Funeral and cemetery services are certainly two of the oldest services in every society.

Since ancient times, villages and smaller settlements had smaller or larger ceremonies when burying their deceased, usually organized by the locals themselves. In larger settlements and towns special companies were formed to preserve the cemeteries and arrange for burials of the deceased. In the beginning undertaking services as well as maintenance of cemeteries was under church jurisdiction, whereas funeral arrangements were a private trade.

2009 – The assumption of management of the following eight cemeteries: Črnuče, Šentjakob, Šmartno pod Šmarno goro, Janče, Prežganje, Javor, Mali Lipoglav, Šentpavel.

2005 – The official opening of the fourth incinerator with a device for the cooling of flue gases. This was a great acquisition both for the company Žale d. o. o. as for the inhabitants of the Municipality of Ljubljana, as it was an important economic and ecological gain.

2003 – Bojan Lepičnik took hold of the leadership of the company Žale d.o.o.

2004 – In order to “awaken” Plečnik, the employed at Žale organized several activities, most discernible the photography competition »Architectural Details of Plečnik’s Žale«, to which both amateur and professional photographers applied. At the ninetieth anniversary of the company’s existence we organized a retrospective exhibiton and enabled inhabitants with free guided tours of the cemetery Žale.
2001 – New sale pavillion at Plečnik’s Žale, where the florist’s Žale is located.

1994 – The first democratic elections took place in Slovenia and with the elections a rethinking that Plečnik’s Žale required its original purpose restored. The renovated spaces of Plečnik’s Žale became the offices of professional services of the company.

1992 – Accelerated preparations for the restoration of chapels and both propylaeums and Plečnik’s Žale. In some two years they restored all fourteen chapels and on February 11th funeral ceremonies once again began in chapels.

1988 – They began building the new part of the cemetery.

1982 - Architect Marko Mušič designed the new Žale.

1979 – The management seat and TOZD Žale were officially on January 1st placed in the new building at Tomačevska cesta.

1978 – The crematorium of Ljubljana, which was at that time the only one in Slovenia, regularly began to serve its purpose on December 26th with two incinerators of the label TABO.

1977 – The longterm desires for the building of crematorium finally began to realize in Ljubljana. In this way the construction of new management quarters and crematorium was completed on October 28th, when the crematorium finally became operational.

1975 – Was the beginning of accelerated activities for the construction of crematorium in Ljubljana. The city council appointed the self-initiative comité for the construction of crematorium and the building board, which decided that the investor of the crematorium, farewell chambers and management facilities at Tomačevska cesta, would be the Municipal Company Ljubljana or TOZD Žale.

1974 – The company Žale was restructured into Municipal Company Žale, Ljubljana.

1973 – Municipal Company Žale became a member of the European Burial Union (EBU). At that time the Municipal Company Žale was active in relations with other European undertaking companies.

1969 – The company began managing cemeteries at Polje and Sostro.

1963 – The funeral institute Žale was renamed as the new-founded Municipal Company of funeral institute Žale, Ljubljana. Apart from the central cemetery Žale, other following cemeteries came under Žale management: Bizovik, Dravlje, Rudnik, Stožice, Šentvid, Štepanja vas and Vič, whereas the cemetery Črnuče had only partial funeral services.

1961 – The institute assumed the management and maintenance of the cemetery at Šentvid.

1956 – The funeral institute Žale was assigned for management of the cemetery at Bizovik.

1954 – The institution Žale was on April 7th declared as a financially independent institution with the name Funeral Institution Žale.

1952 – With the reogranization of MOL and the seizing of operation of local peoples’ comités, the company Žale assumed the management or maintenance of cemeteries at Dravlje, Rudnik, at Stožice, Štepanja vas and Vič. With the decree of MOL on June 18th the National Business Company Žale was declared as a business enterprise with independent financing.

1947 – The central cemetery of Ljubljana was on July 1st 1947 incorporated to the company Žale.

1946 – The decree of the City Peoples’ Committe on October 23rd founded the Public Business Company Žale and declared it as a company with independent financing. In November 1946 MLO took over of the entire Ljubljana cemetery at Žale, which was until then managed by the diocesan ordinary's office.

1940 – The solemn celebration of today’s Plečnik’s Žale took place on July 7th.

1938 – After a long public debate, the Municipal Council on October 13th accepted the name Žale for the new morgue with mortuaries. The morgue with mortuaries was built in two years.

1936 – The Municipal Council decided to build morturies and the placement of the deceased in mortuaries became mandatory. The outlay for the mortuaries was made by the architect Spinčič, but later the new Municipal Council of the funeral institute in early 1936 declined his outlays due to overpriced construction and asked the architect Plečnik to make a construction programme for the mortuaries.

1929 – The Municipal Funeral Institute opened the urgent question of the building of mortuary in Ljubljana, as deceased up until then lay at their homes. Then the administrative board suggested building a morgue at the cemetery at Saint Cross.

1927 – The municipality purchased a house and property at Ambrožev trg for the institute. That year the institute purchased funeral inventory from two private funeral undertakers.

1924 – The institute purchased a building plot at Akacijeva (now Njegoševa) cesta in Ljubljana to build suitable quarters for the business needs of the institute and the morgue.

1923 – The owners of the cemetery were parishes of Ljubljana, which gave the cemetery for purchase to hirers, who freely employed farm workers for the digging of graves, maintenance of the cemetery and leased various works to mediators.

1921 – The Municipal Council issued a permit to the Funeral Institute to build its business building and in 1923 the parishes of Ljubljana formed a funeral trust run by the diocesan ordinary's office. This appointed a legate, who with his employees ran the cemetery at St. Cross. Farm workers and hirers were a thing of the past from then on.

1915 – The private undertaking company Josip Turk was taken over on January 1st. The Municipal Funeral Institute began working during the First World War. There were many staffing problems, the purchase of funeral materials, horses and stern. In October, the Municipal Council accepted the rules of the institute.
Management was under:

• Municipal Council of Ljubljana,
• Administrative Board of the company,
• Headmaster.

1914 – On August 1st, the Municipal Funeral Institute actually began working as a company. Prior to this date on June 24th the Municipality concluded the first purchase contract with the then private undertaker Doberbet and took over the entire funeral inventory in warehouses, garages and stables at Frančiškanska, now Nazorjeva ulica, and at the offices at Prečna ulica.

1913 – On June 13th 1913, following a decree, the Ljubljana Municipal Council at the Carniolan Provincial Governent filed a request for concession award in order to allow also municipal management of the undertaking trade. Therefore on July 15th the Municipal Council decided to form a municipal funeral institute, which would purchase the entire required funeral inventory from the then private undertaking companies in Ljubljana. The provincial government complied with the request only on October 13th, when the Municipality of Ljubljana issued the concession award for funeral activities.

1907 – The Austrian trade order gave prior right to citizens at issuing and performing funeral concessions.

1906 – They officially began burying deceased at the new cemetery at St. Cross.

1904 – First burial.

Before 1900 there were only privately owned funeral companies, which provided all types of funerals and transports of deceased in Ljubljana and had special permits from the provincial government.