Cultural Corridors of South East Europe

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Ljubljana, The Old Town

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Ljubljana, The Old Town

About the site


Corridor: Diagonal Road
Country: Slovenia, Ljubljana
Type: Fortress, Historic Town
Epoch: 20th Century, Modern Times, Middle Ages
Theme: Fortresses
World Heritage:
20th CenturyModern TimesMiddle AgesFortressesFortressHistoric Town

Ljubljana lies in a basin between the Karst and the alpine regions at 298 metres above sea level. They say it is sufficiently large to contain everything that a capital should have, and small enough to preserve the individuality of its inhabitants. It is a city with a soul, featured by the Baroque Old Town which is nestled at the foot of Castle Hill, the Art Nouveau mansions as well as some of the masterpieces of the world renowned architect Joze Plecnik. If one is to believe the legend, then the founder of Ljubljana was the Greek prince Jason, together with his companions, the Argonauts. According to the legend, Jason and the Argonauts, while fleeing from King Aites, from whom they had stolen the golden fleece, sailed from the Black Sea up the Danube, from the Danube into the Sava, and from the Sava into the Ljubljanica. Around about here Jason encountered a terrible monster, which he fought and slew. This monster was the Ljubljana dragon, which now has its permanent abode on top of the castle tower on the Ljubljana coat of arms.  Ljubljana, with only some 276.000 inhabitants, combines the compactness of a small city with the facilities of a metropolis and still remains a city on a human scale.

Slovenian Tourist Board