Tourist Attractions in Ljubljana (Part 3)
The 3rd and, for now, final installment of our series on tourist attractions in Ljubljana. This time covering what we have left out in the first two.
1. Dragon Bridge
One of the famous bridges on river Ljubljanica and also one of the most beautiful examples of secession bridges in Europe. They first opened this bridge in 1905, after building it in place of an old butcher’s bridge that had collapsed in an earthquake. There are 4 statues of dragons on the far ends of the bridge and a total of 18 smaller ones spread across the entire structure. The dragon is also a symbol of Ljubljana and is featured on the town’s coat of arms.
2. River Ljubljanica
With frequent boat rides taking place this slow streaming river has managed to become a tourist attraction in it’s own right. Since Ljubljanica flows straight through the town center it’s perfect for sightseeing offering an entirely different perspective on many of the main attractions. In addition to that there are several fun activities you can participate on Ljubljanica, such as stand up paddle boarding and canoeing.
3. Park Tivoli
A fairly large park just minutes away from the town center. Tivoli is perfect for those who’d like to get away from the crowded town and relax in a more natural environment. The park has a gorgeous botanic garden, countless walking paths, a trim trail and a children’s playground area. There are also several lovely bars, such as the Caffee Bienale and Čolnarna. The latter is located by an artificial lake full of water lilies in the summer and no less beautiful when it’s frozen in the winter.
4. Ljubljana Marshes
The marshes contain a few protected natural areas, some of which you are able to visit. Archeologists have also made a number of prehistoric findings in the marshes. These include the oldest known wheel in the world, which was a part of a prehistoric cart. Some younger findings include remains of a roman port, a roman shallow water cargo ship, and an array of weapons from the 8th and 9th century. The latter belonged to franks who were passing through on their invasions against the Avares.
5. Galleries and cultural centers
There are still quite a few galleries we haven’t mentioned in previous posts. These include the National Gallery, Jakopič Gallery and aksioma. The main focus of the first is art produced locally between the middle ages and modernism. Jakopič Gallery on the other hand displays contemporary design, photography, architecture and other visual arts. It also hosts performances and multimedia exhibitions.
Similarly Aksioma also displays contemporary art, however this is a non profit institute rather than a typical gallery. It’s main focus is politically engaged and socially critical art that depicts the problems of today’s society.
Last but not least Tobačna 001 is a new cultural center in Ljubljana that contains a gallery, a museum and an apartment for artist residency. The center occupies a former tobacco factory (hence the name Tobačna, which is Slovene for Tobacco).
6. Church of the Annunciation
Overlooking the Prešeren square this is one of the most central and frequently visited churches in town. It’s a monastery church that was built in the mid 17th century in the early baroque style. They built the church in place of an old augustine church that had burned down.
Architecturally it’s a one-basil church with two side chapels. There are monumental pilasters adorning the facade which is facing the river Ljubljanica. The church has a triangular pediment. Francesco Robba designed the baroque style altar and there are a number of frescoes decorating the inside walls.
5. Buildings from the Secession period
A devastating earthquake took place in Ljubljana at the end of the 19th century destroying many buildings in the town center. After that Ljubljana received generous financial support from abroad which we used to rebuild the most damaged parts of the town. Since that coincided with the secession art movement they also made the new buildings in that style.
As a result there is a whole array of breathtaking houses spread across central Ljubljana. These include the art nouveau supermarket on Prešeren square as well as a number of buildings along Miklošičeva and Slovenska roads. Some are examples of the classical Vienna Secession style, while others offer a unique Slovenian point of view on this artistic movement.
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That’s it for now. We probably still left out a few sites as Ljubljana has so many it is nearly impossible to cover everything. However we did manage to go through most of the main attractions. If you’d like to see them in a way that is more fun than the purely factual regular tours visit our website here> and book yourself a spot on one of our hilarious Comedy Tours.
