Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
message on your candle for no extra charge). (For lots more shopping tips—here and
nearby—see “Shopping in Ljubljana,” later.)
Farther in, the market is almost all local, and the colonnade is populated by butchers,
bakers, fishermen, and lazy cafés. Peek down at the actual river and see how the architect
wantedthetownandrivertoconnect.Thelowerarcade(whichyoucanaccessdirectlyfrom
the Triple Bridge, or by going down the spiral staircase by the beehive panels) is a people
zone, with public WCs, inviting cafés, and a stinky fish market
(ribarnica)
offering a wide
variety. The recommended restaurant just below,
Ribca,
serves fun fishy plates, beer, and
coffee with great riverside seating.
Across from the stairs that lead down into the fish market, about where the souvenir
stands end, you reach the first small market square. On your right, notice the 10-foot-tall
concrete
cone.
Ple
č
nik wanted to make Ljubljana the “Athens of the North” and imagined
a huge hilltop cone crowning the center of a national acropolis—a complex for govern-
ment, museums, and culture. This ambitious plan didn't make it off the drawing board, but
part of Ple
č
nik's Greek idea came true: this marketplace, based on an ancient Greek
agora.
Ple
č
nik's cone still captures the Slovenes' imaginations...and adorns Slovenia's €0.10 coin.
At the top of this square, you'll find the 18th-century
cathedral
standing on the site of
a 13th-century Romanesque church (check out its finely decorated doors—and, if they're
open, go inside; for a complete description, see later).
Thebuilding attheendofthefirstmarket squareistheseminary palace. Inthebasement
is a
market hall
(pokrita tržnica),
with vendors selling cheeses, meats, baked goods, dried
fruits, nuts, and other goodies (Mon-Fri 7:00-16:00, Sat 7:00-14:00, closed Sun).This place
is worth a graze—walk all the way through. Most merchants are happy to give you a free
sample (point to what you want, and say
probat, prosim
—“a taste, please”).
Leavingthemarkethallattheoppositeend,noticewherethecolonnadeendsatamodern
bridge.JožePle
č
nikdesignedahuge,roofed
Butchers' Bridge
tobebuilthere,but—likeso
many of his designs—the plans were scuttled. Decades later, aware of Ple
č
nik's newfound
touristic currency, some town politicians dusted off the old plans and proposed building the
bridge. The project stalled for years until the arrival of Mayor Zoran Jankovi
ć
, who swiftly
constructed this modern version of the bridge. While it looks nothing like Ple
č
nik's origin-
al plans, the bridge kept the old name and has been embraced by the community (there's a
handy public WC down below on the lower level). The sculptures on the bridge, by local
artist Jakov Brdar, were originally intended to be temporary—but people loved them, so
they stayed. (The wild-eyed, wild-bearded Brdar often hangs out near the bridge, asking
passersby how they like his creations.) Notice the mournful pose of the Adam and Eve
statues (being evicted from the Garden of Eden) at the market end of the bridge. And don't
miss the bizarre smaller sculptures along the railing—such as the ones that look like mis-
chievous lizards breaking out of their eggs. Almost as soon as it was built, the bridge's rail-
