Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital city, but it is small and pretty, easy to get around, and full of
surprises. It is a mid-sized city of 280,000 people. The most likely city was named after the
river Ljubljanica that flows through it.
This is the flag and coat of arms of Ljubljana
The city's symbol is the Ljubljana Dragon. It symbolises power, courage and greatness. It is
depicted on the top of the tower of the Ljubljana Castle in the Ljubljana coat-of-arms and on
the Ljubljanica-crossing Dragon Bridge.
Geography
Ljubljana is situated in central Slovenia in the Ljubljana Basin between the Alps and
the Karst. Ljubljana is located:
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140 kilometres west from Zagreb
520 kilometres northwest from Belgrade
250 kilometres east from Venice
350 kilometres southwest from Vienna
400 kilometres southwest from Budapest.
Ljubljana lies in a seismic zone. A number of earthquakes have devastated Ljubljana,
including in 1511 and 1895. Slovenia is in a rather active seismic zone because of its position
to the south of the Eurasian Plate. This country is at the junction of three important
tectonic zones: the Alps to the north, the Dinaric Alps to the south and the Pannonian
Basin to the east. Scientists have been able to identify 60 destructive earthquakes in the
past.
Ljubljana's climate is Oceanic. July and August are the warmest months with daily highs
generally between 25 and 30 °C and January is the coldest month with the temperatures
mostly oscillating around 0 °C. Thunderstorms are very common from May to September
and are occasionally quite heavy. Snow is common from December to February.
The city is known for its fog, which is recorded on average on 64 days per year, mostly in
autumn and winter, and can be particularly persistent in conditions of temperature
Map of Ljubljana centre inversion.
Ljubljana Skyline
Crime
With around 45,000 criminal acts in 2007, the Police Directorate Ljubljana alone accounts
for over 50% of the country's crimes. As of 2007, the jurisdiction of the Police Directorate
Ljubljana covers the area of 3,807 square kilometres which represents 18.8% of the national
territory. There are 17 police stations employing 1,380 individuals, of whom 1,191 are police
officers and 189 are civilians. Slovenia and in particular Ljubljana have a quiet and secure
reputation.
The public order and municipal traffic regulations are also supervised by the city traffic
wardens .
Culture
Ljubljana has numerous art galleries and museums. In 2004, there were 15 museums, 41 art
galleries, 11 theatres and four professional orchestras. There is for example an architecture
museum, a railway museum, a sports museum, a museum of modern art, a museum of
contemporary art, a brewery museum, the Slovenian Museum of Natural History and the
Slovene Ethnographic Museum. The Ljubljana Zoo covers 19.6 hectares and has 152 animal
species. An antique flea market takes place every Sunday in the old city. In 2006, the
museums received 264,470 visitors, the galleries 403,890 and the theatres 396,440.
Each year over 10,000 cultural events take place in the city; among these are ten
international festivals of theatre, music and art. Numerous music festivals are held there,
chiefly in European classical music and jazz, for instance the Ljubljana Summer Festival
In 1701, present-day Slovenia's first philharmonic academy opened in Ljubljana, which
spurred the development of musical production in the region. Some of its honorary
members would include Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, as
well as the violinist Niccolò Paganini.
The National Gallery, founded in 1918, and the Museum of Modern Art both in Ljubljana,
exhibit the most influential Slovenian artists.
Education
The University of Ljubljana, Slovenia's most important and Ljubljana's only university, was
build in 1919. On foundation, the University comprised five faculties: law, philosophy,
technology, theology and medicine.
On this picture we can see University of Ljubljana (we can see it next to our school)
In 2004, the National and University Library of Slovenia, located in Ljubljana, had 1,169,090
books. In 2006, the 55 primary schools had 20,802 people and the 32 secondary schools had
25,797.
Sports
Ljubljana's ice hockey clubs are HD HS Olimpija, ŠD Alfa, HK Slavija and HDD Olimpija
Ljubljana. They all compete in the Slovenian Hockey League. HDD Olimpija Ljubljana also
takes part in the Austrian Hockey League. (EBEL)]The basketball teams are KD Slovan, ŽKD
Ježica Ljubljana and KK Union Olimpija. Olimpija has a green dragon as its mascot, hosts its
matches in the 13,000-seat Arena Stožice since 2010.
The city's football teams which play in the Slovenian PrvaLiga (FirstLeague) are Interblock
Ljubljana and NK Olimpija Ljubljana. There are two stadiums in the city. Bežigrad Stadium
and the much larger Stožice Stadium opened since August 2010 and is located in Stožice
Sports Park, is the home of the NK Olimpija Ljubljana established in 2005, and the main
stadium of the Slovenia national football team.
The last Sunday in October, the Ljubljana Marathon is run on the city's streets. It attracts
several thousand runners each year.
Transport
Ljubljana is at the centre of the Slovenian road network, which links the city to all parts of
the country.
Ljubljana railway station is part of a railway network that links Germany to Croatia through
the Munich-Salzburg-Ljubljana-Zagreb line. A second network is the Vienna-Graz-MariborLjubljana , the one which links Austria to Slovenia.
Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, is located 26 kilometres north of the city, has flights to
numerous European destinations.
The city bus network, run by the Ljubljana Passenger Transport (LPP) company, is Ljubljana's
most used public transport. The city bus rides can be paid with the Urbana payment card or
with a mobile phone.
Health
Ljubljana has a rich history of discoveries in medicine and innovations in medical
technology. The majority of secondary and tertiary care in Slovenia takes place in Ljubljana.
The University Medical Centre Ljubljana is the largest hospital centre in Slovenia.
The Faculty of Medicine and the Ljubljana Institute of Oncology are other two central
medical institutions in Slovenia.
SIGHTS OF LJUBLJANA
LJUBLJANA CASTLE: It used to be important for defence against turkish invasions, but
now it's used for displaying purposes. First mentioned in 1144 when it was a home to the
Carinthian dukes of Spanheim. It changed its form in the 15th century and since then it went
through many upgrades, but some time after 17th century it started to loose its strategical
importance so it stopped being maintained. Later in the 19th century the authoroties built a
penitentiary and made a military fort. In the start of the 20th century the city community
bought the castle and made it a home for some of the people that stayed there until the
1960 when it started to be renewed again and in the 90's it was revived once again and
became a place for marrying ceremonies.
CHURCHES
-CATHEDRAL OF SAINT NIKOLAJ: First mentioned in 1262 when it was a three-vessel
Roman basilica, but it burned down in 1361. It was later renewed in gothic style. In 1461 it
became a cathedral, but it burned down 8 years later. In 1701 it was demolished and made
in to a large baroque church. Later it was decorated by many artists.
-FRANCISCAN CHURCH: One of the most visited churches in Slovenia, partly because it is
located right beside Prešern square. It was built between the years 1646 and 1660, but the
church towers weren't built right away. It was built in an early baroque basilica style. In
between the church and the Prešeren square there's a monastery that has a well-known
library with over 70.000 copies of historical value.
PARK TIVOLI: The biggest park in Ljubljana, opened in the year 1813. About a century
later it was renewed by Jože Plečnik. It consists of several strolling paths, fountains and
statues. One of the bigger atractions are the three avenues planted with chestnut trees on
both sides. In the 20th century the park was supplemented with a pond, botanic garden,
greenhouse, playground for children, covered swimming pools with fitness in them and a
tennis court, golf court, basketball court and a roller-skating rink. There are also two major
objects in this park and those are the Cekinski and Tivolski castle. The whole size of the park
is 509ha.
BRIDGES
-TROMOSTOVJE: Tromostovje consists of three bridges crossing Ljubljanica. It went
through a lot of changes starting in 1280 when there was ''The old bridge'' which was made
out of wood and it was the first bridge that was built in Ljubljana since the antique. The
position of the bridge was very important because it connected the city square and the path
to Gorenjska and Štajerska. In the year 1657 a fire destroyed the upper bridge and it was
replaced by an another wooden one. It was replaced in 1842 by one made of stone. After
the first world war the bridge was expanded with two gangways for pedestratians and the
plans were made by Jože Plečnik. In 1992 it was throughoutly renewed.
-DRAGON BRIDGE: It was built in 1900 and 1901 to replace the Bucher's bridge which
was made out of stone and was placed there in 1819. It was built out of reinforced steel,
one of the first ones in Europe. With more than 33 meters it had arc of all bridges in Europe
at that time. There are 20 dragon statues on it. It was renewed between the years 1983 and
1984.
Sources
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http://www.visitljubljana.si/ (25.1.2012)
http://www.ljubljana.si/en/municipality/ (25.1.2012)
http://www.slovenia.info/?lng=1 (25.1.2012)
Enciklpedija Slovenije, Mladinska knjiga, 1991
Authors: Blaž Marolt (Ljubljana)
Matija Pogorevc (Sights of Ljubljana)