Exploring Ljubljana

Prešeren square faces the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation on one side and the Triple Bridge on the other. This puts it right in the heart of the city. It is named for the most famous poet of the city, represented on this statue.


The Triple Bridge and nearly everything else along the sides of the Ljubljanica River were designed by Jože Plečnik. that includes this neoclassical market place.

The Butcher's Bridge (not one of the three of the Triple Bridges) contains this statue of a fellow with a tail. And as you can see, this is the lover's bridge.

The cables at the sides are filled with lover's locks.

The Ljubljanica River is well confined between the man-made banks that house the city.

There is also the famous Dragon Bridge. The legend is that when Jason and the Argonauts were fleeing the King of the Black Sea with his prized golden fleece, they sailed up the Ljubljanica (not quite sure how you get from the Danube to the Ljubljanica, but there it is) and came to a marshy place. There are low marshes near Ljubljana even today. In this place, Jason fought and slew a monster, a dragon. For this reason, Jason is said to be the first resident of Ljubljana and the dragon is the symbol of the city.

All the decoration on the bridge are dragons.

The large ones on either shore are the impressive ones, however.

Across the river we find the city market. Now we've moved beyond just a seasonal market, this is the place to buy nearly anything you need from food to clothing.

And there are permanent market stall in the large market pavilions designed by Plečnik.

We periodically were passed by a small group playing music and beating drums. When we asked if this was a seasonal thing, somehow connected to Christmas, we told no, it is just a group of people who like to wander the streets and play. This happens all year round.

This is a handsome city. Be sure to put Slovenia on your list of places to visit. And it is inexpensive. We rented an apartment-sized room with kitchen, bedroom, and living room for less than 60 euros. Coffee is less than 2 euros. The food is really good and nearly everyone speaks some English. Easy to get around sort of place.

The Robba fountain, Robbov Vodnjak, is turned off for the year, but is still a pretty place to visit. You can see the top of the cathedral in the distance just to the left of the statues in the fountain.

We took the funicular to the castle at the top of the hill dominating the city, and I got this panorama looking across the city toward the Julian Alps. We ate lunch in a nice restaurant and looked in the gift shop.

On the street you can still find places that are clearly of the older style once found everywhere in the city.

The architecture of the city is neat and clean.