Jože Plečnik () (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a

Slovene architect Following is a list of notable architects from the country of Slovenia. A–M *Ilija Arnautović *Max Fabiani *Boris Kobe * Ciril Metod Koch *Franko Luin *Marko Mušič N–Z *Jože Plečnik *Boris Podrecca * Marjetica Potrč *Ed ...

who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of

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 ar ...

, 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 ...

, most notably by designing the iconic

Triple Bridge The Triple Bridge ( sl, Tromostovje, in older sources also ''Tromostje'') is a group of three bridges across the Ljubljanica River. It connects Ljubljana's historical medieval town on one bank and the modern city of Ljubljana, the capital of Slov ...

and the Slovene National and University Library building, as well as the embankments along the

Ljubljanica River The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Sava'', is a river in the southern part of the Ljubljana Basin in Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, lies on the river. The Ljubljanica rises south of the town of Vrhnika and flow ...

, the

Ljubljana Central Market The Ljubljana Central Market ( sl, Osrednja ljubljanska tržnica) is a market in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The riverside market building, sometimes referred to as Plečnik's Market ( sl, Plečnikova tržnica), was designed by Jože Plečnik between 193 ...

buildings, the Ljubljana cemetery, parks, plazas etc. His architectural imprint on Ljubljana has been compared to the impact Antoni Gaudí had on

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

.Jože Plečnik was for Ljubljana what Antonio Gaudi was for Barcelona
(In Slovene: "Jože Plečnik za tisto, kar je bil za Barcelono Antonio Gaudi"), MMC RTV Slovenia, 23 January 2012 His style is associated with the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austr ...

style of architecture (a type of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

). Besides in

, he worked in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

and on

Prague Castle Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for king ...

. He influenced the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

Czech Cubism. He is also a founding member of the Ljubljana School of Architecture, joining it upon an invitation by

Ivan Vurnik Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

, another notable Ljubljana architect.

Life

Plečnik was born in Maribor,-Duplek present-day

, the son of Helena (Molka) and Andrej Plečnik. He studied under noted Viennese architect and educator

Otto Wagner Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau move ...

and worked in Wagner's architecture office until 1900. A woman-friend asked Plečnik to marry her written in a letter. He replied, “I am already married to my architecture.”

Work

From 1900 through 1910, while practicing in the Wagner's office in Vienna, he designed the Langer House (1900) and the

Zacherlhaus The Zacherlhaus is a residential and business building designed by Jože Plečnik and built between 1903 and 1905 in the 1st district of Vienna, the central district of Innere Stadt (at Brandstätte 6 / Wildpretmarkt 2–4 / Bauernmarkt 2). The ...

(1903–1905). His 1910–1913 ''Church of the Holy Spirit'' ( Heilig-Geist-Kirche) is remarkable for its innovative use of poured-in-place concrete as both structure and exterior surface, and also for its abstracted classical form language. Most radical is the church's crypt, with its slender concrete columns and angular, cubist capitals and bases. In 1911, Plečnik moved to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, where he taught at the college of arts and crafts. The first president of the new Czechoslovak Republic from 1918 onwards,

Tomáš Masaryk Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 185014 September 1937) was a Czechoslovak politician, statesman, sociologist, and philosopher. Until 1914, he advocated restructuring the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a federal state. With the help of ...

, appointed Plečnik chief architect for the 1920 renovation of

. From 1920 until 1934 Plečnik completed a wide range of projects at the castle, including renovation of gardens and courtyards, the design and installation of monuments and sculptures, and the design of numerous new interior spaces, including the Plečnik Hall completed in 1930, which features three levels of abstracted

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

colonnades. His final work in Prague was the

Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord The Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord ( cs, Kostel Nejsvětějšího Srdce Páně) is a Roman Catholic church at Jiřího z Poděbrad Square in Prague's Vinohrady district. It was built between 1929 and 1932 and designed by the Slovene ...

(Roman Catholic, 1929–32). Upon the 1921 establishment of the Ljubljana School of Architecture in his hometown of Ljubljana, he was invited by the fellow Slovene architect

to become a founding faculty member and moved to teach architecture at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

. Plečnik would remain in Ljubljana until his death, and it is there that his influence as an architect is most noticeable.

Giving the city of Ljubljana its modern identity

Plečnik gave the capital of

, the city of Ljubljana, its modern identity by designing iconic buildings such as the Slovene National and University Library building. He also designed other notable buildings, including the Vzajemna Insurance Company Offices, and contributed to many civic improvements. He renovated the city's bridges and the

banks, and designed the

buildings, the Ljubljana cemetery, parks, plazas etc. Buildings designed by Plečnik were built by the constructor

Matko Curk Matko is a Croatian given name and surname that may refer to: ;Given name *Matko Babić (born 1998), Croatian football player *Matko Djarmati (born 1982), Croatian football player *Matko Jelavić (born 1958), Croatian singer, songwriter, composer ...

. During the Communist period of Slovene history Plečnik fell out of favor as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and his teaching role at the university was gradually reduced because he was over 70 years old. In 1947, at the invitation of the president of the Slovene People’s Assembly to design a new Parliament building, Plečnik proposed the Cathedral of Freedom (also known as the Plečnik Parliament) where he wanted to raze the

Ljubljana Castle Ljubljana Castle ( sl, Ljubljanski grad, german: Laibacher Schloss) is a castle complex standing on Castle Hill above downtown Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a key landmark of the town. Originally a medieval fortress, it was probably ...

and to build a monumental octagonal building instead. In 1952, Ljubljana city leaders asked Plečnik to remodel the

Križanke The Križanke Outdoor Theatre (''Poletno gledališče Križanke'') is a theatre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, used for summer festivals set up inside the courtyard of the former Monastery of the Holy Cross. It is located at French Revolution Square ('' ...

monastery into a venue for the Ljubljana Festival, his last big Ljubljana project. Other projects he completed at that time included the renovation of the Prešeren Theater, plus the Plečnik Arcades, stairway and fountain, all in Kranj, the reconstruction of churches, the design of the Pavilion on Brijuni Islands (Tito's summer state residence), and numerous National Liberation War monuments (in Ljubljana-Trnovo, Vipava, Radeče, Črna na Koroškem, Dolenja vas, Sevnica, Laško, Split, Kraljevo, etc.). For his work, he twice received the

Prešeren Award The Prešeren Award ( sl, Prešernova nagrada), also called the Grand Prešeren Award ( sl, Velika Prešernova nagrada), is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia. It is awarded each yea ...

, in 1949 and 1952 for his life's work. Plečnik died in 1957 and received an official state funeral in

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 ...

, attended by many political, cultural and church leaders.

Legacy

In the 1980s, with

postmodernist Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...

interest in Plečnik's work, the general interest in him has been revived, as well, after being forgotten during the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, Plečnik's legacy has been commemorated in various ways, most notably in the 1990s on the Slovene 500

tolar Tolar (german: Thaler, links=no) or Jáchymovský tolar is the Czech name for the silver coin minted in Kingdom of Bohemia from 1520 until 1672 in Jáchymov (German: ''Joachimsthal''). On obverse of the coin is depicted Saint Joachim with coat ...

banknote, with the National and University Library of Slovenia depicted on the reverse. The unrealized Cathedral of Freedom designed by Plečnik is featured on the Slovene 10 cent euro coin. '' Slovenska akropola'' is the title of a 1987 album by the Slovene

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

group

Laibach Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue ...

. During August 2008, a

maquette A ''maquette'' (French word for scale model, sometimes referred to by the Italian names ''plastico'' or ''modello'') is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', from the Italian word for "sketc ...

of the Parliament was featured at the ''Project Plečnik'' exhibition on the architect's life, held at the Council of the European Union building in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

on the occasion of the Slovene EU Presidency. The exhibition's curator

Boris Podrecca Boris Podrecca (born 30 January 1940 in Belgrade) is a Slovene-Italian architect and urban designer living in Vienna, Austria. Podrecca is considered by some critics a pioneer of postmodernism. With some of his early works, such as the neuro-ph ...

described the Parliament as "the most charismatic object" of Plečnik's opus. In addition, on 23 January 2012, to celebrate the 140th anniversary of Plečnik's birth, a picture of the Triple Bridge was featured as the official Google logo (Doodle) adaptation in Slovenia. Plečnik's home in Ljubljana houses a museum of his life and work. There are several busts and sculptures of him situated around

as reminders of his works and legacy. In 2021, selected works of Plečnik in Ljubljana and

Črna vas Črna Vas (; sl, Črna vas) is a settlement on the right bank of the Ljubljanica, Ljubljanica River, south of the capital Ljubljana in central Slovenia. It belongs to the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is part of the traditional region of Low ...

were inscribed on the list of

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s under the name "

The works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana – Human Centred Urban Design The works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana – Human Centred Urban Design is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ljubljana, Slovenia, listed in 2021. The site encompasses some of the most prominent works of Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik in Ljublj ...

Gallery

Villa_Langer.JPG, Villa Langer (1901) Villa_Loos,_Melk_2.jpg, Villa Loos (1901) Haus_Weidmann.JPG, Villa Weidmann (1902) Joze_Plecnik_Steggasse_Zinshaus.jpg, House Langer (1902) Wildpretmarkt_2-4_Ansicht_2.jpg,

(1905) Heinrich_Peham_von_Bojernberg_family_grave,_Vienna,_2018.jpg, Tomb for Heinrich Peham von Bojernberg (1906) Caritas_Haus_Lacknergasse_98_Panorama.jpg, Lacknergasse 98 (1907) Graßberger_Villa_(Hernals)_II.jpg, Villa Graßberger (1908) Karl-Borromäus-Brunnen_Gesamtansicht.JPG, Borromaeus fountain (1909) Schmelzer_Pfarrkirche_-_Außenfassade_I.jpg, Herbststraße 82 (1913) Döbling_Karmeliterkloster_Kirche_Seitenaltar_2.JPG, Silbergasse 35 (1915) Congress_Square_-_view_from_the_castle_(8554806919).jpg,

Congress Square Congress Square ( sl, Kongresni trg) is one of the central squares in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. History The square was built in 1821 at the site of the ruins of a medieval Capuchin monastery, which had been abolished during the reign ...

, Ljubljana (1928) Antická_fontána_Lány.jpg, Fountain at Lány Castle (1930) Triple_Bridge,_Ljubljana.jpg,

extension (1931) Trnovo_Bridge.jpg, Trnovo Bridge (1931) CrkvaSvetogAntuna.jpg, Church of St. Anthony of Padua, Belgrade (1932) Prag_Joze_Plecnik_Kirche.jpg,

, Prague (1932) Hostivařský_hřbitov,_hrob_Antonína_Švehly_(01).jpg, Tomb for Antonín Švehla (1933) Jože_Plečnik_*_Gospa_Lurdska_(Our_Lady_of_Lourdes)_Zagreb.jpg, Church of Mary of Lourdes, Zagreb (1934) Navje-Ljubljana.JPG, Cemetery Navje (1938) Mariensäule,_Ljubljana.jpg, Marian column, Ljubljana (1938) Jožamurka_pavillon,_Begunje_1.jpg, Jožamurka (1939) National_Library_Ljubljana_2010.jpg,

National and University Library of Slovenia The National and University Library ( sl, Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, ), established in 1774, is one of the most important national educational and cultural institutions of Slovenia. It is located in the centre of Ljubljana, between Aue ...

(1941) Plečnik_Zapornica_na_Lj-2b.jpg,

Ljubljanica Sluice Gate The Ljubljanica Sluice Gate ( sl, Zapornica na Ljubljanici), or the Partition (), is a Sluice, sluice gate and a triumphal arch on the Ljubljanica River in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is located between Cukrarna (a former sugar factory) ...

(1944)

Work on Prague Castle

Praha,_mísa_v_Rajské_zahradě_Hradu_(8).jpg, The Garden of Paradise (1925) Château_Prague_11.jpg, Flagpoles in front of the Matthiastor (1926) Praha,_Malý_Belveder.jpg, Observation platform (1927) Prague_Castle,_Obelisk.JPG, Third courtyard and obelisk (1928) Prague_Castle_yard_2.jpg, Wall garden (1928) Prague_Castle,_Orlí_kašna.JPG, Fountain (1928) Prager_Burg_Stiegenabgang_Joze_Plecnik.JPG, Stairway (1931) Prague_Castle_Plecnik_Bastion_Garden.jpg, Stairway (1932)

References

External links

Virtual museum of Jože Plečnik

Jože Plečnik on Architectuul
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plecnik, Joze University of Ljubljana faculty Slovenian Roman Catholics Architects from Ljubljana Art Nouveau architects Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Prešeren Award laureates Slovene Austro-Hungarians 1872 births 1957 deaths Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Burials at Žale Architects of Roman Catholic churches