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Music · Ljubljana
Created in 1953, the Ljubljana Festival fills the capital’s summer with opera, ballet, symphony concerts, theater and folk music, in the Križanke courtyard, the former monastery remodeled by Jože Plečnik, and at Kongresni trg square.
In the photo: Ljubljana
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Ljubljana Festival — Ljubljana
During the summer, from June or July until the beginning of September.
June/July/August/September
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
The Ljubljana Festival is Slovenia’s oldest festival. The first edition took place in July 1953, created by the city council to liven up the city in summer and bring artists from other countries to the capital. Since then it has taken place every year, from late June or early July until the beginning of September.
The festival’s home is Križanke, a complex of buildings in central Ljubljana that belonged to the Teutonic Order and was remodeled in the 1950s by architect Jože Plečnik to host the festival. The main courtyard became an open-air theatre, surrounded by arcades, and the halls and the church of the complex also host concerts. The major opening performances usually take place at Kongresni trg, the square in front of the university.
The program brings together opera, ballet, symphony and chamber concerts, recitals, musicals, theater and folk music, with orchestras, companies and soloists from several countries, as well as Slovenian artists. In parallel, there is an international colony of visual artists, music courses and programming for children.
On summer nights, Križanke and the surrounding streets fill with audiences before and after performances, and the historic center by the Ljubljanica river is just a few minutes’ walk away.
It’s worth the trip to see a performance outdoors in a Plečnik setting, in the middle of Ljubljana’s center, and combine the music with the capital’s summer evenings.
A performance in Križanke’s open-air theatre, surrounded by Plečnik’s arcades. The major opening concerts at Kongresni trg. An opera or ballet on July and August evenings. A walk through the center and along the Ljubljanica before the performance.
Choose performances in advance from the program, which is published in spring, and buy tickets early for the most popular events. Križanke is in the center, near Kongresni trg and the Ljubljanica bridges, and everything is within walking distance. Bring a light jacket: on outdoor nights the temperature drops after sunset, and some performances may change venue in case of rain.
The festival coincides with the summer high season: secure accommodation in the center in advance. Check the official website for the program and the rules for rainy-weather performances.
In the city
June/July/August/September
May/JuneFor about two weeks, from late May to early June, during the flowering season of Bohinj’s meadows.
In late spring, Bohinj, in the heart of Triglav National Park, devotes two weeks to the flowers of the Julian Alps, with guided botanical walks, exhibitions, workshops, and restaurant menus featuring wild plants from the valley.
JuneOn the third weekend of June, from Friday to Sunday.
On the third weekend of June, Idrija, the former mining town in western Slovenia, celebrates bobbin lace with exhibitions, fashion shows, workshops and the national contest for young lacemakers in the main square.
June/JulyFor a few days in June or July; dates vary each year.
Founded in 1960, the Ljubljana Jazz Festival is the oldest continuously running jazz festival in Europe: for a few days at the start of summer it brings together Slovenian and international musicians at Cankarjev dom and at the Križanke outdoor theatre.
Your questions
During the summer, from late June or early July until the beginning of September. The program is released in spring.
Mainly at the Križanke complex, with the open-air theatre remodeled by Jože Plečnik, and at Kongresni trg square, as well as in other venues in the center.
Festivals and events in Slovenia
June/JulyFor about nine days, beginning in late June and ending in early July.
At the start of summer, the Lent neighborhood, the old bank of the Drava in Maribor, and the central squares host Slovenia’s largest outdoor festival, with concerts on downtown stages, folklore, street theatre, and children’s programming.
JulyOn a weekend in mid-July, usually from Thursday or Friday to Sunday.
Since 1964, the small town of Laško, on the banks of the Savinja River, celebrates its beer and its flowers in July, with concerts on several stages in the town center, a parade of decorated floats, marching bands and fireworks over the river.
SeptemberOn the third Sunday of September.
On the third Sunday of September, Bohinj celebrates the return of the shepherds and their cattle from the high mountain pastures: the cows descend, decorated with flowers, to the meadow at Ukanc on the western tip of Lake Bohinj, in a festival with music, dancing and regional food.
SeptemberOn a weekend in early to mid-September, usually Friday through Sunday, with the big parade on Sunday.
Every September, Kamnik’s old town, at the foot of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps, hosts Slovenia’s largest ethnological festival, featuring parades of traditional costumes from all regions, music, dance and handicrafts.
September/OctoberOn a Sunday in late September or early October, when the grapes are ripe, after a few days of wine festivities in the Lent neighborhood.
Every early autumn, Maribor publicly harvests the grapes of the Stara trta, the more-than-400-year-old vine that grows on the facade of a house in the Lent neighborhood, concluding days of celebrations with Styrian wines and dishes by the Drava River.
February/MarchOn the days before Lent, in February or March depending on the date of Easter, ending on Shrove Tuesday. The duration varies according to the program.
Slovenia’s largest carnival takes over Ptuj’s old town: the kurenti, figures dressed in sheepskins with horned or feathered masks and large bells at the waist, parade alongside other traditional regional characters to drive away winter.