National and University Library

What makes it special

The facade is the first thing to look at. Brick and stone blocks are set in deliberately varied finishes, a pattern Plečnik modelled on the Zuccari Palace in Rome. On the main door, each of the two handles is a head of Pegasus, the winged horse that stands for the way into knowledge.

Inside, the entrance hall is dark. A door from it opens on the central staircase, lined with 32 pillars of black Podpeč marble, and the climb is read as a passage from ignorance up into learning.

At the end of the climb is the Main Reading Room. Glass walls on two sides light the wooden desks, and Plečnik designed the chandeliers, chairs and desk lamps himself. The building has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2021.

Walk round to the side entrance for Lojze Dolinar's bronze statue of Moses above the door. Along the street outside, a line of monuments to Slavic scholars and Slovenian composers marks where the Roman and medieval town walls once ran.

Visiting

Walking in through the main door puts you straight into the entrance hall. Go through the door ahead and climb the marble staircase to the hall at the top, which is the heart of the building.

From there, head down to the basement for Plečnik's corridor and its permanent exhibition, then find the exhibition hall for whatever show is on. The information centre is on the same route.

On Saturday afternoons the Main Reading Room can also be open to visitors, so ask at the desk when you arrive. On any day, the stair, the hall and the exhibitions are the sure things.

Tips

Keep your camera off the readers. While the library is open to its users, the staff ask you not to photograph them or other visitors, so point your lens at the staircase and the facade, not the desks.

If you want the building explained, come on a Saturday for the library's own guided tour at four in the afternoon.