Cekin Mansion shown in my previous post, now houses the National Museum of Contemporary History.
In 1996, after several years of preparations, we opened a permanent exhibition, Slovenes in the 20th century. We present in it the most important events and all forms of living and working on Slovene territory, from the start of the First World War to today. With the method of presentation, we want to invoke an emotional and intellectual response from each visitor and encourage them to seek additional answers in other media to the questions and problems that have been presented with the resources of the Museum.
The 20th century is one of the most turbulent periods of Slovene history. During this time, the Slovenes changed states and state arrangements several times; we survived two world wars, were included in the technological revolution and, in the last war, for independence, achieved an independent state.
The political and social framework is the basis of the exhibition narrative, which leads the visitor from First World War trenches through the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to personal tales and experiences from the Second World War and onward into the period of socialism and industrialisation, the economy in the former common state of Yugoslavia. The exhibition guides the visitor through the democratic turmoil of the eighties to independence in the nineties and life in independent Slovenia. It concludes with accession to the European Union and Slovenia’s presidency of the EU Council in 2008.*
Anthem of the Republic of Slovenia:
The Anthem of the Republic of Slovenia Act of 28 March 1990 specified as the national anthem the seventh verse of the poem Zdravljica (A Toast). It was written in 1844 by the great Slovene poet France Preseren and later set to music by Stanko Premrl.
The anthem reads:
God’s blessing on all nations,
Who long and work for that bright day,
When o’er earth’s habitations
No war, no strife shall hold its sway;
Who long to see
That all men free
No more shall foes, but neighbours be!**
*From a National Museum of Contemporary History leaflet.
** From a signboard in the museum
Tags: Ljubljana, National Museum of Contemporary History, Slovenia, Vacation
Cekin Mansion is located on the edge of Tivoli Park in Ljublljana. The baroque mansion was built between 1752 and 1755, supposedly to the plans of the architect Johann George Schmidt by Count Leopold Karl Lamberg. Stylistically, it derives from the Carniolan building tradition, in which, especially in the first half of the 18th century, Mediteranian initiatives met with northern artistic ideals Leopoldsruh Mansion, as it was then known, is a rare example of a suburban villa intended for the relaxation and entertainment of the mobility of the baroque period. It was created on the example of Austrian mansions after the collapse of Turkish power. The fashion of organising grand balls and banquets, in particular for such constructed buildings, which were intended to charm those invited with their splendour, reached Ljubljana a good half century after Vienna.*
*From a National Museum of Contemporary History leaflet.
Tags: Cekin Mansion, Ljubljana, Museum of Contemporary History, Slovenia, Vacation
The leafy Tivoli Park in Ljubljana is situated west of the city centre.
Named after the Jardins de Tivoli in Paris, it was first laid out during the period of Napoleonic rule in the early 19th century. Today it offers an appealing mix of order and wilderness, with well-tended lawns and trimmed shrubs alternating with wildflower meadows and thickets of trees. The park’s main avenue, Jakpeicevo sprehajalisce, is lined with display stands where outdoor exhibitions of art and photography are held.*
*From The Eyewitness Travel Guide to Slovenia
Tags: Ljubljana, Slovenia, There's Always One, Tivoli Park, Vacation
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words with out a heart.
John Bunyan
Tags: Cherie's Place Thought, Jesus, Leuven, Light, Love, Vacation
Built in the 18th century as villa for the local Jesuit hierarchy, Tivoli Mansion stands at the top of a stone staricase guarded by sculptures of fierce looking dogs. The mansion subsequently served as the summer residence of the Ljubljana archbishops before it was presented in 1852 to the 86-year-old hero of Habsburg military campaigns, Field Marshal Josef Radetzky.
Radetzky was a much-loved symbol of Austrian patriotism, as status imortalized by Johann Strauss the Elder’s famous tune Radetzkymarsch.
The mansion now houses the International Graphic Arts Centre (Mednarodni graficni likvni centre). *
*From the Eyewitness Travel Guide to Slovenia
Tags: Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tivoli Mansion, Vacation
The patio furniture has now been moved off the lawn and back it its former location. I have not placed all the tubs in their final locations yet, I haven’t quite decided what I want where. I don’t want all the bins cluttering up the garden so I need to clear a space for two of them in the garage. The small wall where the pots are currently situated will continue around the patio and a flower border will be dug on the opposite side of it.
I also need to replace the bench that unfortunately got broken whilst moving things around after the patio had been laid. The new bench will be placed underneath the window on the narrow part of the patio. I have a bench in mind, I just need to measure it to make sure that it isn’t too tall.
As I mentioned in my previous post, two garden fairies have set to work tidying up the borders for me. The garden is looking much better already 
Tags: Blackbird, Cherie's Place, FAL, Garden, Garden Project, MIL, Patio
Although our tired tarmac driveway has needed replacing for a number of years we kept putting off replacing it until recently. A local builder was laying driveways in our area and we decided at long last that we would have ours replaced including the path up the side of our house. The path up the side of the house was less than ideal for getting the wheelie bins up and down. The slabs were too narrow and there were pebbles to either side of it causing the wheels to snag. As the pathway progressed we decided to extend it round the back of the house, enlarging our patio area slightly and replacing the the existing slabs.
Whilst the builders were laying the pavings at the back of the house they unearthed a drain access cover that we didn’t know was there!! It had been slabbed over by the previous occupants.
Now that the patio area is looking neat and tidy, two garden fairies have arrived and started to give the garden a bit of TLC that has been long overdue…
Tags: Cherie's Place, Driveway, FIL, Garden, Garden Fairies, Garden Project, MIL, Patio
