Čop Street (Slovene: Čopova ulica) is a major thoroughfare in the center of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The street leads from the Main Post Office (Glavna pošta) on Slovenian Street (Slovenska cesta) to Prešeren Square (Prešernov trg) and is lined with bars and stores, including the oldest McDonald's restaurant in Slovenia. It is a pedestrian zone is and regarded as the capital's central promenade.
The street is named after Matija Čop, an early 19th-century literary figure and close friend of the Slovene Romantic poet France Prešeren. Until the late 19th century, the street was known as Elephant Street (Slonova ulica) in memory of the first elephant present in the city since Roman times. A gift from the Ottoman sultan, the animal had been traveling in the entourage of Emperor Maximilian II on his way back from Spain to Germany, and had been stabled at what is now the upper part of the street in 1550, where the Slon Hotel now stands. In 1892, the name of the street was changed to Prešeren Street (Prešernova ulica). In 1949, it was renamed Čop Street as part of a large-scale renaming of the streets and squares in Ljubljana by the postwar authorities.[1]