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Photo taken from Congress Square
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Photo taken from Republic Square
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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 Plečnik 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 Plečnik.
State Hall
This hall is one of the castle's many function rooms. While very little
is known about its history and there have been no archaeological finds of
note, it is known that, like the palace, it was used for the festivities of
the lord of the castle. Architectural remains in the hall tell of the
gradual if-and-when-required building of parts of the castle.. As a result
of later changes, especially during the prison period, nothing remains of
the halls original murals, windows, floors or ceilings. It was the first
hall renovated, with air-conditioning and room for a lift. There are two
separate rooms, both suitable for concerts or official receptions, and a
concert or reception could take place in one room while food is served in
the other. Both measure about 400 square meters with one side having a view
of the city and the other of the castle courtyard.
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
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