Plečnik’s memorial to the composer Davorin Jenko

In the centre of Cerklje, in front of the Church of the Assumption of Mary, stands the memorial to Davorin Jenko (1835–1914), composer and conductor, born in nearby Dvorje. Jenko left an important mark on Slovenian and Serbian music; among his best-known works are Naprej zastava slave, Lipa zelenela je and Blagor mu, ki se spočije.

For the 100th anniversary of Jenko’s birth, a memorial with his bust by the renowned sculptor Lojze Dolinar was first erected in Cerklje. The original memorial was later removed, and the architect Jože Plečnik incorporated the surviving bust into the design of the new memorial that stands in the centre of Cerklje today.

The memorial thus links the legacy of two important creators – the composer Davorin Jenko and the architect Jože Plečnik – and is one of the best-known cultural sights in the centre of Cerklje.

Davorin Jenko memorial and garden in Dvorje

In Dvorje near Cerklje, on the site where Davorin Jenko’s (1835–1914) birthplace once stood, there is a memorial garden with a monument to one of the most important Slovenian composers of the 19th century. Jenko was born here into a farming family on 9 November 1835; his musical career later took him to Vienna and Belgrade.

In 1935, for the 100th anniversary of his birth, a pyramid-shaped monument of artificial stone with a dedication to the composer was erected on the site of his former birthplace. A special link with the former homestead is the fence around the monument, which incorporates the original ornamental wrought-iron window grille from Jenko’s birthplace.

Davorin Jenko is remembered in Slovenian music history above all as the composer of Naprej, zastava Slave and many songs that became folk songs, including Lipa zelenela je. He spent an important part of his life working in Serbia, where among other things he wrote the melody of today’s Serbian national anthem, Bože pravde.

Today the memorial and garden keep alive the memory of the composer on the very spot where he started out, and are one of the most important cultural heritage sites in Dvorje.

Tomb of Anton Koder

In the cemetery behind the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Cerklje stands the imposing tomb of Anton Koder (1851–1918), Slovenian poet and prose writer. He was born in Radomlje and moved with his family to Poženik at the age of five, where he spent his youth; he felt connected to the Cerklje area all his life.

Koder first wrote poetry but made his name mainly as a prose writer. His most important works include the novels Zvezdana, Luteranci and Kmetski triumvirat and the story Viženčan. He often drew on historical and rural themes, and set the novel Luteranci in the area around Cerklje and Strmol Castle.

Although he spent the last years of his life elsewhere, he chose Cerklje as his final resting place. His grave is marked by an imposing obelisk with the inscription: “Let me rest in Slovenian soil, which I loved so immeasurably.” In his will he left part of his estate to the poor of Cerklje and Poženik and for the building of a church in Poženik, but most of his will was never carried out.