Prešern Square
Congress Square
Town Hall
Town Square and Old Square
Cobbler's Bridge
The Market
Dragon Bridge

Plečnik's Ljubljana
Ljubljana Castle
Ljubljana in the fine arts
Musical tradition and the contemporary music scene
Theatre
The University of Ljubljana

More about Ljubljana: http://www.mesto-lj.si

The tradition of the fine arts in the environs of Ljubljana and in the city itself is older than the artistic traditions of many other more important cities: ornamental decorations in potteries from the Ljubljana Moors and the statues of the goddesses of fertility from this same region and era extend back to ancient history and give the feeling that artistic creativity in this region is as ancient as its first settlements. According to the artefacts from the Roman era, from the creative aspect, in those times the local inhabitants were neither particularly eloquent, nor illiterate, though they often spoke with the tongue of foreign travelling artists, which was the case during the Middle Ages as well, when artists from Furlania and the Tyrol worked in this region. That was until the 15th century, when Ljubljana became an important centre of the arts with its sculptors' and painters' workshops for the whole cultural and geographical region. It retained such a position throughout subsequent eras. Although being open to ideas and human strengths from the Romanic south, it never lost its own influential power again. The development of art was initially supported only by private patrons and art collectors. Subsequently, it was strongly influenced by the establishment of the National Museum in 1888 (at that time, called the Provincial Museum) whose cultural and historical collection is today regarded as one of the most important of its kind in Slovenia, and the National Gallery (established in 1919) whose collection of paintings and sculptures covering the period till the end of Impressionism, offered many young artists the foundation from which grew their national and regionally conditioned personalities.

		Citizen of Emona, Congress Square in Ljubljana

New designs in architecture, painting and sculpture were accelerated due to the vigorous renovation of the city after the earthquake in 1895. An even greater boost was experienced with the new national political position in the newly emerged Yugoslavia after the First World War, which also created the conditions for founding Professorships of Architecture at the new Ljubljana University. A real breakthrough came after the Second World War which brought to Ljubljana the Academy of Fine Arts and the Museum of Modern Art, whose construction commenced just before the war. (It was intended to be a museum of contemporary, post-impressionist art, too.) 1955 was the year of the first International Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, and in 1991, the city became an international centre of graphic arts. During the period of the Cold War between East and West in particular, Ljubljana played an exceptionally vital role as a venue for the art of both opposing sides and acquired an international reputation and recognition, while her school of graphic arts received world acclaim.

Today, in Ljubljana, there are some ten publishers that issue illustrated books and an important number of small private sales galleries that offer Slovene and foreign customers quality works of art. Besides, there are the main exhibition centres (The Museum of Modern Art, International Centre of Graphic Arts - Tivoli Gallery, Mala Gallery, Municipal Gallery, Jakopič Gallery, Cankarjev dom Gallery and Equrna Gallery), whose permanent exhibitions inform the public about events in the art world in Slovenia and abroad. It is no wonder that from approximately 500 members of the Association of Fine Artists of Slovenia, some three fifths of the members live and work in Ljubljana, where, in the centre, one can find art galleries at every corner.

Besides professional artists there are a host of associations of art connoisseurs who also hold exhibitions, so there is no shortage of them; several of them put on exhibitions at the same time, not to mention the permanent ones held by the sales galleries.

For the vital, temporary exhibitions they hold, among the occasional institutions providing information on classic and contemporary art we should include the City Museum, Museum of Modern History, Ethnographic Museum, and also the National Museum, which has joined them since its covered plaza came to life.