The Prešeren Monument in Ljubljana (), also Prešeren Statue in Ljubljana, is a late

Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

statue of the Slovene

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

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

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, the capital of Slovenia. It stands in the eastern side of Prešeren Square, in front of the Central Pharmacy Building in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, the capital of Slovenia. It is among the best-known Slovenian monuments.

Statue

The statue that stands on a pedestal includes a sculpture of the poet, facing the window where his adored Julija Primic used to live, and a sculpture of a

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

above him sitting on a rock and holding a laurel branch in her hand. The poet is dressed in the outfit of the period and holds a book symbolising his ''

Poems Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

'' (). The sculpture of Prešeren is high, and the entire monument is high. There is a small statue on the building that Prešeren faces, as well.

Pedestal

Baptism on the Savica - Farewell - Ivan_Zajec

The pedestal of Prešeren's statue is made of Pohorje tonalite and has three steps. Above it, there is a cut rock block with the inscription "Prešeren". The lighter base of the muse is made of Tyrolian granite. It was made by the stonemason Alojzij Vodnik per a design by

Max Fabiani Maximilian Fabiani, commonly known as Max Fabiani (, ) (29 April 1865 – 12 August 1962) was an Italians, Italian architect, born in the village of Kobdilj near Štanjel on the Karst Plateau, County of Gorizia and Gradisca, in present-day Sl ...

, who based his work on a concept by Ivan Zajec. A letter about the erection of the monument and some coins have been built into the pedestal. There are two bronze reliefs on the lower part of the pedestal, depicting scenes from Prešeren's ''

''. The right one, titled ''Farewell'' () or ''Črtomir and Bogomila'' (), depicts a scene from the poem '' The Baptism on the Savica''. The left one, titled ''Fisherman'' (), depicts a scene from the poem ''

Fisherman A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million Commercial fishing, commercial and Artisan fishing, subsistence fishers and Fish farming, fi ...

''. The reliefs on the pedestal were created by Zajec in 1901. They have a

Classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

composition, a Realist cadre, an impressionist final touch, and emphasise Prešeren's

Romantic poetry Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Neoclassical ideas of the 18th c ...

with its content. The upper part of the pedestal is decorated with a stylised

lime tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Britain and Irelan ...

, reminding of the poet's homeland's symbol.

History

Creation and unveiling

The idea for the Prešeren monument was first proposed by a group of grammar school students in 1889. In 1891, it was supported by 52 Slovene scholars, and finally, in 1898, by Ljubljana mayor Ivan Hribar. He also organised a board for this purpose. Hribar announced a competition in 1899. Seven sculptors submitted their proposals in time, among them Franc Berneker, , , Alojzij Progar, and finally Ivan Zajec, who won it. He received the commission on 18 October 1900. Zajec started his work in the studio of Hans Makart in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. The model for Prešeren was Prešeren's portrait by Goldenstein, and he depicted the suit of Prešeren after a model from 1830–1840, borrowed in a Vienna museum. The model for the muse was Olimpia Pozatti, a dancer from

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

. The monument of Prešeren was cast in foundry in Vienna (Kaiserlich Königliche Kunst-Erzgießerei) in September 1903, and the muse was cast in the beginning of 1904. The costs for the entire monument were around 71,000 kronen, largely raised by Slovene women and various societies. The monument was ceremonially unveiled on 10 September 1905. Over 20,000 people were present. The ceremonial speech was read by

Ivan Tavčar Ivan Tavčar () (28 August 1851 – 19 February 1923) was a Slovenian writer, lawyer, and politician. Biography Tavčar was born into the poor peasant family of Janez and Neža née Perko in the Carniolan village of Poljane near Škofja Lo ...

. A biography of Prešeren with some of his poems was published by on the occasion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preseren Monument, Ljubljana Monuments and memorials in Ljubljana 1905 sculptures

Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

Center District, Ljubljana Art Nouveau sculptures and memorials Art Nouveau architecture in Ljubljana Max Fabiani buildings Statues of writers Sculptures of men