The main national ceremony will be held in Vrba at Prešeren's house of birth, which is now a museum and a pilgrimage site of sorts for Slovenian schoolchildren.

Next to the poet's monument at Prešeren Square in Ljubljana, theatre actors will read his poetry starting at noon at what has become a traditional event.

In Kranj, where Prešeren practised law, portraits of Prešeren Prize laureates by photographer Tone Stojko will be put in show.

A traditional reception for the laureates will be held in the evening at the Prešren Theatre in Kranj.

The Prešeren Prize, the highest national accolade for the arts, was conferred this year on cartoonist Miki Muster and poet Andrej Brvar.