Ljubljana - President Borut Pahor was honoured with the Grand Prix Jože Plečnik 2022, an award given out by the Prague Castle Administration from the Czech Republic, as he hosted a ceremony at Presidential Palace on Friday to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of acclaimed Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik and the 2022 Year of Plečnik.

The award has been given out since 2018 for lifetime achievements in architecture, construction and protection of architectural heritage to top Czech architects.

This yeas when 150 years since Plečnik's birth is being marked, the award was conferred on Pahor as the first statesman so far.

He was honoured for his contribution to Czech-Slovenian cultural relations and support for cooperation between the Prague Castle Administration and Slovenian institutions.

Pahor received the award from Prage Castle Administration head Ivo Velišek, who was honoured to give him "the first Central European award for Plečnik's architecture".

In his acceptance speech, Pahor described Plečnik as "one of those giants of our homeland who ... transcended the boundaries of his profession to become a symbol of Czech-Slovenian relations".

Plečnik (1872-1957) was commissioned by Czechoslovak President Tomaš Masaryk to renovate Prague Castle between 1920 and 1934. Another remarkable work of his in Prague is the monumental Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord.

Pahor said that the Slovenians were grateful for the attention paid to Plečnik in the Czech Republic and for the care taken to preserve his heritage, and noted the rich and long-lasting Slovenian-Czech relations.

Together with his Czech counterpart Miloš Zeman, Pahor will be honorary sponsor of the 13 September event dedicated to Czech-Slovenian relations at which Plečnik awards will be conferred at Prague Castle.

Today's event was also addressed by Tomaž Štoka from the Slovenian Museum of Architecture and Design, who coordinated the working group that prepared the UNESCO nomination of Plečnik's architecture in Ljubljana.

He noted that with the selected works making the UNESCO World Heritage List, "the international community recognised values that go beyond national or regional significance and are important for the whole of humanity".