Dragon Bridge - Ljubljana
Posted by: 
SMacB
N 46° 03.120 E 014° 30.626
33T E 462126 N 5099942
The Dragon Bridge (Slovene: Zmajski most, historically also Zmajev most) is a road bridge located in Ljubljana. It crosses the Ljubljanica River, between Kopitar Street (Kopitarjeva ulica) and Ressel Street (Resljeva cesta).
Waymark Code: WMT57V
Location: Slovenia
Date Posted: 09/28/2016
Views: 7
"In 1888 the decision was made to erect a new Jubilee Bridge in honour of the fortieth anniversary of the rule of the Emperor Franc Jožef I by the edge of the medieval nucleus. The initiative for the construction was given by the mayor, Hribar, who needed a new traffic ring around the medieval city core. The bridge is part of that ring, according to the idea of the architect Maks Fabiani. The banks of the river are connected with one single concrete arch, decorated with railings and ending constructions. The gala opening of the bridge was in 1901 and the bridge was completed in 1907. A new road was opened as well, which led to the railway station.
The concrete construction, which was very innovative for that time, was designed in Vienna. Under the influence of the popular Secession and the architect Jurij Zaninovic, the arch of the bridge and its railings were adorned with decorations of vegetation and inscriptions of Viribus unitis, which were popular at that time. The bronze candelabras were cast in Vienna and the glass domes were added to them. The four corners of the bridge are decorated by dragons, symbols from the Ljubljana coat-of-arms, forged out of copper sheet. They were made in the Vienna factory of decorative items A. M. Beschorner.
The first cast iron bridge in this part of Europe was a technical innovation of that time, a chosen piece of engineering architecture and characteristic Secession construction. The bridge was decorated with memorial plaques with German and Slovenian inscriptions. After the overturn in 1918 the German inscription disappeared. The bridge was renovated with lightweight concrete in 1983-1984."
SOURCE - (
visit link)