The best museums Slovenia

A visit to discover this little-known musician in France. The superb house in which the exhibition is housed is quite simply the birthplace of the famous violinist. Today, it is the headquarters of Piran's Italian community. On the second floor are numerous posthumous objects belonging to the artist, including musical compositions, his self-portrait, and his famous violin, which accompanied him at every performance. Superb frescoes on display.

Seeing the castle is like spotting Bled. When Henry II offered the city to the bishops of Brixen in 1004, the castle did not look like this. It then consists of a Romanesque tower and an enclosure wall. Over the centuries, the work was completed. The small chapel dates from the 16th century, the frescoes are made in the 18th century. The restoration of the castle was undertaken in the 1950s. From the terrace, you can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the lake. The museum traces the history of Bled from the earliest times to the present day.

This museum, located in the lively Metelkova district, presents the work of largely unknown artists from the alternative scene in Central Europe. The aim of the exhibition is to bring emerging contemporary art from the region into dialogue with more established Western European art. There are several landmark works by internationally renowned artists such as Marina Abramović and Kasimir Malevich. The large library brings together nearly 70,000 works.

The National Gallery of Slovenia is the central institution of ancient art in Slovenia. It holds the largest collection of Slovenian plastic works - from the early Middle Ages to the 20th century. The first exhibition in the permanent collection of Slovenian art dates back to 1933 in the Narodni Dom building in 1896 and was built according to the designs of František Škabrout, the Czech architect (Cankarjeva cesta 20). The collection follows a chronological order: from the Gothic plastic works of the 13th century to the paintings of the Slovenian Impressionists at the beginning of the 20th century.

The presentation of the medieval sculpture is enriched by the regional particularities of this period. Baroque art of the 17th and 18th centuries determines the works of Carniolan painters such as Valentin Metzinger, Anton Cebej, Fortunat Bergant and Franc Jelovšek as well as wood carving. The collection of 19th century paintings expresses the evolution of painting: it begins with the portraits and regions of Biedermeier, continues with the romantic landscapes and late realism of the 19th century and ends with impressionism. The opuses of Jožef Petkovšek, the works of the Šubic brothers, Ivana Kobilca and Anton Ažbe express great interest. 19th century sculpture is represented by the works of Alojzij Gangl, Alojzij Repič, Ivan Zajec and other historical representatives. The works of sculptors such as Franc Berneker, Svetoslav Peruzzi and Lojze Dolinar are marked by more modern trends. With the paintings of Impressionists Ivan Grohar, Rihard Jakopič, Matija Jama and Matej Sternen, the collection extends into the 20th century, but rather into the period of efforts to consolidate national art. In 1997, the permanent collection was placed in the new added building, otherwise known as the European Painters' Picture Gallery. The works are arranged according to nationalities and schools (Italian painters, Spanish school, French painters, Flemish and Dutch painters, German and Central European painters, as well as 19th and 20th century painters). The glass entrance, which was built in 2001, and two exhibition rooms are intended for temporary exhibitions or events.

In general, this place has an undisguised enthusiasm, accentuated by the friendliness of the staff as well as by the popularized presentation of the works and artists, accessible to people who do not know how to read Slovenian.

This is the museum of the herdsmen, shepherds and shepherdesses living up there on the mountain from mid-June to the end of October. It is located in an old cheese dairy that was active until 1967 and features a reconstructed sheepfold, old photographs that have become an ethnographic treasure, wooden butter moulds, snowshoes and beautifully carved swells. It reveals the strong dairy identity of the region, which has declined considerably in intensity in recent decades. Interesting without being unavoidable.

The building was designed by the architect Vladimir Hrasky in 1885. The ceiling frescoes are painted by Janez and Jurij Šubic. The permanent collections are devoted to prehistoric art, ethnology, fauna and flora. In the square there is a statue of the Slovenian historian Valvasor (1641-1693). The most interesting curiosity to discover is the famous Neanderthal flute, sixty thousand years old, considered the oldest musical instrument in the world.

It was built after the Second World War. The building was designed by Edvard Ravnikar. The permanent collection is composed of paintings, sculptures, but also touches the photography or graphic arts. The latter are honored during the International Biennial which takes place every odd year in the museum. The descriptions in English give a clearer picture of Ljubljana's role as the cultural capital of Yugoslavia.

The Tivoli Castle is renovated between 1983 and 1989 to accommodate larger exhibitions than those of the Biennale. The place is loaded with history. In the th century, there was a tower. Another building, Podturn, that is, "below the tower" succeeds him, property of Baron Apfaltern. He succeeded in defending the castle of attacks carried out by the counts of Celje. The castle was renovated in the th century by the Jesuits who managed the park and became the prince bishop's seasonal residence. In the middle of the 1860 th century Count Radetzky became owner and the city of Ljubljana became a recipient in. Now the international centre of graphic art, temporary exhibitions are often reduced according to the themes selected in these few rooms.

It is unique in Slovenia. Bees and honey from the origins (or almost) to nowadays become familiar to you. The museum also has a fine collection of hive panels with religious motifs at the very beginning and humorous and satirical motifs at the end. It is also a strange hive as that of a lion or a Turk smoking his pipe. The children are amazed by the activity of the museum's hive. This hive with transparent panels allows you to visualize the activity of a colony. Numerous educational workshops, documents in French. A great success!

Thematic and chronological collection of models of the Yugoslavian and then Slovenian car industry since the Second World War. There are of course models from Renault, but also prototypes of Adria motorhomes that have been brought up to date. Beyond the beautiful variety of vehicles on display, we discover all the work behind the scenes - from design to marketing. A nice company visit, to be read with all the necessary care.

From December 1943 to May 1945, the gorges hosted a hospital built for partisans (Yugoslav resistance fighters). The health facility is named after Dr. Franja Bojc-Bidovec, who became Chief Medical Officer in January 1944. The 578 injured people who stayed here are blindfolded from the farm Podnjivč (opposite the current car park). The march in the waters was intended to avoid encountering German soldiers. This hospital had a very low mortality rate (13%). German troops, despite two attacks, never succeeded in bringing down this almost untraceable site. Nine French people were treated, but also Austrians, Italians, Poles, Soviets and Americans. The path along the river at the foot of the cliffs immediately brings you into the atmosphere: the further you go, the narrower the gorges. We finally saw the first barracks. It is not a museum in the conventional sense of the term but rather an immersion. We discover the barracks dedicated to the operating room, the radiology barracks, the quarantine room, the doctors' and injured people's room, the canteen, the dormitories covered with Yugoslav propaganda posters (you will be surprised by their number!), etc. At the bottom of the gorge, there is even a micro hydroelectric power station. It is a striking dive into the history and lives of these men in times of war. You will not leave this place completely unscathed.

Small museum dedicated to fishing and the relationship between the town of Izola and the sea. The permanent exhibition has been thoroughly revised recently. We learn a lot of things and the proposed route is very coherent. We first enter a first room that shares with us scenes of daily life after World War II in Izola where the sea is already omnipresent. The box on the necessary use of Slovenian wood in the construction of Yugoslav ships is very well done. Upstairs, one room is devoted to the work and legacy of the Italian geographer Pietro Coppo, who was responsible for the first map of the Istrian peninsula in the early sixteenth century, as well as for a puzzling attempt to map the world as a whole. The other rooms focus on the development of a local Istrian identity: with the role of the fish cannery and the Delamaris company in the regional economy, but also with the introduction of the famous Parenzana railway circuit that opened a major trade route in Central Europe in the 19th century. Well-designed educational workshops line the entire route: making knots, simulating a fishing boat in which you can sit... This museum is worth a visit as it is very well documented and offers a very good starting point for discovering the maritime town of Izola, less famous than its neighbors.

The Counts of Celje are of particular interest in building Slovenia's identity, as evidenced by the inclusion of the three stars of the Counts of Celje on the national flag. The exhibition begins in the basement with a visit to Celeia, the "Slovenian Pompeii". The tour is structured around a walk through the ancient city with a very successful effect. The central location of the city on the European trade routes is thus highlighted. The first floor is full of remarkable tools from the prehistoric period. Children will be amazed by the exceptional fossil of a bear from ancient times. Parents will be made aware of the fundamental role of the pioneer of Slovenian paleontology Srečko Brodar. The second part of the exhibition is devoted to the political career of the Counts of Celje, the noble dynasty that gave its first autonomy to a large part of the Proto-Slovenian territory. The family tree will help you to better understand the family context and to identify the development of a powerful network of matrimonial alliances. The map of castles provides a number of indications of the princely power in the 14th century. The memorial that groups together the skulls of the Counts of Celje is striking. The museum is extremely well designed, the didactic content is very readable and the interest of the young public is real: children will be able to confront each other with a wooden sword or discover the content of classic meals in the Middle Ages.

The museum is housed in the former Belgramoni-Tacco palace built in 1600, a beautiful building with showrooms. On the first floor you will see two Romanesque windows dating from the 9th and 12th centuries, with interlacing. On the second floor, the hall is dedicated to the church of Hrastovlje with its famous Dance of Death. Paintings of the Italian school are exhibited here. One painting depicts Koper/Capodistria in 1604, at that time still an island. The Empire furniture comes from the Maggiolini workshop. Sedan chairs are also exhibited as well as documents from the French period, one of which is signed by Bonaparte. The visit continues in an annex building with a historical presentation of the events in Istria after the attachment to Italy: Mussolini, fascism, oppression, the Second World War, deportations, the partisan struggle, all punctuated by Italian and Slovenian songs. The tragedy of a bicultural region is immediately revealed to us. However, we regret the relatively fresh reception, the overall lack of technical explanations and contextual elements which may jeopardize the general understanding of the permanent exhibition, as well as the great chronological and thematic mix which somewhat distorts the legibility and distribution of the rooms. The ethnographic collection is, on the other hand, very interesting to discover and reminds the visitor of all the influences - sometimes contradictory, sometimes concordant - of the city of Koper.

The castle was bought by the commune in 1933. Five years later, the premises of the bastille, built in 1556, housed the first collections. The 17th century Loreto Chapel, the arcaded corridor, the four towers, the Knights' Hall and the rococo staircase were built under the orders of the Counts Khisli. The remains of the 3rd millennium BC can be visited on the first floor. The miniatures made are very interesting to better understand the evolution of the habitat during the prehistoric period. The second room offers a more condensed content on the period of Roman domination and the blossoming of the Slavic tribes in the 7th century. On the first floor, there is a presentation of the work from the glassworks and forges of Pohorje. The atmosphere is surreal in the loggia with Greco-Roman statues and Jewish steles from the 14th century when Glavni Trg comes alive with folk music during the Lent festival.

Afterwards, we visit the exhibition dedicated to the Middle Ages in Maribor. The rapid growth of the city and its great prosperity were disrupted by a period of untimely war and deadly epidemics. A beautiful perspective of religious plurality and a beautiful life-size reconstruction of a medieval settlement in a rural area. Finally, the modern part of the exhibition is more thematic and focuses on the pictorial representations of the city's elites as well as on the evolution of women's fashion between the mid-19th and late 20th centuries.

Named after a great lieutenant of the Yugoslav navy of Slovenian origin, this museum, on the sea in general and not on Piran in particular, offers several developments on the equipment and technical aspects of the most emblematic Slovenian or Yugoslav ships. The part of the exhibition devoted to the strategic evolution of the pre-Slovenian navy is of high quality, as is the in-depth study of the Battle of Lissa in 1866, the first confrontation in the world to feature armoured ships. Nice popularization of the work of the engineer Gabriel Grüber.

Established in the south of the town, in the hamlet of Pustal, this period house, bordered by the local river, dating from the 16th century, now houses a small local and ethnographic museum which gives a number of interesting insights into the objects and gestures of daily life in the days when Slovenia was still a Habsburg country. Restored in 1755, it was deliberately baroque. It is one of the few surviving examples of the last centuries in this region. A very appreciated visit by the locals!

This museum of architecture was created in 1972. The descendant of Plečnik, who died in 1971, left the city the legacy of the great architect. A stroll in this district of the capital, Trnovo, and a visit of the place is a must. A way to better understand this great creator, through his living and working environment, imbued with his presence. There is a collection of impressive models of the great man's innovative architectural projects, in Ljubljana of course, but also in Belgrade, Vienna and Prague. His workshop is full of little treasures.

The only hut spared by the Nazi arson attack of 1944, this house has become a museum presenting the traditional life and architecture of Velika Planina. It succinctly presents the main stages of the daily life of the cowherds through the ages. The interior of the hut thus consists of two distinct parts: a living space and a space to shelter the cattle. The large fire in the middle of the dwelling is intended to warm hearts and light the hearth. There is an interesting collection of clothing and customary objects.

The museum is housed in a typical alpine house built in the 18th century. In Baroque style, however, this residence did not belong to the common people. The visit allows you to discover an interesting collection of painted chests and the "black kitchen", a room reserved for cooking where meat was smoked. In the attic, cabinet-making equipment and linen looms. In the basement, an art gallery presenting Josip Vandot (1884-1944), the local child, creator of the character of Kekec, the shepherd.