The Dragon Bridge

The Dragon Bridge, which is studded with well-known dragon statues, may be seen in many pictures of Ljubljana. You can scarcely call yourself a visitor to Ljubljana if you haven't had your picture taken next to a Dragon Bridge dragon. When the bridge was built, people have been fascinated by the four dragon statues, which look somewhat frightening and almost real (assuming, of course, you think dragons might actually exist). This can be seen as one of the Best Places to Visit In Ljubljana.

Apart from the allure of the dragons, the Dragon bridge has a singular design that is regarded as a remarkable example of technological heritage and Art Nouveau architecture, a style that was popular at the turn of the 20th century. It was the first reinforced concrete building in Ljubljana and one of the biggest bridges of its sort ever built in Europe. It was built between 1900 and 1901. It was known as the Jubilee Bridge of Emperor Franz Joseph I when it first opened.

The Dalmatian architect Jurij Zaninovi, who studied under the renowned Viennan architect Otto Wagner and whose student was also Ljubljana's great architect Joe Plenik, gave the Dragon Bridge its Art Nouveau aesthetic. The balustrades, the dragon statues made of sheet copper, and the concrete slabs used to cover the reinforced concrete framework were all created by Zaninovi. The parapet lamps, which previously ran on gas, are also part of the bridge's original embellishments.

Butchers' Bridge, a dilapidated wooden bridge that had existed there since 1819, was replaced with the Dragon Bridge. The municipal authorities chose a modern style and a reinforced concrete structure mostly for financial reasons because it was far less expensive to build with reinforced concrete than with the then-more-common stone.

Address: Petkovskovo nabrezje 31A 1000 Ljubljana

Phone: +386 1 306 12 15

Opening hours: all day

Rating: 4.0/5.0, 2697 Tripadvisor reviews

Website: https://visitljubljana.com/old-id/en/1914