ballroom dances can be danced
on a weekly or monthly basis.
The Festival Hall has
become synonymous with a
certain style of social life in
Ljubljana and its ballroom is
one of the loveliest in Slovenia
since its refurbishment. Friday
nights at the Festival Hall are
reviving social dancing events.
“Zaplešimo skupaj” (“Let’s
dance together”) events draw
everybody who loves dancing,
good music, socializing and
interesting theme evenings. The
Festival Hall keeps up the dance
tradition of Mr. Adolf Jenko,
the Slovenian dancing master.
The annual Gala Jenko Dance,
in 2009 falling on Saturday,
21 November, is sure to make
for unforgettable memories of
Ljubljana – the city of dance.
Tango can be danced at
milongas, which often last well
into the small hours. Some
milongas are held regularly,
others occasionally. On
Thursdays tango is danced on
the excellent 300-square-metre
wooden parquet dance floor of
the Tango Bar (106, Šmartinska
cesta Street), on Fridays at the
ballroom of the Dijaški dom
Tabor secondary school student
hostel (2, Kotnikova ulica
Street), every third Saturday of
the month at the Kavačaj café
(4, Kersnikova ulica Street) and
on Sundays at the Kinoteka
Caffe Bar (28, Miklošičeva cesta
Street). Ljubljana also hosts
stand-alone tango events. The
charming Art Nouveau café
Kavarna Union (1, Miklošičeva
cesta Street), which has thrilled
dancers from Slovenia, Italy,
Austria and Croatia before,
Swing in Kazina Dance School,
Photo: Kazina
will host a milonga featuring
Leandro Furlan and Gaia Pisauro
on Sunday 29 November 2009,
and another tango event on
Sunday 20 December 2009.
A milonga carnival is set to be
held in February 2010 and a fish
milonga on the first or second
weekend in March 2010.
www.tangoslovenia.com,
www.tango.si
Salsa can be danced at the
glamorous newly opened Exen
nightclub (near the Mercator
Center Ljubljana Šiška shopping
centre) on Thursdays, and at
the Tango Bar (106, Šmartinska
cesta Street) on Saturdays.
www.salsoteca.si
Swing evenings are held at
the Kavarna Union (1, Miklošičeva
cesta Street) on Tuesdays
www.sweetswing.si
In October 2009, the 3rd
International Flamenco Festival
was held at the Cankarjev dom
cultural and congress centre
and the Unionska dvorana
hall. The festival opened with
a spectacular gala event
featuring Anže Palka’s project
Carmina Flamenca and several
special guests, including the
New Flamenco Orchestra, Ivan
Vargas and Ditka Haberl.
www.siff.si
The 4th Ljubljana
SweetSwing Festival, set to
be held from 18 to 22 March
2010, will bring together several
international swing, lindy hop
and balboa stars.
www.lssf.si
From 15 to 18 April 2010,
the 6th Ljubljana International
Tango Festival will be held
at the halls and salons of
Ljubljana’s Grand Hotel Union.
Milonga after parties will take
place at the Tango Bar. The
festival is expected to bring
together several hundreds of
dancers from 25 countries, both
masters of tango and tango
nuevo and absolute beginners.
www.tangoslovenia.com
6
Made in SLOvenija
Special Award to Citypark
Slovenia’s geographical diversity provides endless inspiration for
promotional materials, which is what those responsible for creating
the product range available from the MadeinSlovenija.net shop are well
aware of. The shop, located next to the Ursuline Church (Slovenska
cesta 23), offers a wide choice of quality products made of wood,
ceramic and other materials as well as honey and sea salt products,
traditional spirits, and other local delicacies. The shop has some
unusual decorations such as a bear family of the size of a man carved
from wood and a large outline drawing of Slovenia on one of the walls.
www.madeinslovenija.net
The ICSC Solal international council of shopping centres
has since 1977 been awarding the best run and the most
effective retail marketing campaigns. One of the 2008
finalists selected from over 300 entrants was Ljubljana’s
Citypark shopping centre and its marketing campaign
“The Biggest Playground in Town”, which was conceived
to increase the centre’s recognition and popularity and
emphasise the quality of the product range on offer.
www.citypark.si
16th Anniversary
of Metelkova Mesto
It has been 16 years since the squatting of the former headquarters of the high
command of the Yugoslav People’s Army in Slovenia and the foundation of the
Metelkova mesto autonomous cultural centre, named after the street in which
the former barracks are located
The northern part of the
barracks complex was the scene
of exciting events already a few
years before Slovenia gained
independence. It used to house
a military prison where the
infamous Trial of the Foursome,
which included the former
Slovenian Prime Minister Janez
Janša, was held in 1988. Today,
the renovated prison houses the
Celica youth hostel, “the hippest
hostel in the world” according
to the Lonely Planet Bluelist
2006, while the gorgeously
graffitied buildings surrounding
it provide space for cultural and
artistic activities. But the road to
what Metelkova mesto is today
was long and bumpy.
Since the independence
of Slovenia, an enormous
amount of bureaucratic struggle
with the national and local
authorities was necessary for
the squatting of the barracks
complex to take place 16 years
ago and the Metelkova mesto to
be preserved as an autonomous
cultural centre until the present
day.
Supported by the Radio
Študent alternative radio
station, the group of artists
and activists who squatted the
barracks immediately began
to organize cultural activities.
The first few months of the
Metelkova mesto’s existence
saw around two hundred
cultural events including art
exhibitions, concerts, literary
evenings, theatre performances
and appearances by renowned
public figures. The events took
place in difficult conditions as
the complex was disconnected
from electricity and water
supply soon after being
squatted.
But the activists’
perseverance and dedication
coupled with a growing public
support resulted in what
people of Ljubljana are thankful
for today. Metelkova mesto
developed into an autonomous
cultural centre whose ownership
has been transferred from the
Ministry of Defence to the City
of Ljubljana, which grants it
autonomy in the management
of its activities.
To mark its recent 16th
anniversary, Metelkova
mesto prepared a three-day
programme of celebrations. A
symposium, several round table
discussions, a one-man comedy
show by the astonishingly
funny Slovenian actor Andrej
Rozman - Roza, various creative
workshops and a traditional
table tennis tournament were
just a few events that activated
A Scene from Metelkova,
Photo D. Wedam
Statue of David
Metelkova-Style,
Photo D. Sipla
the audiences. Metelkova
mesto’s artists and craftsmen
opened the doors of their
studios and displayed their
creations. Visitors could trade
in used clothes at a secondhand clothes market and
enjoy a variety of different DJ
performances, including some
intended for senior visitors.
Metelkova mesto, whose
wide and varied programme
of activities and tendency
towards organizing free events
attracts broader and broader
audiences every day, beyond
any doubt contributes to the
intergenerational balance. It has
gained widespread recognition
abroad and become one of the
more popular tourist attractions
of Ljubljana.
Tjaša Janovljak
Want to know where the locals dine, shop, relax, enjoy
music and more? Wish to experience the city “the local
way”? If yes, you might be interested in a series of European
city blogs entitled Spotted by Locals. To check out updated
recommendations posted by Ljubljanians, visit the website at
www.spottedbylocals.com/ljubljana.
7
Winter Sightseeing Tours
Photo: D. Wedam
Daily at 11 a.m., visitors can take a guided walking
tour of the major sights of the old part of Ljubljana
including a funicular ride to Ljubljana Castle.
Those interested in Ljubljana Town Hall can join the
Town Hall tour, which departs on Saturdays at 1 p.m.
and includes a number of rooms which have so far not
been open for public viewing. Digital tour guides are available to those who prefer
to go on a self-guided tour and follow audio and video
taped instructions and an enclosed city map.
A Tribute to Bacchus
Boutique Hotels
The recently opened Allegro Hotel is housed
in a period building in the Old Town’s
pedestrian zone, close to many attractive
cafés, restaurants and shops. Each room
is decorated in a different colour scheme,
lending it a distinctive character and cosy
atmosphere. www.allegrohotel.si
Overlooking the same square, the Lesar hotel
Angel is another new boutique hotel. This
fully refurbished historic building combines
traditional architecture with modern trends.
The hotel’s large private garden offers a
wonderful city view. www.angelhotel.si
The Ljubljana Wine Route welcomes lovers of fine wine to a
Bacchus-themed experience in Ljubljana. Every St. Martin’s Saturday, in
2009 on 7 November, the banks of the Ljubljanica and streets in the Old
Town offer a tasting of wines, culinary delights and folklore from all
Slovenian winegrowing regions.
During St. Martin’s feast,
when must turns into wine,
Slovenia’s capital bonds with
the country’s wine-growing
regions and takes on the
atmosphere of their vineyards
and wine routes, culinary art
and culture. The Ljubljana Wine
Route enables visitors to mix
with select wine producers
and caterers offering culinary
delights.
Strolling amid the booths,
visitors can taste the typical
wines of all three Slovenian
winegrowing regions –
Primorska, Podravje and
Posavje – accompanied by the
characteristic local country
food. Cultural societies, farm
wives, folklore- and other
groups from all over Slovenia
are charged with cultural
and artistic programmes and
The 12th Slovenian
Wine Festival and
2nd Culinary Festival
During the 12-year development of
this annual happening, tailored to
aficionados of the art of food & wine,
novelties have become a regular
feature. It is noteworthy that more
and more women, as well as young
people, are joining workshops and
other professional training sessions
during the event.
In 2009, the Festival takes place
from 19-20 November on two sites
in the centre of Ljubljana: the Slon
Hotel, a long-standing partner and
festival venue, is joined this year by
the Grand Union Hotel. The Festival
also aims to merge wine culture with
the arts, and this year Peter Štraus
was the artist selected to design
the festival’s visual identity. The
Wine Festivals caters to all levels
of visitors, from novice enthusiasts
to those who work with wine
professionally.
www.radost.si
entertainment.
The wine experience is
introduced by a formal blessing
of must, which turns into wine
as the event begins, providing
townspeople and visitors
insight into the fascinating
culture and customs of the
Slovenian wine regions.
www.ljubljanskavinskapot.si
Marina Ferfolja
Ljubljana Wine Route,
Photo: D. Wedam
December 2009 in Ljubljana
Though it may be cold outside, this month will warm your heart.
In the hearts of the people of Ljubljana, both
those who have always lived here and more
recent residents, December is a merry month.
It is a time of surprises and expectations; a
season during which we meet with friends in
the heart of the Old Town, decorated like a
fairyland, warm up with traditional Slavic hot
mead and see some of the many festive shows.
Children look forward most to the jolly
procession of two good men, St. Nicholas
bearing gifts in early December, and Father
Christmas in late December. The kiddies know
they both come in company; Nicholas with
devils spooking naughty children and a host
of angels rewarding the good ones. Father
Christmas arrives in his carriage surrounded
by puppets and animals.
Until late every night, the season’s fair
welcomes customers at Prešernov trg square
and on the Cankarjevo and Petkovškovo
nabrežje embankments with a select array of
items suitable for gifts. You can easily find the
fair just by following the aromas of tea and
mulled wine, typical in ‘Merry December’, as it
is called in Ljubljana.
The festivities are topped off with the
outdoor New Year’s Eve celebrations at
Prešernov, Mestni and Kongresni trg squares
and the traditional fireworks at Ljubljana
Castle, ushering in the New Year at midnight.
www.visitljubljana.si
Festively Illuminated City, Photo: D. Wedam
Shop with selected highly quality natural and organic cosmetics.
VISOKA PROVANSA - FRANCIJA
Visit us on web page
www.trgovina-organique.si
Trgovina Organique, Ciril Metodov trg 20, Ljubljana, tel.: +386 1 23 22 129
9
»Avenue and Ljubljana«
Photo: Zaklop
The free Avenue and Ljubljana magazine - it has seen two issues
so far - is used by shop, bar and restaurant owners from Mestni,
Stari and Gornji trg Squares to promote visits to the loveliest part
of Ljubljana - the old town core. Retailers, caterers and artists are
bound together by events and activities adding variety to the
daily rhythm of the charming old town core. Before the New Year,
two outdoor fashion shows will take place in the old part of town,
presenting clothes by Slovenian designers and shops in the Old
Town. On the day of these fashion shows, the shops will be open
until 10 PM.
Ljubljana’s Film Festivals
Film lovers will agree that Ljubljana is a city friendly to film art.
The city’s best known film festivals include LIFFe, Animateka,
Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and Mountain Film Festival.
The 20th edition of the
Ljubljana International Film
Festival, better known as
LIFFe, is set to be held from
11 to 22 November 2009. The
festival will for the first time
include a large international
meeting entitled the
Neighbouring Co-Production
Meeting (NCM), which will
bring together producers and
other film professionals from
Slovenia and its neighbouring
countries – Italy, Austria,
Hungary and Croatia. The
meeting, set to be held from
15 to 17 November 2009, will
be organised in collaboration
with Media Desk Slovenia and
the European Commission
Representation in Slovenia.
love
The LIFFe festival is
traditionally split into several
programme sections including
the official competition
section Perspectives (films
by emerging film directors
competing for Mobitel’s
Glavni pokrovitelj
Medijski pokrovitelj
Donator
B1-a.indd 1
Oblikovanje: Maja Gspan, Cankarjev dom
20. ljubljanski
mednarodni
filmski festival
11.–22. 11. ‘09
f
life
7/2/09 4:17 PM
Success of
Slovenian Musicians
In October 2009, the successful
Slovenian band Eva Hren & Sladcore
entered the top 20 of the World Music
Chart Europe, which features world
music artists from around the world.
The chart was compiled by 50 world
music presenters from 23 European
countries working for radio stations
which are members of the European
Broadcasting Union (EBU). Eva Hren &
Sladcore have thus found themselves
in the company of such international
stars as Fanfare Ciocarlia, Ojos de
Brujo and Lhasa.
www.wmce.de
Kingfisher Award), AvantPremieres (films purchased
for distribution in Slovenia),
Kings and Queens (films by
award-winning masters of
cinema), Worldwide Film
Panorama (film favourites from
five continents), Extravaganza
(films on daring and titillating
subjects), Against the Wind
(films by directors presenting
radical artistic visions), Focus
(films providing insights into
the most exciting national
cinemas, this year by female
South American directors), the
competition section The World
in Brief (short films by young
filmmakers) and Retrospectives
(a wide selection of films
by a selected contemporary
filmmaker, this year the
Austrian director Michael
Haneke).
particularly East Germany,
Romania, Russia and China.
Festival screenings will take
place at the Cankarjev dom
cultural and congress centre,
the Kinoklub Vič and Kinodvor
cinemas, and the Slovenian
Cinematheque.
www.liffe.si
festival, known as Europe’s
oldest film festival of the
kind, features films by gay
and lesbian film-makers
and other films dealing with
homosexuality. Screenings will
also take place in the towns of
Koper and Celje.
www.skuc.org
From 7 to 13 December
2009, the 6th Animateka
international animated
film festival will be held at
Ljubljana’s Kinodvor cinema.
One of the programme
sections will be dedicated to
computer-generated animated
films created for the internet
and mobile phones. The festival
will include an exhibition
of original drawings by the
Finnish artist Matti Hagelberg.
animaweb.animateka.si
At the end of March 2010,
the 4th International Mountain
Film Festival will be held in
Ljubljana and Domžale. The
films screened at the festival
will undoubtedly attract great
interest from the audience and
the festival’s international jury,
which will consist of the world’s
most eminent experts in and
makers of mountain films.
www.imffd.com
A themed series of
screenings will be dedicated
to the 20th anniversary of the
fall of the Berlin Wall and social
changes in socialist countries,
From 28 November to 5
December 2009, Ljubljana will
host the 25th Gay and Lesbian
Film Festival, organised by
the Društvo ŠKUC society. The
Meta Stvarnik
10
2009 Month of Design
ZZ Top
and Ramazzotti
In October, Ljubljana’s Tivoli Hall saw a
performance by ZZ Top, the American rock
trio that has proven, for four decades, that
rock ‘n’ roll is forever.
On 19 November 2009, the pop star Eros
Ramazzotti will have a concert at the same
venue. The spectacle will take place as a part
of his tour across Europe and the Americas.
Photo: D. Wedam
Between 15 October and 14 November, Ljubljana
lives for design. The Bazaar exhibition showcases
30 Slovenian designers and companies in the field
of industrial design. The cycle of fashion shows,
Fashion 4, presents the pick of new talents and daring
approaches. Eat Drink Design at the Ljubljana Castle is
an event that approaches culinary art from the angle
of taste design. Finally, the Design in the City cycle is a
series of more than 30 events at various venues.
www.mesecoblikovanja.com
The Renovated Museum of Modern Art
Features 100 Years of Zoran Mušič
The Museum of Modern Art
was founded in 1948 as the
national museum of modern
and contemporary art. Building
designs were made in 1939
by the Slovenian architect
Edvard Ravnikar, who devised
a formally neutral building, a
“white box”, with hierarchically
equal exhibition rooms, and a
central hall with access to other
exhibition grounds allowing
separate set-up of several
displays and collections. The
museum’s architecture reveals
influences from Ravnikar’s
teacher, Jože Plečnik, and the
legendary Le Corbusier, for whom
Ravnikar worked for some time.
The Museum of Modern Art in
two buildings
After almost sixty years
of operation, the Museum’s
building was getting too tight
and inadequate by modern
international museum standards,
so the experts resolved to
renovate and expand into two
more locations. The Museum
of Contemporary Art and the
management and administration
will find their home at the
Metelkova unit, where renovation
is to begin by the end of 2009.
The renovated premises
of the Museum of Modern Art
will instead house the modern
art collection, featuring the
permanent national collection of
20th century modernism and its
offshoots in the 21st century.
Zoran Mušič at the Museum of
Modern Art
Interior of de Pisis’ Studio
in Venice, 1944, gouache on
paper
Z. Mušič
The comprehensive exhibition
of work by Zoran Mušič (Bukovica
pri Gorici, 1909 – Venice, 2005)
at the Museum of Modern Art
includes paintings and drawings
from Slovenian public and private
collections. It presents pieces
from all vital periods and cycles
that marked Mušič’s creative
Museum of Modern Art, Photo: D. Wedam
span. A novelty among the 130
works displayed are the so far
largely unknown early depictions
of Maribor and Ljubljana, squares,
streets and train stations, and the
earliest gouaches from Dalmatia
featuring islanders, marketplaces,
donkeys and (later to become
most popular) horses.
Mušič had already left a
mark on the Slovenian cultural
identity before World War II as a
distinct representative of colour
realism. Even in his generation,
Mušič stood out with his poetical
persuasiveness and colourist
finesse. Soon after the liberation,
which he saw as a Dachau camp
survivor, he moved to Venice.
After 1952, when he became a
member of the noted Parisian
school and started working with
the eminent Galerie de France,
his great creative energy, which
flowed until an advanced age,
was divided between the city of
lagoons and the French capital.
After approaching abstraction
around 1960 with his cycles
Dalmatian lands and Byzantine
suites, he returned to figurative
art with the poignant cycle We
are not the last, which earned
him world renown. In the
eighties, Mušič complemented his
picturesque Venetian motifs with
mystical church interiors. This
meditative sacral atmosphere
is only a step removed from the
final scene, the artist’s studio and
his last self-portraits.
Exhibition of pieces from
Slovenian collections, 27 October
2009 – 14 February 2010
www.mg-lj.si
Meta Stvarnik
Renovation and Extension of the Opera
The central Slovenian repertory
music & theatre institution,
Ljubljana’s Slovenian National
Opera and Ballet Theatre,
has, since 1892, occupied the
building designed in Neorenaissance style by Czech
architects Jan V. Hrasky and
Anton Hruby, which first served
as the Provincial Theatre. The
magnificent building, with its
distinctive exterior and richly
ornamented facade with Ionic
pillars above the entrance, has
long been insufficient for its
rich opera, ballet and concert
programme; in a single season,
Ljubljana Opera and Ballet
puts on about 150 reprises.
After 114 years, the building will
be renovated and will receive
an extension at the Piccoli
Villa. The project of the opera
extension is authored by Jurij
Kobe and Marjan Zupanc and
their team.
The Opera, currently hosted
at several locations in Ljubljana,
is to return to its renovated
premises in 2010.
www.opera.si/operaen
12
LJ Castle News 2
The Largest Congresses
The largest congress in 2009 in Ljubljana (and Slovenia) – the
35th Annual meeting of ISPAD, took place from 2 to 5 September
at the Cankarjev dom Cultural and Congress Centre, attracting
1,300 delegates from 65 countries. This congress is regarded as
one of the biggest scientific events in the world in the field of
adolescent diabetes. The largest congress scheduled in 2010 will
instead take place from 5 to 9 May at the GR - Ljubljana Exhibition
and Convention Centre. The 7th International Congress on
Autoimmunity is expected to attract up to 1,500 delegates to the
Slovenian capital. www.cd-cc.si; www.ljubljanafair.com
Photo: Ljubljana Festival
Archive
»Small is beautiful« is suitable to describe
two new function rooms, Friedrick 1
and 2, set between the castle’s most
representative event spaces — the
Palatium and the Estates halls. Recently
refurbished, they have a capacity of
30 and 35 seats theatre-style. Both
rooms reflect a tinge of their medieval
origin, while the staircase has been fully
preserved. www.ljubljanafestival.si
Hot Hotel News
Revamped meeting facilities and Sweet Dreams at the Slon Hotel
The 4-star Best Western Premier
Hotel Slon proudly displays
since this summer stylish and
enlarged conference facilities.
This is the latest result of an
investment cycle, which started
in 2008, worth € 1 million in
the current year. The multifunctional conference area
comprises five flexible units with
a maximum plenary capacity for
200 delegates, theatre-style.
The Sweet Dreams bed
concept is another novelty.
All the guest rooms now
feature new mattresses,
duvets and pillows. The bed
linens are made of a luxurious
400-thread-count silky cotton
in the Deluxe rooms and suites,
or 250-thread-count crispy
cotton in the Comfort and
Economy rooms. Guests can
also choose from an extensive
pillow menu, complemented by
a pillow mist in the higher-end
room range.
A new Business Centre has
also been recently opened,
offering clients fully-equipped
offices with working areas,
Internet access, telephone, fax,
copy machine and scanner.
Both hotel guests and external
visitors can use secretarial
services and the services
of a virtual reception desk,
temporary or permanent offices
and full company support in
the form of office accessories,
translation and interpretation
services, and the services of a
personal assistant.
www.hotelslon.com
Restyled Conference Rooms
at the Slon Hotel,
Photo: Ž. Koritnik
A small makeover for the
Austria Trend Hotel Ljubljana
Five years after its opening,
the Hotel has received a mini
facelift to freshen up its already
modern looks. An emphasis
was given to the conference
centre, which welcomes up
to 400 guests in plenary
seating. A new parquet has
been laid and the walls freshly
painted; the ceiling has been
completely changed and the
technical equipment has been
modernised and upgraded.
All the guest rooms have
been painted anew and the
restaurant has been partly
restyled, allowing daylight in
the entire space.
Business lunches featuring
seasonal specialities, cocktail
evenings, the Sense Spa and
the Casino delight both hotel
guests and visitors alike.
www.austria-trend.at/
hotel-ljubljana/
Restyled & chic outfit for the Grand Hotel Union
The word “outfit” has a double
meaning when referring
to novelties at the largest
convention hotel in Ljubljana,
known for its elegant and
historic Grand Union Hall. Both
guest rooms and the staff
proudly wear a new, chic outfit.
The first stage of an
investment worth € 4 million,
initially focusing on the
refurbishment of guest rooms
at the Grand Hotel Union
Business, has been concluded.
Seventy stylish and comfortable
rooms with amenities tailored
to the needs of business
travellers have welcome their
first guests. The second stage,
comprising the remaining
sixty three rooms and the
public areas, will proceed in
early 2010, followed by a soft
refurbishment of the guest
rooms in the historic Grand
Hotel Union Executive.
Concurrently, the launch of
new, “signature” uniforms for
the Hotel’s staff is announced
in autumn 2009. And what an
artist has been commissioned!
A resident of Ljubljana,
born in Zagreb, a genius
who is attracted to complex
challenges, a creative who,
apart from theatre, also designs
The Chic Union Ladies,
Photo: GH Union Archive
costumes for circus.. (but what
a circus - Cirque du Soleil!).
These are just a few words to
describe Alan Hranitelj, who
has created new uniforms for
the Grand Hotel Union. The
idea for the “new look” was
born during the ceremony that
marked 100 years of the hotel,
when the employees were
dressed in historic, early 20th
century uniforms. The hotel
management then took the
decision to completely restyle
the staff uniforms and assigned
this exciting project to Alan
Hranitelj. The uniforms are
inspired from the Art Nouveau
style and can be described as
simple, yet very chic clothes
with marked details and
materials of a top quality.
www.gh-union.si
13
The Conventa 2010 Show is Fast Approaching
Photo: T. Bernik
Conventa, the 2nd Meetings and
Incentive Travel Show for South
East Europe, will be held on
22 and 23 January 2010 at the
GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and
Convention Centre. Preparations
for the show are in full swing and,
by mid October 2009, nearly 50
exhibitors have already confirmed
their participation. A strong interest
is also expressed by potential
European and international
meeting planners wishing to
learn more about the still rather
“exotic” South East Europe region,
which encompasses ten very
diverse countries. Conventa 2009
attracted 82 suppliers of meetings
and incentive travel services from
Slovenia and six other countries
(Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and
Romania) and over 150 hosted
buyers from Slovenia and abroad
(18 countries). The organiser of
this trade event is the Slovenian
Convention Bureau and Ljubljana
Tourism is proud to support it as
one of the main partners.
www.conventa.info
Forty five years old, but still looking so good - the Lev Hotel
The 5-star Lev Hotel is turning
45 this year: no reason could
have been better to give the
property a partial facelift and
throw a birthday party in early
November 2009. The largest
conference room − Karantanija
Hall, providing flexible setups
and a maximum seating for
380 delegates theatre-style,
has been fully refurbished. It
shines in fresh, trendy fabrics
and colours aligned with modern
interior design. At the same
time, the new “Pri Levu” à la
carte restaurant has started
delighting fine food fans with
its own cuisine and occasional
“guest appearances” of
renowned restaurant chefs from
abroad. Its opening was marked
by a gourmet culinary event
run by the legendary Gundel
Restaurant from Budapest.
Last, but not least: two floors
feature extensively refurbished
superior rooms (34 in total) and
4 executive suites. The selected
furnishings and fabrics lend the
guest rooms a trendy and elegant
look. The investment value of the
refurbishment performed so far
amounts to € 1.5 million.
www.hotel-lev.si
Karantanija Hall at the Lev Hotel, Photo: Hotel Lev Archive
Conference packages, business breakfast & jazz at the Mons Hotel
The 4-star Mons Hotel,
distinguished by its modern
design and multifunctional
congress centre, has created
several attractive proposals.
Two conference package offers,
tailored for events with 15 to 40
delegates, comprise an overnight
with breakfast, the rental of a
meeting room with the essential
technical equipment and LCD
projector, water, a coffee break
and a lunch. Prices start from € 129
per person. Another interesting
offer is the Business breakfast. As
the Mons Hotel is located by the
ring road and offers a spacious
and free parking space, it is a
convenient spot for setting up a
meeting with a business partner.
The breakfast rate, which is €12,
includes a rich buffet and the free
use of wireless Internet.
The Mons Hotel is also well
known to jazz fans attending its
season ticket programme concerts.
The 2009/2010 season features
a set of six Saturday evenings in
the company of the RTV Slovenia
Big Band and excellent soloists
performing as guests.
www.hotel-mons.si
An Exciting New Venue
The recent opening of the Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture has injected a new wave of energy into the
city’s cultural landscape.
Kino Šiška, once a popular cinema
that lost its function with the
arrival of multiplex halls, has
been completely refurbished
and transformed into a centre
for contemporary and urban
creativity. This unique venue is
primarily dedicated to music,
theatre, dance and experimental
productions, while also being
suitable for meetings, conferences
and other related events.
Featuring 2,468 square metres of
architectural and technological
innovations, Kino Šiška ranks
among largest and technically
most advanced venues of its kind
in Europe.
The large Katedrala Hall
can welcome up to 800 visitors
standing or 450 seating in various
set-ups adjusted to individual
events, including conferences
and corporate events. The small
Komuna Hall features up to 150
seats for more intimate, mainly
experimental events, discussions
or press conferences. The nearby
Laibach at the Kino Šiška,
Photo: Kino Šiška Archive
M Hotel can offer additional
breakout rooms, if so required.
The two halls are complemented
by the Kamera exhibition space
and by the Kralj Cafe, which
reflects a modernist decor.
Since mid-September, when
Kino Šiška stepped into the local
cultural and event scene, a host
of resounding concerts, as well
as fashion shows, presentations,
round tables and other events
have been staged there. Based
on their flexible market approach,
it possible to hire / privatise
individual function rooms as well
as the entire venue, including the
café.
www.kinosiska.si
14
Destination of Excellence
The Ski Resort and
Igloo Village in Krvavec
Romantic Igloo
Photo: Koren
Sports Archive
Krvavec is a popular ski resort close to Ljubljana and its international airport.
The groomed ski slopes, stretching on 107 hectares, comprise 33 km of
trails for alpine skiing and 3 km for cross-country. Six onsite guesthouses
welcome guests. www.rtc-krvavec.si/en/ The Igloo Village, a hit of the last
two winters, offers an igloo hotel, restaurant, bar and a romantic igloo with
ice sculptures amid in the wilderness of snow-covered and unspoiled nature.
Its season will last until the end of March, 2010. There is a free ski bus from
Ljubljana to Krvavec every weekend. www.eskimska-vas.si/en/
The 2009 European Destination of Excellence
is the Solčava District, 70 km from Ljubljana.
“Solčavsko – Three Valleys in Harmony”
is designed as a three-day programme
combining a number of adventure-packed
activities with observing nature, admiring
natural assets and getting to know the
cultural heritage of the protected areas of
Robanov Kot, Logarska dolina valley and
Matkov Kot. www.logarska-dolina.si
Kranj, a Town
Remembering
France Prešeren
On the overhang above the confluence of the Sava
and Kokra Rivers, not even a half hour drive from
Ljubljana towards the Gorenjska Region, the town
of Kranj can be found.
Kranj, located only 37 km from
Ljubljana, is a pleasant old town
with a rich culture, natural and
technical heritage. Visitors
can explore old archaeological
sites and medieval remains,
the architectural heritage of
Jože Plečnik and memorials
dedicated to the most famed
Slovenian poet, Dr. France
Prešeren, whose name is
indelibly imprinted in the life
of Kranj and of our country.
His verses have become the
national anthem; he gave the
Slovenian language some of its
most beautiful poems and Kranj
boasts the Prešeren Memorial
Museum, the Prešeren Theatre,
Prešeren’s Grove and a street
honouring his name. Today, the
old cemetery and the poet’s
grave is a memorial park.
The tunnels under Kranj’s
old quarter represent an
important technical heritage and
a tourist attraction. The 1,300
metre long old city bunker is
an important monument from
the World War II. Visitors can
explore the archaeological eras
in the Gorenjska Region and see
the numerous valuable finds
now kept at the Museum of
Gorenjska as a part of the Iron
Thread, a permanent exhibition
in Kranj’s Town Hall.
www.gorenjski-muzej.videofon.si
Nature lovers can take a
walk along the canyon of the
Kokra River in the old town
quarter. The town’s surroundings
offer numerous possibilities
of recreation and interesting
sights. Among them is the
Brdo Estate, used today for
protocol purposes, with its
castle and park. Originally a
renaissance fortified castle, in its
numerous decades of existence
it changed several owners and
experienced several alterations.
After the World war II, Marshal
Tito chose it for his residence
and the castle gained a rich
collection of furniture, carpets
and art. Tito’s living quarters,
with a reference workroom
and a library with numerous
Plečnik’s Staircase in Kranj
Photo: Tourist Board Kranj
Archives
Kranj Panorama, Photo K. Kunaver
incunabula, are also preserved.
The natural and culture heritage
of the estate has been upgraded
with a new conference centre, a
hotel with conference facilities,
a wellness centre, a restaurant,
a press centre, an equestrian
centre, a driving range, cabins
in the woods and hayracks
(kozolec) on meadows. The
castle is surrounded by over
500 hectares of park surfaces
with ponds, orchards, gardens,
woods and numerous walkways.
The natural environment of Brdo
pri Kranju, with its backdrop
mountain scenery, hosts the
highest protocol meetings, the
most demanding congresses
and conferences, special official
and private ceremonies and
provides an abundance of other
experiences.
Tunnels under the Kranj Old
Town Core,
Photo: B. Okorn
The Strmol Castle, today
also a protocol estate, lies on
a steep hilly slopes close to
the town of Cerklje. A graphic
representation by the polymath
J.V. Valvasor, dating from 1675,
shows Strmol as a four-storied
palatium with four corner
defence towers, surrounded
by defence walls and with
supporting residential facilities.
The castle’s grounds stretch
over the forest on one side,
while to the other, a magnificent
park with some rare species of
trees and a pond unfolds. in
the south. Strmol is one of the
few castles in Slovenia whose
original and predominantly
Baroque and Rococo furniture
has been preserved.
www.brdo.si/en/
Meta Stvarnik
The Water Tower
Photo: Tourist Board Kranj
Archives
14th Ljubljana Marathon draws
record number of runners
This is how newspaper headlines have described one of the capital’s key sports events
for years in a row. Every year, the turnout exceeds expectations and tops the year before.
Ljubljana Streets Flooded by
Runners,
Photo: D. Wedam
Slovenians are keen sportsmen,
and in the evening, while some
are taking a romantic stroll
through the green nooks of
town, others may be seen
jogging its many trails. Yes, there
is no doubt that Slovenians are
keen sportsmen.
A surplus of energy,
competitive spirit, relaxation
or company - these could be
possible answers to the question
“Why join a marathon?” But
most of the time there is no
questioning, just training. The
runners at this large-scale sports
event are not just citizens of
Ljubljana; they have, since long
ago, been joined by guests from
all over the world.
The Ljubljana Marathon,
organised by The City of
Ljubljana, welcomes all
generations. If you feel daunted
by 42 km, you can settle for a
half marathon with a 21 km track,
while special short tracks are
suited to enthusiasts and school
children. Toddlers have not been
overlooked either; they can
tackle 200 metres, which may be
short, but is of great significance.
Their run is recreational rather
than competitive and is largely
about instilling the spirit of
“healthy mind and body” and
nurturing young runners. Most
of them cross the finish line
along with their parents. Special
attention and homage is also
given to the oldest runners who
complete the short or full-length
marathon. The oldest three in
individual categories, some even
aged over 80, received prizes.
The marathon course is
of just the right difficulty. It is
mostly flat and runs along the
town streets and roads. This
year, the start was in the city
centre, right in front of the shrine
of democracy: the parliament
building. The track led the way
through the Vič town district and
the green retreat of Tivoli Park,
Rožnik and Šišenski hrib and
into the urban districts of Šiška
and Bežigrad. The competitors,
testing the limits of physical
strength and endurance, were
cheered on by supporters who
gathered, as they do every year,
in large numbers all along the
course.
We need not hesitate to say
that the 14th Ljubljana Marathon
truly surpassed expectations and
we are eagerly looking forward
to next year, when we’ll face the
15th annual Ljubljana Marathon.
Who knows, it may well exceed
expectations and reach a record
number of participants.
Tjaša Janovljak
SLOKA – SLOvenian KAyak and Canoe
The World Championship in Canoe Slalom is set to take place in Ljubljana next year.
The Ljubljanica River, leisurely
weaving its way through the
centre of Ljubljana, is known
by virtually everyone. It has
been sung by poets, a source
of inspiration for artists and a
popular spot for walks. But the
calm waters of the Ljubljanica,
soon after it leaves its artificial
bed in the town, flows into the
Sava, the longest Slovenian
river, which is far from calm.
In the outskirts of the city,
on the Sava, in the district
called Tacen, a kayaking centre
has developed in the 20th
century. The first kayaking club
in Ljubljana, Kayak kanu klub
Ljubljana, was formed here
in the thirties and, soon after
World War II, a permanent
kayak course was set up. Not
long after, Tacen hosted a world
championship that was seen
by an amazing 15,000-strong
crowd.
The world championship
is coming back to the Sava
rapids next year. From 8 to 12
September, Tacen will again
see a gathering of the canoeing
elite, who will take each other
on in kayak and canoe slalom.
Kayak on Ljubljanica River,
Photo: D. Wedam
National Geographic Traveler
Slovenia is the world’s fifth most attractive tourist destination.
The National Geographic
Traveler rated Slovenia fifth
among 133 of the world’s tourist
destinations. This time, the
rating did not concentrate on
popularity, but on features that
display integrity and uniqueness.
The rating was presented
by 437 experts in various
fields. Slovenia was rated
high for being “savvy about
balancing tourism with cultural
and historical preservation.”
Ljubljana, the capital, is “colorful,
vibrant, and architecturally
appealing,” and “Slovenia’s
Alps and wine country remain
among the most sustainable
and authentic places to visit in
Europe.”
In the reasons for the rating,
Slovenia is also described as
the “most eclectic, touristic,
intelligent, and authentic
destination among all European
post-communist countries.” With
a score of 78, Slovenia shares
the fifth. The Norwegian fjords
reached the first place with a
score of 85.
traveler.nationalgeographic.
com/2009/11/