PR! Issue #4 (Spring/Summer 2010)

Sp rin g/ Su m m er 20 10

pr! a perfect rendezvous

OPENING HOURS: MONDAY TO FRIDAY 09.00 - 21.00 SATURDAY 08.00 - 21.00, SUNDAY 09.00 - 15.00 THE SHOPPING CENTER, Šmartinska c. 152 g, 1000 Ljubljana; Phone 01 587 30 50, www.citypark.si

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Treat Someone to a City Tour Gift Voucher Would you like to present a gift to a business partner or show a friend that you care?

Ljubljana Tourism has introduced gift vouchers for the regular tour of Ljubljana, making it possible for voucher recipients to take an expert guided city tour at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. or 5 p.m. on any day of the week from 1 April to 10 October without prior appointment. Tour participants are taken on a guided walk around the old city centre and shown its mysterious nooks and crannies. The gift voucher price is €10.00. Space for a personal message is provided on the voucher’s reverse side. For more information on guided tours of Ljubljana, visit the website at www.visitljubljana.si.

Arranging a Visit Using the My Visit Planner Using the My Visit planner, available on the website at www.visitljubljana.si, you can easily organise a suitable itinerary for your visit to Ljubljana. The My Visit planner is a useful tool both for individual visitors and travel professionals arranging tours to Ljubljana.

The activities added to the My

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/

Visit planner can be organised by day. All visit details, including map locations and activity descriptions, can be printed out or emailed to friends.

Your My Visit itinerary can include, among other things, accommodation, events, sights and attractions, guided city tours run by Ljubljana Tourism,

excursions in Slovenia organised by local tour operators, shops and restaurants you want to check out, and sports and recreational activities you want to undertake.

All you need to do to be able to use the My Visit planner is visit the web page at www.visitljubljana. si/myvisit, create your My Visit profile, and log in.

Urbana – Ljubljana Tourist Card Preparations are underway for Urbana, a new Ljubljana tourist card, which will offer an opportunity to explore the city in the easiest way possible.

The Urbana tourist card will replace the current Ljubljana Card. It will differ from the old pass in terms of the card validity period: introducing 24 and 48-hour passes will in addition to the 72-hour one. Within the validity period, the Urbana tourist card will provide access to some of the most interesting cultural and tourism offerings

of Ljubljana. The new card system will include travel on city buses, rides on Ljubljana’s tourist train, funicular rides to Ljubljana Castle, admission to the castle’s outlook tower, guided castle tours, bicycle hire, admission to Ljubljana’s galleries and museum, admission to the Ljubljana Zoo and the Volčji Potok Arboretum,

guided city tours, digital city guide hire, and internet access.

The Urbana tourist card will be available from Ljubljana’s Tourist Information Centres and hotel reception desks. The new card system is expected to be operational in June 2010.

Urbana Tourist Card, Photo: Ljubljana Tourism Archive

Ljubljana Bicycle Riding a bicycle is one of the most pleasant ways of getting around Ljubljana. For this reason, Ljubljana Tourism has created a project entitled Ljubljana Bicycle, as part of which bicycles are made available for hire from the beginning of April to the end

of October at eight different city locations, including the Slovenian Tourist Information Centre and certain hotels.

Bicycle hire charges are €1.00 for an up to two-hour hire period and €5.00 for a full day’s hire. Guided bicycle tours can be arranged for a minimum of

two people. Including some of the more distant city locations, these tours allow visitors to explore more of the city’s interesting destinations than they would on foot.

Bicycles for Rent Photo: Zaklop

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: info@visitljubljana.si, www.visitljubljana.si Editorial board: Petra Stušek, Tatjana Radovič, Barbara Vajda, Meta Stvarnik, Translation: Patricija Fajon, Tatjana Radovič (p. 12 and p. 13) Production: Mediamix, Maribor; Head of advertising: Zdenka Šarlah, Mediamix. Phone: +386 2 235 05 67, e-mail: zdenka.sarlah@mediamix.si Printed by: Littera picta d.o.o., Rožna dolina, Cesta IV 32, 1000 Ljubljana Spring / Summer 2010

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Europe Day in Ljubljana

Photo: R. Zakšek

On 8 May, the eve of Europe Day, which coincides with a red letter day in the history of Ljubljana, the Pogačarjev trg square will host an annual event entitled “From Ljubljana to Europe – From Europe to Ljubljana”. Well-known pieces of European classical music will be masterfully performed in a free concert presented to Ljubljana audiences as a musical gift from the City of Ljubljana and the Representative Office of the European Commission in Ljubljana. This year, Europe Day celebrations will be joined by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia to mark the 60th anniversary of the Shuman Declaration. www.ec.europa.eu

New Cultural Centre Španski borci The eastern part of Ljubljana now has a new cultural centre called Španski borci, which runs a programme of events in the fields of performing and visual arts, music, literature and humanities, including events for children and young people.

Being a meeting point for artists from Slovenia and abroad and a platform for new art projects, it is a welcome new addition to Ljubljana’s cultural life.

Emona – The Roman City of Ljubljana

Emona. A Roman colony. A city founded by Roman soldiers on the site of the present Ljubljana almost precisely two millenniums ago. What was Emona like and how did its residents live? Who was it built and first inhabited by? Which were the turning points in its history? How were Emonians brought into the world, how did they get married, where did they shop, what did they believe in, and what did their homes look like? Some of the answers to these questions can be found by simply taking a walk through Ljubljana. Those who want to learn more can visit the exhibition Emona: Myth and Reality, on view at the City Museum of Ljubljana from 18 May. Emona Model Photo: M. Paternoster

The Roman conquest of the greater Ljubljana area was part of the conquest of the Balkans during the time of Emperor Augustus. The colony Iulia Emona, established by the Romans in the 1st century on the site of the present city centre of Ljubljana, was the first proper city in central Slovenia.

In the middle of the 6th century, after the decline of the Western Roman Empire, Emona was gradually abandoned and its more than 500-year history came to an end.

Like other Roman cities, Emona was laid out according to a regular rectangular ground plan. It was surrounded by mighty city walls including 29 towers and four main gates.

The walls, 2.4 metres wide and from 6 to 8 metres high, had a perimeter of nearly 2 kilometres.

The area inside the city walls was dissected by a grid of roads intersecting at a right angle to form vast building plots for residential purposes.

Sewer channels known as cloacae, built alongside all the city’s roads running from west to east, discharged sewage into the Ljubljanica river. The city’s main square, the so called forum, which was built at the intersection of Emona’s two main roads, provided space for Emonians’ public social life.

Emona within the present Ljubljana Numerous remains of the city of Emona can still be found today if one takes

Archeological Park Early Christian Palace of Worship Photo: M. Paternoster

a walk through Ljubljana.

The city’s Mirje area is the site of the southern part of the Roman town walls, renovated in the 1930 after a design by the architect Jože Plečnik. The statue of a wealthy Emonian standing in the Zvezda park is one of the most recognizable symbols of Ljubljana, next to the Ljubljana Dragon. Reminiscences of Emona’s forum can be found in the Ferantov vrt residential complex, located by the Slovenska cesta road. Since the 1960s and 1970s, which saw extensive excavations, Ljubljana boasts two archaeological parks, which display an early Christian baptistery, a geometric floor mosaic, and an Emonian

residential house’s central heating system, among others.

The life of Emonians

From 18 May 2010 to the end of the year, the City Museum of Ljubljana will be showing an exhibition entitled Emona: Myth and Reality. The exhibition, accompanied by guided tours, lectures, film screenings and cooking workshops, will offer an opportunity to experience Emona mainly by exploring the aspects of its everyday life.

Including interesting facts about Roman times, comparisons with life today, interactive displays, and stories about the life of Emonians, it will present both quotidian reality and the key turning points in the history of the Roman city of Ljubljana. www.mestnimuzej.si/en

Urša Karer

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Who Is Hugo Barrera?

Photo: Hugo Barrera Archive

A new wind is blowing in Ljubljana’s clubbing scene.

A recently opened club venue, the Hugo Barrera Club, situated in an enviable city centre location under the Plečnik Colonnade right next to the Ljubljanica river, brings a different experience of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s rock ‘n’ roll, blues, jazz, funk and disco music. The new club offers a carefully selected choice of drinks from around the world, including 56 different brands of whiskey and the club’s own brand of freshly roasted coffee, to mention just a few. www.hugobarreraclub.si

Eating at Ljubljana Castle A little restaurant serving typical dishes from various regions of Slovenia will be opened at Ljubljana Castle

by S. Raspopović and V. Kramar, the owners of the highly regarded restaurants As in Ljubljana and Hiša Franko in Kobarid. The opening, held on 9 May, a red letter day in the city’s history, will coincide with the gala opening of Permanent Exhibition on the History of Slovenians. Slovenian food, reasonably priced at €8.00 per dish, will also be served on a spacious terrace in the Castle’s courtyard.

Fine Wines and Sweet Goodies

There are many faces to the marriage between wine and food. Particularly delicate are relationships between wine and sweets, but in Ljubljana they seem to thrive.

Most of Ljubljana’s wine shops and bars are concentrated in the city centre. Vinoteka Movia, a wine shop in the Town Hall building, run by the Kristančič winemaking family from the area of Goriška Brda, sets the highest standards of wine quality and responsible wine consumption. The largest choice of bottled wines are available at Dvorni bar, which also serves snacks. Vinoteka Dvor offers an excellent choice of wines from across Slovenia’s

Vinoteka Movia Wine Bar Photo: Movia Archive

three wine-growing regions and recommends Picolit, Muscat Ottonel, and Radgonska Penina as wines to go with sweets. Both wines and sweets can be tasted at the Vinoteka Maximal wine bar, cake shop and café. The city’s oldest wine shop and bar is Vinoteka GR and the most recently opened eVino Bar, whose wine card includes over 600 different wines (at least 20 served per glass), available also from the website at www.evino.si.

Ljubljana is an ideal choice for those with a sweet tooth.

The Viennese tradition of having a cake with a cup of coffee or tea still being alive, the city’s coffee and tea bars are also cake shops. The centrally located Rustika offers delicious cakes, its own chocolate, and different flavours of ice cream, including unusual ones such as strawberry

with balsamic vinegar. On your way from the Zvezda cake shop in the Wolfova ulica street to the Zvezdica cake shop at the Hotel Slon, you can stop at the HappyPek bakery in the Čopova ulica street. The Čokoladnica chocolate shop at the Maximarket underground shopping arcade sells Belgian and French-inspired chocolates, and the cake shop on the street floor the famous Emona rezina layer cake, made to the same recipe for over 50 years. A stroll to the Trnovo area rewards you with melt-in-your-mouth fruit pies baked at Slaščičarna Viki.

A walk to Slaščice Mihalek cake shop in the Šiška area rewards you with mouth-watering traditional cakes, vegan sweets, and cakes made without flour.

For a sweet treat, you can also visit Ljubljana Castle’s cake shop, the soon-to-be-opened

Slaščice Mihalek Cake Shop Photo B. Čeak

cake shop on the roof terrace of the Nebotičnik building or Romeo, a riverside restaurant serving pancakes with countless different fillings.

The above are just a few recommendations for a sweet tooth’s exploration of Ljubljana.

For more tips and to arrange your own wine-and-sweets trek, go online and use the My Visit planner at www.visiteljubljana.si/ myvisit/ Meta Stvarnik

SLOKA 2010 – World Championship in Kayak and Canoe Slalom From 7 to 12 September, Ljubljana will host the world’s best kayakers and canoeists racing down the rapids on the Sava river in Tacen.

This is the second time that Slovenia will host such an important sporting event as the World Championship in Kayak and Canoe Slalom. Competitors from around the world will be joined

by Slovenia’s best white water slalomers Peter Kauzer and the pair Sašo Božič and Luka Teljat.

Apart from being a major sporting competition, the SLOKA 2010 World Championship will also be

an event based around the themes of Ljubljana’s histo­ry, Slovenian kayaking tradition, ecological awareness, and eco­nomic cooperation. The organisation of the event has been undertaken by the Kayak and Canoe Federation of Slovenia, who believe that using a creative approach to the racing venue they can create perfect conditions for competitors, escorts and spectators alike. The Kayak and

Canoe Federation look forward to the arrival of the greatest masters of white water slalom. Drawing on their rich experience in organising top sporting events, they have every reason to await the event with optimism. www.sloka.si Luka Božič and Sašo Taljat in Canadian Double Photo: N. Jelence

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Football Souvenirs in TIC Souvenir Shop

Film Stories under the Stars On pleasant summer evenings in Ljubljana, stars shine not only in the sky, but also on the big screen. Watching big screen films under the canopy of stars is a unique experience which attracts numerous lovers of big screen images, powerful photography, brilliant lighting and sound effects, and, last but not least, good film stories to Ljubljana’s castle hill, where films of the last cinema season are screened each summer. To enjoy the magic of moving images under the night sky, visit the summer cinema in the courtyard of Ljubljana Castle from 29 July to 21 August.

TIC Ljubljana Souvenir Shop Photo: T. Jeseničnik

To mark the Slovenian national football team’s qualification for the World Cup Football Championship in South Africa, the TIC Ljubljana souvenir shop has prepared a choice of football souvenirs, from memorial badges, flags, key fobs, mugs, scarves and caps to “I feel South Africa” T-shirts and exact copies of the football uniforms worn by the Slovenian national team at the Championship. www.visitljubljana.si

Open-Air Exhibition Marking a Milestone Anniversary

In May 1910, the Cave Exploration Society of Ljubljana was founded by the members of the city’s bourgeois and intellectual elite who wanted to explore the unknown underground world of karst caves as a significant part of Slovenia’s natural heritage. The Society’s milestone anniversary will be marked by an extensive open-air exhibition set up in Ljubljana’s Tivoli Park.

The Cave Exploration Society of Ljubljana celebrates the centenary of its formation.

Its milestone anniversary will be marked by an exten­sive photographic exhibition held at the Tivoli park’s Jakopič Promenade. The exhibition will show a hundred-year history of cave explorations, the Society’s activities in different historical cir­cum­­stan­ces, the destinies of cave explorers, and their contribution to the knowledge about their homeland. Exhibited Krviška Okroglica Cave Photo: B. Brinšek DZRJL Archive

photographs will be contributed by numerous members of the Society active in different periods of the Society’s history.

They will include the first cave photographs taken back in 1911 using glass photographic plates,

black and white photographs taken in difficult cave conditions, and modern digital photographs. The exhibition will be open day and night from 20 April to 20 June 2010. dzrjl.speleo.net

Open-Air Exhibition in Ljubljana’s Tivoli Park Photo: Ljubljana Tourism Archive

Beer and Football and Fun Festival

From 16 to 20 June 2010, Ljubljana will host PirFest Slovenija (BeerFest Slovenia), a large Central European beer festival held at Emonika, a 13,000 square metre entertainment venue.

Beer lovers are often football lovers as well so it is not a coincidence that PirFest Slovenija, the country’s largest ever social event, expected to attract 200,000 people, will coincide with the World Cup Football Championship.

Beer lovers will have an opportunity to taste over 20

different brands of beer and experience the action on the football field in the company of thousands of their fellow fans.

The accompanying programme of entertainment will include music concerts and various games and competitions.

Visitors will be able to see how such simple ingredients

as water, hops and barley can be brewed into a beverage as remarkable as beer. Since beer is known to stimulate appetite, food stalls will be set up to prevent hungry stomachs and dizzy heads. The venue will also include an amusement park with a large swing around and a circus.

The Emonika entertainment venue is located right next to the Ljubljana Railway and Bus Stations, which allows easy access by public transport and takes away the worries

about how to travel home safely after savouring the taste of beer. Accommodation at Ljubljana’s hotels and other accommodation facilities is available to those who intend to stay at the festival for several days. Early booking using the online My Visit planner is recommended.

PirFest Slovenija will be held from 3 p.m. till midnight on weekdays and from 10 a.m. till midnight on the weekend.

Admission will be free. Cheers! www.beerfestslovenia.si/eng

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Ljubljana Dragon and Botanic Garden at the WTM Photo: D. Kodele

Botanic Garden’s Bicentenary

Gourmet Potato Party

Founded in 1810, the Ljubljana Botanic Garden is Slovenia’s oldest running cultural and scientific institution. Its bicentenary will be marked by a European Botanic Gardens Consortium meeting, which will discuss European gardens’ development strategy. Despite being listed, since 2007, as one of the world’s 178 historically most important botanic gardens, the Ljubljana Botanic Garden is far from being unfamiliar with modern marketing methods. Its stand at the World Travel Market exhibition in London, created in collaboration with Ljubljana Tourism, was all covered in snowdrops.

On 4 September, the Breg embankment on the bank of the river Ljubljanica will host the 10th World Festival of Sautéed Potatoes, which will bring together cooks and lovers of this cult Slovenian dish from home and abroad.

Visitors will be able to enjoy free sautéed potatoes prepared in over 40 different ways, exchange recipes, and have fun dancing.

A Star-Studded Concert Month

A lot in terms of major popular music events will be going on in Ljubljana in June, when the city will host concerts by such legendary rock stars as Billy Idol, Deep Purple and Bob Dylan. For the lovers of electro tango, Gotan Project will play a concert at the Križanke summer theatre.

The June series of major rock events will begin with a concert by Deep Purple on 7 June, when hard rock fans will be able to sing along to rock anthems such as Smoke on the Water and Woman from Tokyo.

On 13 June Ljubljana will host another rock music legend, Bob Dylan. 24 June will see a concert by the world renowned rock musician Billy Idol, whose backing band will include the guitarist Steve Stevens. The Tivoli sports hall is expected to resonate with

his hit songs White Wedding, Rebel Yell, Dancing with Myself and many others.

Three days later, on 27 June, the pioneers of electro tango Gotan Project will appear in Ljubljana for the second time, following the enormous success of their sold-out concert at the Križanke summer theatre in 2007.

A lot in terms of music will also be going on in spring, when the 9th Spring Festival, a feast for the lovers of contemporary electronic music,

will be held in Ljubljana and, for the first time, in the town of Nova Gorica. The festival will present a rich programme of musical and audio-visual events featuring both established names in electronic music and fresh young experimenters.

Tjaša Janovljak

Billy Idol is Holding a Concert in Ljubljana Photo: Managements Archive

June 2010 in Ljubljana Ljubljana is a city where major street partying happens every half year. When Christmas lights turn off and jingle bells stop ringing, the pace of life slows down a little bit. Just like natural beings, the city hibernates. But its annual cycle is unstoppable and a period of hibernation inevitably leads to a breakfast in spring and wide open eyes in June.

Throughout the month of June, Ljubljana’s central

Prešeren square, referred to as “Prešerc” by the locals, will host a varied programme of cultural events. From morning till night, the square and its surrounding streets will be alive with the sounds of music. Almost every evening just before sunset, the square’s stage will host ballet dancers and opera singers performing two indisputable classics, Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake, followed by concerts by bands from Slovenia.

Festival June in Ljubljana, Photo: D. Wedam

During daytime, a daily dose of culture will also be provided for children, who will be able to enjoy the adventures of Peter Nose, three little pigs, the enchanted spoon, and other characters operated by the puppeteers of the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre and

Swan Lake on the Prešeren Square’s Stage Photo: D. Wedam

Ljubljana Mini Theatre.

The June festivities will be rounded off with a traditional event called The Welcoming of Summer, on 28 June, which will include a fireworks display launched from Ljubljana Castle and street entertainment for young and old in the old city centre. Definitely a night to stay out long.

See you at “Prešerc!” www.visitljubljana.si/events Tjaša Janovljak

HOTEL KRONA RESTAVRACIJA

With Us You Can Feel And Get To Know The Beautiful Slovenia.

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The hotel offers 23 tastefully furnished single and double beds (satellite TV, air conditioning, phone), a restaurant with delightful cuisine, a congress hall and a large free parking lot. Privacy is guaranteed.

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Newly opened villa SILVA MARIJA in Pišece offers an exclusive and above standard offer of apartments with a pool and a beach, overlooking a gorgeous garden and a picking, all for your relaxation.

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PIŠECE – the window to mother nature

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The World’s Greenest Library On days when the first rays of spring sunshine make you want to go out, but temperatures are still low, Ljubljana offers you a very special experience. In the shelter of a warm greenhouse situated in a beautiful park you can enjoy reading or just leafing through books, magazines, and Slovenian and foreign language newspapers borrowed from the Library under Trees, which uses the Tivoli Park Greenhouse for its activities in the cold part of the year. In May, the Library returns to its outdoor locations. This year, in celebration of Ljubljana’s designation as the World Book Capital, it will operate through Library under Trees as may as seven branch libraries, located in parks, gardens and other green Photo: D. Wedam areas. Take time and visit the world’s greenest library!

Ljubljana Literary Routes If you visit Ljubljana after 3 May, the day of the opening of the “Fabula 2010” Fable Literary Festival, you will be able to explore the city in a whole new way. A literary map and a special tourist guide book will guide you to countless places of literary interest and allow you to trace the footsteps of Slovenian authors who lived and worked in Ljubljana.

Ljubljana – World Book Capital 2010

On 23 April at 12 noon, the World Book Capital flag will be hoisted by the Mayor of Ljubljana, Mr. Zoran Janković, in front of the Town Hall to mark Ljubljana’s inauguration as UNESCO’s World Book Capital.

Spiral of Words, City Museum of Ljubljana, Photo: M. Paternoster

The inauguration ceremony will mark the beginning of a year during which Ljubljana will host around 300 events aimed to encourage reading, develop a reading culture, increase the accessibility of books, and present various literary genres and literatures of the world to the public. The year-long programme of events will be divided into several strands, some of which may also be of interest to visitors.

A literary festival held in May under the title Literatures

of the World: Fable 2010, will bring together several world famous authors. During their visits, some of their works will be published in Slovenian and sceneries depicting each of their respective home cities will be set up on the Breg embankment, along with the festival’s information point and a children’s play area.

An exhibition of photographs by Borut Kranjc entitled The Reader will be on view on the banks of the Ljubljanica river below

The Fable 2010 festival will feature the following prominent authors: • Herta Müller (Nobel Prize winner): 2-5 May 2010 • Richard Flanagan: 25-29 May 2010 • Jonathan Franzen: 7-10 May 2010 • David Grossman: 12-15 May 2010 • Michal Viewegh: 16-19 May 2010 • Daniel Kehlman: 20-23 May 2010

the Cankarjevo nabrežje embankment For a detailed programme of festival events, visit the website at www.festival-fabula.org.

Poetry readings by visiting authors from China and a large number of other events will be held as part of a project entitled The International within the Local.

A programme strand called Books and Creativity in Culture will include various events organized by Ljubljana’s museums, galleries, theatres, musicians and other artists.

Special attention will be paid to three of Slovenia’s most prominent authors: Boris Pahor, Svetlana Makarovič and Slavoj Žižek.

Literary events traditionally held in Ljubljana and inaugurations of book-themed parks, memorial houses and monuments will be held as part of a programme strand entitled Books and the City.

The end of May will see the opening of the Trubar House of Literature. The House, located in the Ribji trg square, will be named after Primož Trubar, the author of the first book in Slovenian and the founding father of the Slovenian literary language. From September on, it will combine the functions of a cultural and intellectual centre, a book club, the home of a new web portal dedicated to books and literature, a gallery, and an information centre.

Seminary Library Photo: Ljubljana Tourism Archive

The end of April will see the opening of the renovated Navje park, originally designed by the architect Jože Plečnik to serve as the burial place of several Slovenian authors. A new park, designated for reading and intended for all generations of readers, will be opened next to it. In Argentinski park, a monument to Slovenian Protestant authors and printers will provisionally be unveiled in late October.

A maze park dedicated to the culture of reading will be landscaped in the city’s Fužine area and opened in March 2011. The way through the maze, made of 500 trees planted on a 100 by 100-metre area, will be marked by stone plaques displaying verses by internationally renowned poets.

A reading nook will be set up in the centre of the maze.

Welcome to Ljubljana, the World Book Capital 2010. www.ljubljanaworldbookcapital.si Meta Stvarnik

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Gesamtkunst Laibach

The Legendary Laibach Group Photo: I. Škafar

30 years ago saw the forming of the group Laibach, whose music and performances have become part of cultural history. Gesamtkunst Laibach, a retrospective exhibition of work from the first decade of the group’s career, will present Laibach as a multimedia group.

A Laibach concert will be held in Ljubljana’s Tivoli park to accompany the exhibition. www.mglc-lj.si, www.laibach.nsk.si

Live Literature Festival The Live Literature music and literature festival, this year set to be held from 4 to 10 June, has for 17 years now been faithful to its original concept as a street event set in a scenery designed by young architects, designers and painters and dedicated to presenting men of belles-lettres from Slovenia and abroad in a series of literary readings accompanied by music. Texts by visiting authors are read both in the original and Slovenian translation.

Well-Established Summer Festivals

In the summer, Ljubljana has something to offer to all culture lovers regardless of age, class or thickness of wallet. Events range from alternative to prestigious, from lightly entertaining to enjoyable in a deeper sense.

This year will see the 26th edition of the Druga godba festival of world and, to a lesser extent, contemporary jazz music.

The festival is considered to be one of Europe’s best festivals of slightly alternative music

difficult to fit neatly into musical categories. Each year at the end of May it brings together the finest musicians from different countries and cultural backgrounds whose creative explorations include references to traditional musics. The festival line-up is often a step ahead of common trends. www.drugagodba.si/en In the 15th year of its existence, the well-known Ana Desetnica international street theatre festival, traditionally held in Ljubljana city centre at the beginning of July, has Ana Desetnica Photo: D. Wedam

decided to extend its activity over the whole year. Each season of the year will see one of its sister festivals: the winter the Ana Mraz festival, the spring the Ana Prešerna festival, set to be held on 29 April, the World Dance Day, in collaboration with the unconventional dance and theatre troupe Fičo balet, and the autumn the Ana Plamenita festival, whose magical ambience will be created through a mixture of autumn darkness, candlelight and imagination. www.anamonro.org The hot days and nights of August will see a mixed programme of free arts events held as part of the international

Trnfest festival www.kud-fp.si and an international theatre and dance festival held under the title of Young Lions www.bunker.si. The Summer in Ljubljana Old Town festival will liven up the city’s stone-paved streets and squares and hidden nooks and crannies with concerts of classical music www.visitljubljana.si/en/events/.

Throughout the summer, the 58th Ljubljana Festival will be held at the Križanke summer theatre, Ljubljana Castle, the Cankarjev dom cultural and congress centre, the Slovenian Philharmonic Hall, and several other venues. www.ljubljanafestival.si/en Meta Stvarnik

Ljubljana Festival 2010 Culture with a Capital C

The Ljubljana Festival represents the pinnacle of what the Slovenian capital has to offer in terms of culture and art. This year it will be held from 6 July to 26 August.

The 58th Ljubljana Festival will bring together a host of world renowned artists

The Russian Hamlet Photo: Ljubljana Festival Archive

including, among others, Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre under the conduction of Valery Gergiev, who will perform Richard Strauss’s opera The Woman without a Shadow, the London Symphony Orchestra, the com­poser Michael Nyman, the Munich Philharmonic, who will perform Joseph Haydn’s oratorio The Creation, Saint Petersburg’s State Academic Ballet Theatre of Boris Eifman, who will present the ballets Ana Karenina and Russian Hamlet, the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra, and the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, who will perform The Ballet for

Life wearing costumes created

by Gianni Versace. The festival will also feature a number of outstanding soloists, including the pianists Ivo Pogorelić, Martin Stadtfeld, Denis Macuev and Elisso Bolkvadze, the violinists Sergey Khachatryan, Vadim Repin and Lana Trotovšek, the world renowned Slovenian mezzo-soprano Marjana Lipovšek singing in Tchaikovsky’s opera The Queen of Spades, an many other artists. The programme of events will be rounded off with Tomaž Pandur’s production of Hamlet, featuring Blanca Portillo

Musical Marathon Runners Running the Final Lap Photo: M. Kodemo

in the title role. The Ljubljana Festival will also present a large number of chamber concerts, a musical, and a wide and varied programme of accompanying events, such as the Films under the Stars festival, organised in collaboration with the Kinodvor city cinema, a fi­ne art workshop, and several exhibitions. www.ljubljanafestival.si Janja Rozman

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Countdown to SIW 2010 SIW (Slovenian Incoming Workshop), organised by the Slovenian Tourist Board, is the premier annual trade event showcasing the entire array of our tourist offer to potential partners from abroad. Its 13th edition, hosted by Ljubljana from 3 to 6 June 2010, runs as a B2B event, complemented by study tours for foreign clients. The main theme this year focuses on green practices. Ljubljana Tourism is co-hosting the event that will welcome approx. 150 foreign travel agents who will have the chance to meet and network with about the same number of Slovenian companies / suppliers.

An exciting social programme is envisaged to add an authentic »Ljubljana flavour« to the SIW experience. www.slovenia.info/siw

Take a Short Getaway Enjoy a weekend break in Ljubljana and check the special hotel offers listed on www.visitljubljana.si, featuring two overnights & breakfast in a double room and extra bonuses. Most packages are valid every weekend during the year 2010, with dates of exception being quoted. The offers are subject to availability and are to be booked directly through the hotel at least 7 days prior to the arrival via e-mail or telephone. Please refer to the Weekend in Ljubljana 2010 offer in order to enjoy all the advantages. The weekend break programmes are only available to individual visitors and do not apply to groups of more than 10 and congress delegates.

Venues on the Rocks

Two Ljubljana specials signed by architect Plečnik, and one more .

Makalonca Cafe

A sleeping beauty for several years, Makalonca is now back on the downtown scene. The cafe that almost touches the Ljubljanica River can be easily noticed on its left bank, close to the Triple Bridge.

This refurbished venue, which also offers cultural contents, was originally designed as an embankment point for boats by the famous Ljubljana-born architect Jože Plečnik in the 1930s. Wide stairs bond the inner space with the river, by which

The Festival Hall – a Hidden Belle

Monumental Staircase in Festival Hall Photo: Vivo Archive

Makalonca Cafe at Night Photo: Ljubljana Tourism Archive

Plečnik’s pier functions as the central stage of a water amphitheatre. The Makalonca cafe can be privatised for social events, ideally featuring a cocktail reception and finger food. The two long outdoor terraces just above the water surface allow the entertainment of up to 120 guests, while the indoor space caters for a maximum of 50 guests. www.makalonca.si facebook: Kavarna Makalonca

The Festival Hall is one of the most renowned inter-genera­tional centres in Slovenia. Once known as the Baraga Seminary, the building from the late 1930’s designed by architect Jože Plečnik houses today the Academic College, the Mladinsko Theatre and the Pionirski dom educational & cultural institution, which manages the Festival Hall. This was created in the central space of the original building in 1956 to the plans of architect A.Bitenc. A monumental staircase with massive pillars and decorative sculptures accentuate the entrance and adorn both the foyer and the large hall. Throughout the year, the Festival Hall hosts a number of local and international dance events and balls, concerts, fashion shows, wedding parties and other social functions. With a soft facelift performed in 2009, this venue has become even more attractive as a special location for meetings (max. 450 seats theatre-style or 250 in classroom), business events, cocktail receptions (max.

700 guests) or gala dinners (max. 250 guests). www.pionirski-dom.si

The Viba Film Studio Ljubljana

The Viba Film Studio Ljubljana, located at just ten minutes’ drive from the city centre, functions as the national technical film base. The highly functional spaces for film production, postproduction and the management offices are all united under one roof on around 10,000 sq m.

Viba features two major studios alongside which there are rooms for set design, wardrobes for actors, mask rooms, four audio suites, a large fully equipped video mixing-room, a small 45-seat projection room as well as other spaces, including a large wardrobe with rich requisite funds allowing the rental of costumes (themed events). The Viba Film Studio has been the venue of numerous social and business events demanding a larger and very flexible custom-designed setting – from a cocktail reception during the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to a BMW car launch. www.vibafilm.si

Large Studio at Viba Film Photo: Viba Film Archive

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Even Angels Would Love Staying Here!

Penthouse Suite, Photo: M. Jordovič

A new boutique hotel has recently joined two others (the Antiq and Allegro, respectively) to form the »Golden A Triangle« at the Gornji trg Square, one of the Old Town’s preserved authentic areas. Nestling at the foot of the Castle Hill, the Lesar Hotel Angel features 12 cosy rooms and suites in a beautiful historic setting. The property offers several amenities, thoughtfully designed for the guests’ comfort, including spacious and stylish accommodations,

a lounge area, a charming garden spreading on 500 sqm and a terrace. The lounge can be used during daytime as a space for business meetings, while the garden can function as an attractive spot for cocktail receptions. Its prime location makes the Lesar Hotel Angel a great starting point to discover and feel both the ancient spirit of Ljubljana and its young heartbeat. www.hotelangel.si

Active or Incentive Programmes The Mysterious Ljubljana Moor and the Iški Vintgar Gorge On the outskirts of Ljubljana lies a unique and special area, the Ljubljana Moor (Ljubljansko barje). The best way to explore its natural and cultural diversity is by bike.

The macadam and field roads go through a mosaique of meadows, fields and irrigation ditches, which offer refuge to a variety of animal and plant species. As many of Europe’s most endangered wildlife species live here a big part of Ljubljansko barje is protected by the Natura 2000 project.

The highlight of the tour features the canyon of the Iška River: absorbing its pristine nature that surrounds the fresh and clear waters adds a touch of relaxation to the experience.

It is also an ideal place for a picnic, which can be organised on request. This half-day tour can be run in all seasons, except for winter, for groups from 6 to 50 people.

Geocaching Adventure Geocaching is a fun “hightech” adventure based on the use of hand-held GPS

devices. Participants are split up into groups and are given coordinates, which they must locate with the help of the GPS. Target locations can be found high up in the trees, on a window shelf, in a crack in the ground or even under water! When a team finds the coordinates, they receive instructions on how to reach the spot where a next assignment is waiting for them.

The treasure hunt continues according to this pattern.

Geocaching can be carried out throughout the year and the level of difficulty and duration (2 to 5 hours ) is adapted to the wishes of the client. This active and fun incentive programme can be organised for groups from 10 to 40 people both in Ljubljana and in other locations – natural settings close to the capital or elsewhere in Slovenia.

Trekking on the Velika Planina Plateau Just 30 kilometres from Ljubljana lies the picturesque

Team buliding, Photo: Nomad2000 Archive

Trekking at Velika Planina, Photo: Nomad2000 Archive

Iški Vintgar, Photo: Nomad2000 Archive

Velika Planina plateau, known for the authentic architecture of its herdsmen’s settlement, which comes back to life every summer. During this time, visitors can taste the fresh dairy products, experience the mountain life as it once was and admire the traditional wooden cottages. The plateau, which reaches the maximum height of 1,660 metres, is a part of the Kamnik – Savinja Alps that spread on nearly 900 sq km. Nor far from the lower cable car station, the clear Kamniška Bistrica river and the

glacial valley bearing the same name are popular spots for outdoor activities or relaxation amidst unspoilt nature.

Once reaching the top cable car station, the trekking tour that features the most panoramic spots and gives a taste of the genuine herdsmen’s life, can start. Late spring to early autumn months are recommended (the cattle returns into the valleys by midSeptember) for this full day tour, which can be organised for 6 to 50 participants. www.nomad2000.com

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Olimje, a Must-See Floral Paradise

Olimje, Photo: Turizem Podčetrtek Archive

The Slovenian village of Olimje, well known for its monastery and one of Europe’s oldest monastic pharmacies, received a gold medal for excellence in horticultural displays at the Entente Florale Europe 2009 international horticultural competition. The village area is well worth visiting also for its other attractions, including a golf course, the Terme Olimje spa with its Orhidelia wellness centre (connected to Ljubljana by a special train on Saturdays), as well as a host of delectables, from locally produced chocolate to excellent wines and specialities of local restaurants. www.olimje.net

Transromanica This year, the town of Kamnik’s Little Castle became part of Transromanica, recognized as a Major Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. Other Slovenian Transromanica sights include Podsreda Castle, the Stična Monastery, the Church of the Assumption and St. John the Baptist’s Baptistery in Koper, St. Martin’s Church in Laško, and St. George’s Castle and Church in Ptuj.

Wild Flower Festival in Bohinj

The International Wild Flower Festival in Bohinj is one of the central events marking Slovenia’s presidency of the Alpine Convention and the International Year of Biodiversity.

Workshop at the Wild Flower Festival, Photo T. Sodja

The gala opening of Bohinj’s 4th International Wild Flower Festival will take place on 22 May, the International Day of Biodiversity. Festival events, held under the motto “Building a sustainable future for man and nature”, are aimed to con­tribute to the building of public awareness about the out­standingly rich natural and

cultural heritage of Bohinj, the entire Triglav National Park, and the wider Alpine area. From 22 May to 5 June, the village of Bohinj and the Triglavska roža information centre in the nearby town of Bled will host a large number of interesting events and activities, including workshops, guided tours, concerts, exhibi­ tions, and lectures, among others.

The Wild Flower Festival’s diverse programme of events, whose main themes will be “Alpine flowers in art”, “Alpine flowers at home” and “Alpine flowers in science”, will offer an opportunity for both visitors and the local residents to learn about nature, biodiversity, and cultural heritage and come to understand the importance of their preservation. Wellpreserved nature is a major advantage of Bohinj as a tourist destination.

One of the important goals of the festival is the promotion of sustainable development and nature-friendly tourism as the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage of Bohinj, the Triglav National Park and the entire Slovenia are of key importance for sustainable

economic development. Due to its specific features, the Alpine region, populated by 14 million people, is particularly vulnerable and needs special attention. In order to find appropriate solutions to the region’s common problems, such as those related to demography, the changes in mountain farming, the negative effects of mass tourism, and traffic overload, in 1991 all the eight Alpine countries (Austria, France, Italy, Lichtenstein, Monaco, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland) and the European Union as a whole signed the Alpine Convention, expressing their willingness to pursue a common policy for the development of their exceptional mountainous region. www.bohinj.si/alpskocvetje/eng

Visit to Maribor’s Lent Festival

Lent Festival, held in Maribor, a city well connected to Ljubljana, is an international festival hosting over 400 cultural events in two weeks. This year it will be held from 25 June to 10 July.

At the beginning of summer, the banks of the river Drava in Maribor turn into a vibrant centre of cultural and social life resonating with rhythms from around the world. Apart from classical, jazz, popular and ethnic music concerts and singersongwriter and chanson evenings, the festival features theatre and dance performances, puppet shows, stand-up comedy, creative workshops for children, sporting events, and three mini-festivals including the Folkart folklore festival, the Jazzlent jazz festival, and the Street Theatre Festival.

Some of the events are free.

Lent Festival has hosted a large number of world famous artists, including, among others, the legendary Ray Charles, B. B. King, James Brown, Jose Feliciano, Lester Bowie, Tania Maria, Eric Burdon & The Animals, David Byrn, Reggie Johnson, Omara Portuondo, and Cubanismo. Each year, the festival also brings together numerous renowned artists from Slovenia.

Main Stage at the Lent Festival, Photo: Narodni Dom Maribor Archive

Lent Festival has received a large number of awards, including over 40 awards from the International Festival and Events

Association (IFEA), a network comprising over 2,500 festivals from around the world www.nd-mb.si

SLOVENE NATIONAL THEATHRE OPERA AND BALLET LJUBLJANA

URBANOBALET

A ballet evening by young Slovene choreographers Sanja Nešković Peršin and Kjara Starič 5th, 8th May 2010, 8.00 p.m.

Centre of urban culture Kino Šiška

CARMEN

Georges Bizet, staged by Charles Roubaud 20th, 22nd May 2010, 7 p.m.

23rd May 2010, 6 p.m.

Cankarjev dom (Gallus Hall)

3rd BALLET DAYS

Open air ballet performances on the Prešeren square 11th – 20th June 2010

MADAME BUTTERFLY

Giacomo Puccini Co-production of the SNT Opera and Ballet Ljubljana and the Verdi Theatre Trieste Premiere: 28th June 2010, 8 p.m., Repeat Performances: 29th, 30th June 2010, 8 p.m.

Cankarjev dom (Gallus Hall)

UNICORN

G.C.Menotti A Madrigal Fable for Chorus, Ballet and Orchestra 16th, 17th July 2010, 9 p.m.

Ljubljana Castle

MANON LESCAUT

Giacomo Puccini Premiere: 6th September 2010, 7 p.m.

Repeat Performances: 7th, 11th, 12th September 2010, 7 p.m.

Cankarjev dom (Gallus Hall)

UNDER THE STARS WITH SINATRA The Triple Bill Coreographers: T. Tharp, D. Bogdanić Premiere: 28th October 2010 Repeat Performances: 29th October, 24th - 28th November Cankarjev dom (Linhart Hall)

www.opera.si marketing: janez rozman janez.rozman@opera.si phone: +386 1 24 11 725

New Life of Ljubljana’s Ancient New Square New life has been brought to Ljubljana’s Novi trg, a city centre area whose name translates as New Square, but was actually settled already in the 12th century.

When medieval Ljubljana became too small for its growing population, the city’s wealthy class, wanting to have larger homes, moved to the other

Bookshop Azil Photo ZRC SAZU

side of the river Ljubljanica and settled the area known as Novi trg (New Square). Compared to the medieval Stari trg (Old Square), Novi trg is larger and its buildings are more sumptuous.

The splendour of their baroque façades still reflects their life as the homes of the city’s wealthiest and most prominent noble families of the past. Behind the façade of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, a bookshop café opened recently. Based on the concept of the bookshop as a social space where people meet and discuss in public, it includes

two bookshops: Azil, azil.zrc-sazu.si, which has been there for several years and specializes in books in the fields of humanities and social studies in Slovenian, English, French, Serbian, Croatian and Russian, and Beletrina, www. studentskazalozba.si, which has moved to the building recently and mainly sells literary fiction, gift books, and children’s literature. The two bookshops are interconnected by a café, which adds a new dimension to the place by allowing visitors not only to marvel at the beautiful

palatial building while buying books, but also to socialize or simply sprawl in one of the café’s reading nooks and leaf through books in peace. A completely different new addition to Novi trg is the Agent Provocateur, www. agentprovocateur.com, lingerie boutique, nestled in a corner of the square. At the time of its opening it was one of only 45 Agent Provocateur boutiques, well known for designer lingerie admired by Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer and Christina Aguilera, among others.

Tjaša Janovljak

Major New Improvements to Ljubljana Airport

In civil aviation, safety is of utmost importance. All safety conditions must be met and any airport activity must be based on perfect facilities and flawless equipment. For this reason, Aerodrom Ljubljana, the company managing the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, undertook the renovation of the airport’s 3300-metre long and 60-metre wide runway.

New Passanger Terminal Photo: G. Kavčič

Construction works included the renovation of the asphalt pavement on the airport’s runway and some of the taxiways, works related to the replacement of the runway lighting system, and works

on additional cable trenches.

The renovation resulted in an increased safety of the airport’s runway, which was covered with asphalt in 1978 and renovated for the first time in 1992, using thinlayer coating.

The complex and demanding renovation project was completed in several phases. A 300-metre section of the runway was renovated in 2007, and an approximately 1000-metre section on each end of the runway in 2009. The works could be completed in such a way that the flow of air traffic was not considerably impeded. The

Updates to the Summer Timetable Due to runway renovation works, the summer timetable of the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, published on 28 March, has only been in operation since the completion of the renovation. The Finnish carrier Finnair now operates flights between Ljubljana and Helsinki four times a week. The website of the low-cost carrier Vueling already offers online booking of flights between Ljubljana and Barcelona, available twice weekly from 26 June to 11 September. By the end of October, Ljubljana Airport will provide regular direct services to 28 European destinations including, among others, Dublin, Manchester, Madrid and Stockholm, operated by nine different airlines.

Airport was operational despite construction works, a shortened runway, and the instrument landing system for landing in poor visibility conditions being turned off.

It was announced already in 2009 that the airport would have to be closed to allow for a quick and safe renovation of the central part of the runway. In December 2009, based on economic calculations and the assessment of the degree of risk to the flow of air traffic, it was decided, in coordination with airport tenants and the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Slovenia, that renovation works should be under­ taken between 7 and 21 April 2010.

The renovation project, extremely demanding in terms of organisation, cost Aerodrom Ljubljana €10 million plus an additional €1.2 million due to income loss. During the renovation, some carriers cancelled their services, others moved their operations to the nearest airports. Slovenia’s national carrier, Adria Airways, and Turkish Airlines, for instance, provided a slightly limited

number of flights from Maribor, and Air France from Trieste. The runway closure was met with some disapproval on the part of passengers, but according to Zmago Skobir, President of the Management Board of Aerodrom Ljubljana, “there was no other way.” Skobir points out that “the runway is a key asset which must be maintained to be safe at all times. When choosing the best way to renovate the central part of the runway, we were deciding between a full and an overnight closure. It was established that a full closure would entail smaller safety and financial risks.” www.lju-airport.si Brigita Zorec

Another Gentle Touchdown Photo: Aerodrom Ljubljana Archive