Prestigious European Prize awarded to Plečnik House

The Plečnik house was informed of the pleasant news on 15 May when 29 winners from 17 countries were announced. We received the award on Friday 22 June at a ceremony in Berlin which was part of the first international conference on European cultural heritage (European Cultural Heritage Summit). The day before, the conference also hosted the so-called Excellence Fair with a presentation of all award winners. The Plečnik House was presented attractively and lively by Blaž Peršin, Director of the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana. After the presentation that enthralled the audience, the host Zoltan Krasznai added: “We cannot speak of cultural heritage without also speaking of the audience. Conservation of heritage is just the basis for future work – the work with the audience, particularly with children, is essential. And the Plečnik House really sets an excellent example.” It is this category that the Plečnik House has been awarded for – Education, Training and Awareness-raising.

The ceremony in Berlin was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Culture, Damjana Pečnik, Secretary-General, and Ksenija Kovačec Naglič, Director-General of Cultural Heritage Directorate. Held before the award ceremony, the European Policy Debate aimed at calling upon European decision-makers to make a stand for culture: to ensure sufficient financing and support it as one of the major elements unifying Europe. We expressed our support to seven campaign items by signing The Berlin Call to Action, which you can do as well by clicking the link.

Polona Fijavž, the National Television Berlin correspondent, reported on the presentation of the award to the Plečnik house in the seven o'clock news – you can watch her coverage by clicking this link.

After returning to Ljubljana, Director Blaž Peršin was also featured in the late evening news programme, Odmevi. He explained why the Plečnik House deserved this prestigious award, saying: “The Plečnik House really is something special: it tells of an architect and his lab, a kind of a hotbed for his approaches which he first tested in this house and then implemented and realised.” For the whole coverage, please click this link.

Having received the award, we will celebrate it accordingly in Ljubljana as well. In autumn we will hold a doors open day for our visitors to see Plečnik's home and the documentary film on the renovation of the house free of charge, and sign the Berlin call to action. More information on the event will be available at the end of the summer!