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Žale Cemetery (open: Monday – Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
N46 04.040; E014 31.697
The Slovenian architect Jože Plecnik (1872-1957) significantly contributed to the appearance of three Central European cities: Vienna, Prague and Ljubljana. In Vienna, where he studied under Professor Otto Wagner, he distinguished himself with Zacherl Palace (1903-1905), which belongs among the pioneer works of the European Modernist architecture. Having designed a number of family houses, interior decorations, the Fountain of Karl Borromeaus (1906-1909), and finally the Church of the Holy Spirit in the Viennese district of Ottakring (1910-1912), he left Vienna. His works in Prague comprise the redesign of Hradcany Castle and its gardens (1920-1933) and the design of the Church of the Sacred Heart in the Vinohrady district of Prague (1928-1932).
In 1921, when Plecnik returned from Prague, where he had lectured at the School of Arts and Crafts, he devoted his career to urban planning and architecture in Ljubljana. He wanted to design Ljubljana, Slovenian's new capital, on the model of Athens. All of his most significant works except for the Križanke Summer Theatre (Poletno gledališce Križanke), which was built between the years 1952 and 1956, were created between the years 1925 and 1944. Characteristic of his style are Classicist architectural elements such as columns, lintels, balustrades and turrets, which he reworked and combined in a most inventive way. Plecnik's Ljubljana rates among the 20th century's most prominent holistic pieces of art.
Žale Cemetery (open: Monday – Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
In the early 1930s, the municipal authorities decided to convert the Holy Cross Churchyard (Pokopališce pri sv. Križu) for use as Ljubljana's main cemetery. When the plans provided by architect Ivo Spincic in 1936 failed to please the authorities, architect Plecnik was commissioned to prepare new designs. By 1940 he built an original funeral home called the Žale, which housed Ljubljana's first chapels of rest and was quite unlike any other funeral home of the time. Its name subsequently became the name of the entire cemetery complex.
The entrance to the Žale Cemetery (Pokopališce Žale) is marked by a monumental arch with a two-storey colonnade, which symbolically divides the world of the dead from the world of the living. The arch is topped with a double statue of Christ and St. Mary the Protectress. Opposite the arch there is the cemetery's main oratory, intended for public farewell ceremonies. Its design, with a canopy roof supported by four columns, is based on classical models.
The chapels of rest are modelled on a variety of different architectural styles, from classical Greek and Byzantine to Oriental; some are based on a combination of the three styles, some on pure imagination. In this way, Plecnik enhanced the concept of equality of all religions. Here and there, the chapels are decorated with small statues built into their façades. The chandeliers and crosses inside were custom designed for each chapel. The funeral home complex also includes an interesting building decorated with fresco paintings by Slavko Pengov, which housing carpenters' workshops
Delo arhitekta Jožeta Plecnika (1872-1957) je zaznamovalo tri srednjeevropska mesta: Dunaj, Prago in Ljubljano. Na Dunaju, kjer se je šolal pri arhitektu Ottu Wagnerju, se je najprej odlikoval s postavitvijo Zacherlove palace (1903-1905), ki sodi med pionirska dela evropske moderne arhitekture. Poleg nekaterih družinskih hiš, notranjih ureditev in vodnjaka Karla Boromejskega (1906-1909), je svoje delo na Dunaju sklenil s cerkvijo sv. Duha na Ottakringu (1910-1912). Njegov praški opus obsega temeljito preureditev gradu Hradcani z vrtovi (1920-1933) ter cerkev presvetlega Srca Jezusovega na Vinohradih (1928-1932).
Po prihodu z Dunaja v Ljubljano leta 1921, kjer so mu ponudili mesto profesorja na univerzi, se je posvetil urbanisticnemu in arhitekturnemu oblikovanju mesta. Ljubljano kot novo prestolnico Slovencev je skušal oblikovati po vzoru Aten. Razen Križank, zgrajenih med letoma 1952 in 1956, so vsa njegova pomembnejša dela v Ljubljani nastala med leti 1925 in 1944. Za njegov slog so znacilne klasicne oblikovne prvine, kot so stebri, preklade, balustrade, stebrici ipd., ki pa jih je predeloval in kombiniral na svojski nacin. Plecnikova Ljubljana se tako uvršca med najpomembnejše celostne umetnine 20. stoletja.
Pokopališce Žale (odprto: pon. – sob. od 9h do 16h)
V zacetku tridesetih let so se mestne oblasti odlocile tedanje pokopališce pri sv. Križu preobraziti v glavno ljubljansko pokopališce. Ko leta 1936 niso bili zadovoljni z nacrti arhitekta Iva Spincica, je Plecnik do leta 1940 v nasprotju s tedaj obicajnimi mrtvašnicami na njem zasnoval izviren kompleks mrliških vežic Žale, po katerem je kasneje dobilo ime celotno pokopališce. Pred tem v Ljubljani ni bilo mrliških vežic.
Na Žale vodi monumentalen vhod skozi slavolok z množico stebrov v dveh nadstropjih, ki simbolicno locuje mesto mrtvih od mesta živih. Nad slavolokom stoji dvojni kip Kristusa in Marije Zavetnice. Nasproti vhoda je osrednja molilnica, zasnovana po anticnem vzoru. Krasi jo baldahinski nadstrešek na štirih stebrih, namenjen javni poslovitvi od umrlega.
Mrliške vežice oziroma poslovilne kapele so zgrajene po vzorih razlicnih tipov zgradb , od anticnih do bizantinskih, orientalskih ali njihovih kombinacij ter povsem domišljijskih. Na ta nacin je arhitekt poudaril idejo verske enakopravnosti. Vežice obcasno zaznamujejo kipci, vdelani v njihova procelja, opremljene so z lestenci in križi, prilagojenimi njihovim oblikam. Kompleks zakljucuje zanimiva stavba mizarskih delavnic, okrašena s freskami.
The cache is a plastic box 18x12x4 cm. It is wrapped in a plastic bag.It is available at any time and is placed outside the monumental complex.
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