Ljubljana

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Ljubljana
Tromostovje and Prešeren Square
General Information
State Capital:	Ljubljana
Founded:	15 AD (as Colonia Iulia Aemona)
Patron:	St. George
Day:	23 April
Vehicle Registration:	LJ
Area code:	01
Homepage:	http://ljubljana.si
Coat of Arms

Map: Ljubljana in Slovenia

Politics
Mayor and governor	Zoran Janković
Governing Party	Lista Zorana Jankovića
Population
Population:	265,881 (2002)
Geography
Area:	275 km²
Location:	46°03' - 45°03' N 15°57' - 14°30' E

Ljubljana (help·info) (IPA: [ʎub'ʎʌna]) is the capital and largest city in Slovenia. The city of Ljubljana is the cultural, scientific, economic, political and administrative center of Slovenia. It is situated in central Slovenia, between the Alps and the Mediterranean. The city is divided into several quarters, formerly municipalities, the main ones being Šiška (listen (help·info)), Bežigrad (listen (help·info)), Vič, Moste (listen (help·info)), and Center, which also correspond to the main electoral constituencies of the city.

Its transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position. Ljubljana is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies and all government ministries. It is also the seat of Parliament and the Office of the President of Slovenia.

1 Name
2 Geography and demographics
3 History
4 Architecture
5 Art and Music
6 Education
7 Sister cities
8 Trivia
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links

[edit] Name

Linguists disagree as to where the name Ljubljana comes from, and although the name could have evolved from the Latin term for a flooding river, alluviana, some believe the source of the present-day name is Laburus^{[citation needed]}, an old Slavic mythology deity and supposed patron of the original settlement. Other linguists reconstruct an earlier *Lablana, rejecting both a Latin or Slavic source, but without settling on an etymology.^[1]

Laibach (/'lɑɪbax/), the German name for the city, derives from Laibach (and also possibly Laubach), meaning "a lukewarm brook" in German; lai("tepid")+ bach("brook"). Its Italian name Lubiana(/lʊb'jɑ:na/) is a hybrid rendering of the Latin and German versions. These names are important for historical reasons.

The use of the German name was forbidden in Slovenia after 1918 and became especially controversial during the Second World War. Nowadays most Germans use the term Ljubljana. On the other hand, Laibach is still widely used especially in Austria, as well as by the German embassy in Ljubljana.

[edit] Geography and demographics

Ljubljana is located at 46.03°N, 14.30°E on the outfall of the river Ljubljanica into the Sava. It lies at an altitude of 298 metres AMSL. The temperature varies between 0°C in December and 21.9°C in July. Annual rainfall is 1350 millimetres (53.2 inches).

In 2002, the city had a population of 265,881.

[edit] History

The area had been populated since prehistory. The earliest known settlements, in the Bronze Age, consisted of wooden houses erected on stakes (palafites).

The Roman settlement Emona (Colonia Emona (Aemona) Iulia tribu Claudia) was erected in 15 AD by the XV Legio Apollinaris; in 452, Aemona was sacked and devastated by the Huns, led by Attila.

The first records mentioning Ljubljana date to 1144 (referred to by its German name Laibach) and 1146 (by its Latin name, Luwigana).

Cathedral (Stolnica)

Ljubljana skyline including Ljubljana Castle

The settlement received town rights in 1220, and in 1335 came under Austrian Habsburg rule, lasting until 1918. During this time Ljubljana was the capital of the duchy of Carniola. Ljubljana also became the seat of a diocese in 1461 and developed into a Slovenian cultural centre during the late Middle Ages. Ljubljana experienced an earthquake in 1511.

The Habsburg rule was shortly interrupted by the Napoleonic wars, and between 1809 and 1813 Ljubljana was the capital of the French Illyrian provinces. In 1821 the city hosted the Congress of Laibach. Once again an earthquake damaged large parts of the city in 1895 and the following reconstruction gave Ljubljana its new contemporary image.

With the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, Ljubljana became the provincial seat of the Drava Banovina within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In April 1941 it was occupied by Italy and on February 23, 1942 Italians completely encircled it with 32 km of barbed wire. For the achievements during this time Josip Broz Tito awarded Ljubljana in 1955 with the title "Hero City" (not to be confused with the Soviet title of the same name).

After World War II it became the capital of the Yugoslav socialist republic of Slovenia. Ljubljana remained the capital city when Slovenia gained independence in 1991 after a ten day war against the Yugoslav National Army.

Timeline:

http://www.ljubljanafestival.si/en/ljubljana_castle/history/

[edit] Architecture

Tromostovje with the Franciscan church (Frančiškanska cerkev) in baroque style in the back

Ljubljana has a strong Austrian/Alpine feeling to it and the architecture underlines this impression. Ljubljana was devastated by earthquakes several times. After an earthquake in 1511, Ljubljana was rebuilt in the Renaissance style, and after an earthquake in 1895 severely damaged the city, the city was rebuilt in Neo-Classicist and Secession (Austrian Art Nouveau) styles. The city's Baroque architecture was mainly influenced by Italian Baroque architecture (for instance, the cathedral was designed by Andrea Pozzo in 1701, St. Ursula's church displays Palladian features, Francesco Robba designed a fountain). One of the main features of the city, the castle, which dates back to prehistory, is undergoing renovation. Large areas of the city built in the early 20th century feature the work of native architect Jože Plečnik, including several bridges.

[edit] Art and Music

The National Gallery (Narodna galerija) and the Museum of Modern Art (Moderna galerija) are both situated in Ljubljana, showing the greatest Slovenian artists. There is also a large counterculture centre on Metelkova Street, housed in a former Yugoslav military complex, comparable, roughly, to Berlin's Tacheles. Metelkova hosts films and lectures, as well as concerts of mainly alternative music.

There are a number of music festivals with mainly classical music and jazz such as the Ljubljana Summer Festival (Ljubljanski poletni festival) and Druga Godba, a world music festival. In the 1980s Ljubljana was the center of the Neue Slowenische Kunst movement, which included the musical group Laibach, and with which the theorist Slavoj Žižek was also associated.

[edit] Education

Parliament (Državni zbor)

In 1693 the Scholar Society (Academia operosorum Labacensis) was established in Ljubljana. This fell into decline in 1801 but was a forerunner to the present Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts which opened in 1938. The city's only university, the University of Ljubljana, was established in 1919. The city is also home to one of the oldest philharmonics of Europe, the Philharmonic Society (Academia Philharmonicorum), established in 1701.

[edit] Sister cities

- Athens, Greece, since 2000
- Belgrade, Serbia, since 2003
- Bratislava, Slovakia, since 1967
- Brussels, Belgium, since 2004
- Chemnitz, Germany, since 1966
- Chengdu, People's Republic of China, since 1981
- Cleveland, United States
- Leverkusen, Germany, since 1979
- Moscow, Russia, since 2000
- Parma, Italy, since 1964
- Pesaro, Italy, since 1964
- Ploče, Croatia, since 1982
- Rijeka, Croatia, since 1979
- Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 2002
- Sousse, Tunisia, since 1969
- Tbilisi, Georgia, since 1977
- Vienna, Austria, since 1999
- Wiesbaden, Germany, since 1977
- Zagreb, Croatia, since 2001

[edit] Trivia

In 1888/89, Gustav Mahler was the director of the Ljubljana Philharmonic Society Orchestra.
Ljubljana hosted the 2001 Bush-Putin Summit where the first-ever meeting of US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin took place.
Ljubljana hosted the 2006 International Mathematical Olympiad from 6-18 July 2006.
It also hosted the 2006 World Saxophone Congress from 5-9 July 2006.
It also hosted the IAESTE SID (Seminar of IAESTE Development) from 21-24 April 2005.
Ljubljana is the hometown of world-renowned Lacanian psychoanalyst and critical theorist Slavoj Žižek, who occasionally teaches at the University of Ljubljana.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

^ Paliga, Sorin. Pre-Slavic place-names. 2002.

[edit] References

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