Bežigrad, Ljubljana

Bežigrad District
—  District  —
The northern edge of Ljubljana's center (foreground) and Bežigrad (middle), beneath the Kamnik Alps (in 2008)
Country Slovenia
Region Central Slovenia
City Ljubljana
Area
 • Total 7.2 km2 (2.8 sq mi)
Population
 • Total 32,691
 • Density 4,540.4/km2 (11,759.6/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

The Bežigrad District (Slovene: Četrtna skupnost Bežigrad) or simply Bežigrad () is a city district in the northern part of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It encompasses the area between the southern rail line to the south, the Upper Carniola (or Kamnik) rail line to the west, the highway loop to the north, and Šmartno Street (Šmartinska cesta) and the Žale Cemetery to the east. It extends on both sides of Vienna Street (Dunajska cesta), which is its central axis and main traffic artery. In the narrow sense, it includes the neighborhoods of Bežigrad, Brinje, Nove Stožice ('New Stožice', also known also as BS3), and Savsko naselje ('the Sava Development'). In the broader sense, Bežigrad is sometimes considered to include the northern Ljubljana suburbs of Stožice, Ježica, and Črnuče.

Bežigrad is primarily a residential district. Along Vienna Street (Dunajska cesta) there are some sections with high concentrations of shops and businesses. There is a small industrial zone in the northwest part of the district. Its buildings are generally low (up to six floors), and single-family dwellings and raw houses predominate. Larger communities of apartment buildings are concentrated on the district's eastern edge, in Nove Stožice and Savsko naselje. Bežigrad ranks as one of the greenest districts of Ljubljana.

Important institutions and features of Bežigrad include the Stožice Sports Center and the Stožice Stadium, the Bežigrad Central Stadium designed by Jože Plečnik, the Bežigrad Secondary School, the Navje Cemetery, Plečnik's unfinished Akademski kolegij (intended to serve as the Baraga Seminary), the Žale Cemetery, and the Ljubljana Fairgrounds. The Ljubljana Mosque is also to be built in Bežigrad. The older part of Bežigrad has many large houses from the interwar period. Savings Bank Street (Hranilniška ulica) stands out in particular. It is the oldest street in Bežigrad, created in the 1880s.