Plecnik's Ljubljana

Triple Bridge/Tromostovje

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Attraction | "Three Bridges for the Price of One"

The Triple Bridge, Ljubljana Photo - Triple Bridge/Tromostovje, Ljubljana, Slovenia

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The Tromostovje, or Triple Bridge, is one of Ljubljana’s best loved landmarks and one of the best known works by Joze Plecnik, the architect responsible for creating the Ljubljana we see today. There’s a good chance that visitors to the city will cross the bridge back and forth a few times during any trip and you can always spot a first time visitor by his or her reaction when first confronted with the landmark.The Triple Bridge is in the very heart of Ljubljana, spanning the impossibly green Ljubljanica River and linking Presernov trg with the old town. Since this part of the centre was pedestrianised a couple of years ago it’s become an even nicer spot and it’s now much easier to appreci...Read More

The Tromostovje, or Triple Bridge, is one of Ljubljana’s best loved landmarks and one of the best known works by Joze Plecnik, the architect responsible for creating the Ljubljana we see today. There’s a good chance that visitors to the city will cross the bridge back and forth a few times during any trip and you can always spot a first time visitor by his or her reaction when first confronted with the landmark.

The Triple Bridge is in the very heart of Ljubljana, spanning the impossibly green Ljubljanica River and linking Presernov trg with the old town. Since this part of the centre was pedestrianised a couple of years ago it’s become an even nicer spot and it’s now much easier to appreciate Plecnik’s beautiful design. It’s also a good place to get a good view of another of the architect’s designs, the elegant market hall.

The design is trademark Plecnik: the balustrades and the stone pillars on which the very simple lamps are places are typical features of his work. If you go to the museum in his former home you’ll see pillars that look very much like the ones on the bridge, propped up in the garden. Plecnik hated waste and if any components were left over or damaged, he’d salvage them for his garden.

The middle of the three bridges is the original; or rather it was, because the original was a timber construction. There are several bridges within walking distance of this point today so it’s perhaps difficult to appreciate the importance of a bridge in this spot but in medieval times the bridge connected northern Europe with the Balkans. The timber bridge was replaced with a stone one in 1842; at that time local people referred to the bridge informally as the ‘Hospital Bridge’ but its official name was Franz’s Bridge, named in honour of Archduke Franz Karl. An inscription above the central pier bears testimony to this; it can be seen best from the water.

When I first started visiting Ljubljana the middle bridge was the road bridge and pedestrians would use the two outer footbridges; these were added by Plecnik between 1929 and 1932. The bridge had become something of a bottleneck so Plecnik’s new design would remove pedestrians to the edges and let the traffic move more freely.

I love the way that the spaces between the bridges, and those on the balustrades provide unusual glimpses down into the water. The area is surrounded by handsome buildings but there’s something in Plecnik’s design that compels you to look down as well as up and around.

There’s something quite Venetian about the little steps that lead down from the foot bridges and this effect is best appreciated on a boat trip along the river. I’ve seen the Triple Bridge more times than I can remember but after eight years, I saw completely new aspects by going under the bridge in a boat.

I love this spot. On a sunny Sunday morning I love to sit with a coffee at the cafe at the Presernov trg end of the Tromostovje and watch the world go by. There’s often something going on around Presernov trg, always a reason to linger. Not that you need one; it’s great to stand on the bridges and look down the river in either direction whatever the time of year.

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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on October 18, 2012

Triple Bridge/Tromostovje
River Ljubljanica From Presernov Trg To The Old Town
Ljubljana, Slovenia

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Zale Cemetery

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Attraction | "The Dead Centre of Ljubljana "

Zale Main Entrance by Plecnik Photo - Zale Cemetery, Ljubljana, Slovenia

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Spending a freezing January afternoon in the company of the dead might not be everyone’s idea of a good time but Ljubljana’s Zale cemetery is a wonderful work of art and design that is worth a visit at any time of year; in fact, the attention and work that has been invested in the design of the gardens and walkways almost demands that you see it at different times of the year. Designed by Slovenia’s best known and most prolific architect Joze Plecnik, Zale was completed in 1940 as a re-working of the older cemetery attached to the Church of the Holy Cross. Examples of Plecnik’s work are easy to spot in Ljubljana and few visitors leave the city, even after just a short break, unaware of who...Read More

Spending a freezing January afternoon in the company of the dead might not be everyone’s idea of a good time but Ljubljana’s Zale cemetery is a wonderful work of art and design that is worth a visit at any time of year; in fact, the attention and work that has been invested in the design of the gardens and walkways almost demands that you see it at different times of the year.

Designed by Slovenia’s best known and most prolific architect Joze Plecnik, Zale was completed in 1940 as a re-working of the older cemetery attached to the Church of the Holy Cross. Examples of Plecnik’s work are easy to spot in Ljubljana and few visitors leave the city, even after just a short break, unaware of who Plecnik was and the contribution he made to the way Ljubljana looks today. For people who are interested in architecture and who want to see some more of his work, the cemetery of Zale is highly recommended.
Zale is right on the edge of the city proper, on the edge of the Nove Jarse district and a stone’s throw from the popular BTC shopping centre and the new national stadium, Stozice. From the main station it’s a twenty to twenty five minute walk to Zale: with your back to the main station building, turn left and keep walking until the signs for the BTC direct you to take a left turn. Keep following the signs for the BTC and a big traffic junction the signs for Zale will appear. Cross the road and follow the signs for Zale. You pass the hospital on your right and some bars on your left. When you approach the roundabout the wonderful snow-capped mountains will be ahead of you and the cemetery is at two o’clock. (Alternatively take bus number 2 destined for Nove Jarse)

The cemetery is still in use; Slovenians take the duties of grave-tending very seriously and the cemeteries are always flickering with the light of votive candles, real and electronic. You rarely see a bunch of dead flowers in a Slovenian cemetery, they are obviously tied up and replaced before they get to that point. I suppose there are two main reasons for this Slovenian habit of honouring the dead so well. One is that Slovenia is a small country and people tend not to move very far away from their families; even if you were to move to the other end of the country you’d never be more than a couple of hours away from the last resting place of your loved ones.
The other reason is to do with the national psyche which is summed up in a Slovenian word ‘pridem’. It’s not easy to give a direct English translation: pridem describes the serious way in which Slovenians pursue certain responsibilities, tending their gardens, keeping the outside of their property maintained and generally doing the right thing. Tending the grave of a deceased relative is not something you do when you have time, but something you make time for and Slovenians execute the task with the same diligence they attend to all responsibilities.

Plecnik’s Zale is arguably the highlight of his catalogue of work. The imposing white columns of the entrance colonnade look stunning against the dark green cypresses while the cluster of chapels behind them are eclectic in their design and detail. There’s a sense as you walk between the chapels of being in a fairytale land. The walkways are paved with crisp white chippings that look like the purest snow when the sun shines on them.

At the entrance to Plecnik’s Zale is this curved two tier colonnade of columns (known as the 'propyleum'),. This is pure Plecnik, his trademark if you like. The details used for the chapels (known as 'valedictory halls') are taken from across the architectural dictionary. The colonnade is said to act as a gateway between the world of the living and that of the dead; standing on top of it are statues of Jesus and St. Mary (the protectress of the dead). The reason that there are so many architectural styles (there are elements of everything from classical Greek architecture to Byzantine and oriental) used in the buildings and also on the types of crosses used to decorate them, is that Plecnik wanted to show that this was a cemetery for all the major religions. At the earlier cemetery there had been graves for non-Slovenes, but these were situated just outside the boundaries of the main cemetery. After the First World War the policy changed and many Italians were interred there and today visitors will see that there are little clusters of graves of non Slovenes and also a small Jewish section.

Many notable Slovenes are buried at Zale, among them Joze Plecnik himself and his memorial bears many of the design trademarks that make his work so distinctive. Plecnik believed strongly that man is an individual even in death and the variety of architecture is an reflection of this belief. The main cemetery includes some very ornate tombs and monuments, many made in the rather stylish workshop building at the back of the Plecnik complex. At the time we visited work was ongoing to restore the decorative detail on the exterior of that building.

The work of many important Slovenian artists and sculptors can be seen in the main cemetery. One of my favourite's is "the Fountain of Life' by Zdenko Kalin. It comprises a hexagonal pond surrounded by 6 figures that appear to be dancing around it. Kalin's work can be seen around Ljubljana, and the piece that most visitors will recognise is the naked boy playing a pipe outside the RTV Slovenija building near the City Hotel. There's another version of the sculpture in Tivoli Park.

Far from being just a place to bury the dead, Zale is an important reflection of Slovenian history and culture. Running through the cemetery is the 'Pathway of Memory and Companionship': this commemorates a 30 kilometre babred wire fence that encircled the city between 1942 and 1945. Today a foot- and cycle-path marks the location of the fence (if you're up to it, hire a bike and cycle the whole path, it's a great way to see more of the city).

You can easily spend a couple of hours at Zale but even a flying visit is worthwhile to see the Plecnik element of the complex. The most notable of the larger tombs are situated just to the right of the main cemetery entrance near the church. The cemetery is open daily but I find that Saturday afternoons are an ideal time to visit a Slovenian cemetery.

Zale is, in my opinion, Plecnik's masterpiece. Ironically it came near the end of his career; his work was going out of favour and he was only asked to design it after the initially commissioned architect's designs were rejected. Many tourists 'Ooh' and 'Aah' at the Plecnik pieces in the city centre but this is the one visitors should make an effort to see.
There are infrequent guided tours run by volunteers. If you are interested you could contact the Ljubljana Tourist Office before you visit to find out whether any are planned for the time fo your visit.

Note: due to formatting I can't insert the correct spelling of Zale. The name comes from an old Slavic word for cemetery but was adopted for the whole complex. The easiest way to describe the pronunciation is Zhar-lay' (with the 'zh' as in 'zhivago') Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 28, 2012

Zale Cemetery
Pod Hmeljniki 2
Ljubljana, Slovenia

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Krizanke Summer Theatre (Poletno gledalisce Krizanke)

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Attraction | "Križanke - One of Ljubljana's Hidden Gems"

Krizanke Courtyard Photo - Krizanke Summer Theatre (Poletno gledalisce Krizanke), Ljubljana, Slovenia

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Plecnik’s designs pervade most areas of Ljubljana life; people live in his buildings, study in them, shop in them, pray in them and play in them. They are parts of the fabric of the city: the wonderfully unique Triple Bridge spans the Ljubljanica River, the recently re-furbished M café is even built into the northern bank of the river and when they leave this mortal coil, some of the city’s people are buried at Zale, the imposing cemetery in the western suburbs that he designed. Križanke is not my favourite of Plecnik’s many buildings (that honour goes to the now crumbling former national stadium) but it is my favourite of those in the city centre. Today Križanke is the site of Ljubljana’s...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 6, 2011

Krizanke Summer Theatre (Poletno gledalisce Krizanke)
Trg Francoske Revolucije 1
Ljubljana, Slovenia 1000
386 1 241 60 00

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Plecnik House/Architectural Museum Ljubljana

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Attraction | "Plecnik's Pad"

Joze Plecnik House, Ljubljana Photo - Plecnik House/Architectural Museum Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

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Although Ljubljana has a handful of moderately interesting museums, I usually find that I can pass my day or afternoon in the capital quite easily just strolling around the compact city centre and never feel the need to be constantly looking for something new to see. However, the more I explore the city, the more I’ve come to appreciate just how much of the way the city looks is down to one man – Joze Plecnik. There are the obvious sights such as the central market and the triple bridge, then the lesser known but still accessible Krizanke, a former monastery and now home to the Ljubljana Festival, and the stunning library of the university and then the less well known sights such as the now crumbling ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 20, 2011

Plecnik House/Architectural Museum Ljubljana
4–6 Karun Street
Ljubljana, Slovenia 1000
386 01 280 16 00

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