Trg revolucije

After a period of extreme heat, we finally had rain yesterday evening and through to the morning. It was much needed already; as many gardens will now be able recuperate. Unfortunately, it foiled our plan to see an evening movie on the Ljubljana castle's yard summer open-roof cinema.

We did cruise through Ljubljana on Saturday, taking pictures of stuff all around, that we will share with you through our upcoming posts. It was fun, but the heat gets to you – it is very hot and humid, and the sun gets hot at early hours (10 o'clock already). Make sure you have plenty of water with you (or buy some), but drink regularly and take other precautions against the sun. Weather reports say the heat wave will be back in the coming week, as in the rest of the Europe.

Among other things, we went by “Trg republike” or “The Square of the Republic”, which ends on one side with the TR2 and TR3 towers, visible on the first picture. One of the highest buildings in the city, they are visible from afar and the TR3 tower sports a digital clock and thermometer on the display at the top of the tower, so you can check if it’s time to move to a shade.

Above is the TR3 building in it’s full glory. There are elite business spaces and a number of foreign embassies inside. A side entrance between the main entrance and the “Cankarjev dom” cultural building leads into the “Centralna tehniška knjižnica”, the library used by students of the technical and nature sciences, and others thirsty for knowledge.

Behind the tower is the “Cankarjev dom”, the country’s prime location for various cultural events, some fairs, exhibitions, film festivals and such. Named after Ivan Cankar, a great contributor to Slovenian prose.

In front of the building is a cube that bears his name on one side and a silhuette of his face on another (as shown on the picture – notice the dark areas: the hair, eyes, moustache).

Looking across the square and the parking lot, you can see the Slovenian parliament building (“Državni zbor”). The parking lot is cleared for important national events, to accommodate for celebrations ceremonies.

The entrance to the parliament building with bronze sculptures by Karlo Putrih and Zdenko Kalin. The building was built in 1959 by design of architect Vinko Glanz. The parliament as an institution of Slovenian state was established in 1992.

The "Spomenik revolicije" monument on the side of the square pays tribute to the revolution (the fight against the axis powers in the Second World War and the establishment of the socialist state afterwards). Mind the missing letters “I” and “K” in the word “SPOMENIK” that perhaps hints at the path of the whole monument with changing ideology.

This sign next to it reminds us of the things written in the constitution (of the previous state): the farmers, workers, communist party, the liberation struggle, the falling of the social order based on exploitation, the conditions for the free and all-round development of the Slovene nation (to make it brief).

Fell free to comment. Expect further contributions in somewhat sporadic posts. But we do intend to cover important locations and events with photographs, eventualy covering Ljubljana and possibly other interesting locations in Slovenia. (Notice you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.)