Razlagova Street 5, Celje
OPENING HOURS:
Photo house Pelikan can only be visited at previously announced times:
- every Tuesday at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.,
- every Saturday at 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.,
- every first Sunday of the month at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
For visiting Photo house Pelikan please call 00386 3 428 64 28 or send an email at informacijska@mnzc.si.
Gallery Božena will be open every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m.
For announced groups, the opening time is by agreement.
In 2024 Musuem of Recent History Celje received the ŽIVA special award for sustainability and the preservation of heritage for its work with Photo house Pelikan.
A large house with a studio extension was built in 1899 by the renowned photographer from Celje Johann Martin Lenz (1864–1916). After World War I, the house was bought by the master photographer Josip Pelikan (1885–1977), who lived and worked there with his family for almost six decades. Pelikan’s name became synonymous with photography in Celje and its surroundings, and many younger photographers learned their craft in his studio.
After his death, Josip Pelikan’s inheritance was carefully curated by his two daughters, especially the younger Božena, who continued the family craft in the house and studio until the 1990s, when it was gradually transferred to the care and protection of the Museum of Recent History Celje. Today, the museum holds tens of thousands of photographs and glass plates, cameras and photographic equipment, a rich archive and documentation; however, the greatest treasure is undoubtedly the two well-preserved studios with the accompanying range of photographic and technical equipment.
The older of the two, the skylight photographic studio, was built by Lenz and used by Pelikan before the Second World War and has been a unit of the Museum of Recent History Celje since 1997. It is the only such example of preserved cultural and technical heritage in Slovenia and one of the few in Europe.
After the death of Mrs Božena Pelikan (1922–2016), the Museum of Recent History Celje assumed the management of the Pelikan family house, including the existing museum unit (the glass studio), to the entire building, which now comprises over 600 m2 of exhibition and working space.
On the ground floor is a perfectly preserved photographic studio built before the Second World War, which was used first by the master and then by his daughter until the end of the 20th century.
On the first floor, a family apartment is open for visitors, featuring the middle-class lifestyle from the first half of the twentieth century.
The top floor of the building was converted from a former attic into a cabinet, a multi-purpose space for professional work and various accompanying programmes, meetings and events.
The basement is home to gallery Božena, an exhibition space for the presentation and promotion of photographic heritage and contemporary photographic creativity and art, both local and foreign.
By prior arrangement visitors are offered a unique opportunity of individual or group portrait photography in the old photographic technique. The experience of taking photos can be upgraded with costumes from the beginning of the 20th century, and memories can also be donated – with gift coupons for artistic photography in a glass studio.
For visitors are available:
