Ljubljana Castle, perched on top of the hill rising out of the city center, has been keeping watch over the city for centuries. Its silhouette is such an indispensable element in Ljubljana's skyline that very early on the city's residents assigned it a place of honor in their coat of arms. Its unique position offers wonderful views of the city.

Though strictly speaking, the only castle in Ljubljana is not really a castle as such - it would be more adequately be termed a medieval fortification. It does not have a solid center, so it is in fact just a circular wall adapted to the natural, and thus irregular, shape of the terrain and fortified with towers in the corners.

The Castle Hill has been populated for an eon. When the bottom of a dried-up lake that extended from the Castle Hill to Krim was transformed into solid ground, this hill, which is surrounded by the river on three sides, became an attractive location for a fortification. Recent research has proved the continuous existence of a fortified settlement on the hill since the 12th century BC.

Ljubljana Castle tells the history of the city of Ljubljana. Although it kept changing through centuries, it was, and will always remain, the symbol of the city of Laibach, Luwigana and Ljubljana. On-site archaeological excavations discovered 3000-year-old urns.

The construction of the castle’s buildings started in the 11th century, during the period of the Spanheim Carinthian Dukes. Here prehistory met the Middle Ages, for the path leading to the medieval castle ran along the walls of a prehistoric fortification. Ljubljana therefore ranks among the European cities whose medieval origins are recognized by a castle on a rise and a walled city below. In 1335 the castle, which was the center of the Carniolan province for many years, became the hereditary property of the Hapsburgs. The present castle, which is larger than the former ones, was built by order of Duke, and later Emperor, Frederik III. It originated from a deliberate plan, over a number of decades in the second half of the 15th century, to build a fortress with a spacious courtyard within a strong circular wall comprising defense towers and two entrance towers. With the exception of the Gothic Chapel of St. George, which was consecrated in 1489, all the present interior castle buildings date from the 16th and 17th centuries. During that period all the main buildings that give the castle its characteristic outline were built. By 1814 the castle was in such a poor condition that it was used as a prison. In 1905 the Ljubljana city authorities purchased it from the state, as it was linked in one way or another with all the city’s most ambitious plans. Architect Jože Pleènik viewed the castle as the crown of the city and the Slovene cultural acropolis, but his ambitious plans were never realized. In 1962-63 the last residents left the castle and moved to the city, and the first systematic examination and restoration of the castle began.

A wooden pipers' tower once stood on the western external side of the castle. The city had four such pipers who played every day at eleven o'clock in the summertime. That tower was destroyed by the French; the present observation tower with a clock was built in 1848 was restored and raised in 1982.

The Pentagonal Tower, which was restored in 1990 when an exhibition of the works of the Slovene designer Oskar Kogoj opened is worth visiting. As is the Castle Chapel of St. George (containing the coats of arms of Carniolan provincial governors and a bell dating from 1440), which was consecrated in April 1992, on the day of St. George, Ljubljana's patron saint and the saint who killed the dragon. The new observation tower affords a superb view of the city. Two castle rooms have been turned into wedding halls. On the ground floor of the castle building there is a café, which is a popular meeting place for Ljubljana residents and in summer the castle’s courtyard becomes a pleasant setting for various cultural events.

The castle ridge is a tree-lined promenade leading to the ramparts, parts of which are restored in accordance with the plans of Jože Pleènik. 

Pentangular Tower
In the 15th century this tower served as the main entrance to the castle courtyard and as the castle’s defense from attacks from the south. Its residents were linked to the outside world with two drawbridges slung across a moat. The two openings have been preserved; the larger of the two was for carts and horses and the smaller one for people. There are also crenels in the tower as the fortification was adapted to suit newer types of weapons. Originally, the tower had two stories. The entrance and exit to the tower were on the lower floor, while the upper floor was probably the guards' dwelling. Today's tower only has one story with an open truss roof. The Pentangular Tower hosts exhibitions, smaller concerts and theatre performances. The ground floor is 50 square meters in size and, including the two galleries, there is room for about 100 people. 

Wedding Halls
In the 1980's a building was added between the Shooters' Tower and the Pentangular Tower to house a restaurant and a hall for wedding ceremonies, which had until then taken place at the City Hall. The White and Blue Wedding Halls, together with a hallway, take up the entire second floor of the building. They measure 50 square meters each and can seat 40 people. On the floor above there is a terrace that, in good weather, can host a reception for about 200 people. 

Erasmus Tower
According to archaeologists, the tower named after the robber baron Erasmus Predjamski served as a jail for nobility and the traces of ten engraved coats of arms can still be seen on its walls. One of them supposedly belonged to Erasmus Predjamski, who did not die in this jail and probably bribed his way out, only to meet his death at home, at Predjama Castle near Postojna. Some of the coats of arms are accompanied by inscriptions or dates. The tower and the coats of arms go back to approximately the 15th century. The coats of arms have yet to be analyzed in any detail and the findings could be very interesting as it is still unknown which noblemen resided against their will at Ljubljana Castle from the late Middle Ages onwards. About sixty years ago the Castle acquired an observation terrace, built to the plans of architect Boris Kobe. When the restaurant was still in the Shooters' Tower the terrace served as its summer garden. It offers a view of the north-western part of the city and there are plans to have binoculars installed and to exhibit defense devices. 

Hribar Hall
This hall was named after Ivan Hribar, a Ljubljana mayor who was awarded the title of a freeman of the city for building the city water-supply system. He was elected mayor of Ljubljana after the catastrophic earthquake of 1896 and he remained in that capacity for 14 years. During his mayoralty, the city of Ljubljana acquired many new things: in 1905 the city bought Ljubljana castle, the first electrical power station was built and the first public transport - an electric tram - was introduced. The Hribar Hall, which measures over 200 square meters, is the biggest hall of the castle and will be multifunctional once it has been renovated. 

Castle Chapel
The Castle Chapel is one of the oldest parts of the castle. Based on an Emperor's deed of 1489, it was consecrated to St. George, the patron saint of the city of Ljubljana. A big bell evokes the memory of the emperor Frederick III of Hapsburg, who presented it as a gift at the chapel's consecration. In 1747 the chapel was rebuilt in the baroque style and was decorated with the coats of arms of all sixty provincial governors. Among them are Hermann and Ulrich – the Counts of Celje, Henry the Count of Gorizia, Stephen of the Francopans and the Ljubljana bishop Cristoph Rauber. Painted on the ceiling are the coats of arms of five Austrian governors and of the provinces of Corinthia, Istria and the Slovene Mark. Frescoes dating from the 15th century were restored during the 1992 restoration works supervised by Lidija Avbelj. During summer, the chapel hosts regular Sunday services at 4.30 p.m. and St. George's day is celebrated on 23rd August at 5 o'clock in the castle courtyard. Other religious ceremonies (such as weddings and christenings) can be held in St. George's chapel by arrangement. The chapel can host about 50 people. 

Observation Tower
In 1813 the French demolished the Shooters Tower and two years later built a wooden fire-signaling tower in its place. Between 1845 and 1848, it too was replaced with a brick tower in which there was a dwelling for a fire-watcher, who announced a fire in the city by firing a cannon. Today's observation tower was made 1.2 meter taller in 1982. Nowadays the tower no longer has a fire-prevention function but serves as a tourist spot, attracting numerous local and foreign visitors with its superb views of the Slovene capital. 

Palace
The origin of the Latin word palace confirms that the rooms were the dwelling place of the provincial governor. They were either residential premises or were possibly used by the lord of the castle to host receptions. A whole wall with Gothic windows and porches has been preserved, which, unfortunately, is not the case with the original paintwork, if the room was painted at all. Even though the room is undergoing renovation, it still hosts the occasional concert, theatre play and small reception. The hall measures 200 square meters and can seat from 200 to 280 people or house a reception for about 300 people. 

Shooters' Tower
The foundations date from the 15th century and there used to be a wall from the Tower to the fortification on today's ramparts. In the 1950's, the basement housed a restaurant and a discotheque. The walls are painted with Pregl's frescoes. The total floor surface of the three stories is about 200 square meters and its former function will be taken into account during its restoration. 

Castle Entrance
The first Castle Entrance led under the Pipers' Tower to a smaller Gothic porch at the Castle's bastille. This entrance became too small and in the 15th century the restored Pentagonal Tower served as the entrance for safety reasons. It was not until the 18th and 19th centuries, when the castle no longer served as a fortress, that an opening was made in the medieval wall in the place of today's entrance. This entrance is the so-called prison entrance. In the passage there is a memorial plaque dedicated to those who lost their lives during WW II at the castle, and a wrought-iron dragon made by master craftsman Bertoncelj from Kropa. The most recent acquisition is the castle gate, which was installed in 2001 and was designed by Ambient engineering.