The European Commission and Europa Nostra, the leading European organisation in the field of cultural heritage, announced the winners of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2018 last May – among them was the Plečnik House.

The prestigious award, which was conferred to the museum for its successful work in the category of Education, Training and Awareness-raising, will be celebrated at the Plečnik House with an Open Doors Day for its visitors. The event will take place this Saturday, 6 October 2018, and will mark the end of this year's European Heritage Days.

On Saturday, the doors of the Plečnik House will stay open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and visitors will be able to visit the permanent exhibition on the life and work of Jože Plečnik and see the documentary film on the comprehensive renovation of the Plečnik House (2013–2015). This documentary, titled Windows should be White, White, Clean, was made by the photographer and filmmaker Tone Stojko and produced by the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana. Guided tours of the house will take place every thirty minutes, at which visitors will have a chance to peek into the authentically preserved home of Jože Plečnik and thus enter into the intimate world of the architect who was largely responsible for how Ljubljana looks nowadays. Due to limitations on how many visitors can access the house, reservations for the guided tours are mandatory. Reservations can be made by emailing at prijava@mgml.si or by phoning +386 1 24 12 506 (reservations will be taken until all slots are full, or until 2 p.m. on Friday, 5 October).

On the day preceding the Open Doors Day, the Plečnik House will celebrate its EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2018 with our collaborators whose work substantially contributes to the creation and realisation of our programmes which are important for increasing the popularisation of Plečnik's heritage in various ways and amongst different audiences. The event will also be dedicated to various individuals and institutions that contributed to the comprehensive renovation of the Plečnik House between 2013 and 2015, namely the City of Ljubljana, the Ministry of Culture, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, the Restoration Centre and Arrea Architecture, among others.

“Plečnik is fast becoming a recognisable trademark of Ljubljana and the Plečnik House, with its quality programmes, is a starting point for discovering the architect's work. The comprehensive renovation of the Plečnik House was extremely important in achieving these goals. It has laid the foundations for the inclusion of various social groups in the museum's activities as well as for spreading awareness of the deep importance of Plečnik's heritage and cultural and architectural heritage in general. The EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2018 is, therefore, a great recognition of our work so far and an encouragement for our future projects. Naturally, the award can best be celebrated in the company of our collaborators and visitors, who we are inviting to visit the Plečnik House — either this Saturday or on any other day of the year,” stated Blaž Peršin, director of the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana which manages the Plečnik House.