Even if you stay a short time in Ljubljana you will notice Dragon, on the city’s coat of arms, on the bridge, on the castle, on the sporting event, etc. How come this is soo? I’ll try to tell the stories behind it and enumerate places it can be found.
Table of Contents
Ljubljana’s Dragon – Jason & Argonauts
The first story is based on ancient Greek mythology The Argonauts and the Quest for the Golden Fleece. The Greek hero Jason and his Argonaut comrades were on return from their quest for a golden fleece. The ship Argo entered the mouth of the Danube River, instead of heading south towards the Aegean Sea and native Greece. There was no way back, so they sailed further along the Danube, Sava, and then along the Ljubljanica. They had to stop and spend the winter near the source of the Ljubljanica. There lived a horrible swamp monster who was killed by Jason after a heroic fight. The monster is said to be a Ljubljana dragon. This version is romantic and interesting but it has no proof.
The second story of the dragon is connected to the legend of St. George. He is presented in old paintings as a knight that is sleighing the dragon. This image represents the win of Christianity over pagan religion. Castle Hill in antiquity represented a sacred place where the bearers of the culture of cremation cemeteries had their fortress and worshiped their god. Thus, in the Middle Ages, when they laid the foundations of today’s castle, they also wanted to symbolically overcome ancient beliefs and therefore dedicated the castle chapel of St. George.
The most probable option is that the dragon was added to the seal of Ljubljana in medieval times. First, it was just small on the top rim. In the time it grew bigger until it was one of the main parts of the seal in the 18th century.
Whatever is the reason it appeared in Ljubljana now it is an integral part of the city’s culture and it is integrated in many corners of the city.
Before mentioned Chapel of St. George (patron saint of the city of Ljubljana, he was a Roman soldier who lived between 275 and 303) is one of the oldest preserved parts of Ljubljana Castle. It is located in front of the entrance to the lookout tower. The chapel was first mentioned in 1489. Originally a Gothic chapel, it was later rebuilt in the Baroque style, and it was also painted with the coats of arms of the provincial governors. This is a special feature of the chapel because we rarely encounter secular content in sacral buildings.
Dragon bridge
Dragon bridge is the biggest display of dragons. It crosses the Ljubljanica river between northeast of Vodnik square and Resljeva street. It was built instead of the wooden Butcher’s Bridge after an earthquake in 1895 and it was opened in 1901. Jurij Zaninović (pupil of prof. Wagner as Plečnik) designed the bridge in secession style and it was made with reinforced concrete. The road surface itself was made of asphalt (first in Slovenia). On four corners you have 4 big dragons (20 altogether on a bridge) made by Beschorner. Material is copper that in time got its green patina. Today it is considered one of the most beautiful examples of Art Nouveau architecture of bridges in the world and is protected as a technical monument, it is also one of the sights of the city of Ljubljana.
On the castle and by the river you can find cast iron dragons, made in Kropa by Joža Bertoncelj.
Green Dragons is a Ljubljana fan group, founded in 1988. In the first years, they were present only at NK Olimpija football matches, and in the early 1990s, they also started attending HK Olimpija hockey matches and KK Olimpija basketball matches. Also, the mascot of KK Olimpija is dragon named Oli.
After WWII in Ljubljana factory of batteries was opened with name Zmaj (Dragon). Today it is closed and ther is rock club named Orto bar is there. People stil call underpass next to it Zmaj. Fastfood next to this place is called Zmaj as well.
The biggest brewery in Ljubljana – Union has a dragon as their symbol as well. For marketing purposes they created a video, that shows the founders – Kozler brothers how they saved the dragon and he leads them to the source of good water. Now he is sleeping under the brewery guarding the essence of the beer.
But today there are many instances of the dragon in different uses:
- City hall, table, relief, coat of arms, flag
- Zmaj Lakotaj – fairy tale by Janez Bitenc
- Registration plates for Ljubljana
- cigarettes 57
- Dragon festival in autumn on Castle
- Dragon carnival
- Dragon escape room
- … and many more
Probably in ancient times, people got ideas for dragons when they found dinosaurs’ bones. Through the centuries and with a lot of imagination with got stories about dragons. No matter what brought the dragon to Ljubljana, today is a big part of the city’s identity.