The former Cistercian monastery near the town of Kostanjevica na Krki is an imposing baroque structure, but many of its visitors are drawn to objects scattered around the lawn in front of the building: a collection of contemporary sculptures known as the Kostanjevica Forma Viva.

More than half a century ago, two leading Slovenian sculptors, Jakob Savinšek and Janez Lenassi, came up with an idea for an annual event in which sculptors from around the world would come to Slovenia to create new works of art. One location for Forma Viva was Portorož on the Slovenian coast, while another was in Kostanjevica. In both instances, the sculptors were required to use the defining local material – stone on the coast and oak in Kostanjevica, which is surrounded with forests. Everything else was up to the artists themselves.

Beginning in 1961, top sculptors from around the world traveled to Kostanjevica and spent months making their artwork in the gardens of the monastery. The sculptures were then left on permanent open-air display. In the first decades of its existence, the event attracted artists from places such as the U.S., Japan, Israel, Canada, and countries throughout Europe. By the 1980s, the Forma Viva began to decline, and what had been an annual gathering became highly irregular in nature until it was discontinued altogether in 1988.

Then, seven years after Slovenia’s independence, the Kostanjevica Forma Viva was reorganized as a biennial event. It got a new lease on life and it once again became a draw for contemporary sculptors from around the world. More than a hundred varied sculptures now displayed in the monastery’s park testify to its success as a successful artistic gathering.

Some of the sculptures are now on display in the town of Kostanjevica itself, where they do their part in bringing art closer to the people. The Forma Viva and the nearby Božidar Jakac Gallery have emerged as leading tourist attractions in the area and beyond. Thousands of visitors come to this part of the country to see contemporary sculptures by leading artists who were inspired by Slovenia’s varied landscapes.