Ljubljana is known for its bridges. The most popular are the three that cross the Ljubljanica in the city center: the Triple Bridge, the Dragon Bridge, and the Cobbler’s Bridge. The current form of each bridge was designed in the 1930’s by the famous Slovenian architect, Jože Plečnik, who has had a hand in just about everything that was built in the city center.
The Triple Bridge was the original bridge that led to the city gates. It is still the main bridge in the walking district, connecting Preseren Square to the old part of the city. It was redesigned with a foot bridge on either side of the main bridge…hence the name.
The Dragon Bridge was designed for the symbol of Ljubljana. Legend has it that a dragon lived in a lake near Ljubljana, and it was killed by Jason and the Argonauts on their way back from Colchis after stealing the golden fleece. Of course, the original version of this legend had Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers slewing Ben Roethlisberger in Dallas, but you know how stories get changed.
The original Cobbler’s Bridge was a wooden bridge where the town’s butchers resided. Apparently, they threw all of the waste in the river and it smelled so bad that the mayor paid them to move. Shoemakers took their place, and so the bridge got its name. The city’s bakery was also near this bridge…they used to put unscrupulous bakers in oversized birdcages and dunk them in the river from the bridge so people would know not to buy from them.
There is a fourth bridge, just south of the walking district, that was recently relocated from a different part of the city. The gentleman I had dinner with a few nights ago called it “my bridge.” This was the bridge that his Partisan brigade crossed to re-take Ljubljana from the Germans in World War II. Awesome.
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