Prešeren awards and awards of the Prešeren Fund are the highest recognitions of the Republic of Slovenia for achievements in the field of art in the Republic of Slovenia. The Prešeren award is awarded to authors, who have permanently enriched the Slovenian cultural heritage, by their top-level artistic achievements or their life opus; one person can normally receive the award only once. The award of the Prešeren Fund is received by authors for important artistic achievements, which were presented to the public in the last two years before the award and represent and enrichment of the Slovenian cultural heritage.
 

The awards are awarded at the central celebration on the Slovenian cultural holiday. Awards evaluate top-level creativity, set standards thereof and represent stimulation. The law provides for the awarding of not more than two Prešeren awards and six Prešeren Fund awards. The Articles of Association provide that Prešeren awards and awards of the Prešeren Fund be awarded by the Board of Directors at the central celebration, in honour of the Slovenian cultural holiday.

 
Prešeren awards and awards of the Prešeren Fund are the highest recognitions of the Republic of Slovenia for achievements in the field of art in the Republic of Slovenia. The beginning of awards goes back to the year of 1946, when the Ministry of Culture of that period, issued an Order on awarding awards for art and science; however already a year before, the 8th of February was proclaimed as a cultural holiday. The above-mentioned decisions confirmed the belief that we, as a nation were formed mainly by cultural and scientific creativity.
 

First awards were awarded in 1947, on the cultural holiday. The proposers were the Society of Slovenian Writers, Music Council of the Ministry of Culture, Society of Slovenian Fine Artists and Academy of Sciences and Arts.
 

Awards were named after France Prešeren on the basis of the law adopted in 1955 and the same law also expanded the "base" of potential proposers, and established the Prešeren Fund, having a legal personality.
 

In past decades, the law was amended on more occasions. Already in 1956, it defined scientific areas in more detail, but the greatest amendment was adopted in 1961. Since then the awards are intended purely for the artistic works and divided into Prešeren awards and awards of the Prešeren Fund. The number of awards was changing, until the adoption of the law at the end of 1981. At that time the number of awards was limited to the maximum of three Prešeren awards and ten Prešeren Fund awards, while at the same time the Fund lost its legal personality. The amendment of the law from 1991 reduced the number of awards even more, namely to the maximum of two Prešeren awards and six Prešeren Fund awards.
 

 
Address:
Prešeren Fund
Ministry of Culture
Maistrova ulica 10
1000 Ljubljana