Luka Dakskobler

Stories: URBAN BEEKEEPING IN LJUBLJANA

Slovenia is one of the greenest countries in the world. It even constitutionalized clean water. More than half of the country is protected land. It is one of the most sustainable countries in the world. In 2016 its capital Ljubljana was the Green Capital of Europe. Indeed, there are around 65 thousand registered trees in Ljubljana, and it has a 34 km long tree-lined trail where around 7000 trees grow - all nectar-bearing. More than 10,000 Slovenians (out of two million) are beekeepers. That's one in 200. In 2014, Slovenian Beekeeping Association and the Government of Slovenia proposed a World Bee Day. The United Nations made their final decision in December 2017. 

The World Bee Day is now celebrated on 20th May, the birth date of Anton Janša, a Slovenian pioneer of modern beekeeping. 

But the bees are dying all over the world, presumably from overuse of pesticides. Urban beekeeping could be one of answers to the problem, namely some studies show that bees are safer in the cities and their honey is impeccable, because there are no pesticides in the city while small ammounts of city pollution like in Ljubljana don't affect them. In late 2017, a study by French scientists proved that urban bees and honey are healthier than those in the country. 

Ljubljana has a strong and unique relationship with bees in the city. As a part of its green orientation it is systematically, on the level of city authorities, helping bees to thrive in an urban environment. 

The city authorities are running projects to help the bees, plant only nectar-bearing trees in the city, parks and avenues, encourage planting nectar-bearing flowers on balconies, work with faculties to design urban beehouses, run week-long sets of activities about bees in the city and urban beekeeping, use city honey as protocol gifts, install honey gardens, run guided tours of beekeeping related sites in the city, workshops, and have implemented an emergency response team of urban beekeepers that pick up swarms in the city.  

Urban beekeeping in Ljubljana started in 2008 when Franc Petrovčič brought his first beehives onto the roof of Cankarjev dom cultural center. Today, most urban beekeepers in Ljubljana are gathered in the Urban beekeeper society which - among others - was also founded by Petrovčič, and is run by Gorazd Trušnovec. Individuals and companies can also rent a hive from Trušnovec in Ljubljana. It is becoming highly popular. And with all the beehives around the city, come May every year, Trušnovec is indeed busy as a bee. 

On a national level, Slovenia has started beekeeping school clubs, the nation-wide honey breakfast in school and surrounding activities regarding bees. The World Bee Day is strongly supported by the Ministry of agriculture, forestry and food. Together with the Beekeeping Association of Slovenia they worked hard to make the World Bee initiative succeed at the UN. 

While Ljubljana maintains its green face additionally through its relationship with bees, other cities in Slovenia have not yet embraced urban beekeeping. Proclaiming 20th May as the World Bee Day signifies the importance of bees for human life and the effort to save them from dying, wherever and however it may be. Urban beekeeping is moving away from traditional locations and even sources of threat to the bees, according to urban beekeepers. And just maybe we should start looking at answers to dying bees in this unlikely corners of their habitat. 

  • Gorazd Trušnovec inspects beehives on the rooftop of Radio Slovenia.
  • Gorazd Trušnovec, urban beekeeper
  • New nectar-bearing trees on the Trail of Remembrance and Comradeship, the 34 km long tree-lined trail where around 7000 trees grow.
  • Workers plant new nectar-bearing trees on the Trail of Remembrance and Comradeship, the 34 km long tree-lined trail where around 7000 trees grow.
  • Ljubljana Beekeeping Trail, an organised tour of beehives in the city and history of urban beekeeping in Ljubljana. In 2017, the running Slovenian Bee Queen joined one of the tours.
  • Franc Petrovčič. the pioneer of urban beekeeping in Ljubljana, during a presentation on the roof of Cankarjev dom Cultural Center.
  • Franc Petrovčič inspects beehives on the rooftop of Cankarjev dom Cultural Center.
  • A boy inspects a bee during Petrovčič's presentation on the rooftop of Cankarjev dom Cultural Center.
  • Trušnovec prepares hive frames in his shed at home. As part of his Rent-a-hive service, he needs to take care of all the rented beehives in the city. When bees are most active he must regularily add hives and frames to accomodate all the bees.
  • Beehives on the rooftop of Radio Slovenia.
  • Urban beekeeper Gorazd Trušnovec inspects the beehives on the roof of the Ljubljana Secondary School of Trade. The school also runs a beekeeping club.
  • Trušnovec removes the bee queen from a hive on the rooftop of Radio Slovenia.
  • Trušnovec inspects the beehives on the roof of the entrance to Omega Air company in Ljubljana, one of several companies that rent hives from his society. It is popular to name the hives to define which bees symbolically belong to who, in this case the hive that carries the name Teja houses bees that belong to a daughter of an employee. The rent a hive service is booming, but keeps Gorazd extremely busy maintaining the hives of clients. The honey they produce belongs to the clients.
  • Trušnovec arrives to divide a full beehive on the roof of 13-storey Hotel Park in the city centre of Ljubljana, the highest dwelling of bees in the city.
  • Trušnovec inspects the beehives on the roof of 13-storey Park Hotel in the city centre of Ljubljana, the highest dwelling of bees in the city.
  • Trušnovec inspects the beehives on the roof of the Ljubljana Secondary School of Trade.
  • Trušnovec inspects the beehives on the roof of 1the 3-storey Hotel Park in the city centre of Ljubljana, the highest dwelling of bees in the city.
  • Swarming bees surround a treetop in Ljubljana. The municipality recently implemented a service of around five beekepers who voluntarily pick up swarms around the city and are now included in the emergency services under the number 112 just like the police and ambulance.
  • Trušnovec inspects the beehives on the roof of the entrance to Omega Air company in Ljubljana, trying to determine where a swarm that escaped to a nearby tree came from.
  • Trušnovec removes a runaway swarm from a treetop by dropping as many bees into a bucket, hoping to trap the queen and make the rest of the bees follow. In picking up swarms he often needs help of local fire departments that provide a ladder.
  • Trušnovec  sweeps of bees from his mask after removing a runaway swarm from a treetop in Ljubljana. In picking up swarms he often needs help of local fire departments that provide a ladder.
  • Nectar-bearing plants deliberately located near a newly installed educational beehouse in the Ljubljana botanical gardens during the opening of the beehouse on July 10, 2017. The educational beehouse is constructed for visitors separated from bees by glass to be able to observe a beekeeper at work and the bees. It is run by a proferssor and his students at the biotechnical faculty. They will also do research of quality and development of bees inside the hive.
  • Trušnovec shows how to prepare the basis for a honeycomb to students and teachers during a beekeeping class at the Ljubljana Secondary School of Trade. Among other activities, beekeeping school classes are a project started by the Slovenian Beekeepers Association and supported by the government. They are highly succesful.
  • Trušnovec shows the beehives to students on the roof of  the Ljubljana Secondary School of Trade during a beekeeping class.
  • Trušnovec inspects the beehives  on the roof of  the Ljubljana Secondary School of Trade.
  • A queen bee is caught in a small container used to mark her.
  • Children in the api kindergarten Lunba observe honeycombs. The activities in the api kindergarten have more emphasis on bees, honey etc.
  • Children in the api kindergarten Lunba taste honey directly from the honeycomb.
  • Trušnovec inspects the beehives on the roof of the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia in Ljubljana. Joining him is an employee who is a beginner beekeeper.
  • A bee in flight over the city center of Ljubljana, where they have enough pasture in a 3 km radius from anywhere in the city. Most bees cannot fly for food much further than 3 km.
  • Urban beekeeper Žiga Logonder inspects the beehives on the rooftop of the Slovenian Environment Agency.
  • Trušnovec inspects the beehives at a deserted construction pit transformed into an urban community garden called Onkraj gradbišča (Beyond a construction site) in Ljubljana.
  • Individual or families also rent a hive from Trušnovec to put it in their garden in front of their house, but it is still rare. These hives are also maintained by Trušnovec and the honey that those bees produce belongs to the renter.
  • As part of the Municipality's plan for the city to grow nectar-bearing trees the recently renovated and closed to traffic Slovenian street in Ljubljana's city centre boasts with only nectar-bearing trees.
  • The Municipality of Ljubljana agreed with public services to start cutting grass in the city later, because one of the problem of losing pasture for bees was cutting grass too early, before grass plants were in full bloom.
  • Urban Beekeeper Damir Škraban inspects the beehives located in the Tivoli Park in Ljubljana, next to a meadow full of flowers.
  • Some rooftop locations are hard to access. Trušnovec here pulls a casket with hive frames up a ladder to the rooftop of the Španski borci cultural center in Ljubljana.
  • Trušnovec inspects a beehive on the rooftop of Španski borci cultural center in Ljubljana.
  • The bees return from pasture. They are carrying the nectar on their hind legs that are full of long hair that serve that purpose.
  • The bees return from pasture. They are carrying the nectar on their hind legs that are full of long hair that serve that purpose.
  • Trušnovec inspects a traditional Slovenian beehive on a balcony of the Government of Slovenia building Ljubljana. The Slovenian Beekepers Association and the Government of Slovenia have worked closely to make 20th May the World Bee Day. The proposal was made in 2014 and the final decision of the UN council was made in December 2017.
  • Trušnovec inspects the beehives on the roof of Semenarna Ljubljana, a leading seed-providing company in Slovenia. It is located just across from a large shopping area with numerous shopping malls and big stores etc.
  • Bees on a honeycomb on the roof of the the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia in Ljubljana.
  • Urban beekeeper Franc Petrovčič inspects beehives on the rooftop of the Cankarjev dom cultural and congress center. In 2008, these were the first rooftop beehives in Ljubljana.
  • Urban beekeeper Peter Pečenko inspects beehives on the rooftop of his apartment building in Koseze.
  • Bees also reside on the rooftop of Kino Šiška. These are also maintained by Peter Pečenko.
  • Žiga Logonder inspects beehives on the rooftop of Slovenian Environment Agency.
  • The beehives on the rooftop of Španski borcu cultural center are embraced by apartment buildings on one side while the other side is open towards the Golovec hill.
  • Žiga Logonder on the rooftop of Slovenian Environment Agency administers formic acid to fight spreading of varroa, the most dangerous parasite to bees.
  • Bees are prone to many diseases that decimate their numbers. Apart from the varroa parasite, the chalk brood disease is common and weakens the bees. It is a fungal diesease that mummifies larvae.
  • Nearing the end of the bee season, Trušnovec fights the spreading of varroa by administering oxalic acid via sublimator vaporizer.
  • Nearing the end of the bee season, Trušnovec fights the spreading of varroa by administering oxalic acid via sublimator vaporizer on the rooftop of Radio Slovenia.
  • By the end of May the first honey is being collected at the Secondary School of Trade in Ljubljana.
  • Trušnovec inspects the beehives on the roof of Radio Slovenia in late afternoon.
  • Gorazd Trušnovec during the last beehive inspection after a long day.
  • Last visit to the bee families on the rooftop of Radio Slovenia before ending a busy day.
  • Stories
    • Slovenia wildfire 2022
    • Exhibition Affliction-Geist
    • Anti-government Protests 2020
    • The Pandemic
    • Zero Waste Ljubljana
    • The Krampusse of Duplje
    • Urban beekeeping
    • The Astronaut
    • Land Grabbing in Senegal
    • The Girl Inside
    • Safeguarding the Venetian Lagoon
    • Anti-Government Protests
    • Air Lyra
    • 15 Years After the Genocide
    • Saving the Marble Trout
    • The Sad Lake
    • The Long Nights on the Marmara Sea
    • Student Protests in Ljubljana
    • The Bora
    • Tito's Infamous Prison Islands
    • The Zice Carthusian Monastery
    • Floods in Slovenia 2010
    • Medieval Reenactments
    • No More Bella Italia
    • Ice Engulfs Slovenia
    • National Fly Fishing Championships
    • Flash floods in Zelezniki
    • The Middle East
  • Who they are
    • Mary Wilson of the Supremes
    • The Jason Cale Band
    • Martina Marenčič
    • Darko Đurič
    • Andrew Obeng
    • Linda Tellington-Jones
    • Florence Williams
    • Benka Pulko
    • In passing
    • Idols
  • On Set
    • Wake Me
    • Going Our Way 2
  • Events/News
  • Tearsheets
  • Multimedia
    • Affliction-Geist
    • The Girl Inside
    • Air Lyra
    • The Long Nights on the Marmara Sea
    • 15 Years After the Genocide
    • National Fly Fishing Championships
  • Info
    • Bio
    • Awards
  • Contact
  • Slovensko

All photos on this site are © LUKA DAKSKOBLER. Any use without permission is subject to a fine. Site design © 2010-2023 Neon Sky Creative Media