Ljubljana Old Town, three squares below the castle

How the old town grew

The medieval town grew between the Ljubljanica and the hill. According to the Ministry of Culture, the castle first appears in documents in 1144 as the seat of the Spanheims, Dukes of Carinthia, who granted town rights to the riverside settlement in the first half of the 13th century. The stone fortress and the walls closed a defensive ring around Mestni trg. The castle notes that Ottoman raiders first reached the city gates in 1415 and that the walls were strengthened several times in the 15th century.

Two earthquakes came in between, which the castle mentions in its history, in 1511 and at Easter 1895. On top of all that came Plečnik’s work in the 20th century, which changed how the city relates to its river.

What to see: Mestni trg, Stari trg and Gornji trg

The three squares run into each other like one wide street. Mestni trg is the town hall square, and in front of it stands the Fountain of the Three Rivers of Carniola. The National Gallery explains that the city commissioned it in 1743 from Francesco Robba, regarded as Slovenia’s most important Baroque sculptor, who drew on Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers and the fountain in Rome’s Piazza della Rotonda. The three river gods were later identified as the Sava, Krka and Ljubljanica. Since autumn 2006 the square has had a copy, and the restored original has been in the National Gallery since 2008, alongside the Narcissus fountain Robba made for the town hall courtyard.

Carry on south and you reach Stari trg and Gornji trg, quieter, with St Florian’s Church at the far end. By Levstik Square the Reber alley starts, a flight of steps between houses climbing towards the castle. To the north, Mestni trg leads on to St Nicholas Cathedral and the market.

The river, the bridges and the market

The old town faces the Ljubljanica, and the best way to understand it is to cross it. The Triple Bridge has a central stone span from 1842, replacing a wooden bridge of strategic importance in the Middle Ages, and two footbridges Plečnik added between 1929 and 1932, with stone balustrades, lamps and steps down to a terrace by the water. On the far side is Prešeren Square with the poet’s statue, where half the city arranges to meet.

Downstream, the Ljubljana Central Market spreads across the open-air market on Vodnik and Pogačar squares, the covered market between them and Plečnik’s colonnades along the river. Beyond are the Butchers’ Bridge, the lovers’ bridge according to the Tourist Board, and the Dragon Bridge. Upstream is the Cobblers’ Bridge.

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Up to the castle from the old town

There are four ways, and three are free. The funicular leaves from Krekov trg, past the Puppet Theatre, and has run since the end of 2006. On foot, Študentovska pot climbs from the Vodnikov trg market in about ten minutes, Reber Street and the Mačja steza path reach the walls from Stari trg, and Osojna pot goes up in the shade from Gornji trg, past St Florian’s. A ticket for Ljubljana Castle is €19 with the funicular and €15 without.

How to walk the old town

Only the Urban train and the Kavalir runabouts move through the historic centre, so you will be on foot. I would start at the market first thing, cross over by the Triple Bridge, come back along Mestni trg to Gornji trg and climb to the castle by Reber. For how I rank the rest of the centre, see things to do in Ljubljana. Between the market and the river stands Ljubljana Cathedral, dedicated to St Nicholas.

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