Following a reconstruction, an open-air amphitheatre originally designed by architect Jože Plečnik (1872-1957) has recently reopened in Ljubljana's Tivoli Park to serve as a new cultural venue.

Situated in a clearing behind Tivoli Mansion, the Plečnik Auditorium was built in 1933, but allowed to fall into disrepair after the Second World War.

Until the mid-1960s, the venue hosted an open-air summer cinema, but then the site became overgrown. The clearing is now surrounded by tall trees.

Following Plečnik's designs, wooden stairs serving as stands and supported by a steel structure were installed at the edge of the forest using the natural slant of the terrain.

At the bottom of the gently rising stairs is a lawn that serves as a stage overlooking the city, just like it did in Plečnik's design, only that the great master used gravel instead of grass.

The auditorium has been reconstructed by the architectural firm Medprostor. Architect Rok Žnidaršič says they applied a minimal and reversible intervention to reinterpret the original design at the original location and within original dimensions.

In this way they highlighted Plečnik's care for the public space as one of the key values in his contribution to humanity's heritage, Žnidaršič was quoted as saying by the website ljubljana.si.

A wooden footbridge and a pathway links the venue to the Švicarija artist residency and Tivoli Mansion, both of which are run by the International Centre of Graphic Arts (MGLC).

The MGLC will be responsible for the management of the new venue and for the programme and coordination of events in it. As a rule, the events will be admission free.

The Plečnik Auditorium was inaugurated by hosting the opening of the 35th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts on 15 September.

According to ljubljana.si, the reconstruction ran from March to November 2022 at the cost of €376,000, VAT excluded.