Lifestyle
Christmas week is here, with many places closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but others open on even the big day itself, including some clubs and concert venues (although no supermarkets).
In addition to the various free seasonal activities on around town, with the easiest to find being the lights and stalls along the river, one month-long festival that continues this week is the Decembrrr Festival at the former Tobačna factory complex, with 36 free music, entertainment, culinary and social events by Slovenian and international artists. The Facebook for that is here, but otherwise there’s not much online about it. There are also concerts in Novi trg each evening.
A free festival just a short walk from the centre is the Ana Mraz season of street theatre performances, running from 18:00 to 20:00, December 26 to 30, with more details here, and suitable for all the family. You can read more about it here.
© Luka Dakskobler
And the veteran pop provocateur Magnifico is back at Stožice for another of his Christmas Day shows (tickets here), with a live version of his song for the late Sylvia Kristel below.
As ever, clicking on the venue names in the list below should get you more details with regard to the time, price and location, as well as other events on this week in the same place. Finally, if there's something you want to promote in a future edition of What's on in Ljubljana please get in touch with me at flanner(at)total-slovenia-news.com
Getting around Ljubljana
If you want to get a Ljubljana Tourist Card, which gives you travel on the city buses and entry to a lot of attractions, then you can read more about that here, and if you want to use the bike share system, as useful for visitors as it is for residents, then you can learn more by clicking this. Visitors with reduced mobility will be pleased to find that downtown Ljubljana is generally rated as good with regard to accessibility, and that there’s a free, city-sponsored app called Ljubljana by Wheelchair highlighting cafés, attractions and so on with ramps, disabled bathrooms and Eurokey facilities, which you can read about and download here. If you’re driving into town and don’t know where to part, our guide to how to park in Ljubljana is here.
Want / need cigarettes but the stores have closed? Here's an incomplete list of bars downtown that will satisfy your craving for the demon weed. While if you’re having trouble with the ATMs then here’s a guide to the Slovene you’ll see on screen. If you get a hangover then find out where to get paracetamol (and prescription drugs) in Ljubljana here, while details on emergency birth control can be found here.
Ljubljana is a small and relatively safe city, but if need to contact the police then there’s a special number for foreigners, and that’s 113.
Cinemas and films playing in Ljubljana this week
You can read about all the cinemas in town here, while a selection of what’s playing this week is below, and note that kid’s movies tend to be shown in dubbed versions, so do check before driving out to a multiplex and dropping off the young ones if they can't understand Slovene. That said, parents should pay attention to Kinobalon, which is Kinodvor's regular weekend series of film screenings and events for children, from babies on up, with special parent/child events, "first time in a cinema" screenings, and babysitting. Learn more about it here, and see the current schedule here. (And if you like watching trailers with subtitles as a way of learning Slovene, then catch up on some from earlier this year here).
Kinodvor – The arts cinema not far from the train station, but still rather tucked away, is showing The Children Act, Moomins and the Winter Wonderland (dubbed), Den tid på året, Shoplifters, Sing me a Song, and Captain Morten and the Spider Queen (in English with Slovene subtitles).
Kinoteka – The revival house at one end of Miklošičeva is showing Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth, Vincente Minelli’s The Bandwagon, Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addam’s Family, and Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams, among other features.
Kolosej - The multiplex out at BTC City Mall is playing all the big movies, which this week include Robin Hood, The Grinch (with both subbed and dubbed versions), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Bohemian Rhapsody, Johnny English 3, A Star is Born, Gajin svet, Pat in Mat znova v akciji, Mortal Engines, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, dubbed and subbed versions of Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Aquaman, and Bumblebee. New this week are a dubbed version of Asterix: Le secret de la potion magique, and Second Act.
Komuna – The cinema in a basement behind Nama department store is showing Bohemian Rhapsody, A Star is Born, The Grinch (dubbed), Second Act and Gajin svet.
Clubbing in Ljubljana
Compared to some European capitals it can seem that nightlife in Ljubljana ends rather early, especially along the river, but there are still bars that stay open late and clubs were you can dance until dawn, and perhaps the best place to stumble across something interesting is the legendary Metelkova. Be aware it's a grungy kind of place and not for all tastes, but also that there's consideable variety to found within the various clubs there, from death metal to electropop, gay caberet to art noise. You can read "the rules" of the place here.
We missed Umek’s show on Friday, and while that mix isn’t online yet you can hear his set from last year below.
Channel Zero – Monday night is Dub Lab, and this week the show’s is Domaćica - Badnje Veče (Dubnjak). On Friday it’s then the turn of the cryptically named SUBØ: SO ICY, with line-up that includes Bor$aleano, cl_tr, DVS, Futon, Lil Ris and TMA playing bass-heavy electronic music. Saturday then brings Frag::ments & Friends, an all-nighter with liquid funk, techstep and drumfunk, all under the broad umbrella of drum’n’bass. Sunday you can then get in the mood for the impending new year with Mami's Magic & Channel Zero Night, with “dance” from Tischeen!, Magica, Krištof and Sinonimus.
Gala Hala – Monday this club in Metelkova has Božična ex-Yu ludara, playing local classics. Friday there’s a change in genre, with Wave riders: Electro riders, featuring DJs Torulsson, Kobayashii, and VJ Maii. On Saturday it’s techno with Versus: Shekuza / RSN.
Klub Cirkus – Tuesday night, December 25, the Christmas edition of Tutti Frutti, 90s and 00s hits, will keep you entertained until 05:00 Wednesday. You could then return that night for Prednovoletna HITčina 26/12, playing the big hits. Taking Thursday off to recover, or go elsewhere, the party then restarts on Friday night TRIP ft. Kosta Radman & MC Dey. You can then hit Cirkus for the last time this week with Best of 2018 - The Ultimate Cirkus Yearmix.
Klub K4 – Monday night the klub for kool kids, with 30 years in the business, has LuckIsOn w. Omar and Ian F. On Friday it’s K4x4 w/ Skee Mask and others playing what seems to be techno. Saturday the week ends with the LGBT all-nighter, K4 Roza, with the music coming from Sonja Sajzor, Elovetric, Ady, Toledano, B L N, and M00sh.
Harm reduction and drug testing
Drogart is an organization that aims to minimise harm on the party scene, and offers drug-testing services and reports on their webpage. It’s in Slovene, but you can Google translate it or work things out yourself, and our story on the group is here. One thing they recently warned of were pink Pharaoh pills with around twice the normal MDMA content (measured at 261 mg). See pictures and learn more here, but do remember that all the usual drugs remain illegal in Slovenia, while our in-depth profile of the group is here. We've also heard increasing reports - albeit anecdotal - of women's drinks being spiked in the city, so take care and let friends know where you're going.
Things to do with children in Ljubljana
You can find our Top 12 list of things to do with kids in Ljubljana here. If want to read more about the philosophy behind the wonderful House of Experiments look here, while our trip to the Museum of Illusions is documented here, and there’s always riverside walks, ice cream and pizza.
Mini Teater Ljubljana – December sees a lot of puppet performances for children, in Slovene, at this theatrr not far from Križanke, including: The Frog King, Puss in Boots, Carrot Dwarf and The Little Match Girl. The English schedule for the month is here.
Ljubljana Puppet Theatre - The puppet theatre near the Central Market and next to the Castle funicular has a full programme or shows, for children and adults, with the schedule here.
Photo: JL Flanner
December at Ljubljana Castle
The city’s main attraction, the Castle, has a lot planned for December, including an innovative projection on the walls at 17:00 each day. Learn more about what’s going on up on the hill this month here.
Live music in Ljubljana
Continuing until the end of the month is a programme of free festive concerts in Novi trg, while there are also many street performers around town bringing some seasonal cheer and a chance to be charitable.
Cankerjev dom – Friday evening there’s a concert celebrating the work of Jacques Brel, 40 years after his death. Saturday then has music from Rudi Bučar and Istrabend.
Gala Hala - Thursday there’s a live show from morvern.
Klub Gromka – Thursday night there’s Praznična Moonleejad(ic)a, with Nikki Louder, Analena, and Hoax Program playing post-punk. Friday the stage belongs to Čarovnice se vračajo vol. 3, with live sets from pavleisdead and Prasila Koynsk. On Saturday things take a hardcore turn, with performances from Aktivna Propaganda, Growing Rats, and Iamdisease.
Ljubljana Castle – On Friday night jazz night – which often leans to pop and funk – has a show from Tadej Toš & the band: Prosto po Prešernu.
Orto Bar – The rock club has a quiet week until Friday, when Kadilnica of Death presenting live sets from Space Unicorn On Fire & Metal Dedek Mraz. Saturday there’s a line-up of grunge tribute acts, with Dropped-D (Alice in Chains), Kung Foo Fightres (Foo Fighters), Supergarden (Soundgarden), and Temple of the Wolf (Temple of the Dog).
If you want to learn more about Ljubljana Pride, then take a look at our interview with its president here. If you're looking for more general links on "gay Slovenia", including a history of the scene and various projects, then you can find that here, while our stories about the community can be found here.
Klub K4 – Saturday there’s an LGBT all-nighter, K4 Roza, with the music coming from Sonja Sajzor, Elovetric, Ady, Toledano, B L N, and M00sh.
Klub Monokel – This lesbian bar in Metelkova is open every Friday night.
Klub Tiffany – The gay bar next door to Monokel is also open every Friday, and every Monday until June 2019 there's tango at 18:00. This Friday there’s a December Punch Party, with DJ Zois.
Pritličje – This is the closest Ljubljana comes to a "gay bar" so it's a good thing this LGBT-friendly cafe / bar / events space is such a good one, open from morning to night, and with fliers and posters letting you know what's happening outside the narrow confines of, say, a general interest online what's on... guide.
Museums and galleries in Ljubljana
Most public galleries and museums are closed on Mondays, although not the National Museum.
Plečnik's desk. Photo: JL Flanner
Plečnik’s House is worth a visit if you want to learn more about the architect who gave Ljubljana much of its character. Read about our guided tour here. Something on for a limited time is Plečnik and the Sacred, showing here until January 20, 2019.
Cankerjev dom – Running until the end of February 2019 is an exhibition titled Ivan Cankar and Europe: Between Shakespeare and Kafka. This is “An examination of Cankar’s art through an analysis of influences and interpretations, and juxtaposition with contemporary European writers. The visually elaborate architectural and graphic layout, supported by audio-visual media, installation art and diverse visual highlights, offers a vivid account of Cankar’s excellence, his comprehensively exquisite aesthetic and artistic vision.”
City Art Gallery – Drago Tršar recently had a show at the main Moderna looking at his monumental works, and now this smaller gallery in the Old Town, not far from Town Hall, is showing some the sculpture’s erotic works, on until January 20, 2019. It’s being promoted with the following example.
City Museum – The Museum in French Revolution Square has an exhibition on the writer Ivan Cankar that’s on until the end of February 2019, with pictures, books and manuscripts, all presented in Slovene and English. It also has a very interesting permanent exhibition on the history of Ljubljana, from prehistoric times to the present day, with many artefacts, models and so on that bring the story alive.You can read about my visit here. Until March 2019 there's a show highlighting the work Elza Kastl Obereigner (1884-1973), a pioneer Slovenian sculptress, with an example of her work shown below.
Photo: M Paternoster
The Faces of Ljubljana in the City Museum. Photo: JL Flanner
Galerija Vžigalica – Saša Spačal has a show here until January 6, 2019 called Earthlink, “working at the intersection of intermedia art, exploration of living systems and audio frequencies, links Earth to the post-human present, that includes both a seed of the future as well as a shadow of the past.” A promotional image is what's shown below.
Simbiom – ekonomija simbioze, 2016 © Dejan HabichtArhiv Moderne galerije
Galerija Jakopič – On until March 3 is Over My Eyes (Na moje oči), an exhibition of photographs from Iraq taken by Iraqi photographers.
International Centre of Graphic Arts – Running from Friday until March 3 2019 there will be a show of posters from Milton Glaser, while until March 3 2019 you can enjoy paintings, drawings, prints and murals from Nathalie Du Pasquier in a show called Fair Game. The latter is being promoted with the following image.
Ljubljana Exhibition & Convention Centre – Just outside the centre of town, at Dunajska cesta 18, you can see a lot of plasticized bodies at the Body Worlds Vital show, running from October 20 until January 20 2019.
Photo: Body Works Vital
MAO – The Museum of Architecture and Design is showcasing Slovenian designers in a show called Made in Slovenia, lasting until the end of 2018: “The selling exhibition aims to present good practices of Slovenian designers and companies in the creative sector.”
Sam, 1966, fotografija na srebroželatinskem papirju. ©Stojan Kerbler
Moderna galerija – The main branch of this gallery, to be found near the entrance to Tivoli Park, has a good collection of modern art, as well a nice café in the basement, and it's latest exhibition focuses on the photographer Stojan Kerbler, which runs until January 13, 2019, and shows rural live in Slovenia for the recent past.
Museum of Contemporary History – The museum in Tivoli Park has two new shows. One is called Museum's (R)evolution 1948-2018, marking the place's 70th anniversary with an exhibition tracing its evolution through artefacts, photographs and personal stories and running until January 6 2019 (details here). There's also In Search of Freedom: 1968-2018, looking at the 1968 student protests.
National Gallery – The country’s main gallery has “the best” of what’s on offer from the Middle Ages to non-contemporary modern visual arts, and is in a great location for exploring other areas, just by Tivoli Park and opposite the main branch of the Moderna galerija. Running until February 10 2019 is a show called Ivana Kobilca (1861-1926): But Of Course, Painting Is Something Beautiful!, featuring works like the one below. You can read about our visit to the room containing scared art from the Middle Ages here, and see a picture from our trip after the two girls.
JL Flanner
National Museum of Slovenia – There’s plenty to see in the permanent collection here, from Roman times, Egypt and more, with the big draw this season being the exhibition of over 140 items of gold from Ming Dyntasy China, as reported here, and with an example below. This runs until February 15th.
Photo: Wang Wei Chang
Meanwhile, the museum's Metelkova branch, located between one branch of the Moderna galerija and the Ethnographic Museum has some rooms on Church art, furniture and weapons, with the latter including more guns than you'll see anywhere else in town, and quite a thrill if coming from a nation where such objects are not household items.
Natural History Museum – On until the end of June 2019 is Our Little Big Sea, which takes a look at the oceans.
Slovene Ethnographic Museum – The museum currently has a temporary show on Bees and Beekeeping, on until June 16 2019, as well two permanent exhibitions. One of these is called Between Nature and Culture, and has a great collection of objects from Slovenia and around the world, well worth the trip up to the third floor to see it (as recounted here). This place is located near the newer branch of the Moderna galerija and Metelkova.
Vodnikova Domačija Šiška – Until December 29 you can see works by a few dozen Slovenian illustrators at the December Illustration Fair, and also buy some for yourself or as a unique gift.
Union is "the Ljubljana beer", but now both it and Laško are owned by Heineken. There are many local brews on offer, though, if you want to explore IPAs, stouts, wheatbeers, sours and so on Photo: JL Flanner
Union Experience – The Ljubljana-based brewer has a museum showing the history of the company, with the ticket also including access to part of the factory and a few samples of the product. You can read about our visit here.
It's not a formal museum, but if you're interested in "Yugo-stalgia" then you'll enjoy a trip to Verba, a small, privately run space that's crammed with objects and pop culture items from the era, and is conveniently located at the start of one of the short walks to the castle. It's also a great place to take pictures, if you leave a donation, and you can read more about it here.
Verba. Photo: JL Flanner
Alternative Ljubljana isn't a museum or gallery, as such, but instead turns the city streets into a museum and gallery. Learn more about their tours of street art, history and LGBT Ljubljana here.
Photo: JL Flanner
Opera, theatre and dance in Ljubljana
Cankerjev dom – December 29 to 31, from Saturday on, there’s contemporary circus with Cirka from Australia pushing the limits of what the human body is capable of in a show called Humans.
Gledališče IGLU - IGLU Theatre – Saturday night this group is usually putting on an English improv show somewhere in town, but it’s generally promoted after this is written, so check the Facebook before putting on your shoes.
SNG Opera and Ballet – Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker is on stage from Wednesday and Thursday, and tickets tend to go fast at this time of year. You can try and buy some here. Note that the performance below is not from Ljubljana. Friday there’s Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann, while Saturday it’s Rossini’s Cinderella and on Sunday Verdi’s La Traviata.
Other things to do in Ljubljana...
If you'd like to spend an evening painting with others, then take a look at Design with Wine, which organises painting parties on Trubarjeva cesta,
If you want to see some antiques, then check out the wonderful Antika Carniola, as discussed here. The man behind it, Jaka Prijatelj, has a fine eye for life on this street, as you can see on his Facebook account.
Photo: JL Flanner
If you’re in town and want to go jogging or walking in nature, why not take another look at the Castle, with a brief guide to the trails here. If you want something bigger, head to Tivoli Park.
And if you're bored with the Old Town, why not take a walk, cycle or boat ride to nearby Špica and enjoy the riverside life. Learn more about that here. This week there's also the Ana Mraz street theatre festival here, every evening from December 26 to 30, 18:00 to 20:00.
visitljubjana.si
maxpixel.net, public domain
Want to stretch and breath? Then check out our list of drop-in yoga classes for tourists, visitors and the uncommitted. If you're heading to the coast, check out our interview with a yoga teacher who offers breakfast sessions there, while if you're staying in town (or nearby) and want to try some "family yoga" then you can learn more about that here and maybe get your kids to calm down a moment or two.
There are some golf courses near Ljubljana, but even ones further away are not far, as seen in our list of all the golf courses in Slovenia. Note that these close when the snow starts.
Photo: maxpixel.net, public domain
Daytrips from Ljubljana
Most of Slovenia is only a few hours from Ljubljana, and you can easily visit Lake Bled, Lipica Stud Farm, Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, the coast and other locations, while if you'd like to take a photo of from that bench in Bled, then you can learn how to get there here. If you’re looking for something more ambitious, then check out our recent guide to the 17 members of the Association of Historical Towns of Slovenia
Photo: Google Image Search
Finally...
You can see all our stories tagged Ljubljana here, while the following video tells the story of what seems to be a dying tradition along Trubarjeva cesta.
The days between Christmas and New Year are some of the most magical of the year. Most people are in good spirits, having relatively light work schedules, homes full of seasonal treats and the chance to catch up with friends and family while remembering the past and looking ahead to the future. There’s much to recommend these days, and if you’re in Ljubljana, Maribor or Radovljica then here’s something else to add to the job: free street theatre in the evening to bring wonder and laughter to the faces of old and young alike, a celebration of real world performances in real time, instead of the recorded and virtual. The occasion is Ana Mraz, the annual festival that’s out on this time of year by the Ana Monro group, the team behind the summer’s huge Ana Desetnica programme, and the autumn’s fiery Ana Plamenita.
Ana Monro itself started almost four decades ago, when a group of performers in what was then Yugoslavia got together to organize their street actions and bring them to a wider audience. The group was named after a legendary, and fictional, figure. The story goes that a woman called Ana Monro was working in the tobacco factory in Ljubljana (aka Tobačna) during the day, and dancing at Nebotičnik in the night. Then she left the city and went to a forest, and came back with a manifesto for the theatre troupe that still bears her name. That group travelled around the world with their shows until it eventually disbanded as a performance troupe in 2012, although one member remained and continued with the work, leading Ana Monro to its current form as an association with a growing and evolving set of interests.
The summer’s Ana Desetnica festival of international street theatre is the main project the group is known for, but much of Ana Monro’s work remains unseen by the general public as it works to consolidate its position as the leading name in Slovenian street theatre, and an increasingly well-known one abroad. There are four pillars to the group’s current activities: the festivals, education, creativity, and international.
With regard to education, Šugla is a school for street theatre, while the group also visits regular schools and offers mentoring to emerging performers. The creative aspect of Ana Monro is being promoted with a corporate programme offering entertainment and team-building to companies, once again taking theatre out of it's usual context and brining it to new audiences. Finally, the international pillar is one that sees Ana Monro building bridges with other street theatre communities around Europe and beyond, taking Slovenian culture abroad, and bringing the world to Slovenia.
Your next chance to see the group in action is next week, from December 26 to 30. The shows in Ljubljana, the main venue, all take place in Špica, not far from the centre of town, and run from 18:00 to 20:00.
Each evening will see at least three different acts, suitable for all the family and mostly without the use of spoken language (with the performers coming from Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Belgium, Italy, the USA, Ukraine, Colombia and Ghana). Variety is assured, and while choosing one act to highlight is rather unfair we’ll turn the spotlight on Nanirossi & McFois, from Italy, festival favourites who are returning to town with an award-winning show that features a car. You can catch this in Ljubljana on the 27th and 29th, starting at 19:20. They’re also performing in Maribor, December 28 at 19:00 at Židovski trg. In fact, Maribor actually has a mini-festival of it’s own, lasting from December 27 to 30, starting at 18:00, while Radovljica’s Linhartov trg is playing host to two acts, both starting at 17:00 on the December 25 and 30. The full schedule for all three placs can be found here, while photos from last year’s event can be seen here.
In short, if you’re in one of these towns to see the lights in the days head then a trip to see Ana Mraz would be an excellent, and free, addition to the evening, and another element that helps make Slovenia so attractive at this time of year
STA, 21 December 2018 - Prices of residential properties in Slovenia kept rising in the third quarter of the year but transactions were few and prices of newly built homes fell, data from the Statistics Office show.
Prices of all residential properties in the third quarter increased by 1.9% on the quarter before and by 15.1% year-on-year.
Prices of newly built homes fell by 15.8% over the previous quarter and only 63 newly built residential properties were sold in the third quarter.
Prices of new flats dropped by as much as 19% quarter-on-quarter and prices of new family houses decreased by 1.5%.
However, year-on-year, prices of newly built flats were up 10.1% and prices of newly built family houses were 9.4% higher.
With 1,951 existing residential properties sold in the third quarter, prices of existing homes increased by 4.1% over the previous quarter.
Prices of existing flats in Ljubljana decreased by 1.8% in the third quarter, but were still 8.9% higher year-on-year.
Prices of existing flats in the rest of the country went up by 1.9% quarter-on-quarter, rising by 10.6% year-on-year.
Prices of existing family houses rose by 11.4% from the quarter before and by as much as 26.3% year-on-year.
All out stories on the real estate market in Slovenia are here, while our “properties of the week” are here
A report by the Surveying and Mapping Authority, also issued today, showed that the number and value of real estate transactions in the first half of the year fell from record figures in 2017 but were still high.
The prices were still below the record levels of 2008, but inched very close after strong growth in the past year.
Around 17,500 real estate transactions were recorded between January and June, up from 17,400 in the second half of 2017 but down from 19,300 in the first half of 2017.
The combined value of real estate transactions in the first half of the year was EUR 1.16bn, up from EUR 1.19bn in the second half of 2017 but down from the record EUR 1.21bn in H1 2017.
Two-thirds of the transactions involved residential properties, flats (38%) and houses (26.5%). Commercial and industrial real estate represented 15% and building plots 10%.
Transactions in farmland and forests accounted for 3% of all transactions, while other types of real estate represented 7%.
Average price of a second-hand flats in the first half of this year was 6% up from the previous six months and 11% higher from the first half of 2017.
Compared to 2015 when prices bottomed out, apartment prices were up by 22%, while average prices were still 4% bellow all time highs of 2008. Prices of houses were 10% below the peak.
High demand has been driving up prices of residential properties in Ljubljana and on the coast with the average price of existing flats in Ljubljana rising above 2008 levels to EUR 2,770 per square metre.
High prices in the capital city, which accounts for one out of four apartments sold in the country, also drove up average prices of second-hand apartments in Slovenia, which rose to EUR 1,750 per square metre.
Trading in commercial properties has begun to stagnate and prices have been stagnating for the past three years.
Most transactions involved office space, with existing office space transactions accounting for two-thirds of all transactions in commercial properties.
Trading in building land has stabilised but prices are up. Most of the plots were bought for family houses. More than 20% of the plots were sold in Ljubljana and its surroundings.
More data on this topic can be seen at SURS
STA, 20 December - The construction of a northern expressway connecting the northern Koroška region to Slovenia's main motorway network and Austria's Carinthia is facing new delays, according to the latest timeline presented by the motorway company DARS on Wednesday.
Under the latest plans, an expressway between Velenje and Slovenj Gradec is to be built by 2026, which is a three-year delay compared to a protocol on the construction of the northern part of the Third Development Axis, signed by former Infrastructure Minister Peter Gašperšič last year.
In line with the protocol, work on the Velenje-Slovenj Gradec segment of the northern part of the major infrastructure project, whose goal is to connect to the national motorway network parts of the country without good links to motorways, was to start by the end of next year, but DARS's latest plans delay that by a year.
The segment connecting Slovenj Gradec to the Austrian border at Holmec was to be zoned by June 2020 but has now been delayed by another two years and a half, while the future of the segment connecting Velenje to the motorway remains unclear due to a constitutional review of the project.
"Such delays are unacceptable to us," said Aljaž Verhovnik, a member of a board overseeing the Third Development Axis project. He said that the board had rejected the new timeline.
"Apparently somebody has been misleading the public and the 100,000 people who depend on the project," he said and added that DARS was tasked with coming up with an acceptable timeline by 10 January. Otherwise, he and his initiative could call for civil disobedience.
Infrastructure Ministry State Secretary Nina Mauhler said that the ministry had tasked DARS with drafting "a new, more realistic" timeline by mid-January, because "we can hardly accept arguments for a three-year delay".
The delay has also been criticised by Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek, who said that Gašperšič had signed the protocol, which "sadly appears not to have been harmonised with the investor, DARS".
On the other hand, Gašperšič told the STA that the protocol had been harmonised with DARS, which however did not want to sign it, and that he was shocked to hear of the delays. "I believe the deadlines agreed in the protocol were realistic although approximate."
"But I certainly cannot imagine that a three-year delay could occur. It is the task of the ministry to carefully examine what has changed to allow such changes in deadlines," he added.
Similarly, the chair of the Third Development Axis board, Prevalje Mayor Matic Tasič, said that while DARS did not sign the protocol, it was the entity that "prepares proposals for the ministry".
However, DARS pointed out for the STA that it had not signed the protocol and that the deadlines set down in the document were unrealistic.
"Preparations for the construction and the construction itself is far more demanding than it had been imagined by non-experts at first. We have informed the ministry about it, which is why we did not want to sign the protocol," the company said.
It also said that the EUR 800m Šentrupert-Slovenj Gradec segment was treated as a whole. If the Constitutional Court decides on the Šentrupert-Velenje part in the first quarter of next year, the entire segment could be finished in 2026, it added.
In the meantime, activities for the construction of the Velenje-Slovenj Gradec part are under way and DARS said it was trying to follow the timeline from the protocol as much as possible. According to DARS, the 17.5km segment between Velenje and Slovenj Gradec is highly complex and includes the construction of several tunnels and 16 viaducts.
December 20, 2018
In 1861 the painter Ivana Kobilica, one of the most famous Slovenian artists of all time, was born in Ljubljana.
Ivana Kobilica managed to achieve what her male colleagues only dreamt of: she had several exhibitions at the prestigious Paris Salon and became an associate member of the French National Association of Fine Arts. She lived and worked in many of the European capitals, including Vienna, Munich, Paris, Sarajevo, and Berlin, but returned to Ljubljana at the beginning of the WWI.
After the so-called Munich period during which brownish colours prevailed in her paintings, purple, blue and green took over during her Paris period, which were joined by white during her Berlin phase. Her opus is characterised by depictions of family members and children, portraits of bourgeoisie of Ljubljana and, above all, flowers.
Many of her most iconic paintings are part of the permanent exhibition of Slovenian National Gallery.
Ivana Kobilica was also the only woman depicted on a 5,000 Slovenian Tolar bill before Slovenia switched to the euro.
December 19, 2018
Up until December 28 those who still believe in Dedek Mraz and fairy tales can see their faith rewarded in an enchanted forest near Škofja Loka, where various characters perform stories from classic tales on a stroll with various stops among the trees, with the last one being with Dedek Mraz.
To make it all the more believable you can print out an invitation letter for your kid, sent straight from Dedek Mraz himself. To make the visit even more unforgettable you can also bring along a gift that will make his or her eyes light up in wonder when Dedek Mraz seems to have found the perfect item to hand over (although note that gifts should be in an A4 sized giftbag with the child’s full name written on it, and that the gift should be given to one of the authorities – perhaps an elf? – 15 minutes before the show).
The schedule for the shows is every day at 15:00 and again at 17:00, apart from December 25, when the elves take the day off. The show takes about 30 minutes, is free of charge and no reservations are needed either. Parents can go along the trail with their kids or keep warm at the mama and papa elf’s cottage at the entrance, where hot drinks are available, if the children are big enough to manage the adventure on their own.
It’s time for another set of Slovenian memes (or jazjaz, as some say) to provide short, amusing texts as an aid to language learning, with these images drawn from the Internet, made by anonymous creators, and perhaps of dubious legality due to the EU’s notorious "meme-killing" Article 13. Under each there’s a translation, and you can find other articles in this series here, while a good Instagram to follow is Slovenian Memes.
Friend: Can I copy your homework?
Me: Yes, just change it a little so it doesn’t look the same.
Friend: OK
The boy in the picture found a bag with $15,000 inside. He took the bag to the police. I hope that my child is not this stupid
Girlfriend: Here's 20 euros to buy my dog a jacket, and if there's any money left over you can get some beer
When you're all ready to go out but you only have 10% battery
When I'm hungry and walk to the fridge
When your friend starts telling the same story for the 100th time
Him: I've never seen such a beautiful girl, you're wonderful!
Her: I know you're only after sex.
Him: Wow, you're smart, too.
When someone calls and I wait until it stops ringing so I can continue browsing on my phone
When you find a good meme and send it to a couple of friends
December 18, 2018
In 1970 actor the Stane Sever died in Ribnica on Pohorje.
Sever was a legend of the Slovenian theatre, television and cinema. He performed in many classics, including the first Slovenian talkie On Our Own Land (Na svoji zemlji), Good luck, Kekec! (Srečno, kekec!) and Vesna. In these movies Stane Sever played Drejc, a beggar and math teacher (Vesna's dad), respectively.
STA, 17 December 2018 - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec said during questions time in parliament on Monday that record keeping on foreigners in the country should be more detailed, so that foreigners will not be just numbers and that any abuse of the welfare system would be prevented.
Šarec was responding to a question by MP Zmago Jelinčič of the opposition National Party (SNS), who wanted to know how many foreigners are currently in the country, how many of them have working permits, where do they work and how many relatives each foreigner with a working permit has brought to the country.
Jelinčič said that by agreeing with the UN Global Compact for Migration Slovenia had opened the door wide to even more illegal migrants.
He said that one channel of illegal migration was Albanians coming to the country and the other were illegal migrants arriving through student or working visas, and shell companies.
Related: 1 in 8 residents of Slovenia is an immigrant
Data show that foreigners from Turkey, Pakistan and India are founding or buying companies with no employees in Slovenia, Jelinčič said.
The illegal migrants who come to the country either go further west or get a job, an address and request for social transfers, which they receive.
Jelinčič asked Šarec if he was aware of such abuses of the system and how the government plans to act against "this type of crime and illegal migration."
The prime minister presented official statistics, saying that 172,073 foreigners had a residence permit in Slovenia on 30 November, of whom 27,666 people were from the European Economic Area and Switzerland, and 14,407 from third countries.
According to the latest figures by the Employment Service, a total of 39,260 working permits have been issued this year.
The prime minister explained that not all citizens of third countries who live in Slovenia need an additional permit to get a job, start a business or work in Slovenia in addition to the work and residence permit.
He said that it was difficult to check whether a person actually lives at their address and that changes were absolutely needed here.
Related: The places where foreigners live in Slovenia and where they come from
"More will need to be done to keep good and accurate records, so that people will not be just numbers, which allows for abuses of the system, especially with welfare benefits," Šarec said.
On 30 November, the number of valid temporary residence permits due to family reunification stood at 11,692, Šarec said, adding that no records were kept on the family relations of the foreigners who receive temporary residence permits due to family reunification.
Šarec said that 18,600 foreigners received child benefits this year, which is 6.1% of all rightful claimants.
Jelinčič said that the UN spoke of 244,800 migrants in the country and the OECD of 340,000 people who were not born in Slovenia, so he proposed a parliamentary discussion on the issue. The National Assembly will decide on this on Wednesday.
STA, 14 December 2018 - The Council of Europe and UNESCO are urging against violence towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender individuals at schools in their latest report, which shows that in Slovenia 43% of young people were subject to this type of violence in 2014.
This can be psychological, physical or sexual violence that happens on school grounds and also on-line. Its most frequent forms are verbal violence and harassment, the CoE says in the report.
Such violence targeting members of the LGBTI community was detected in all CoE countries, most notably in Turkey (67%) and Belgium (47%).
In the section on the situation in Slovenia, the report refers to a 2013 research carried out by the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency.
The survey showed that 59% of the 636 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons "always" or "frequently" heard negative remarks about their classmates' sexual orientation or sexual identity and 30% of them are "always" or "frequently" the targets of such remarks themselves.
All our stories tagged LGBT can be found here
The report also refers to the 2014 survey in which 42.8% of respondents aged between 15 and 30 years reported of at least one experience of a homophobic attack during their education.
Slovenia is among the 32 CoE members that have explicitly banned discrimination based on sexual orientation at schools and is one of the 24 CoE countries that have explicitly banned discrimination based on sexual identity in education.
In 2016, the Slovenian anti-discrimination legislation expanded the list of the types of discrimination banned to discrimination based on sexual identity, while discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned by the Constitution.
The report released on Thursday is based on responses of public sector employees from 35 CoE member states.
The full report, in PDF form, can be read here
December 17, 2018
In 1931 the fourth tram line started operating between the train station and Vič in Ljubljana. Part of the route went through Šelenburgova street (today’s Slovenska), which had as a result moved Ljubljana’s main promenade to Aleksandrova street (today’s Cankarjeva), between the post office and Tivoli Park.
At the beginning of the 20th century Ljubljana’s promenade began on today's Čopova street then went past the post office on Slovenska, through Congress square (Kongresni trg) and back to the Town Square (Mestni trg). With the change of venue to Cankarjeva after the new tram line, it got an extension to Tivoli Park and even further for meetings and assignations that would prefer some privacy.
The promenade was a place to meet and debate, but also a place to show off. Hats, gloves and walking sticks were a mandatory part of a gentlemen’s outfit. It started after 4pm during the week and after 11am on Sundays, when it was especially ceremonial and classy, with a brass band playing and the best fashions of Ljubljana on display.
The promenade disappeared completely at the beginning of the 1960s, when the streets became jammed with traffic rather than walkers, and the citizens of Ljubljana begun spending their days off outside the city in the coastal towns of Piran and Portorož.
