Slovenia · 150th anniversary of the birth of architect Jože Plečnik

Issue date2 Mar 2022

Total mintage1,000,000

EU maximum1,000,000

Editions4

Edge letteringSLOVENIJA •

InscriptionARH. PLEČNIK / JOŽE PLEČNIK / 1872 / SLOVENIJA / 2022

DesignerAndrej Žerovnik

mintIstituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Italy

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 150th birthday of the architect Jože Plečnik. The motif shows a section of the large window in the reading room of the National and University Library (Nationale- und Universitätsbibliothek), with a column in the foreground. The letters “ARH. PLEČNIK” distributed across the window appear like a signature inserted into his own work; below them is “JOŽE PLEČNIK”, with the year “1872” on the left.

The design

The coin’s design shows a section of the large window in the reading room of the National and University Library, with a column in the foreground. The letters A R H. P L E Č N I K are distributed across the window in this order. They can be viewed figuratively as the architect’s signature appearing in his own work. The letters are set into recesses in the window and can be understood, in the language of the architect Plečnik, as spatial architectural elements, accents inserted into the façade or designed as geometric objects. The composition as a whole conveys an impression of space and reflects the architect’s wealth of ideas. The main column is located in the centre, structuring the space depicted on the coin’s design and representing the relationship between inside and outside, or front and back, as Plečnik often did in his spatial representations. In this way, a spatial miniature is created: space within space, multilayered and mystical. The inscription “JOŽE PLEČNIK” appears at the bottom; the year “1872” is displayed vertically on the left, while the name of the issuing country, “SLOVENIJA”, and the year of issue, “2022”, are displayed vertically at the upper right. The outer ring of the coin depicts the twelve stars of the European flag.

Background on the topic

Jože Plečnik (1872–1957) came from Ljubljana, which at the time belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian crown land of Carniola (Krain). After training in Graz and Vienna, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (Wiener Akademie der bildenden Künste) under Otto Wagner. He initially worked in Vienna, later taught in Prague and, from 1921, at the University of Ljubljana. His work combines modern building projects with elements of antiquity, the Renaissance and regional architectural traditions. Characteristic of his work is his individual treatment of columns, staircases, axes and different materials.

In Prague, Plečnik was involved, among other things, in the transformation of Prague Castle (Prager Burg) into the seat of the president of the newly founded Czechoslovakia. On behalf of President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, he redesigned courtyards, gardens and interiors. In Ljubljana, he shaped not only individual buildings but also the public space. His works there include the Triple Bridge (Drei Brücken), the market halls along the Ljubljanica River, the Cobbler’s Bridge (Schusterbrücke), St Michael’s Church in the Ljubljana Marshes (Laibacher Moor) and the Žale cemetery complex. Many of these interventions reorganise older urban areas and connect paths, squares, riverbanks and buildings.

The National and University Library in Ljubljana was built according to Plečnik’s plans in the 1930s and opened in 1941. It stands on the site of the former Auersperg Palace (Auersperg-Palais), which was damaged in the 1895 earthquake and later demolished. The route through the building is deliberately staged: from the comparatively dark entrance and stairway area, visitors enter the bright reading room. This sequence is often understood as an architectural image of the path from ignorance to knowledge. The façade combines brick with differently worked stone blocks.

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Plečnik’s works were increasingly perceived as part of Slovenia’s cultural heritage. In 2021, UNESCO added a group of his buildings and urban spaces in Ljubljana to the World Heritage List as an example of people-centred urban design. The anniversary therefore provided a direct occasion to remember both the architect and his role in shaping the present-day cityscape of the Slovenian capital.