Exhibition “Jože Plečnik and Prague” at the National Council of Slovenia in Ljubljana
On October 5, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ljubljana, in cooperation with the Slovenian National Council (Državni svět), inaugurated the exhibition “Jože Plečnik and Prague” in the foyer of the Slovenian Parliament building.
The exhibition presents the work of Jož Plečnik, realized during his period in Prague. In the introduction to the exhibition, he mentions the friendship between J. Plečnik and the Czech architect J. Kotěra and the work that Plečnik created during his time in Vienna. The most comprehensive part of the exhibition is dedicated to Plečnik’s modifications of the Prague Castle area and the support for interventions, which Plečnik contributed to the current form of the summer residence of the President of the Republic in Lány. The exhibition also presents the Church of the Sacred Heart of God in Královské Vinohrady, and in the final part it commemorates the Czech and Slovenian students of Jože Plečnik.
Exhibition “Jože Plečnik and Prague” was created during the pandemic in 2020 as an outdoor panel exhibition, which belongs to the Slovenian publication to get to know the work of J. Plečnik even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the majority of cultural life in Slovenia was significantly limited. The external exhibition has since been seen in major Slovenian cities such as Ljubljana, Maribor, Celje, Novo město, Krško, Hrastnik, and due to great interest it was also printed in a smaller format suitable for indoor spaces and displayed in Nová Gorica, Lendava, in the Municipal Museum of Ljubljana and now also premises in the National Council of Slovenia.
In his welcoming speech, the Chairman of the National Council, Alojz Kovšca, mentioned 30 years of good diplomatic relations between Slovenia and the Czech Republic and his belief that the nation cannot be united only by politics or diplomacy, but also by a rich common past, culture and values. He pointed out that the National Council is also celebrating the 30th anniversary of its founding and that it is also connected to Plečnik. Plečnik’s “Cathedral of Freedom” has been a hallmark of the State Council for decades. The logo of the National Council features the unrealized building of the Slovenian Parliament – the “Cathedral of Freedom”, which was designed by a Slovenian architect.
In his speech, Ambassador Juraj Chmiel expressed his pleasure that he once again has the opportunity to present Jože Plečnik’s work done in Prague with this exhibition and emphasized that he is personally very happy that Masaryk chose Plečnik to restore Prague Castle. He also thanked all the other Czechs and Slovenians who not only guard but continue to spread the legacy of Plečník’s work in Bohemia. He reminded that just recently two prominent figures from Slovenia, HE the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor and the Chairman of the National Council of Slovenia Alojz Kovšca, received Plečnik’s recognition – Jože Plečnik 2022, which is awarded by the Prague Castle Administration for extraordinary results in the field of architecture, construction and the protection of architectural heritage . He also expressed pride in the close cooperation between Czechs and Slovenians over the centuries and marked an outdoor panel exhibition called “Czech footprints in Slovenia”which can be seen on the Kraków Embankment in Ljubljana until October 16 and which was prepared by the Czech Embassy in cooperation with the Prague Castle Office to honor the monuments of Czechs who lived, worked and contributed to the development of Slovenian society.
The opening ceremony was attended by, among others, members of the diplomatic corps and parliamentarians. The entire event was enriched by the musicians of the police orchestra of the Police of Slovenia.
In connection with the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jože Plečnik, on September 14, 2022, the whole hall of the Prague Castle was awarded the Jože Plečnik Organizers Prize by personalities for the development of Czech-Slovenian relations and keeping the work of this architect alive in the public’s memory. Among the awardees were Alojz Kovšca, chairman of the National Council of Slovenia, Tanja Strniša, the Slovenian ambassador in Prague, or prof. Damjan Prelovšek, the first Slovenian ambassador in Prague and architectural historian. Already on 26 August 2022, Slovenian President Borut Pahor received this award in Ljubljana.
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Plečnik’s birth, Ambassador Juraj Chmiel ceremonially opened the screening of the documentary film “Dear Master, Jože Plečnik” on the premises of the Slovenian Cinematheque in Ljubljana on the same day. The event was held in cooperation with the Embassy, the production company Vertigo and the Department of Slavic Studies of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana.
The exhibition “Jože Plečnik and Prague” will be on view in the foyer of the National Council until October 14, 2022.