The Triple Bridge (Tromostovje), three bridges in one over the Ljubljanica

Plečnik’s two footbridges

After the First World War, back in Ljubljana, Plečnik persuaded the councillors to widen the bridge with two side footbridges instead of building a new one. He built them between 1929 and 1932, swapped the railings for stone balustrades, added lamps and built a stairway to a riverside terrace, where poplars became part of the picture. The result was christened Tromostovje, the Triple Bridge, and was last restored in 1992.

The city points out a detail that, for me, is the key to it. It is the only place where Plečnik’s two planning axes cross, the water axis, following the river with embankments and bridges, and the axis linking the castle with Rožnik hill. That is why UNESCO added it in 2021 to the listing of Plečnik’s works in Ljubljana, as part of the Ljubljanica embankments and bridges.

How to see it: above, below and by boat

You will cross it several times during your stay anyway, because it is the natural link between the two banks. Once, I would go down to the riverside terrace, and once I would see it from a boat, which passes underneath on its way to the Dragon Bridge; details in the Ljubljanica river. How I would order the rest of the centre is in things to do in Ljubljana. On the far side of the bridge opens Prešeren Square, with the poet’s monument.

What is around the Triple Bridge?

On one bank lies Prešeren Square, whose statue of the poet is Ljubljana’s favourite meeting point. On the other is Ljubljana Old Town, with Mestni trg and the town hall a few steps away. Downstream the market colonnades begin and, a little further, the Dragon Bridge. In the other direction is the Cobblers’ Bridge, another Plečnik touch.

There are no opening hours and no tickets. The bridge is pedestrian and always open, though it gets crowded mid-morning and at sunset. For a photo without people, go early.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Liubliana before prices climb.

A bridge since 1280

According to the city, there was a bridge here as early as 1280, the first over the Ljubljanica. It was called the Old or Lower Bridge and later the Hospital Bridge, after the municipal hospital beside it. Ljubljana bus station’s guide notes that in the Middle Ages it was a strategic crossing between north-western Europe and the Balkans. In 1842 the wooden bridge was replaced with a stone one, dedicated to Archduke Charles of Austria, and that is the one still in the middle.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Liubliana before prices climb.