Ljubljana
Ljubljana[a] (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia,[14][15] located along a trade route between the northern Adriatic Sea and the Danube region,[16] north of the country's largest marsh, inhabited since prehistoric times. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the area.[17] The city was first mentioned in the first half of the 12th century. It was the historical capital of Carniola,[18] one of the Slovene-inhabited parts of the Habsburg monarchy.[14] It was under Habsburg rule from the Middle Ages until the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918. After World War II, Ljubljana became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The city retained this status until Slovenia became independent in 1991 and Ljubljana became the capital of the newly formed state.[19]
Dragon symbol[edit]
The city's symbol is the Ljubljana Dragon. It is depicted on the top of the tower of Ljubljana Castle in the Ljubljana coat of arms and on the Ljubljanica-crossing Dragon Bridge (Zmajski most).[26] It represents power, courage, and greatness.
Several explanations describe the origin of the Ljubljana Dragon. According to a Slavic myth, the slaying of a dragon releases the waters and ensures the fertility of the earth, and it is thought that the myth is tied to the Ljubljana Marsh, the expansive marshy area that periodically threatens Ljubljana with flooding.[27] According to Greek legend, the Argonauts on their return home after having taken the Golden Fleece found a large lake surrounded by a marsh between the present-day towns of Vrhnika and Ljubljana. There Jason struck down a monster. This monster evolved into the dragon that today is present in the city coat of arms and flag.[28]
It is historically more believable that the dragon was adopted from Saint George, the patron of the Ljubljana Castle chapel built in the 15th century. In the legend of Saint George, the dragon represents the old ancestral paganism overcome by Christianity. According to another explanation, related to the second, the dragon was at first only a decoration above the city coat of arms. In the Baroque, it became part of the coat of arms, and in the 19th and especially the 20th century, it outstripped the tower and other elements in importance.
Prešeren Square in downtown Ljubljana
Ljubljanica River, downtown Ljubljana
Culture[edit]
Accent[edit]
The Ljubljana accent and/or dialect (Slovene: ljubljanščina [luːblɑːŋʃnɑː] ) is considered a border dialect, since Ljubljana is situated where the Upper dialect and Lower Carniolan dialect group meet. Historically,[154] the Ljubljana dialect in the past displayed features more similar with the Lower Carniolan dialect group, but it gradually grew closer to the Upper dialect group, as a direct consequence of mass migration from Upper Carniola into Ljubljana in the 19th and 20th century. Ljubljana as a city grew mostly to the north, and gradually incorporated many villages that were historically part of Upper Carniola and so its dialect shifted away and closer to the Upper dialects. The Ljubljana dialect has also been used as a literary means in novels, such as in the novel Nekdo drug by Branko Gradišnik,[155] or in poems, such as Pika Nogavička (Slovene for Pippi Longstocking) by Andrej Rozman - Roza.[156]
The central position of Ljubljana and its dialect had crucial impact[154] on the development of the Slovenian language. It was the speech of 16th century Ljubljana that Primož Trubar a Slovenian Protestant Reformer took as a foundation of what later became standard Slovenian language, with a small addition of his native speech, the Lower Carniolan dialect.[154][157] While in Ljubljana, he lived in a house, on today's Ribji trg, in the oldest part of the city. Living in Ljubljana had a profound impact on his work; he considered Ljubljana the capital of all Slovenes, not only because of its central position in the heart of the Slovene lands, but also because it always had an essentially Slovene character. Most of its inhabitants spoke Slovene as their mother tongue, unlike other cites in today's Slovenia. It is estimated that in Trubar's time around 70% of Ljubljana's 4000 inhabitants attended mass in Slovene.[154] Trubar considered Ljubljana's speech most suitable, since it sounded much more noble, than his own simple dialect of his hometown Rašica.[158] Trubar's choice was later adopted also by other Protestant writers in the 16th century, and ultimately led to a formation of a more standard language.
In literary fiction[edit]
Ljubljana appears in the 2005 The Historian, written by Elisabeth Kostova, and is called by its Roman name (Emona).[159]
Ljubljana is also the setting of Paulo Coelho's 1998 novel Veronika Decides to Die.
During 2010, Ljubljana was designated as the World Book Capital by UNESCO.[160]
Festivals[edit]
Each year, over 10,000 cultural events take place in the city, including ten international theatre, music, and art festivals.[66] The Ljubljana Festival is one of the two oldest festivals in former Yugoslavia (the Dubrovnik Summer Festival was established in 1950, and the Ljubljana Festival one in 1953). Guests have included Dubravka Tomšič, Marjana Lipovšek, Tomaž Pandur, Katia Ricciarelli, Grace Bumbry, Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, José Carreras, Slide Hampton, Zubin Mehta, Vadim Repin, Valery Gergiev, Sir Andrew Davis, Danjulo Ishizaka, Midori (violinist), Yuri Bashmet, Ennio Morricone, and Manhattan Transfer. Orchestras have included the New York Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestras of the Bolshoi Theatre from Moscow, La Scala from Milan, and Mariinsky Theatre from Saint Petersburg. In recent years there have been 80 kinds of events and some 80,000 visitors from Slovenia and abroad. Other cultural venues include Križanke, Cankar Hall and the Exhibition and Convention Centre. During Book Week, starting each year on World Book Day, events and book sales take place at Congress Square. A flea market is held every Sunday in the old city.[161] On the evening of International Workers' Day, a celebration with a bonfire takes place on Rožnik Hill.
Sports[edit]
Clubs[edit]
Tension between German and Slovene residents dominated the development of sport in Ljubljana in the 19th century. The first sports club in Ljubljana was the South Sokol Gymnastic Club (Gimnastično društvo Južni Sokol), established in 1863 and succeeded in 1868 by the Ljubljana Sokol (Ljubljanski Sokol). It was the parent club of all Slovene Sokol clubs as well as an encouragement for the establishment of the Croatian Sokol club in Zagreb. Members were also active in culture and politics, striving for greater integration of the Slovenes from different Crown lands of Austria-Hungary and for their cultural, political, and economic independence.
In 1885, German residents established the first sports club in the territory of nowadays Slovenia, Der Laibacher Byciklistischer Club (Ljubljana Cycling Club). In 1887, Slovene cyclists established the Slovene Cyclists Club (Slovenski biciklistični klub). In 1893 followed the first Slovene Alpine club, named Slovene Alpine Club (Slovensko planinsko društvo), later succeeded by the Alpine Association of Slovenia (Planinska zveza Slovenije). Several of its branches operate in Ljubljana, the largest of them being the Ljubljana Matica Alpine Club (Planinsko društvo Ljubljana-Matica). In 1900, the sports club Laibacher Sportverein (English: Ljubljana Sports Club) was established by the city's German residents and functioned until 1909. In 1906, Slovenes organised themselves in its Slovene counterpart, the Ljubljana Sports Club (Ljubljanski športni klub). Its members were primarily interested in rowing, but also swimming and football. In 1911, the first Slovenian football club, Ilirija, started operating in the city. Winter sports already started to develop in the area of the nowadays Ljubljana before World War II.[173] In 1929, the first ice hockey club in Slovenia (then Yugoslavia), SK Ilirija, was established.
Nowadays, the city's football teams which play in the Slovenian PrvaLiga are NK Olimpija Ljubljana and NK Bravo. ND Ilirija 1911 currently competes in Slovenian Second League. Ljubljana's ice hockey clubs are HK Slavija and HK Olimpija. They both compete in the Slovenian Hockey League. The basketball teams are KD Slovan, KD Ilirija and KK Cedevita Olimpija. The latter, which has a green dragon as its mascot, hosts its matches at the 12,480-seat Arena Stožice. Ježica is women's basketball that competes in Slovenian League. The Ljubljana Silverhawks represented the city in American football. Handball is popular in the female section. RK Krim is one of the best women's handball teams in Europe. They won the EHF Champions League twice, in 2001 and 2003.[174] RD Slovan is male handball club from Ljubljana that currently competes in Slovenian First League. AMTK Ljubljana is the most successful speedway club in Slovenia. The Ljubljana Sports Club has been succeeded by the Livada Canoe and Kayak Club.[175]
Government[edit]
The city of Ljubljana is governed by the City Municipality of Ljubljana (Slovene: Mestna občina Ljubljana; MOL), which is led by the city council. The president of the city council is called the mayor. Members of the city council and the mayor are elected in the local election, held every four years. Among other roles, the city council drafts the municipal budget, and is assisted by various boards active in the fields of health, sports, finances, education, environmental protection and tourism.[199] The municipality is subdivided into 17 districts represented by district councils. They work with the municipality council to make known residents' suggestions and prepare activities in their territories.[200][201]
Between 2002 and 2006, Danica Simšič was mayor of the municipality.[202] Since the municipal elections of 22 October 2006 until his confirmation as a deputy in the National Assembly of Slovenian in December 2011, Zoran Janković, previously the managing director of the Mercator retail chain, was the mayor of Ljubljana. In 2006, he won 62.99% of the popular vote.[203] On 10 October 2010, Janković was re-elected for another four-year term with 64.79% of the vote. From 2006 until October 2010, the majority on the city council (the Zoran Janković List) held 23 of 45 seats.[203] On 10 October 2010, Janković's list won 25 out of 45 seats in the city council. From December 2011 onwards, when Janković's list won the early parliamentary election, the deputy mayor Aleš Čerin was decided by him to lead the municipality. Čerin did not hold the post of mayor.[204] After Janković had failed to be elected as the Prime Minister in the National Assembly, he participated at the mayoral by-election on 25 March 2012 and was elected for the third time with 61% of the vote. He retook the leadership of the city council on 11 April 2012.[205]
Public order in Ljubljana is enforced by the Ljubljana Police Directorate (Policijska uprava Ljubljana).[206] There are five areal police stations and four sectoral police stations in Ljubljana.[207] Public order and municipal traffic regulations are also supervised by the city traffic wardens (Mestno redarstvo).[208] Ljubljana has a quiet and secure reputation.[207][209]
Education[edit]
Primary education[edit]
In Ljubljana today there are over 50 public elementary schools with over 20,000 pupils.[162][219] This also includes an international elementary school for foreign pupils. There are two private elementary schools: a Waldorf elementary school and a Catholic elementary school. In addition, there are several elementary music schools.
Historically the first school in Ljubljana belonged to Teutonic Knights and was established in the 13th century. It originally accepted only boys; girls were accepted from the beginning of the 16th century. Parochial schools are attested in the 13th century, at St. Peter's Church and at Saint Nicholas's Church, the later Ljubljana Cathedral. Since 1291, there were also trade-oriented private schools in Ljubljana. At the beginning of the 17th century, there were six schools in Ljubljana and later three. A girls' school was established by Poor Clares, followed in 1703 by the Ursulines. Their school was for about 170 years the only public girls' school in Carniola. These schools were mainly private or established by the city.[220]
In 1775, the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa proclaimed elementary education obligatory and Ljubljana got its normal school, intended as a learning place for teachers. In 1805, the first state music school was established in Ljubljana. In the time of Illyrian Provinces, "école primaire", a unified four-year elementary school program with a greater emphasis on Slovene, was introduced. The first public schools, unrelated to religious education, appeared in 1868.
Science[edit]
The first society of the leading scientists and public workers in Carniola was the Dismas Fraternity (Latin: Societas Unitorum), formed in Ljubljana in 1688.[226] In 1693, the Academia Operosorum Labacensium was founded and lasted with an interruption until the end of the 18th century. The next academy in Ljubljana, the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, was not established until 1938.
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Ljubljana has a rich history of discoveries in medicine and innovations in medical technology. The majority of secondary and tertiary care in Slovenia takes place in Ljubljana. The Ljubljana University Medical Centre is the largest hospital centre in Slovenia. The Faculty of Medicine (University of Ljubljana) and the Ljubljana Institute of Oncology are the other two central medical institutions in Slovenia. The Ljubljana Community Health Centre is the largest health centre in Slovenia. It has seven units at 11 locations. Since 1986, Ljubljana is part of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network.[266]
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