The National Museum of Slovenia ( sl, Narodni muzej Slovenije) is located 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 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 ...

. It is located in the

Center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

district of the city near

Tivoli City Park Tivoli City Park ( sl, Mestni park Tivoli) or simply Tivoli Park () is the largest park in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is located on the western outskirts of the Center District, stretching to the Šiška District to the north, the Vi� ...

. Along with the

Slovenian Museum of Natural History The Slovenian Museum of Natural History ( sl, Prirodoslovni muzej Slovenije, la, Museum Historiae Naturalis Sloveniae) is a Slovenian national museum with natural history, scientific, and educational contents. It is the oldest cultural and scien ...

, located in the same building, the National Museum of Slovenia is the country's oldest scientific and cultural institution. The museum has an extensive collection of

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

artefacts, old

coins A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...

and

banknotes A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

(in the

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

department on the ground floor) and displays related to the applied arts. In 2021 it's been given the golden Order for Exceptional Merits by the president of Slovenia,

Borut Pahor Borut Pahor (; born 2 November 1963) is a Slovenian politician who served as President of Slovenia from 2012 to 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from November 2008 to February 2012. A longtime member and former presid ...

History

The museum was founded in 1821 as the " Estate Museum of

Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...

" (german: Krainisch Ständisches Museum). Five years later, the

Austrian Emperor The Emperor of Austria (german: Kaiser von Österreich) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the Hous ...

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

decided to personally sponsor the museum and ordered its renaming to "Provincial Museum of Carniola". In 1882, the museum was renamed to "Provincial Museum of Carniola - Rudolfinum" in honour of the Crown Prince Rudolph. Staircase of the National Museum of Slovenia

Staircase of the National Museum of Slovenia

After the establishment of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, the name was changed to "National Museum". In 1923 the ethnographic collections possessed by the museum were removed and placed in the new Slovene Ethnographic Museum and in 1933 much of its fine artwork was moved to the

National Gallery of Slovenia The National Gallery of Slovenia ( sl, Narodna galerija) is the national art gallery of Slovenia. It is located in the capital Ljubljana. It was founded in 1918, after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and the establishment of the State of Sloven ...

. In 1944 the

(then known as the Museum of Natural Sciences) became independent despite being located in the same building. In 1953 the majority of archives were moved to the Gruber Palace. Renamed to National Museum of Slovenia in 1992, today the museum is divided into Archaeological Department, a Numismatic Cabinet, a Department of Prints and Drawings and a Department of History and the Applied Arts.

The building

Ljubljana_-_Narodni_muzej_Slovenije_(strop)_(2)

The main building of the National Museum is located close to the

Slovenian Parliament The Slovenian Parliament ( sl, Slovenski parlament) is the informal designation of the general representative body of the Slovenian nation and the legislative body of the Republic of Slovenia. According to the Constitution of Slovenia, the gene ...

building and the Slovenian Foreign Ministry, while the

Ljubljana Opera House The Ljubljana Opera House ( sl, Opera, or ) is an opera house in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The seat of the national opera and ballet company, the Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet, it serves as the national opera buildin ...

stands just opposite to it on the same square. It was built in the

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

style by the master builder

Wilhelm Treo Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

in collaboration with

Jan Vladimír Hráský Jan Vladimír Hráský (1857–1939) was a Czech architect, builder, engineer, and hydrologist. Hrásky is known in Slovenia as an original author of building in Neo-Renaissance style of Carniolan Provincial Manor in Ljubljana (1899–1902), w ...

between 1883 and 1885. Treo mostly followed the plans by the Viennese architect

Wilhelm Rezori Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

. The interior was designed by Hráský, with the ceiling of the main hall decorated with medaillons by the painters Janez and

Jurij Šubic Jurij is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jurij Alschitz (born 1947), theatre director, theatre and acting theorist who has lived in Berlin since 1992 *Jurij Brězan (1916–2006), Sorbian writer *Jurij Cherednikov (born 1964), ...

. These were created in 1885. Janez Šubic drew the main allegorical painting of

as the protector of arts and sciences, whereas Jurij Šubic drew four portraits of famous Carniolans:

Johann Weikhard von Valvasor Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor ( sl, Janez Vajkard Valvasor, ) or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, pr ...

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 ...

, Sigmund Herberstein and

Sigmund Zois Sigmund Zois Freiherr von Edelstein, usually referred as Sigmund Zois ( sl, Žiga Zois, formerly Slovenized as ''Cojs'' or ''Cojz''; ) (23 November 1747 – 10 November 1819) was a Carniolan nobleman, natural scientist and patron of the arts. He ...

. The painting by Janez was made with oil on wood, whereas the portraits were made with oil on fresh plaster. The painters followed the proposals of their teacher

Janez Wolf Janez may refer to: People: * Janez (given name), a Slovene given name * Janež, a Slovene surname In music: *Janez Detd., a Belgian rock band May also refer to a semi-pejorative term used in the Croatian North and beyond for Slovenes The S ...

. The space between the medaillons was decorated by Karel Lipovšek. The building was solemnly opened on 2 December 1888. In the

Slovene Lands The Slovene lands or Slovenian lands ( sl, Slovenske dežele or in short ) is the historical denomination for the territories in Central and Southern Europe where people primarily spoke Slovene. The Slovene lands were part of the Illyrian provinc ...

, this was the first building used solely for cultural purposes. A bronze monument to the

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, designed by the sculptor Alojz Gangl, was placed in front of the museum in 1903.

Permanent Exhibitions

Selected directors and collaborators

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) * Josip Mal (1884–1978) *

Avgust Pirjevec Avgust Pirjevec (28 September 1887 – 9 December 1943) was a Slovene literary scholar, lexicographer, and librarian. Biography Pirjevec was born in a Slovene-speaking family in Gorizia, a town in the Austrian Littoral (now part of Italy). ...

(1887–1944) *

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 Cr ...

(1851–1903) *

Boris M. Gombač Boris M. Gombač (born 15 September 1945) is a Slovene historian from Italy. He was born to a middle class Slovene family in Trieste, Italy. He studied history at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia (then part of former Yugoslavia). Between 19 ...

(born 1945)

References

External links

OfficialLjubljana.info - National MuseumVirtual tour of the National Museum of Slovenia
provided by

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:National Museum Of Slovenia

National museums of Slovenia Center District, Ljubljana History museums in Slovenia Carniolan culture Museums established in 1821 19th-century establishments in Carniola