Mission
Dedicated to promoting cultural and social diversity.
The founding documents of Narodni dom Maribor, established in 1992 as the second-largest cultural and event centre in Slovenia after Cankarjev dom, state:
"The mission of Narodni Dom Maribor is to meet the demand for high-quality and diverse cultural programmes aimed at the widest possible audience."
This goal, as well as all of our activities, is based on the firm belief that culture and art can only thrive among people and with them. Their development and future can only exist through mutual interaction with audiences of all generations, beliefs, and tastes. This is why our offer is so wide and diverse, why we organise cultural events in the streets and squares, and why many of our events are free of charge. Our doors are always wide open, and so are our programmes. Their aim is to broaden horizons and provide connections with cultural capitals all over the world, while also opening perspectives on contemporary social realities, and developing a culture of acceptance and integration, thereby contributing to the creation of an open, inclusive, and democratic society.
Performances by World-Class Artists and Local Concerts for All Generations
By hosting the world's top symphony and chamber orchestras a well as soloists within the Orchestral and Chamber Cycles and Maribor Festival we stay in line with the biggest musical centres. At the same time, we also organise concerts of popular music and many other creative, innovative and daring musical projects in order to be able to provide a musical offer for all tastes which reaches the widest possible audience. We have been successful in doing so, as we also organise concerts for infants and toddlers (Maribor Festival being the first one to offer such concerts) and promenade concerts in the Maribor City Park, where we also welcome their grandparents.
Makedonissimo, Festival Maribor 2021 | photo by Dejan Bulut
Children's Lent, Festival Lent 2018 | photo Saša Huzjak
Introducing Children to Culture
The Youth Cycle, Cultural Journal, Kekec Subscription, Art Kamp family festival, the children's performances during Lent Festival, and events at the Fairytale Town and Maribor Festival allow us to introduce children to culture, give them the opportunity to explore artistic processes, and provide them with behind-the-scenes insights into cultural institutions through educational programmes in music, dance, theatre, and visual arts.
Festival Lent - the Festival of Festivals
Organised since 1993, Festival Lent is the largest multicultural international open-air festival in Southeast Europe, taking place from late June to early July. For over 30 years , it has drawn more than a quarter of a million visitors annually, making it the most recognised cultural event in Slovenia, attended at least once by one in four Slovenians.
Along the Drava River, through the city streets and squares, in the park and city centre, numerous festival venues host a diverse yet harmonious range of events - opera and ballet, theatre and dance performances, jazz and classical concerts, world music, singer-songwriter and chanson performances, ethnic music concerts, folklore evenings, street theatre festival acts, children’s events, and sports challenges.
Within this vibrant and diverse festival, several smaller, independent festivals take place, offering a wide range of high-quality events: the Ana Desetnica street theatre festival, Jazzlent, the Art Camp family festival, StandUpLent and finally, the international folklore festival Folkart, from which Lent Festival originally evolved. Folkart is one of the Slovenian festivals that meets the criteria set by the global NGO CIOFF® and it is, as they say, one of the best-organised and highest-quality folklore festivals in Europe and in the world.
Festival Lent places Maribor on the global map of festivals and tourism.
Folkart, Festival Lent 2022 | photo by Marko Pigac
Dubioza collective, Festival Lent 2021 | photo by Janez Klenovšek
Jazz Exchange: Pantaloons, Jazz in Narodni dom 2023 | photo by Janez Klenovšek
Jazz at Narodni dom
As part of the Jazz at Narodni dom Cycle we are the only institution in the region that has been continuously organising jazz concerts for years. By hosting carefully selected international ensembles, we connect jazz enthusiasts with global trends while also supporting the growth and recognition of local jazz artists.
A Platform for Comedy
We also play a crucial role in the field of performing arts. With the first Slovenian subscription cycle dedicated exclusively to comedy, we have created an important platform for the development of this genre, which is often underrepresented in institutional theatres. We were also among the first to open our venues to stand-up comedy. Additionally, we actively contribute to contemporary performing arts by producing our own performances, hosting Slovenian and international theatre productions and collaborating with other institutions.
Tadej Toš, Festival Lent 2022 | photo by Blaž Črnič
Vilinsko mesto 2022, Vetrinjski dvor | photo by Blaž Črnič
We offer support to NGOs and Creators
By providing the necessary conditions for the operation of non-governmental organisations and creators at Vetrinjski dvor (Vetrinje Mansion), we create hubs for creativity and integration within the creative industries. In this way, we make a significant contribution to the development of contemporary cultural and artistic approaches. We are also successful in connecting various associations, institutions, independent artists, and cultural creators. With them and for them, we are building a wide and solid network for all - a creative laboratory and a platform for the development of the creative sector. Thus, we contribute an essential factor in ensuring cultural pluralism at the city, regional, and national levels.
We Are Building a Cultural and Creative City
With the facilities we manage – including Narodni dom (Slovenian Cultural Centre), Union Hall, Vetrinjski dvor, Karantena, and Vodni stolp (Water Tower) - we do not only maintain and develop the cultural infrastructure of the city, but we also encourage the growth of its creative tissue. By providing conditions for the operation of non-governmental organisations, associations, institutes and independent artistic and cultural creators, we are building hubs for creativity and networking. We actively promote democratisation and pluralism in art and thus significantly contribute to the development of contemporary artistic approaches. It is fair to say that we have created the largest regional creative laboratory and the most important platform for the development of the cultural and creative sector.
ZIZ Festival 2023, Club Narodni dom, Maribor | photo by Janez Klenovšek
History and Key Milestones
Narodni dom Maribor, a cultural and event institution, was founded in 1992. Our journey began at the Rotovž Town Hall on the Main Square. A year later, on Slovenia’s cultural holiday, 8 February, we moved to our current location at the Narodni dom building, located at Ulica kneza Koclja 9. This relocation held significant symbolism, as Narodni dom had been at the heart of the cultural and national revival of Slovene culture in Maribor in the early 20th century. In our first year, with a team of just 8 staff members and external collaborators, we organised 279 events, drawing 243.000 visitors. Today, with 39 full-time employees and around 10 permanent external collaborators, we host over 1.800 events each year, attracting more than 630.000 visitors. Since our inception in 1992, we have organised more than 26.000 events, welcoming over 13 million visitors.
Many of these events are held during the Festival Lent, which we have been organising since 1993. This is the largest multicultural open-air festival in South-Eastern Europe, with one in four Slovenians having attended at least once. Under its umbrella, several renowned independent festivals are hosted, including the international folklore festival Folkart, the family-friendly Art Camp, the street theatre festival Ana Desetnica at the Lent Festival, StandUpLent, the contemporary dance festival Odprta plesna scena (Open Dance Scene), and the JazzLent festival featuring Jazz Podium.
The most important programmes of the city's cultural life continue to thrive under our roof, including the Koncertna poslovalnica - the oldest of its kind in the former Yugoslavia, established in 1946 - and the Mladinski cikel, which has provided music education to primary and secondary school pupils continuously since 1965. Since 2013, we’ve had the privilege of overseeing the legacy of the European Capital of Culture 2012 title. We continue to develop new programmes and foster the creative sector at Vetrinje Mansion, which we manage.
In 2022, we marked our 30th anniversary with the publication of Mesto, dom, vrata. Narodni dom Maribor – 30 let (City, Home, Door. Narodni Dom – 30 Years), a comprehensive monograph celebrating our journey.
