National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia

The National Gallery of Slovenia was founded in 1918, after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and the establishment of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Initially, it was hosted in the Kresija Palace of Ljubljana, but moved to the present location in 1925.

The gallery hosts a permanent art collection from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. The original of the Baroque Robba fountain can also be seen in the central glass gallery of the building.

The present building was built in 1896, during the administration of Mayor Ivan Hribar, whose ambition was to transform Ljubljana into a representative capital of all the Slovene Lands. It was designed by the Czech architect František Škabrout and was first used as a Slovenian cultural center as the central seat of various cultural associations of national importance. The building stands near Tivoli Park and was completely renovated in 2013-2016.

In the early 1990s, an extension to the main building was built by the Slovene architect Edvard Ravnikar. In 2001, a large transparent glass gallery, designed by the architects Jurij Sadar and Boštjan Vuga, was built to connect the two wings of the building.

The gallery hosts a permanent art collection from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. The original of the Baroque Robba fountain can also be seen in the central glass gallery of the building, where it was moved after extensive restoration in 2008.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Teodora Marković (10 months ago)
Beautiful collection, definitely worth seeing the whole gallery, not just the main exhibition.

V H (11 months ago)
Located within a group of museums near Tivoli park, is this palace like structure, housing pieces from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, it is easy to spend a couple of hours here perusing the art, having the city card makes a visit to these attractions very affordable.

Sonja Leskovar (12 months ago)
It was an amazing experience, a walk among all those wonderful paintings. The time just flew by.

John Cena (12 months ago)
I highly recommend paying a visit to the National Gallery. As far as the art displayed goes, the National Gallery caters to many tastes and features (for example) some very intriguing portrait art (see photo). Most importantly, the building itself is well-ventilated and beautiful, nicely complementing the artwork. In case you need some fresh air afterwards, there is an adjacent park.

Bojan Lazarov (13 months ago)
A must visit in Ljubljana! Wonderful gallery, impressive collection. You will need approximately two hours to see everything. Enjoy both the art collection and the interior!

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

National Gallery of Slovenia

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus