Jože Plečnik’s Ljubljana

I suppose you could visit Ljubljana without knowing the name Jože Plečnik, but come on, you’re not paying attention. Plečnik is a Slovene architect “who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana” (wikipedia). However, I visited Prague and Vienna and never heard his name so maybe I wasn’t paying attention. Ljubljana’s UNESCO site is titled “The works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana – Human Centred Urban Design”.

Ferda and my Plečnik tour started before we even got to Ljubljana. We made a small detour to Črna vas to visit the church Plečnik designed and built there, Church of St. Michael. The inside is supposed to be quite interesting, but it was locked up.

From there before we made it into the center of the city and our funky but comfortable capsule-like hotel, the Fuzzy Log, we passed one of Plečnik’s bridges, Plečnikov most.

I don’t think Plečnik had anything to do with the church (Cerkev sv. Janeza Krstnika) in the background of the above photo, but he did design this one, the Church of St. Francis of Assisi:

This time we were able to get inside:

Another perhaps slightly obscure Plečnik work is the funeral home at the Žale Cemetery.

Plečnik’s impact on the center of Ljubljana with his “profoundly human vision for the city” (UNESCO again) is what every tourist can’t miss.

The Plečnikove arkade:

The Triple Bridge at Prešernov trg:

Kongresni trg:

I felt like I could also see Plečnik’s style in the Čevljarski most:

and French Revolution Square:

We certainly enjoyed walking around the large motor-free center of Ljubljana for a few days.

Finally here’s the rooftop terrace of the Fuzzy Log:

If you do want to try an unusual concept and a tiny two-person room, I recommend Fuzzy Log’s “Deep Dive” over their “Fly High”.