Page 4 - AIT0925_NovaGorica

The town hall (1) (Trg Edvarda Kardelja 1), visible from here, is part of the overall
urban planning project. It was designed in 1948 by Vinko Glanz and, with its clear
façade structure of roughly hewn stone, is an example of the Plecnik School tradition.
Be sure to go inside and take a look at the floor mosaics! Directly opposite is the
Cebelnjak commercial- and residential building (2) (Kidriceva ulica 18) by Ernest
Bregant, built in 1962 which, with its colourful, honeycomb-shaped loggias is remi-
niscent of the beehive that gave it its name.
r 11 a.m. — Have your first coffee as do many Nova Gorica residents on Bevkov
Square (3), the city’s central square. Since its extensive renovation in 2014, it has
become a collective living room with its large paved surface, fountain and many
seating areas. The interior of the Pizzeria Le Cité (4) (Bevkov trg) with its emerald-
green tiles is reminiscent of the colour of the Soca River. It was conceived by the
local design studio Kreadom, which also created the interior of the nearby restaurant Foto: David Verlic, Nova Gorica
Soca (5) (Rejceva ulica 1a). Here you can find good Slovenian burek filled pastry.
r 12 noon — The Zadruga Tolmin agricultural cooperative (6) (Kidriceva ulica 20)
is open until 1 p.m. It sells products from farmers in the municipalities of Tolmin, Markantes Wahrzeichen: Ikarus ist dem Flugpionier Edvard Rusjan gewidmet. • Striking landmark: Ikarus
Kobarid, Bovec and the Banjšice plateau, and with its fantastic cheese, excellent
olive oil – Slovenian oil is considered one of the best in the world – and pršut, the
local ham, it quickly becomes clear why Slovenia is now considered a top culinary
destination. Next, head to the MTC department store (7) (Bevkov trg 6), designed
by Kamilo Kolaric in 1968. With its concrete frame, brown brick façade and sloping
sunshades, it is a landmark of the city.
r 4 p.m. — Knjigarna kavarna Maks (8) (Delpinova ulica 10) is a combination of
an academic bookshop and a design-oriented café. Here you can browse through
countless architecture books and specialist magazines about Nova Gorica and Slove-
nia while enjoying a drink at a small table or on a sofa bench.
r 7 p.m. — Just outside the centre is the Michelin-starred restaurant DAM (9) (Vinka
Vodopivca ulica), which specializes in fish dishes. The owner, chef and Novogoricani
Foto: Ernad Ihtijarevic, SI-Maribor
Uroš Fakuc welcomes every guest personally, guides through his art collection and
serves the best breakfast in town. So be sure to stay at the adjoining boutique hotel.

Sunday: Between urban planning, casinos and boundlessness

r 10 a.m. — A quiet Sunday morning provides the perfect setting for an architectu- Go! Borderless: Mit einem Bein in Slowenien und mit dem anderen in ... • With one foot in Slovenia and ...
ral walk in the footsteps of Slovenian modernism. Start at the Russian apartment
blocks (10) (Delpinova ulica 18), residential buildings designed by Ravnikar. This is
where, in 1950, the first citizens of Nova Gorica moved in. At that time, the blocks ... Italien: Gorizia liegt direkt gegenüber. • ... and the other in Italy: Gorizia is directly opposite.
were still standing on green fields and the courtyards were used by some of the new
residents as pastures for pigs and cows.
r 12 noon — The next stop is a journey through time to the city’s second career as a
casino metropolis, which began in the 1980s. The Park Hotel (11) (Delpinova ulica
5) was converted into an American-style casino and was the biggest competitor to
the Hotel La Perla (12) (Kidriceva ulica 7), which was considered the largest casino
in Europe in 1993 due to the number of gambling tables it had. In front of the door
to the information office of the Capital of Culture stands the Ikarus Memorial (13) by
Slovenian sculptor Janez Lenassi, the city’s most important and largest monument:
the concrete sculpture with its three pointed needles was erected in 1960 in honour
of Yugoslav aviation pioneer Edvard Rusjan. The city’s history reveals another refe-
rence to Icarus: Ravnikar also had lofty ambitions for Nova Gorica with his urban-
planning visions – and soon had to give up.
r 2 p.m. — Built in 2000, the France Bevk Library (14) (Trg Edvarda Kardelja 4) built
in 2000, forms a bridge to the city’s contemporary architecture. Designed by the
Ravnikar Potokar architectural firm (no relation to Edvard Ravnikar) from Ljubljana,
it symbolically marks the intersection of two important sightlines and is reminiscent
of an open book.
r 3 p.m. — At Europe Square (15), you can not only stand with one foot in Italy and
the other in Slovenia, but also visit the oldest building in Nova Gorica, the railway
station dating from 1906. When Gorizia fell to Italy in 1947, only the railway station
with its connection to the Julian Alps remained in Yugoslavia. Today, it houses a
border museum (16) (Železniška Postaja, Kolodvorska pot 8), which sheds light on
the lives of the people on both sides of the border.
r 4 p.m. — For a contrasting urban experience and even cheaper espresso, head to Foto: gemeinfrei
the 1,000-year-old town of Gorizia (17) on the other side of the border – in Italy!

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