Around 2000 BC, the Ljubljana Marshes were settled by people living in pile dwellings. These lake-dwelling people lived through hunting, fishing and primitive agriculture. To get around the marshes, they used dugout canoes made by cutting out the inside of tree trunks. Later, the area remained a transit point for numerous tribes and peoples, among them a mixed nation of Celts and Illyrians called the Iapydes and then in the 3rd century BC a Celtic tribe, the Taurisci.
Around 50 BC, the Romans built a military encampment that later became a permanent settlement called Iulia Aemona (Emona). This entrenched fort was occupied by the Legio XV Apollinaris. In 452, it was destroyed by the Huns under Attila's orders, and later by the Ostrogoths and the Lombards. Emona housed 5,000–6,000 inhabitants and played an important role during numerous battles. Its plastered brick houses, painted in different colours, were already connected to a drainage system. In the 6th century, the ancestors of the Slovenes moved in. In the 9th century, the Slovenes fell under Frankish domination, while experiencing frequent Magyar raids.
It was long thought that the first mention of Ljubljana dated to 1144. In 2002, however, an even older mention was found on a parchment sheet named Nomina defunctorum (Names of the Dead), which has been kept by the Udine Cathedral Archive. It dates from 1112 to 1125. It mentions the nobleman Rudolf of Tarcento, a laywer of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, who had bestowed a canon with 20 farmsteads beside the castle of Ljubljana (castrum Leibach) to the Patriarchate.
When exactly Ljubljana acquired its town rights is not known, but it was no later than 1220. In the 13th century, the town was composed of three districts: the Old Square (Stari trg), the New Square (Novi trg) and "Town" (Mesto) (around the Romanesque church of Saint Nicholas). The first-mentioned is thought to have obtained the right to hold a market at around 1200, which does not necessarily mean that it is the oldest district among the three. The lords of Ljubljana Castle at the time were from the Spanheim family, whereas the surrounding agrarian estate belonged to different noblemen, even counts.
In 1270, Carniola and in particular Ljubljana was conquered by King Ottokar II of Bohemia. When he was in turn defeated by Rudolph of Habsburg, the latter took the town in 1278. Due to Rudolf's pledge, Ljubljana was under the administration of the Counts of Gorizia from 1279 till 1335, when it came under Habsburg rule again. Renamed Laibach, it would belong to the House of Habsburg until 1797. The Diocese of Ljubljana was established in 1461 and the Church of St. Nicholas became a cathedral.
In the 15th century, Ljubljana became recognised for its art. After an earthquake in 1511, it was rebuilt in Renaissance style and a new wall was built around it. In the 16th century, the population numbered 5,000, 70% of whom spoke Slovene as their mother tongue, with most of the rest using German. Soon after the first book written in Slovene was published in Germany (Primož Trubar's Catechism, Tübingen 1550) the pedagogue Adam Bohorič had his three Slovene-language books, "Elementale Labacense oder Abecedarium der lateinischen, deutschen und slowenischen Sprache", his "Nomenclatura trium linguarum" and his "Otroshia tabla", printed in the Carniolan capital by Hans Mannel (Slovene: Janž Mandelc). By that time, the Protestant Reformation had gained ground in the town. Several important Lutheran preachers lived and worked in Ljubljana, including Primož Trubar, Adam Bohorič and Jurij Dalmatin, whose Slovene bible, however, was printed in German Wittenberg. Around the same time, the first secondary school, public library and printing house opened in Ljubljana. In 1597, the Jesuits arrived in the city and established a new secondary school that later became a college. Baroque architecture appeared at the end of the 17th century as foreign architects and sculptors came in.
The Napoleonic interlude saw Ljubljana as "Laybach" become, from 1809 to 1813, the capital of the Illyrian Provinces. In 1815, the city became Austrian again and from 1816 to 1849 was the administrative centre of the Kingdom of Illyria in the Austrian Empire. In 1821 it hosted the Congress of Laibach, which fixed European political borders for years to come. The first train arrived in 1849 from Vienna and in 1857 the line was extended to Trieste.
In 1895, Ljubljana, then a city of 31,000, suffered a serious earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale. Some 10% of its 1,400 buildings were destroyed, although casualties were light. During the reconstruction that followed, a number of quarters were rebuilt in Vienna Secession style. Public electric lighting appeared in the city in 1898. The rebuilding and subsequent quick modernization of the city were led by the mayor Ivan Hribar.
In 1918, following the end of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the region joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1929, Ljubljana became the capital of Drava Banovina, a Yugoslav province. In 1941, during World War II, Fascist Italy occupied the city, and on 3 May 1941 made "Lubiana" the capital of an Italian "Provincia di Lubiana" with the former Yugoslav general Leon Rupnik as mayor. After the Italian capitulation, Nazi Germany with SS-general Erwin Rösener and Friedrich Rainer took control in 1943 but formally the city remained the capital of an Italian province until 9 May 1945. In Ljubljana, the occupying forces established strongholds and command centres of Quisling organisations, the Anti-Communist Volunteer Militia under Italy and the Home Guard under German occupation. The city was surrounded by over 30 kilometres of barbed wire to prevent co-operation between the underground resistance movement (Liberation Front of the Slovenian People) within the city and the Yugoslav Partisans (Partizani) who operated outside the fence. Since 1985, a commemorative path has ringed the city where this iron fence once stood.
After World War II, Ljubljana became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, part of Communist Yugoslavia, a status it retained until 1991, when Slovenia became independent. Ljubljana remained the capital of Slovenia, which entered the European Union in 2004.
Ljubljana has been struck through its history not only by earthquakes but also by floods, the latest taking place in 2010. Southern and western parts of the city are more flood-endangered than northern parts.
A number of earthquakes have devastated Ljubljana, including in 1511 and 1895. Slovenia is in a rather active seismic zone because of its position to the south of the Eurasian Plate. Thus the country is at the junction of three important tectonic zones: the Alps to the north, the Dinaric Alps to the south and the Pannonian Basin to the east. Scientists have been able to identify 60 destructive earthquakes in the past. Additionally, a network of seismic stations is active throughout the country.
Ljubljana Castle (Ljubljanski grad) is a mediaeval castle located at the summit of the hill that dominates the city centre. The area surrounding today's castle has been continuously inhabited since 1200 BC. The hill summit probably became a Roman army stronghold after fortifications were built in Illyrian and Celtic times.
A fortress was present at the place already in 12th century and was the seat of the Duchy of Carniola. In 1335, it became property of the House of Habsburg. In 15th century, the fortress was almost completely demolished and the present castle was built and furnished with towers. Its purpose was to defend the empire against Ottoman invasion as well as peasant revolt. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the castle became an arsenal and a military hospital. It was damaged during the Napoleonic period and, once back in the Austrian Empire, became a prison, which it remained until 1905, resuming that function during World War II. The castle's Outlook Tower dates to 1848; this was inhabited by a guard whose duty it was to fire cannons warning the city in case of fire or announcing important visitors or events.
In 1905, the city of Ljubljana purchased the castle, which underwent a renovation in the 1960s. Today, it is a tourist attraction; cultural events also take place there. Since 2006, a funicular has linked the city centre to the castle atop the hill.
Saint Nicholas Cathedral (Stolnica svetega Nikolaja) serves the Archdiocese of Ljubljana. Easily identifiable due to its green dome and twin towers, it is located on the Cyril Methodius Square by the nearby Ljubljana Central Market and the Ljubljana Town Hall.
Originally, the site was occupied by a three-nave Romanesque church first mentioned in 1262. After a fire in 1361 it was re-vaulted in Gothic style. The Diocese of Ljubljana was set up in 1461 and eight years later, a new fire presumably set by the Ottomans once again burnt down the building.
Between 1701 and 1706, the Jesuit architect Andrea Pozzo designed a new Baroque church with two side chapels shaped in the form of a Latin cross. The dome was built in the centre in 1841. The interior is decorated with Baroque frescos painted by Giulio Quaglio between 1703–1706 and 1721-1723.
The Tivoli Park (Park Tivoli) is the largest park in Ljubljana. The park was designed in 1813 by the French engineer Jean Blanchard and now covers approximately 5 km (1.9 sq mi). The park was laid out during the French imperial administration of Ljubljana in 1813 and named after the ParisianJardins de Tivoli. At the edge of Tivoli Park is a fish pond, dating back to 1880. On one side of the pond is a small botanic garden, on the other side is a children's playground. Between 1921 and 1939, it was renovated by the Slovene architect Jože Plečnik, who designed a broad central promenade, called the Jakopič Promenade (Jakopičevo sprehajališče) after the leading Slovene impressionist painter Rihard Jakopič. It has three main avenues, planted with chestnut-trees. Within the park, there are different types of trees, flower gardens, several statues, and fountains. Several notable buildings stand in the Park, among them the Tivoli Castle, the National Museum of Contemporary History and the Tivoli Sports Hall.
The Butchers' Bridge (Mesarski most) is a footbridge crossing the river Ljubljanica. It connects Ljubljana Central Market and the Petkovšek embankment. It is decorated with the works by the Slovenian sculptor Jakov Brdar and completes the plans of the Slovene architect Jože Plečnik from the 1930s. It was officially opened on July 10, 2010.
Shortly after the opening of the bridge padlocks of couples in love started appearing on its steel wires, symbolizing declarations of eternal love, a phenomenon similar to the one on the Parisian Pont des Arts.
Ljubljana has numerous art galleries and museums. In 2004, there were 15 museums, 41 art galleries, 11 theatres and four professional orchestras. There is for example an architecture museum, a railway museum, a sports museum, a museum of modern art, a brewery museum, the Slovenian Museum of Natural History and the Slovene Ethnographic Museum. The Ljubljana Zoo covers 19.6 hectares (48 acres) and has 152 animal species. An antique flea market takes place every Sunday in the old city. In 2006, the museums received 264,470 visitors, the galleries 403,890 and the theatres 396,440.
Each year over 10,000 cultural events take place in the city; among these are ten international festivals of theatre, music and art generally. Numerous music festivals are held there, chiefly in European classical music and jazz, for instance the Ljubljana Summer Festival (Ljubljanski poletni festival). In the centre of the various Slovenian wine regions, Ljubljana is known for being a "city of wine and vine". Grapevines were already being planted on the slopes leading up to the Castle Hill by the Roman inhabitants of Emona.
In 1701, present-day Slovenia's first philharmonic academy opened in Ljubljana, which spurred the development of musical production in the region. Some of its honorary members would include Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, as well as the violinist Niccolò Paganini. Early in his career, Gustav Mahler served as conductor at the opera house, giving eighty-four complete performances between September 1881 and April 1882.
The National Gallery (Narodna galerija), founded in 1918, and the Museum of Modern Art (Moderna galerija), both in Ljubljana, exhibit the most influential Slovenian artists. On Metelkova street there is a social centre dedicated to alternative culture, set up in a renovated former Austro-Hungarian barracks. This lively street has numerous clubs and concert halls that play various types of music, mainly alternative rock. Another alternative culture centre is located in the former Rog factory. In the 1980s, Ljubljana became the centre of the Neue Slowenische Kunst, which among others included the music group Laibach and the painters of the IRWIN collective; the philosopher Slavoj Žižek was also associated with it.
Students make up one-seventh of Ljubljana's population, giving the city a youthful character. The University of Ljubljana, Slovenia's most important and Ljubljana's only university, was founded in 1919. On foundation, the University comprised five faculties: law, philosophy, technology, theology and medicine. The seat of the university was in the central Congress Square of Ljubljana in a building that had served as the State Mansion of Carniola from 1902 to 1918. The building was first designed in 1902 by Jan Vladimir Hrásky, and was later remodelled by a Czech architect from Vienna, Josip Hudetz. As of 2010, it has 23 faculties and three academies. These offer Slovene-language courses in (among other subjects) medicine, applied sciences, arts, law and administration. The university has close to 64,000 students and some 3,500 teaching faculty.
In 2004, the National and University Library of Slovenia, located in Ljubljana, had 1,169,090 books in all. In 2006, the 55 primary schools had 20,802 pupils and the 32 secondary schools had 25,797.
Ljubljana's ice hockey clubs are HD HS Olimpija, ŠD Alfa, HK Slavija and HDD Olimpija Ljubljana. They all compete in the Slovenian Hockey League; HDD Olimpija Ljubljana also takes part in the Austrian Hockey League. The basketball teams are KD Slovan, ŽKD Ježica Ljubljana and KK Union Olimpija. The latter, which has a green dragon as its mascot, hosts its matches in the 10,000-seat Stožice arena since 2010.
The city's football teams which play in the Slovenian PrvaLiga are Interblock Ljubljana and NK Olimpija Ljubljana. There are two stadiums in the city. Bežigrad Stadium, which was built according to the plans of Jože Plečnik and is closed since 2008, was the home of the NK Olimpija Ljubljana dissolved in 2004. The much larger Stadium Stožice, opened since August 2010, is the home of the NK Olimpija Ljubljana established in 2005.
Each year since 1957, on 8–10 May, the traditional recreational March along the Path of Remembrance and Comradeship has taken place to mark the liberation of Ljubljana on 9 May 1945. The last Sunday in October, the Ljubljana Marathon is run on the city's streets. It attracts several thousand runners each year.
The Tacen Whitewater Course, located on a polygon next to the Sava, eight kilometers northwest of the city centre, hosts a major international canoe/kayak slalom competition almost every year, examples being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in 1955, 1991, and 2010.
Ljubljana is at the centre of the Slovenian road network, which links the city to all parts of the country. Until July 2008, toll booths were used, but were replaced by a vignette system. The city, in central Slovenia, is linked to the southwest by A1-E70 to the Italian cities of Trieste and Venice and the Croatian port of Rijeka. To the north, A1-E57 leads to Maribor, Graz and Vienna. To the east, A2-E70 links it with the Croatian capital Zagreb, from where one can go to Hungary or important cities of the former Yugoslavia, such as Belgrade. To the northwest, A2-E61 goes to the Austrian cities of Klagenfurt and Salzburg, making it an important entry point for northern European tourists.
Ljubljana railway station is part of a railway network that links Germany to Croatia through the Munich-Salzburg-Ljubljana-Zagreb line. A second network is the Vienna-Graz-Maribor-Ljubljana one, which links Austria to Slovenia. A third is the Genoa-Venice-Ljubljana one, linking Ljubljana to Italy. Finally, a line goes to Budapest The Slovenian Railways offers the possibility to buy Ljubljana daily or monthly city pass that can be used to travel in Ljubljana by train (15 stations). In the immediate vicinity to the Ljubljana railway station is located the Bus station Ljubljana (Avtobusna postaja Ljubljana), the Ljubljana central bus hub, operated by the company Avtobusna postaja Ljubljana.
Ljubljana Airport (IATA code LJU), located 26 kilometres (16 mi) north of the city, has flights to numerous European destinations. Among the companies that fly from there are Adria Airways, Air France, Brussels Airlines, EasyJet and Finnair. Among the destinations served are Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belgrade, Brussels, Budapest, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Istanbul, Kijev, London, Manchester, Moscow, Munich, Ohrid, Paris, Podgorica, Prague, Pristhina, Stockholm, Skopje, Vienna, Warsaw, Tirana, Tel Aviv and Zurich. There are numerous taxi companies in the city.
The city bus network, run by the public company Ljubljanski potniški promet ("Ljubljana Passenger Transport", LPP), is Ljubljana's most used means of public transportation. The city bus rides may be paid with the Urbana payment card (also used for the funicular) or with a mobile phone. Sometimes, the buses are called trole ("trolleys"), harking back to the 1951–71 days when Ljubljana had trolleybus (trolejbus) service. There were five trolleybus lines in Ljubljana, till 1958 alongside the tram.
The tram system in Ljubljana is a small one. It was originally built in 1901. In the post World War II era, many Yugoslav towns and cities with tram systems took out their systems, as they took up a lot of space in an era when automobiles were more important. In Ljubljana the tram's end came in 1958. In its final years the system reached length of over 21 kilometers. Soon after the last day of operation the tracks were dismantled and the cars were transferred to Osijek and Subotica. Almost fifty years later, at the end of 2006, a new tram line was opened. The tram is a funicular, and goes from the Krek Square near the Ljubljana Central Market to the Ljubljana Castle. The tram is especially popular among tourists. It runs between the hours of 9:00 and 21:00, and the full trip lasts about 15 to 20 minutes. There are plans to build more lines in the future.
There is a considerable amount of bicycle traffic in Ljubljana and it is also possible to rent a bike. Since May 2011, the Bicikelj, a self-service bicycle rental system offers the residents and visitors of Ljubljana 300 bicycles and 600 parking spots at 31 stations in the wider city centre area. The daily number of rentals is around 2,500. There was a possibility to rent a bike even before the establishment of Bicikelj. On some of the main streets cycling is forbidden, e.g. on a part of the Slovenska Road. Through years, the prohibitions have been partially abolished by marking cycle lanes on the road or on the pavement.