Cekin Mansion on the northern edge of Tivoli Park houses the Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia. The mansion is named after Laurenz Szőgyény, the husband of Ivana Lamberg, who was given the building. The name Szőgyény was Slovenized by the townspeople into Cekin.
The mansion was commissioned in 1720 by Leopold Lamberg based on plans by the Viennese Baroque architect Fischer von Erlach. During the last years of the French occupation of Ljubljana from 1812 to 1813, it was used as a temporary residence by Eugène de Beauharnais, the viceroy of Italy and the commander of the Napoleonic armies in the Illyrian Provinces. In the mid-19th century, the mansion was purchased by the Slovenian patriot Peter Kosler, who lived there until his death. After World War II, the mansion was nationalized by the Communist authorities of the People's Republic of Slovenia. From 1990 to 1992, the mansion was renovated by the engineer Jurij Kobe, who also added a communication tower. For his work, he received the Plečnik Award, the most prestigious Slovenian award in architecture.
Since 1951, the mansion has housed the Museum of Contemporary History. The museum includes collections from World War I, the interwar period, World War II, postwar Yugoslavia, and independent Slovenia. This includes many historical items, including archives, artworks, and photographs.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.