Sunday May 26 was a mainly sunny day with a high of 22C. We stopped for a moment to check out the Križanje Theatre, where we had seen a huge party taking place in the courtyard the other night (one had to have a ticket to enter then). It was just a three minute walk down the street from our apartment. It turns out that the building was originally a monastery established in 1230 by the Teutonic Knights of the Cross. It was rebuilt in Baroque style in 1715. In 1945, the monastery complex was nationalized and closed. Then in 1952, the City decided to repurpose the space as an outdoor venue for the annual summer Ljubljana Festival. It is still used for this purpose, with the ticket office located just off the courtyard. It turns out that near the end of his life, Joże Plečnik drew up the designs for the theatre, which was his last major work.
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| Approaching the walls of the outdoor theatre-- signage for the summer program |
Plečnik modified the existing structure with new features as well as elements recycled from other projects. Just inside the courtyard, on the left, are two saints on pillars, that were originally part of a local school building. There is a hammer, sickle and star on the pillars, unusual for Plečnik, but clearly reflecting the time in which he did the project. Etched plaster decorations along the left side incorporate Slovenian folk motifs.
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| The Two Saints- recycled from another building- hammer and sickle and star on the columns |
Entering the courtyard
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| Folklore motifs on the wall |
Through the large courtyard is the actual theatre space which we didn't have access to, but which was packed the other night (still not sure what that particular event was). The 72nd Ljubljana Festival runs from June 20-September 3 and features Opera, Ballet, Classical Music and Rock concerts.
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| Looking back at the street entrance |
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| At one of the windows facing the street |
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Another section adjoining the large courtyard had an art exhibit entitled: Crystal Revival: Transformation Through Chaos. The entrance to this section was closed, but I could take a picture through the cast iron gating.
At the end of the street was the City Museum, which we had visited on Saturday. We turned the corner and entered Križevniška ulica (street). After our visit to the Museum, we had walked up the street to check out the Jewish Cultural Center and Synagogue, which had a sign on the door saying visits were by appointment only. We were standing there and a man came out of an adjoining building to say hello. He invited us to come back at noon on Sunday and said that he would give us a tour of the small cultural centre/synagogue. His name is Robert. |
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Signage on the street--- note Mini Theatre, House of Tolerance, Jewish Cultural Centre and Synagogue
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| Looking up the street |
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| Entrance to the Jewish Cultural Centre (picture taken on Saturday evening) |
Robert was having a coffee with a friend outside the building. It turns out he is an actor and Director of the Mini Theatre which put on plays in the adjoining building to the Jewish Cultural Centre. He is also head of a small Reform Jewish congregation and is behind the Cultural Centre/Synagogue which only opened in 2013. He gave us a tour of the theatre after showing us the Cultural Centre/Synagoge building.
The main floor of the Centre is being totally renovated to house a small movie theatre. They are also renovating the top floor of the building for two apartments which will be rented out to provide funds to keep the Cultural Centre/Synagogue open.
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| Beautiful lamp on the main floor |
The first floor (second floor in Canada) had four small rooms. One was an ante room to the synagogue room which had a number of menorahs that Robert had collected- some from Slovenia and some from other collections.
A third room had an exhibit in progress about the Holocaust in Ljubljana. There were a number of information displays in Slovenian and English outlining the history of Jews in Slovenia. Jews have been in Slovenia since the 9th century and as early as the beginning of the 13th century, Jews in Ljubljana had a synagogue. It had been located in the area of the Novi trg square and is commemorated with the name of two streets Židovska ulica (Jewish street) and Židovska steza (Jewish lane). These streets were near the Novak Gallery where we were on Friday night.
Jews were expelled from Slovenian lands in1496 and 1515. They only began to resettle in these lands in the 19th century. In the pre WWII period there were about 820 Jews in the part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which consisted of most of present-day Slovenia. They were mostly concentrated in Prekmurje which was part of the Kingdom of Hungary prior to 1919. There were about 150 Jews in Ljubljana (some of them refugees from other countries who had come in the 1930s).
Once WWII started, what is present day Slovenia was carved up. Part was under Italian rule, part German; part Hungary, and a small part under the Croatian puppet regime (Independent State of Croatia). In Ljubljana, the Italian Army arrived on April 11,1941 and less than a month later Ljubljana was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. In February 1942, the occupiers surrounded the city with barbed wire. The occupiers moved to Italianize the city's appearance, shoot hostages, and confine people in concentration camps. Ljubljana became the centre of the residence and simultaneously the centre of the collaboration. After Italy capitulated in 1943, the German Army moved in and conditions became even worse. While some Jews joined the Partisans and others escaped to Italy, many were deported to concentration camps. Robert told us that the Jews from the area under Hungarian control survived until 1944, but then were deported to Auschwitz and immediately killed.
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| Photos of Jewish families and stories about their lives-- most died during the Holocaust. There was one survival story |
Robert took us next door to the Mini Theatre. It was a fantastic space, with puppets hanging from the ceiling, a reception area, and a section with pictures from past productions. He told us he has an annual series of performances at La Mama in New York City.
Robert has also helped organize the stolpersteine project in Ljubljana. Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) are commemorative brass plaques remembering the victims of the Holocaust and are located in front of the homes once inhabited by victims of the Holocaust. They are designed by artist Gunter Deming. There are 68 stolperstienes in Ljubljana. After we left the Centre, we found one of the stolpersteine's just a few doors away.
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A stolpersteine in front of one of the houses on this street.
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| Oton Baumgarten: 1913 - 1945. Deported to Dachau in 1994. |
We decided it was time for lunch. We went to Altrokè, a restaurant that highlights cuisine from Istria-the region shared by southern Slovenia and northern Croatia. Lots of Adriatic seafood and truffles.
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Outside the restaurant
Allan had pasta with truffles
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I had a bowl of delicious clams and mussels in a fabulous spicy
tomato sauce.  |
| Inside of restaurant |
We decided to visit the Museum of Contemporary History in the very large Tivoli Park about a 15 minute walk away.
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| Passing Parliament building on a huge square-- built between 1954-59- now houses both the National Assembly and the National Council. |
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Four oak doors surrounded by statues by Zdenko Kalin and Karel Putrid, which represent working people.
We started our walk into Tivoli Park. The Park is the largest park in Ljubljana on the western outskirts of the Centre District. It has been protected since 1984. A series of posters commemorating 250 years of compulsory schooling on Slovenian Territory were on display.
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| Poster |
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| Very large park |
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| Lots of Green |
We finally found the Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia. It is housed in the Cekin Mansion, which was built in 1720. From its original construction until WWII, it was a private residence. After the war, the Cekin Mansion was nationalised, temporarily used for public housing and since 1951, it has been a museum.
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| Museum of Contremporary History |
The Museum focuses on Slovenian history from the 20th century to the present day.
The stairs going up to the exhibit had a series of key dates in Slovenia's history. Very clever way of setting out all the highlights.
There was a section on WWI- pictures and equipment.
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| WWI |
Quite a large section on WWII, which saw Slovenia sliced up and partitioned to four countries: Italy, Germany, Croatia and Hungary.
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| The resistance Liberation Front (OF) banner |
There was a section on what is known as the second Yugoslavia, which began the the end of WWII and lasted until 1991. It dealt with the Tito regime, noting both the good and bad sides of the regime.
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| Slovene wife! Elections will strengthen us in the struggle for obtaining rights. Our children must have a better life. 1945 |
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| As there was a high level of illiteracy, balls were cast by a voter into one of two boxes. |
There was also a section about Slovenia's entry into the EU. We had already been exposed to some of this history, but the Museum put it together with lots of photos, descriptions and artefacts.
On Monday, we head to Lake Bled for two days. See you there.
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