News
STA, 10 December 2018 - Slovenia exported EUR 2.88bn worth of goods in October, 10.5% more than in the same month a year ago. Merchandise imports rose by 19.2% to EUR 2.94bn, creating a trade deficit of EUR 59.3m.
Releasing fresh figures on Monday, the Statistics Office said the recorded values of exports and imports in October were the highest this year as well as in recent years.
The export-import ratio stood at 98%. The EUR 59.3m deficit was mostly due to increased imports from non-EU countries.
Almost 80% of Slovenia's merchandise trade was generated in the EU market; 78% of exports and 76.5% of imports.
Exports to EU member states rose by 12.5% year-on-year to EUR 2.25bn and imports from there increased by 13% to EUR 2.25bn, with a trade deficit of EUR 1.5m.
Exports to non-EU markets rose by 3.9% year-on-year to EUR 634.6m, whereas imports soared by 44.7% to EUR 692.3m, opening a deficit of EUR 57.8m.
In the first ten months of the year Slovenia's exports grew at an annual rate of 9.8% to EUR 25.8bn and imports increased by 11.7% to EUR 25.4bn.
External trade surplus in the ten month period amounted to EUR 390.1m and the export/import ratio was 101.5%.
The data and trends indicate that foreign trade's contribution to Slovenia's economic growth is set to decrease, with domestic components contributing more.
Industrial output keeps rising
STA, 10 December 2018 - Slovenia's industrial output in October was 2.5% above the September figure and 4% higher year-on-year, while in the first ten months of the year industry expanded by 6% year-on-year, fresh statistics show.
Between January and the end of October manufacturing output expanded by 6.5%; electricity, gas and steam supply industries recorded a 1.9% growth and mining and quarrying a 0.4% growth.
A report by the Statistics Office also shows growth in production regardless of technological complexity; output of high-tech goods increased the most, at the annual rate of 6.6%.
Capital goods production expanded by 13.6%, output of consumer goods grew by 3.7% and production of intermediate goods increased by 3.8% in the ten months of the year compared with the same period last year.
In October alone output increased the most in manufacturing, by 2.6% from the month before and by 4.4% year on year.
Production in electricity, gas and steam supply rose by 2% from the month before, but fell by 0.3% year-on-year, while mining and quarrying put out 3.2% less than a month ago and 13.1% more year-on-year.
Industrial turnover was 2.8% higher than the month before and 2.3% higher than in October 2017. The value of stocks of finished and unfinished products rose by 1.2% from September by 11.2% year-on-year.
STA, 10 December 2018 - The Democrats (SDS) remain in the lead in the latest Mediana poll, published in Monday's Delo. The biggest opposition party, which topped the rankings for the most part of the year, is followed by the coalition Social Democrats (SD), Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) and the Left. The government received the best mark so far.
Two-fifths of the respondents assessed the work of the government as mediocre and almost 30% assessed it as positive or very positive.
In September, when the government was sworn in, its average mark was 2.16 on a scale from one to five but now its average mark is 3.01, which is more than the previous government of Miro Cerar reached in the last two years of its rule.
Related: Learn more about most of Slovenia’s political parties here
The most popular party by far is still the SDS, polling at 18.1%, slightly down from 18.3% in November. The ratings of the SD, LMŠ and the Left, which trail the SDS, improved compared to last month.
The SD polled at 10.5% (8.9% in November), the LMŠ at 8.5% (7%) and the Left at 6.7% (6.1%)
The non-parliamentary People's Party (SLS) jumped to fifth place on 5.5% support, while polling at 1.7% only a couple of months ago.
The coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC) won a percentage point to poll at 4.9%. The opposition New Slovenia (NSi) follows with 4.2% support and the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) with 3.5%.
The opposition National Party (SNS) polled at 3.2% and the coalition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB) at 2.2%.
While DeSUS's support remained level, the remaining three parties lost some ground compared to November.
President Borut Pahor remains the most popular politician, followed by Prime Minister Marjan Šarec but Pahor received a slightly lower grade this month compared to November and Šarec a slightly higher.
European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc and MEP Tanja Fajon follow in third and fourth place, respectively.
Pollster Ninamedia conducted the survey among 717 adults between 26 November and 6 December.
Below is a review of today’s news in Slovenia, summarised by the headlines in the daily newspapers for Tuesday, December 11, 2018, as prepared by the STA:
DELO
Anniversary of Ivan Cankar's death
"Friends, it's a matter of life and death now! I'm hoping for life!": Even a century since his death, Ivan Cankar (1876-1918) remains one of the greatest creative spirits and intellectuals of Slovenian cultural history, the paper says. (front page, 16-17)
Brexit vote
"Weakened Theresa May returning to Brussels": British Prime Minister Theresa May delayed a key vote on the Brexit agreement reached by the EU's and British negotiators last month in the British parliament to avoid a debacle. (front page, 6)
Health
"Example of health system's collapse": The Maribor Community Health Centre, the country's second biggest, struggles with staff deficiencies and work overload. (front page, 4)
Nobel Peace Prize laureates
"Overlooked victims of sexual violence in wars": The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureates - Congolese physician Denis Mukwege and Yezidi activist Nadia Murad - called for action and justice on behalf of the victims of wartime sexual violence as they accepted their awards on Monday. (front page)
DNEVNIK
Karavanke tunnel expansion
"Review Commission has completely confused DARS": The bids in the tender of the national motorway company DARS for a second tube of the Karavanke motorway tunnel between Slovenia and Austria are being reviewed again. The Turkish contractor Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret, whose selection by DARS has been annulled by the National Review Commission, insists its bid remains relevant. (front page, 2)
Anniversary of Ivan Cankar's death
"Rediscovering Ivan Cankar hundred years since his death": On the eve of the 100th anniversary of Ivan Cankar's death, the main national ceremony was held in his birth town of Vrhnika last evening. (front page, 14)
Cerar's trip to the US
"Cerar going to balance relations with US": Foreign Minister Miro Cerar is scheduled to pay an official visit to the US on Friday to offset criticism that Slovenia is too attached to Russia. (front page, 3)
FINANCE
Construction
"Building is expensive and it's going to get even more expensive": In the first half of 2008, the costs of building apartments were 3.5% higher than in the same period last year and 6.4% higher than the 2015 average. (front page, 2-3)
Taxes
"Macron in France under fire over taxes, Šarec and taxes in Slovenia most popular": Why is the public's support to the government and the assessment of PM Marjan Šarec's work the best so far, while our taxes are above the OECD average and it does not seem things will get any better, the paper wonders. (front page, 4-5)
Labour market
"Beginning of the year most promising in production, finance and logistics": Employers in Slovenia are quite optimistic about hiring in the next quarter, with about a quarter of them planning to increase their staff, shows the latest survey by temping agency Manpower. (front page, 6)
VEČER
Anniversary of Ivan Cankar's death
"Hundred years after Cankar": Slovenia's greatest author Ivan Cankar managed to defy all attempts of being owned and manipulated and remains a "mirror and the Bible", the paper says. (front page, 16-17)
Brexit vote
"Brexit vote postponed": British Prime Minister Theresa May delayed at the last minute a vote on the Brexit divorce agreement after weighing the potential support. (front page, 7)
Air quality
"Air quality the worst in Miklavž": Air quality measurements in the Maribor area show that air is often more polluted in small villages than in the city. (front page, 10-11)
December 10, 2018
It has been reported last week that a Slovenian hunter killed a bear called Elisio, a collar-wearing subject of research at the University of Udine, Italy. The animal was shot in the area of Senožeče, Slovenia, and has in the past five years, while wearing the tracking collar, survived a collision with a train, completed several ascents over 2100 metres, swam across Cavazzo lake several times, and figured out how to safely cross a Slovenian highway.
The event stirred a lot of outrage on the Italian side of Elisio’s territory, while it continues to remain a minor story in Slovenia. One of the reasons might be in a conservation status of the Italian subspecies of the brown bear, that is the Apennine Brown Bear, which is marked at “critically endangered”. In contrast, the Slovenian government struggles to keep the number of ordinary European brown bears in check, with the conservation status marked as “least concern”, and bear salami being an ordinary offer at the Christmas stalls found in the central marketplace of Ljubljana. The important point here is that Elisio was an ordinary brown bear, not an endangered Apennine subspecies.
There are currently about 1,000 bears in Slovenia, and the Slovenian Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning ordered this number to be reduced by 200, 175 of which will be taken out by hunters before April 30, 2019 (Delo). This is also the reason why Italian researchers reported weekly on Elisio's whereabouts, hoping this would prevent him from getting shot. It did not.
Andrej Sila, from Sežana branch of the Slovenia Forest Service, expressed regret at the incident: “We are all very sorry that the hunter shot Elisio. We have permission to shoot five bears in our area due to population control. It happened as a consequence of a series of unfortunate events. The hunter shot the bear in the evening, when his collar wasn't visible.”. He also explained that weekly reports on the whereabouts of the bear cannot prevent these types of accidents, since bears tend to travel tens of kilometres a day.
This is not the first time Slovenian hunters killed a bear with an Italian research collar. In 2011 a Slovenian hunter shot a bear near Vrhnika, who then turned out to be an Italian media sensation called Dino. In the preceding year Dino managed to kill 14 donkeys in Northern Italy before the Slovenian hunter did not see his collar and shot him in a forest (source). Dino’s survival prospects, however, were dim even without the shooting, as his collar had grown deep into his flesh, causing an infection and starting to slowly suffocate the animal. When the hunter first saw him, Dino was hitting his head against a tree, presumably due to the pain. The collar, unlike the ones in use today, was not equipped with a “drop-off” system, which activates when the collar becomes too small and begins making it difficult for the animal to breath.
STA, 8 December 2018 - Slovenian pop icon Helena Blagne will mark 30 years of her singing career with a spectacle at Ljubljana's Tivoli Hall. The first Slovenian recording artist to fill the country's biggest indoor venue, the Stožice Arena, in 2011, will present her new album tonight.
Blagne returned to the music scene last year after a one-year break with a song about unconditional love Ti Boš Vedno Prvi (You'll Always Be My No. 1), a collaboration with songwriter Raay.
A Slovenian radio hit, the song has more than 1.8 million views on You Tube and gives the title to tonight's concert, at which Blagne will be joined by several Slovenian musicians, from the jazz, funk, Latin and blues fusion ensemble Marko Hatlak Band, to Kvatropirci, ska band Elvis Jackson and Raay.
The 55-year-old Blagne, the most successful Slovenian singer of all time, made her debut performance when she was 12 at a singing competition in Jesenice.
Her career kicked off after she won the hearts of the audience and jury at the Macedonian Makfest music festival in 1986.
Three years later, her duet with opera singer Nace Junkar won the Melodies of Sea and Sun festival held at the Slovenian coast.
Having studied opera singing for several years, Blagne has collaborated with the world's best opera singers, including Placido Domingo and the group Il Divo.
She has recorded 20 albums and sold more than two million records, a milestone that remains out of reach for any other Slovenian musician, according to her label, Dallas Records.
All her concerts have been sold out and she was the first Slovenian artist to fill the Stožice Arena together with Vienna Boys' Choir and three Slovenian tenors in 2011.
She has performed more than 4,000 concerts and won a number of music festival awards throughout the former Yugoslavia.
In the autumn 2006, she also ventured into theatre, having played the role of Agave in The Bacchae, by one of the most acclaimed Slovenian directors Vito Taufer. Currently she is a co-star of a comical musical Menopause alongside three other show business celebrities at Špasteater.
Being a favourite of Slovenian gossip magazines, she made headlines with her divorce in 2013 and her alleged ties to tycoon Ivan Zidar.
Blagne said in an interview ahead of the concert that she was particularly fond of the stage at Tivoli, where her concerts started. "I could have picked Cankarjev Dom for example or the Stožice Arena, which I already sold out years ago. But this stage has a special energy, which I find very important," she told Story magazine.
STA, 9 December 2018 - The lakeside town of Bled, one of Slovenia's top tourism destinations, is set to see another boom year in tourism, having broken last year's record as early as October this year.
Visitors to the Alpine resort have spent over one million nights in one of its accommodation facilities in the first ten months of the year after the one millionth mark was broken for the first time ever at the end of last year.
It was British visitors who spent most nights at Bled (177,000), followed by Germans (92,000) and visitors from the United States (67,000) and Italy (65,000).
Since many Italians tend to spend their Christmas and New Year holidays in Bled, the local tourism board expects they will overtake the Americans as the third largest group of visitors in terms of nights.
Tourism statistics are expected to improve further because Bled has also attracted many of the biathlon fans and athletes competing at the Biathlon World Cup opener on Pokljuka just above Bled this week.
Related: Photo sports - that bench overlooking Lake Bled
Photo: Screenshot of Google Image Search
STA, 8 December 2018 - As 45 years pass this year since the lynx was reintroduced to Slovenia, preparations are under way for the first new animal to be brought to Slovenia early next year as part of the Life Lynx international project.
The wildcat will come to Slovenia from Romania or Slovakia, depending on which country manages to catch it first, the Life Lynx project group has told the STA.
The Eurasian lynx was reintroduced to Slovenia in 1973 upon the Slovenian hunters' initiative.
There are perhaps between 15 and 20 lynx in Slovenia
The current population, estimated at 15 to 20 animals, are descendants of six animals brought to Slovenia then from Slovakia.
The Life Lynx project group also launched this year a systematic monitoring of lynxes with automatic cameras, but results have not yet been fully analysed.
The largest wildcat in Europe is at the verge of extinction; it is believed that it could die out in a few years' time unless action is taken.
The Life Lynx project aims to save the lynx population in the Dinaric Alps and in south-eastern Alps.
It brings together eleven organisations from five countries, with Slovenia's partner being the national Forestry Service.
The first lynx will be released in the area of Loški Potok in the region of Kočevska in the south on the border with Croatia.
Before it is released, it will spend some time in a quarantine in the area, also to get used to the new environment.
"We expect an animal to spend some three weeks in quarantine," the group said.
Ten more animals due to arrive in the country
As part of the project, ten animals are expected to be brought to Slovenia, five to the regions of Kočevska and Notranjska and five to Gorenjska, north-west.
"The lynx released in Gorenjska will help connect Dinaric lynx populations with those in the Alps, which is vital for their long-term existence in Slovenia and in the Alps."
As part of the reintroduction, the Slovenian Hunters' Association will help train some 20 police officers who will investigate illegal lynx hunting, in what the project group said was unique in Europe.
You can learn more about the Life Lynx project in Slovenia here
STA, 8 December 2018 - More than one billion passengers travelled by air in the EU last year, which is 7.3% more than the year before and 39% more than in 2009. The highest growth was recorded in Slovenia, where the number of passengers rose by 19.8% to 1.682 million, latest Eurostat data show.
Slovenia was followed by Luxembourg, Estonia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
The Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport was listed as the 150th busiest airport with 1.682 million passengers, mostly travelling within the EU.
The busiest airport in the EU was London's Heathrow with 78 million passengers, followed by Paris's Charles de Gaulle with 69 million and Amsterdam's Schiphol with 68 million.
The UK recorded the highest number of passengers (265 million), followed by Germany (212 million) and Spain (210 million). Some 47% of the passengers flew within the EU and one in five passengers travelled within their own country.
A PDF of the report can be found here, while an interactive version of the full dataset it here
STA, 9 December 2018 - Finnish biathlete Kaisa Mäkäräinen won the women's 10-kilometre pursuit World Cup event at Pokljuka on Sunday ahead of Italian Dorothea Wierer in a repeat of Saturday's sprint standings. Slovakia's Paulina Fialkova came in third.
Mäkäräinen and Wierer both hit all the targets, but the Finn outpaced the Italian by more than 40 seconds on the skis (+41.3).
Flawless at shooting, Fialkova moved ahead from eight starting position to finish third (+59.2/0), overtaking Italian Lisa Vitozzi just before the finish line (+1:01.5/0).
"I knew I must be fast because Wierer shoots fast. I didn't feel as strong as yesterday but it was enough. I like Pokljuka, the conditions aren't so tough cos there's not much wind," said Mäkäräinen.
Weirer remains in the lead in the overall standings, having collected 144 points in Pokljuka events. Mäkäräinen is second with 131 points, followed by Fialkova with 129.
No Slovenian competed in the women's pursuit.
* Results: 1 Kaisa Mäkäräinen (FIN) 29:16.9/0 2 Dorothea Wierer (ITA) + 41.3/0 3 Paulina Fialkova (SLK) 59.2/2 4 Lisa Vitozzi (ITA) 1:01.5/0 5 Marte Olsbu Roeiseland (NOR) 1:22.1/1 6 Clare Egan (US) 1:22.4/1 7 Irina Kryuko (BLR) 1:26.6/0 8 Irina Starik (RUS) 1:35.6/0 9 Franziska Preuss (GER) 1:43.7/1 10 Evgeniya Pavlova (RUS) 1:48.4/0 - overall World Cup standings (3): 1 Dorothea Wierer (ITA) 144 2 Kaisa Mäkäräinen (FIN) 131 3 Paulina Fialkova (SLK) 129 4 Lisa Vitozzi (ITA) 121 5 Monika Hojnisz (POL) 104 6 Julija Džima (UKR) 98 7 Franziska Preuss (GER) 95 8 Irina Starik (RUS) 92 9 Irina Kryuko (BLR) 87 10 Julia Simon (FRA) 78
Boe wins men's pursuit at Pokljuka
STA, 9 December 2018 - Norwegian biathlete Johannes Thinges Boe won the men's 12.5km pursuit race at the Biathlon World Cup meet on the Pokljuka Plateau on Sunday, pipping France's Quentin Fillon Maillet for the victory in a photo finish.
The younger of the Boe brothers had a 48 second lead ahead of the runner-up before the last standing position shooting stop, but missed two shots.
Russia's Aleksander Loginov hit all the targets, heading for the final lap a few metres ahead of Boe, but Boe overtook him at the 12th kilometre.
Loginov fell just below the top of last climb, which enabled Maillet to squeeze ahead, but Boe was first
through the finish line.
Boe, who is in the lead in the overall World Cup standings after winning Tuesday's sprint on Pokljuka, ended the race with three missed shots 0.1 of a second ahead of Maillet, who hit all the 20 targets.
Loginov finished third with one missed shot and 1.9 seconds behind the winner.
The best Slovenian, Jakov Fak came in 22nd. Having missed one target he finished 1:57 minutes behind the winner. His team mate Miha Dovžan was 49th.
"I cannot be completely satisfied, but I'm happy to have partly achieved the goal of making progress. One missed shot is solid enough result, but it's not perfect," Fak commented, adding that he still had reserve running-wise.
"It's great to compete in front of the home crowd, it makes you fly ... But shooting at home is always hardest psychically because you get cheered for each shot," he added.
* Results: - men's 12.5 km pursuit: 1 Johannes Thinges Boe (NOR) 30:20.4/3 2 Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) + 0.1/0 3 Aleksander Loginov (RUS) 1.4/1 4 Simon Eder (AUT) 31.2/0 5 Julian Eberhard (AUT) 32.5/1 6 Tarjei Boe (NOR) 32.9/1 7 Henrik L'Abee-Lund (NOR) 35.1/1 8 Lukas Hofer (ITA) 35.8/2 9 Benjamin Weger (SUI) 35.9/2 10 Antonin Guigonnat (FRA) 42.5/3 ... 22 Jakov Fak (SLO) 1:57.1/1 49 Miha Dovžan (SLO) 4:18.1/4 - overall World Cup standings (3): 1 Johannes Thinges Boe (NOR) 156 2 Simon Eder (AUT) 123 3 Antonin Guigonnat (FRA) 119 4 Aleksander Loginov (RUS) 108 5 Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) 93 6 Tarjei Boe (NOR) 87 7 Simon Desthieux (FRA) 81 . Sebastian Samuelsson (SWE) 81 . Michal Krčmar (CZE) 81 10 Artem Prima (UKR) 78 ... 17 Jakov Fak (SLO) 64
Below is a review of today’s news in Slovenia, summarised by the headlines in the daily newspapers for Monday, December 10, 2018, as prepared by the STA:
DELO
Anti-government protests in France
"Yellow symptom of divided France": The "yellow vest" anti-government protesters have almost nothing in common and yet they have everything in common. They are worried about the future, including their children's. (front page, 6)
Brexit deal
"What happens with Brexit deal tomorrow?": British Prime Minister Theresa May will most probably not be able to convince the British parliament to endorse the Brexit deal tomorrow. (front page,3)
Government rating
"Government with best mark so far": The Marjan Šarec government received the best mark so far in the December Barometer public opinion poll. (front page, 2)
Biathlon World Cup meet in Pokljuka
"Pokljuka's Sunday setting course for World Championship": Everything did not go according to plan for Slovenian biathletes and the organisers of the Biathlon World Cup season opener in Pokljuka this weekend but the Slovenian holiday of biathlon nevertheless ended on a positive note. (front page, 15)
DNEVNIK
Protests in France
"Macron is to finally give a statement this week": More than 2,000 people were detained during Saturday's "yellow vest" anti-government protests in France. The situation was the most intense in Paris. (front page, 6)
Education
"Children learn very little about internet security at school": Some children are taught a lot about security on the internet at school but not all, as this more or less depends on the teachers. (front page, 2-3, commentary 14)
FINANCE
Wages at successful companies
"This is how wealthiest Slovenians pay their staff": The paper looks at the average wages of people working for companies owned by wealthiest Slovenians. (front page, 4-5)
Brexit vote
"What is important for Slovenia in Brexit vote?": The uncertainty surrounding Brexit has increased ahead of tomorrow's vote on the EU-UK Brexit deal in the British parliament, because it is quite possible that British MPs will not endorse the deal. (front page, 2-3)
Stocks
"How to adjust your portfolio in the time of stock market fluctuation": The paper analyses the situation on the stock markets and makes projections about the future. (front page, 6)
VEČER
Football
"Towards fifteenth star": The Maribor football team is on its way to become national champions for the 15th time. The team is leaving for the winter break with a huge advantage ahead of all other teams. (front page, 2, 16-17)
Protests in France
"Anger in France growing": The rage over the announced rise in excise duties on fuel has grown into calls for President Emmanuel Macron's resignation. (front page, 5)
Holidays
"Santa Claus on tour": Santa Claus came to greet children from the Pohorje hills as customary on Saturday. He will tour Maribor's schools and kindergartens this week before bidding farewell in Leon Štukelj Square on 28 December. (front page, 8)
The streets are starting to fill up, and it’s not always easy to ride a bike across Prešeren or the Triple Bridge, with groups of visitors from near and far stopping to look at the lights, take a few dozen pictures, and choose a direction to head off in. Wherever they go they’ll be ensured a lively walk accompanied by a growing number of street performers, as well as stalls selling seasonal items and food, with the latter being mostly sausages and burgers.
The market that runs along one side of the Cathedral has Christmas wreaths, decorations and centrepieces for sale. Photo: JL Flanner
A 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.
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, which has a nice café with books and magazines, is showing The Children’s Act, The House that Jack Built, Shoplifters and the remake of Suspira.
Kinoteka – The revival house at one end of Miklošičeva, a street that’s worth walking up for the architecture alone, is showing, among other features: Fellini’s Amacord, Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows, Leone’s Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo aka Dober, grd, hudoben aka The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.
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), Widows, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, El mayor regalo, Little Italy, Bohemian Rhapsody, Halloween, Johnny English 3, A Star is Born, Gajin svet, Fahrenheit 11/9, Michael Moore’s Trump movie, Pat in Mat znova v akciji, Mortal Engines, Overlord, Posledice and a dubbed version of Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse. New this week are Kursk and Suspira, while on Thursday there’s Aquaman. Note that some of these are only playing once a day.
Komuna – The cinema in a basement behind Nama department store is showing Bohemian Rhapsody and the The Grinch (dubbed).
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.
Božidar - Friday, December 14th, there's a set from Josey Rebelle, as heard below.
Channel Zero – Monday night is Dub Lab, and this week the show’s a live one from Pablo Raster, with a video for that shown in Live Music, below. Recorded music comes back with vengeance on Saturday with Kung Fu Techno!, featuring DJs STUPA, LXS, and ADAMM, with the visuals provided by Dimension and Nibera. Sadly, I wasn’t able to finds sets from any of these online.
Klub Gromka – Friday night is a celebration of 90s Eurodance.
Gala Hala – Saturday (15th) Underground Pulse are presenting a drum’n’bass all-nighter headlined by Kyrist with support from Theejay, Fornax b2b Dominus Diaboli, Wubsonik b2b Danaja and Etrove.
Klub Cirkus – The more commercial end of clubland begins the week on Tuesday with a student-led Threesome Christmas party. Wednesday continues the fun with an all-nighter called I AM party presents: New Age Special with Senidah x COBY, which looks like a rap’n’trap affair. Friday it’s time to choose your clothes wisely for BLACK MOON – UV Gathering #4, with dance, future house, EDM, house, r&b, hip hop, and trap being spun under the magic of black light. Saturday then ends the week with another all-night party, this one being fuelled by the best of r’n’b.
Klub K4 – the legendary klub 4 kool kids that isn’t in Metelkova has two all-nighters this week. On Friday the sounds will be provided by Roman Flügel, with support from some names signed to Synaptic. Saturday there’s an event being promoted with nice retro poster, one I’d like to home – Tetkine zimske radosti. This promises “yugo funk beat” with DJs Bakto, Woo-D and Borka, and video magic from FŠK.
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, andout 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
Starting on the 14th (Friday) and continuing until the end of the month is a programme of free festive concerts in Novi trg.
Cankerjev dom – Tuesday, 19:30, the pianist Natasha Paremky will be performing Rachmaninov, Shostakovich and Strahonik with the RTV Slovenian Symphony Orchestra. The same night, at 20:00, the progressive art rock of Moonlight Sky will be playing elsewhere in the building. Thursday and Friday evenings the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra will be joined by Franc Kosem on the trumpet, playing Borodin, Rojko and Rimsky-Korsakov.
Križanke – The Young Virtuosi series of free concerts continues with violin and piano music from Beethoven, Brahms, Saint-Saens and more.
Gala Hala - Haiku Garden had their equipment stolen in Spain. On Thursday they’ll be playing a benefit concert to raise money for new things, with live support from The Canyon Observer and Svermirko, along with DJs Nitz, Shekuza, Nulla and R36.
Kino Šiška – Monday The Tiger Lillies are back in town after two years away, with the focus being on their latest album Devil’s Fairground. Friday you can see and hear Matter, YGT Live! and Acty. Saturday evening the stage is taken over by My Baby, being promoted as “Dutch trance/blues shamans”, with support from Serbia’s Igralom.
Ljubljana Castle – Friday night is jazz at the castle, with the music often veering into Latin, funk and other genres, and this week it’s the collective Get on Board, playing “cosmic jazz”, with the saxophone held and blown by Lovro Ravbar.
Orto Bar – Thursday night you get by with the Kokr Joe Band, a Joe Cocker Tribute Band. Friday Seven Days In May are playing live, and on the same day there’s a show from Riffeater: Amalgam, Usil, and Đezm. Saturday then sees a show from Extaza.
Španski borci – Thursday, 19:30, you can thrill to the varied sounds of Orkester Mandolina Ljubljana.
Slovenian Philharmonic Hall – The choir will be joined by folk on violin, organ and harp for a programme featuring Bach, Part, Rachmaninov, Strauss and more.
Tobačna – 20:00 Saturday there’s what’s billed as a live show by Soul Tribute Mixtape.
LGBT+ Ljubljana
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 Monokel – This lesbian bar in Metelkova is open every Friday night, and then on Saturday, 23:00, you can enjoy sounds from Deena Abdelwahed.
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. Deena Abdelwahed will also be heard here on Saturday
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, and open from morning to night.
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 Kresija – Showing in the City Hall’s right atrium until December 13 is an installation, Gorazd Krnc: Tod in Ondod (Worth Not Knowing Where Knowington Is), which includes video projections
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
Dance Theatre Ljubljana (Plesni Teater Ljubljana) – Thursday and Friday, the 13th and 14th, there’s a dance theatre performance called Razgaljeno (Exposed), with the choreography and concept from Rosana Hribar.
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.
Klub Gromka – Saturday night, 21:00, the techno burlesque of Tatovi podob (Image Snatchers) is back on stage for music, dance, comedy and light nudity.
Španski borci – Saturday night there’s a performance by Via Negativa called Sorry.
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.
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 if you're interested in seeing the city in decades past, and black and white, then enjoy the following clips
