LJUBLJANA Travel Agent Manual

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TRAVEL TRADE PROFESSIONALS’ MANUAL

Town Hall The first building erected on this site in 1484 was rebuilt in 1718 to the plans of local master builder Gregor Maček. Later the building was alterated several times, the most thoroughly in 1963. It has preserved a number of memorials to Ljubljana’s past, including the Hercules and Narcissus fountains, as well as the Gothic auditorium. Today it is the seat of the Ljubljana Municipality. Close by, where the Mestni trg square begins, stands the famous Fountain of the Three Carniolan Rivers (Francesco Robba, 1751). Dragon Bridge The Dragon Bridge, adorned with its famous dragon statues, appears in the most recognizable images of Ljubljana. If you haven’t been photographed next to a Dragon Bridge dragon, you can hardly claim that you have visited Ljubljana. The bridge is a unique creation considered to be an extraordinary piece of technical heritage and a superb example of Art Nouveau. Constructed between 1900 and 1901, it was Ljubljana’s first reinforced concrete structure and one of the largest bridges of its kind to be built in Europe. At the time of its opening, it was called the Jubilee Bridge of Emperor Franz Joseph I. Butchers’ Bridge The Butchers’ Bridge is Ljubljana’s bridge of love, constructed in 2000. Countless lovers have symbolically padlocked their love on it and dropped the keys into the Ljubljanica River, which flows underneath. It connects Plečnik’s Market and the Petkovškovo nabrežje embankment, and it is situated on the site where the architect Jože Plečnik envisaged the construction of a bridge almost a hundred years ago. Its design is artistically-oriented to some extent, as the bridge is adorned with statues by the renowned Slovenian sculptor Jakov Brdar. The contrast between Brdar’s somewhat creepy sculptures and the “padlocks of love” is actually one of the most peculiar among the numerous romantic stories of Ljubljana. Cobblers’ Bridge The site of the present Cobblers’ Bridge, built by the architect Jože Plečnik between 1931 and 1932, was formerly occupied by a covered wooden bridge connecting the Mestni trg and Novi trg squares, two major parts of medieval Ljubljana. The bridge provided space for cobblers’ workshops - hence the name Cobblers’ Bridge. The present-day bridge was built in 1931 to the plans of architect Plečnik. It was made of artificial stone like another of Plečnik’s creations, the Triple Bridge. National and University Library The library was built to the plans of architect Jože Plečnik between 1935 and 1940. The largest early Baroque palace in Ljubljana stood there until the earthquake of 1895. The library preserves a number of medieval documents, incunabula and Renaissance editions and, as a special curiosity, underground literature printed in occupied Ljubljana from 1941-45. Towards the west, the building is adjacent to the remains of the Roman walls, which were restored by Jože Plečnik. Trg francoske revolucije square The Trg francoske revolucije square (French Revolution Square) features a monument to Napoleon’s Illyria. However, the square is most notable for Križanke, a former monastery complex of the Knights of the Cross and today a popular summer theatre – another work on which Plečnik left his mark during its redesign in the 1950s. It also hosts the shows of the Ljubljana Festival. The lower end of the square is lined by the palace of the dukes Auersperg, which today houses the City Museum of Ljubljana, and nearby there is the National and University Library of Ljubljana, probably the most important of Plečnik’s oeuvre in Slovenia.