Jože Plečnik

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Lore & Background

Plečnik was born in Laibach (present-day Ljubljana) to Andreas Plečnik, a carpenter, and Helena Molka. He followed in his father's footsteps, training in woodworking during primary school, then worked for two years as a designer and supervisor making furniture in Vienna. As a teenager he attended a vocational school, then a technical school in Graz where he studied under Léopold Theyer. He later found his primary mentor in noted Viennese architect and educator Otto Wagner, studying under him and working in Wagner's office until 1899. When a woman-friend asked him to marry her, he replied, 'I am already married to my architecture.' He designed the Langer House (1900–1901) and the Zacherlhaus (1903–1905), the latter notable for its use of reinforced concrete columns. His 1910–1913 Church of the Holy Spirit used poured-in-place concrete as structure, with an exterior largely of brick and concrete, and a crypt featuring slender concrete columns and angular, cubist capitals. In 1911 he moved to Prague to teach at the college of arts and crafts. From 1920 until 1934 he served as chief architect for the renovation of Prague Castle under President Tomáš Masaryk, designing gardens, courtyards, monuments, and the Plečnik Hall (1930) with two levels of abstracted Doric colonnades. His final Prague work was the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord (1929–32). In 1920, Ivan Vurnik invited him to become a founding faculty member of the Ljubljana School of Architecture, and he moved to teach at the University of Ljubljana, remaining there until his death. In Ljubljana he designed the Slovenian National and University Library, the Vzajemna Insurance Company Offices, the Ljubljana Central Market, the Ljubljana cemetery, parks, plazas, and renovated bridges and river banks. After World War II, he proposed the Cathedral of Freedom (also known as the Plečnik Parliament), a cylindrical two-story main building topped by a tall conical dome, intended for Castle Hill but never built. His last big Ljubljana project was remodeling the Križanke monastery into a venue for the Ljubljana Festival. He twice received the Prešeren Award, in 1949 and 1952 for his life's work. Plečnik died in 1957 and received an official state funeral in Žale.

Reader's Guide

Plečnik's style is associated with the Vienna Secession style of architecture, but also has influences from the baroque tradition in Slovenia, as well as Byzantine and early eighteenth century Viennese architecture. He was one of the notable twentieth century masters who embraced historic forms and ideas, paying what he believed to be a debt to history. He remained a classicist of the Schinkel School, rejecting the more radical ideas of other European architects such as Walter Gropius. He influenced the avant-garde Czech Cubism. His work in city planning focused on the overall experience of Ljubljana rather than practical problems. After being sidestepped during the 1960s and 1970s, general interest revived in the 1980s with postmodernist attention. In 2021, selected works of Plečnik in Ljubljana and Črna Vas were inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites under the name 'The works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana – Human Centred Urban Design.' The Cathedral of Freedom project is featured on the Slovenian 10 cent euro coin. His home in Ljubljana houses a museum of his life and work. As of 2024, the bibliography of works by and about him in COBISS included 235 entries.

Did You Know?

• Plečnik replied to a marriage proposal with 'I am already married to my architecture.'
• His Zacherlhaus in Vienna was notable for its early use of reinforced concrete columns, considered risky at the time.
• He proposed the Cathedral of Freedom, a 120-meter-high cylindrical building with a conical dome, intended to replace Ljubljana Castle.
• Plečnik's home in Ljubljana houses a museum of his life and work.
• In 2021, selected works of Plečnik in Ljubljana and Črna Vas were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Architectural Philosophy: A Classicist in a Modern Age

Plečnik's style is associated with the Vienna Secession style of architecture (a type of Art Nouveau), but he also has influences from the baroque tradition in Slovenia, as well as Byzantine and early eighteenth century Viennese architecture. He was one of the notable twentieth century masters who embraced historic forms and ideas, paying what he believed to be a debt to history. He remained a classicist of the Schinkel School, rejecting the more radical ideas of other European architects such as Walter Gropius. He influenced the avant-garde Czech Cubism. His Church of the Holy Spirit (1910–1913) is remarkable for its innovative use of poured-in-place concrete as both structure and exterior surface, and also for its abstracted classical form language. Most radical is the church's crypt, with its slender concrete columns and angular, cubist capitals and bases.

A Career Spanning Three Capitals

From 1900 through 1910, while practicing in Otto Wagner's office in Vienna, Plečnik designed the Langer House (1900) and the Zacherlhaus (1903–1905), notable for its use of reinforced concrete columns. His 1910–1913 Church of the Holy Spirit used poured-in-place concrete as both structure and exterior surface. In 1911, he moved to Prague, where he taught at the college of arts and crafts. From 1920 until 1934 he completed a wide range of projects at Prague Castle, including renovation of gardens and courtyards, the design and installation of monuments and sculptures, and the design of numerous new interior spaces, including the Plečnik Hall completed in 1930, which features three levels of abstracted Doric colonnades. His final work in Prague was the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord (Roman Catholic, 1929–32). In 1921, he was invited by Ivan Vurnik to become a founding faculty member of the Ljubljana School of Architecture and moved to teach at the University of Ljubljana. Besides in Ljubljana, he worked in Vienna, Belgrade and on Prague Castle.

Reshaping Ljubljana: The Gaudí of the Adriatic

Plečnik gave the capital of Slovenia, the city of Ljubljana, its modern identity by designing iconic buildings such as the Slovenian National and University Library building. His architectural imprint on Ljubljana has been compared to the impact Antoni Gaudí had on Barcelona. He designed the iconic Triple Bridge, the embankments along the Ljubljanica River, the Ljubljana Central Market buildings, the Ljubljana cemetery, parks, plazas, and the Vzajemna Insurance Company Offices. His work in city planning focused on the overall experience of Ljubljana rather than practical problems. After World War II, he proposed the Cathedral of Freedom (also known as the Plečnik Parliament), a cylindrical two-story main building topped by a tall conical dome, at 120 meters high, intended for Castle Hill but never built. In 1952, Ljubljana city leaders asked him to remodel the Križanke monastery into a venue for the Ljubljana Festival, his last big Ljubljana project. He twice received the Prešeren Award, in 1949 and 1952 for his life's work. Plečnik died in 1957 and received an official state funeral in Žale.

From Carpenter's Son to Architectural Master

Plečnik was born in Laibach, present-day Ljubljana, Slovenia, to Andreas Plečnik, a carpenter from Hotedršica, and to Helena (née Molka) from Ljubljana, and he was baptized Josef Plečnik. He followed in his father's footsteps, training in woodworking during primary school. This knowledge proved useful in Vienna where he worked for two years as a designer and supervisor making furniture at a woodworking company. As a teenager he was sent to a vocational school, but as a talented draftsman, he then was sent to a technical school in Graz, where he found his first mentor, Léopold Theyer. He studied under noted Viennese architect and educator Otto Wagner and worked in Wagner's architecture office until 1900. A woman-friend asked Plečnik to marry her written in a letter. He replied, 'I am already married to my architecture.' In 1921, upon the establishment of the Ljubljana School of Architecture, he was invited by Ivan Vurnik to become a founding faculty member and moved to teach architecture at the University of Ljubljana. Plečnik remained in Ljubljana until his death.