Did you know that there are several sculpture parks in Slovenia where tourists and local people can observe masterpieces made by Slovenian, ex Yugoslav, Italian, Japanese, British, Czech, American, Belgium, Dutch, French, Austrian, Polish, Romanian, Israeli, Egyptian and Ethiopian sculptors within international symposiums going on since 1961?

Foto: Lana Švab (2011)

The international symposiums called˝Forma viva˝take place in several interesting destinations of Slovenia and were initiated by Slovenian sculptors Janez Lenassi and Jakob Savinšek. The idea was born in 1959 after the two artists visited the symposium in St. Margharethen (Austria).

1. Let us start with the sculptures of stone. You can find them all across ˝Seča˝ (120km from Ljubljana), little peninsula on Slovenian coast covered with pine and olive trees. The view at the Adriatic sea as well as aerosols in the air will calm you down. Even better- in the matter of minutes you will be thinking only on the meaning of sculptures and how much time was spent to make them, so all the problems in your head will just melt away. Been there, done that.

2. On the other hand wooden ˝Forma viva˝ resides on the only Slovenian island embraced by the river Krka - ˝Kostanjevica na Krki˝ (92km from Ljubljana). The sculptures are put in the mystery surrounding of an old monastery, built in 1234. By visiting Forma Viva you can also have a look at the art collections inside of the monastery building especially the collections of famous brothers France and Tone Kraljas well as Božidar Jakac. I know so many interesting art sounds a bit tiring but do not worry. Just a five minutes drive away you will find an excellent restaurant called ˝Gostilna Žolnir˝ serving seasonal slovenian dishes, like ˝Krvavice s kislim zeljem˝ (could be translated as black pudding&cabbage). For the directions ask anyone on the island as I am sure everybody knows the place.

Foto: Gostilna Žolnir (2011)

3. The third Forma Viva made of reinforced concrete decorates the city of ˝Maribor˝ (128km from Ljubljana). The avantgarde sculptures were made between the years 1967 and 1986 mostly by artists from Japan (for example Harunori Fujimoto), USA and ex Yugoslavian countries.

4. The final Forma Viva I am going to mention (they are several new ones each year) is the one in ˝Ravne na Koroškem˝ (124km from Ljubljana). This one is made of steel, inspired by the tradition of iron foundries in the region.

As you see Slovenia is more than just beauty of the natural landscape, forrests, mountains and little villages - it is indeed a cultural destination as well.

Feel free to explore it!

Foto: Lana Švab in Sašo Pipan (2011)