Mighty Guardians of the Past | Avci Architects

Ljubljana Castle is the main attraction of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. In 2019,
it was hosting the exhibition Mighty Guardians of the Past where the visitors
can explore all the castles of Slovene lands. The exhibition was co-conceived and
designed by Sanja Jurca Avci of Avci Architects.

From the sunlit castle courtyard of the Ljubljana Castle the visitors descend into
the dark underground space and are greeted by five glowing castles placed
within exhibition “castle units” that describe their history and inhabitants and
show exhibits connected to these castles. The visitors can listen to short
imaginary monologues of the historical persons who lived on the castles via an
earpiece. Lit panels showing the castles’ images today complete the stories of
the castles and show a different face – the castles’ historical images on the way
back through the exhibition.

In between these five castle units the exhibition is lined with a horizontal graphic
element on which the wealth of over one hundred more castles in Slovenia is
shown. Here, too are some interaction units – from a treasure found in the castle
toilet to a chainmail shirt that the visitors can put on. Visitors can also take a
virtual interactive walk in the Ljubljana Castle throughout the history.

In the depth of the space a myriad of tiny castle models are glowing in the
darkness, again showing the wealth and the variety of the Slovene castles.

Children’s interactive – a miniature castle where every opening is hiding a secret
is organized at the bottom of the entrance stairs.

Visually rich and layered exhibition of the Slovene castles treats this interesting
subject with excitement and imagination it deserves.