The Ljubljana Castle, the most visited tourist destination in Slovenia and a symbol of Slovenia’s capital, has changed its purpose many times throughout its turbulent history – from a military fortress to a military hospital, from a penitentiary to an apartment building, and so on – but never has it been forced to close like it has now due to the spreading of the new coronavirus.
Just when the most successful tourist season ever is behind us, the castle gates have been closed for almost a month.
We have all found ourselves in this strange situation together, and only together will we be able to move forward. That is why we would like to remain connected during this time and invite you to follow us on our social networks, where we are preparing interesting content related to the castle and its history, as well as sharing useful advice or information with you and much more.
We continue our work from home and soon hope to be able to present our new tourist product and invite you to try it out. We are preparing an interactive walk with a mobile application that we have named Wisdom about the Castle Grapevine and Wine. In an innovative way, with an original combination of gamification and new technologies, visitors will themselves be able to explore the Ljubljana Castle and the Castle Hill as well as the points of interest connected with the wine story that we cultivate at the Ljubljana Castle.
The wine story is also the perfect complement to the castle cuisine, which is co-created by the restaurants Gostilna Na Gradu and Strelec, as well as the Castle Wine Bar and Shop. Together with our restauranteurs, we are already writing new stories that will be presented to visitors in 2021, when Slovenia will hold the title European Gastronomic Region. Among the new products will be a booklet of castle recipes of the past and present, which is already being made and will be presented to you before the end of the year.
We hope that our stages and halls will soon be able to fill up with performances of Slovenian and foreign music, film, photography, dance and other cultural and artistic genres. Summer has traditionally brought us Film Under the Stars, as well as dance and theatre events under the starry sky of the Castle Courtyard, while the onset of autumn is marked by the Dragon’s Fest, which includes a concert by the group Laibach to mark their 40th anniversary. Other events at the castle this year include our central thematic exhibition about Slovenian fairy tales, high-profile photography exhibitions, a new season of the Jazz Club, Castle December, and much more.
We also hope that all of you who have planned business events, weddings, celebrations and so on in the castle halls will contact us again. We will do our best to provide you with your preferred date and prepare the event according to your wishes.
We are aware that the consequences of the present situation for tourism will be significant, but we believe that with successful further cultural and artistic content, with new tourist products, with innovative ideas, with a careful attitude towards the orderliness of the castle and its surroundings, and above all with your support, we will succeed.
In these challenging days, it is nice to show solidarity and help if we can. We have decided to assist the medical staff of the University Clinical Centre who need accommodation for rest or isolation from home by providing them with the use of our Hostel Celica, which we operate. We were forced to close the hostel to the public some time ago. Of course, we hope that our popular hostel will soon return to being full of travelers, cuisine, and culture.
Source: Ljubljana Castle
THE Ljubljana Book – SOLD OUT
From the same team that’s been publishing Slovenia´s acclaimed In Your Pocket city and regional guides since 2008 and authors of the best-selling THE Slovenia Book, we are proud to present THE Ljubljana Book. Get the best of the beautiful Slovene capital in one elegant package!
