Navje Memorial Park ( sl, Spominski park Navje), the redesigned part of the former St. Christopher's Cemetery (), is a memorial park in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

, the capital of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It is located in the Bežigrad district, just behind the

Ljubljana railway station The Ljubljana railway station ( sl, Železniška postaja Ljubljana) is the principal railway station in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It was completed on 18 April 1848, a year before the South railway, connecting Vienna and Trieste, reached ...

History

St. Christopher's Cemetery

St. Christopher's Cemetery was

blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

in May 1779 by

Johann Karl von Herberstein Johann Karl von Herberstein (Slovenized: ''Karel Janez Herberstein'', July 7, 1719 – October 7, 1787) was a bishop of Ljubljana. Life Johann Karl von Herberstein's parents were the Styrian governor Johann Ernst von Herberstein (1671–1746) ...

, the

Bishop of Ljubljana The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ljubljana ( sl, Nadškofija Ljubljana, la, Archidioecesis Labacensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia.Exhibition and Convention Centre. Between the late 18th century and the early 20th century, it was the central town cemetery. In 1906, a new cemetery was established next to Holy Cross Church and most new burials gradually took place there. After 1926, burials no longer took place at St. Christopher's Cemetery, and it was destroyed in 1955 together with the two churches associated with it in order to create a

fairground Fairground most typically refers to a permanent space that hosts fairs. Fairground, Fairgrounds, Fair Ground or Fair Grounds may also refer to: Places Canada * Fairground, Ontario, a community United States * Fairground, St. Louis, a neighbo ...

for the 7th Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.Hočevar, Ksenja. 2014. "Nekoč slavno pokopališče, danes konjenica prestolnice." ''Družina'' (6 July).
The various remains that were gathered from the site were transferred to a nearby common grave at what was intended to be the Baraga Seminary, and only

Jernej Kopitar Jernej Kopitar, also known as Bartholomeus Kopitar (21 August 1780 – 11 August 1844), was a Slovene linguist and philologist working in Vienna. He also worked as the Imperial censor for Slovene literature in Vienna. He is perhaps best known ...

and Ivan Tušek were actually reburied in Navje.

Design

In the 1930s, a small portion of the old cemetery, including the arcade porch that was built around 1865, was transformed in a "

pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

" of famous

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their na ...

. The memorial park was designed by the architects

Jože Plečnik Jože Plečnik () (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a Slovene architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge an ...

and

Ivo Spinčič Ivo is a masculine given name, in use in various European languages. The name used in western European languages originates as a Normannic name recorded since the High Middle Ages, and the French name Yves is a variant of it. The unrelated So ...

in collaboration with the gardener Anton Lah. Already in 1932, Plečnik had proposed building a monumental church on the same site, which would include a crypt with tombs of prominent Slovenes. The project, planned together with his student

Edvard Ravnikar Edvard Ravnikar (4 December 1907 – 23 August 1993) was a Slovenian architect. Ravnikar was born in Novo Mesto and was a student of architect Jože Plečnik. Later, he led the new generation of Slovene architects, notable for developing t ...

, was however rejected, and so Plečnik proposed the creation of Navje Memorial Park.

Later history

Between 1936 and 1940 several gravestones and tombstones of notable personalities were moved into the park, but because of the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941 the project was never completed. Many of the gravestones planned to be moved into Navje Memorial Park, such as those of Prešeren, Trubar, Maister, and Rusjan, were not brought in, and many graves of unimportant individuals, planned to be moved to

Žale Žale Central Cemetery ( sl, Centralno pokopališče Žale), often simply Žale, is the largest and the central cemetery in Ljubljana and Slovenia. It is located in the Bežigrad District and operated by the Žale Public Company. History The ce ...

, have remained in the park. Plečnik's plans to enlarge the park were never carried out. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the park was largely neglected and renovation took place only in the 1990s.

Prominent gravestones

Notable people's gravestones displayed at Navje Memorial Park include: * Anton Aškerc (1856–1912), poet *

Josef Blasnik Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

(1800–1872), editor *

Janez Bleiweis Janez Bleiweis (19 November 1808 – 29 November 1881) was a Slovene conservative politician, journalist, physician, veterinarian, and public figure. He was the leader of the so-called Old Slovene political movement. Already during his lifetime, ...

(1808–1881), politician, known as "The Father of the Nation" *

Matija Čop Matija Čop (; 26 January 1797 – 6 July 1835), also known in German as Matthias Tschop, was a Slovene linguist, polyglot, literary historian and critic. Biography Čop was born in the small northern Carniolan town of Žirovnica, in what ...

(1797–1835), philologist and the closest friend and collaborator of the poet

France Prešeren France Prešeren () (2 or 3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages.

Karel Dežman Karel Dežman, also known as Dragotin Dežman and Karl Deschmann (3 January 1821 – 11 March 1889), was a Carniolan liberal politician and natural scientist. He was one of the most prominent personalities of the political, cultural, and sc ...

(1821–1889), historian and politician * Mihael Dežman (1783–1833), merchant * Jurij Flajšman (1818–1874), composer *

Ivan Grohar Ivan Grohar (15 June 1867 – 19 April 1911) was a Slovene Impressionist painter. Together with Rihard Jakopič, Matej Sternen, and Matija Jama, he is considered one of the leading figures of Slovene impressionism in the fin de siecle ...

(1867–1911), painter * Johann Nepomuk Hradeczky (1775–1846), Mayor of Ljubljana (1820–1846) * Luka Jeran (1818–1898),

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest and missionary, founder of the

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in the Slovenia *

Josip Jurčič Josip Jurčič (4 March 1844 – 3 May 1881) was a Slovene writer and journalist. He was born in Muljava, Austrian Empire (now part of the municipality of Ivančna Gorica, Slovenia)Levec, Fran. 1881. Josip Jurčič. ''Ljubljanski zvon'' 1(6) ( ...

(1844–1881), novelist and editor *

(1780–1844), philologist *

Anton Korošec Anton Korošec (, ; 12 May 1872 – 14 December 1940) was a Yugoslav politician, a prominent member of the conservative People's Party, a Roman Catholic priest and a noted orator. Early life Korošec was born in Biserjane (then Duchy of Styr ...

(1872–1940), politician *

Emil Korytko Emil Antoni Korytko (7 September 1813 – 31 January 1839) was a Polish political activist in the period of the Great Emigration, who was exiled to Ljubljana, Carniola (now Slovenia) and became an important ethnographer, philologist and translat ...

(1813–1839),

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

ethnologist and political activist *

Fran Levstik Fran Levstik (28 September 1831 – 16 November 1887) was a Slovene writer, political activist, playwright and critic. He was one of the most prominent exponents of the Young Slovene political movement. Life and work Levstik was born in 18 ...

(1831–1887), writer and political activist *

Anton Tomaž Linhart Anton Tomaž Linhart (December 11, 1756 – July 14, 1795) was a Carniolan playwright and historian, best known as the author of the first comedy and theatrical play in general in Slovene, ''Županova Micka'' (Micka, the Mayor's Daughter). He ...

(1756–1795), playwright and historian *

Kašpar Mašek Kašpar is a Czech surname. It may refer to: * Adolf Kašpar (1877-1934), Czech painter and illustrator * Jan Kašpar (1883-1927), Czech aviator, designer and engineer * Jonáš Kašpar, Czech slalom canoeist who has competed since the late 2000s ...

(1794–1873), Slovene-

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

composer * Fran Maselj (pen name: ''Podlimbarski'', 1851–1917), author and officer of the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

* Anton Nedvěd (1829–1896), Slovene-Czech composer *

Josef Ressel Joseph Ludwig Franz Ressel ( cs, Josef Ludvík František Ressel; June 29, 1793 – October 9, 1857) was a forester and inventor of Czech-Austrian descent, who designed one of the first working ship's propellers. Ressel was born in Chrudim, B ...

(1793–1857), Bohemian engineer and inventor of the naval propeller *

Simon Rutar Simon Rutar (12 October 1851 – 3 May 1903) was a Slovene historian and geographer. He wrote primarily on the history and geography of the areas that are now part of the Slovenian Littoral, the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the C ...

(1851–1903), historian * Edo Šlajmer (1864–1935), physician, founder of modern surgery in Slovenia *

Josip Stritar Josip Stritar (6 March 1836 – 25 November 1923) was a Slovene writer, poet, essayist, the first aesthetic critic, playwright, publisher and translator. Life Stritar spent his early childhood in his home village of Podsmreka in rural Lower ...

(1836–1923), poet and literary critic * Ivan Tušek (1835–1877), natural scientist and writer *

Valentin Vodnik Valentin Vodnik (3 February 1758 – 8 January 1819) was a Carniolan priest, journalist and poet of Slovene descent. He was active in the late Enlightenment period. He is well known for his contributions in writing materials that lifted the p ...

(1758–1819), poet and editor

References

{{Coord, 46, 3, 37.98, N, 14, 30, 42.67, E, type:landmark_region:SI, display=title Parks in Ljubljana Cemeteries in Slovenia Bežigrad District 18th-century establishments in Carniola 1770s establishments in the Habsburg Monarchy 1779 establishments in Europe Jože Plečnik buildings Buildings and structures completed in 1936