Ljubljana – The City Of Dragons

by | May 31, 2022 | LJUBLJANA STORIES

Fear not, for Ljubljana’s legendary dragons are only found in form of statues, coat of arms and great stories! And here’s where you can find them!

Long long time ago, before the popular HBO’s series Game of Thrones, Ljubljana had its own dragons. And they were magnificent! Visiting Ljubljana just to have a picture with them all is a good reason as any. We’ve been there and did that so here’s our top 3 spots to take a photo with a dragon.

Check them out and make sure to bring your Hello Ljubljana hand fan with you. Send us your photos and the best ones get to be on our blog’s gallery, instagram and facebook!

 

No.1 dragon – Ljubljana Castle

Legend has it that Ljubljana was founded by Jason, the hero of Greek mythology who stole the golden fleece from King Aeëtes (and his daughter Medea) and then fled with his comrades. Long story short (you can read the full version here) there was a huge dragon near Ljubljanica river. Jason fought, defeated and killed the monster. 

Ljubljana Castle‘s 500-year-old chapel is dedicated to St George, famous for slaying dragons. One of the biggest statues of the Dragon stands proudly on top of Ljubljana Castle. Yes, it’s a great picture opportunity, but also a chance to have amazing time in the Escape Castle adventure – and even save a dragon.

Are you up for a 375m-high hiking challenge to get to Ljubljana Castle? No? That’s fine. You can take a short ride with funicular, which is free if you get your own Ljubljana Card.

No.2 dragon – the Dragon Bridge

Actually, there is more than one dragon on the Dragon Bridge. The exact number is 20, sporting four large dragon statues on its four corner pillars and decorated with 16 smaller dragons. And these dragons are cover photos of 8 out of 10 postcards in Ljubljana. So if you haven’t been to the bridge so far, you’ve hardly seen Ljubljana.

The architect Giorgio Zaninovich drew up his plans for the Franz Joseph I Jubilee Bridge in 1900. His original design envisaged winged lion statues. In the final design, however, the lions were replaced by the great statues of dragons that are today one of Ljubljana’s most famous sights. Find out more about the bridge here.

There are two amazing ways to get to the brige – one is by Ljubljanica river on Barjanka boat and the other on a guided tour by Urban Train.

No.3 Dragon – on random places

Random places you say? Yes, really random. This bad boy is commemorated all over the city. You’ll find modern statues envisaging dragons, Ljubljana’s coat of arms with dragon, the local team’s football jerseys with dragon, stuffed dragon that can be bought in Ljubljana Tourist Centre.

What’s the craziest spot you’ve found a dragon?