Ljubljana
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| Ljubljana | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Slovenia | ||
| First mention | 1144 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor and governor | Zoran Janković (Lista Zorana Jankovića) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 275.0 km² (106.2 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 298 m (978 ft) | ||
| Population (2006)[1] | |||
| - Total | 267,386 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Area code(s) | 01 | ||
| Vehicle Registration | LJ | ||
| Website: www.ljubljana.si | |||
Ljubljana (pronounced [ʎubˈʎa:nʌ]), is the largest city and capital of Slovenia. It is located in the center of the country and has a population of 267,386 according to a 2006 census. Ljubljana is regarded as the cultural, scientific, economic, political and administrative center of Slovenia. The city is divided into several quarters, formerly municipalities, which also correspond to the main electoral constituencies of the city: Šiška, Bežigrad, Vič, Moste, and Center.
Its transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition are contributing factors to its leading economic position. Ljubljana is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies and all government ministries of Slovenia. It is also the seat of Parliament and of the Office of the President.
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[edit] Etymology
Linguists disagree as to where the name Ljubljana comes from. A close similarity to the Slovenian word ljubljena, or "beloved", is generally thought to be coincidental. 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], a deity from old Slavic mythology 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.[2]
Laibach (/'lɑɪbaχ/), 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'jɑːna/) is a hybrid rendering of the Latin and German versions. These names are important for historical reasons. The name Laibach was popularized again during the 1980s by the experimental music group Laibach.
The use of the German name was discouraged in Slovenia after 1918 and became especially controversial during the Second World War, when the Nazis tried to implement a violent Germanization policy in most parts of German-occupied Slovenia. Nowadays most Germans use the term Ljubljana. On the other hand, Laibach is still widely used especially in Austria and southern Germany, as well as by the German embassy in Ljubljana.
[edit] History
[edit] Beginnings
Ljubljana and its surrounding area have been populated since ancient times. The earliest known settlements, in the Bronze Age, consisted of wooden houses erected on stakes (palafitos).
The Roman settlement Emona (full name: Colonia Iulia Aemona) was built in AD 15 by the Legio XV Apollinaris. In AD 452, Aemona was sacked and devastated by the Huns, led by Attila.
[edit] Middle Ages
The first records mentioning Ljubljana date to 1144 (referred to by its German name Laibach) and 1146 (by its Latin name, Luwigana).
The settlement received town rights in 1220, and in 1335 came under 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 center during the late Middle Ages.
[edit] Nineteenth century
The Habsburg rule was shortly interrupted by the Napoleonic wars, and between 1809 and 1813 Ljubljana was the capital of the French Illyrian provinces. From 1816 to 1849 Ljubljana was the capital of the Kingdom of Illyria, one of the administrative units of the Austrian Empire. In 1821 the city hosted the Congress of Laibach. Ljubljana witnessed the first train arriving from Vienna in 1849 and the railway connected it with Trieste in 1857. During the second part of the 19th century, Ljubljana emerged as the undisputed cultural center of the Slovene Lands, after some initial rivaly with Klagenfurt.
[edit] Earthquake in 1895
On April 14, 1895, during the Easter period, an earthquake damaged large parts of the city. The earthquake, of magnitude 6.1, struck at 20:17, and its shocks were felt as far away as Florence, Vienna and Split. At the time, Ljubljana had a population of approximately 31,000 people and around 1,400 buildings. About 10% of the buildings were damaged or had to undergo large scale demolition, renovation or change afterwards. Very few people were killed or injured but the earthquake destroyed much of the old monastery in Vodnik Square containing a girls' diocesan college and library, so that this building had to be completely pulled down, and Ljubljana's central outdoor market developed later at its place.
The earthquake brought about a wide expansion of the city and a widespread Art Nouveau architectural change which is today juxtaposed against the earlier Baroque style of buildings that remain. The Mladika for instance, which nowadays houses the Foreign Ministry of Slovenia, and many other buildings date back to the period immediately after the earthquake. The reconstruction, carried out by mayor Ivan Hribar, gave Ljubljana its new, contemporary image.
[edit] Twentieth century
With the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, Ljubljana became the unofficial capital of Slovenia in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and in 1929 the official provincial seat of the Drava Banovina within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
The Second World War came to the city in April 1941, where Ljubljana was occupied by fascist Italy and included in the Province of Ljubljana. The city became one of the main centers of underground anti-fascist resistance and to counter this, the Italian occupation authorities completely encircled it with 30 km of barbed wire fence on February 23, 1942. Nazi Germany replaced the Italians as the occupying force after the capitulation of Italy in September 1943. [3] The city was then ruled by Germans and their collaborators until May 1945, when it was liberated by Slovenian partisans. In remembrance to this, the Path of Remembrance and Comradeship has been built along the course of the fence after the war.[3]
In 1955 Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito gave the city of Ljubljana the title of "Hero City" for the heroism shown by the people during WWII (not to be confused with the Soviet title of the same name).
[edit] Independent Slovenia
After World War II, Ljubljana became the capital of the Yugoslav Socialist Republic of Slovenia, and remained the capital after the country's independence in 1991 after the break up and a ten day war against the Yugoslav National Army.
[edit] Geography and climate
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 -5°C in December and more than 30°C in July. Annual rainfall is 1350 millimetres.
| Weather averages for Ljubljana | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Average high °C (°F) | 2 (36) | 5 (41) | 10 (50) | 15 (59) | 20 (68) | 23 (73) | 26 (79) | 25 (77) | 21 (70) | 16 (61) | 8 (46) | 2 (36) | |
| Average low °C (°F) | -4 (25) | -2 (28) | 1 (34) | 4 (39) | 9 (48) | 12 (54) | 14 (57) | 13 (55) | 11 (52) | 6 (43) | 2 (36) | -3 (27) | |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 81 (3.2) | 81 (3.2) | 99 (3.9) | 109 (4.3) | 121 (4.8) | 154 (6.1) | 121 (4.8) | 144 (5.7) | 129 (5.1) | 114 (4.5) | 134 (5.3) | 101 (4) | |
| Source: Weather.com[4] 2008 | |||||||||||||
[edit] Districts
Ljubljana has 17 districts:
[edit] Education
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. Moreover, the city houses the permanent seat of the International Association for Political Science Students (IAPSS), an international academic group with 10,000 members worldwide.
[edit] Transport
Public transportation in Ljubljana is composed of city buses, operated by the city-owned company Ljubljanski potniški promet (LPP). There have been many discussions about implementing a light rail system on the streets again (the last tram in Ljubljana stopped operating in 1958) as the city is facing a huge amount of traffic during rush hour. There are also many taxis in Ljubljana, and in December 2006, a new funicular to the Ljubljana Castle was introduced.
The suburban area of Ljubljana is covered by an extensive network of suburban buses and trains. Ljubljana is served by Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (IATA LJU; ICAO LJLJ)
[edit] Architecture
Ljubljana has a strong Alpine feel to it and the architecture underlines this impression - there is also a touch of the Mediterranean (thanks to its geographical proximity). 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 (Art Nouveau) styles. The city's Baroque architecture was mainly influenced by Italian Baroque architecture. The cathedral was designed by Andrea Pozzo in 1701, St. Ursula's church displays Palladian features, and Francesco Robba designed a fountain. One of the most recognisable features of the city, the castle (which dates back to the Middle Ages), 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. One of its most notable high rises is Nebotičnik.
[edit] Culture
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] Sister cities
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Ljubljana in Numbers. City Municipality of Ljubljana (2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- ^ Paliga, Sorin. Pre-Slavic place-names. 2002.
- ^ a b Pot spominov in tovarištva / The path of Rememberance and Comradeship. Ljubljana Tourist Board (April 2006). Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- ^ Monthly Averages for Ljubljana, Slovenia. Weather.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
[edit] External links
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- City of Ljubljana (official)
- Ljubljana - Virtual Reality Panoramas (Slovenia-Landmarks by Boštjan Burger)
- Ljubljana - Interactive City Map (MOL Turizem)
- Maps, aerial photos, and other data for Ljubljana (Geopedia.si)
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