Ljubljana Castle, Ljubljana

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With only a day for the city (and Fernanda needing "accidentally" to do some shopping) we had to skip the castle.

With time, I would have seen the three dimensions film about Ljubljana history, and browse the exhibition of local artifacts. We can't have everything...

Ljubljana Castle was built on a prehistoric site, on top of a hill. It was first mentioned in the Middle Ages. The first proof that the Ljubljana knights had their seat in the castle dates from 1144.
Inside the castle there is the Chapel of St. George from 1489. In 1686 the gunpowder tower exploded and in 1782 another tower was struck, so the castle building was unused until Joseph II had it altered into a jail.
1905 the goverment of Ljubljana intended to use it for cultural purposes and at the same time also flats were built in it. Ten years later a reconstruction began which is still (more or less) going on.

Inside the castle there is a permanent exhibition of the Slovenian history.
Opening hours:
October through March 10.00 - 18.00
April through September 09.00 - 21.00

To get to the castle one can take the tourist train from downtown instead of walking the quite steep hill ways. The train leaves on the hour to the castle, and 20 minutes past the hour back to the center. The journey takes about 10 minutes. It leaves from just south of the Triple Bridge (Tromostovje) and from the entrance to the castle respectively.

There are only return tickets available. Adults 3 Euro, reduced price 2 Euro.

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The chapel is covered in frescoes and coats of arms of the Dukes of Kranjsk (or Carniola in English), painted in 1747. It was built in 1489.

Opening hours to the castle:
October through March 10.00 - 18.00
April through September 09.00 - 21.00

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From December 2006 there is a funicular you could take if you want to go to the castle after coming from the Dragon Bridge. The funicular starts near Krekov Trg and runs every 10 minutes.

October 1 till March 31: 10.00 - 21.00
April 1 till September 30: 09.00 - 23.00
I put a link here for the ticket prices since they are a bit complicated. You'll find them at the bottom of the page.

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If you want to see who town in a glance, take a trip to the Tower. There are funicular, but there are many paths to select, if you like some practice. (The funicular has the starting point on Krekov trg).

When I was there last time, I was surprised in tower chapel, an old man came to me and started to speak Finnish. He was researcher having lived 50 years in Slovenia. His interest area was astronomy!

Ljubljana Castle is a major tourist attraction of the town and there are all kind of cultural events like concerts, theatre performances, exhibitions, etc.

Guided tours of the castle take place in summer time.

Winter season (1.10.-30.4.) 10:00-21:00,
Summer time (1.5.-30.9.) 9:00-22:00

One cons, hope they correct it some day, the bar services are poor, build a beer serving restaurant there (hope that there is one on summer time).

And a tip: take foot tour from the old town`s Stari trg (Old square) or the other one from the Central market.

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Ljubljana castle is the city's premier tourist attraction, and draws the crowds all year round. It's hard to miss, sitting on a huge hill above the city center: a series of straight white walls sitting on a mountain of green forest. While its austere functional design might not be as stunning as castles elsewhere in the region, it offers incomparable views of Ljubljana and its beautiful locale in the cauldren of snow capped peaks and lush green forest.

Being such a prominent place by the city's lifeblood river, the castle's grounds have been used as a stronghold for centuries, probably as far back as Roman times. The current castle likely saw its foundations laid in the 10th century, but it has been rebuilt and renovated repeatedly over the years. Most of the current buildings date from 16th and 17th centuries, except for the Chapel of St George, which boasts a consecration date of 1489.

The castle is a steep walk up the back streets from the old town. The grounds are free to walk around, but if you want to enter the buildings, including the tower with the fantastic views, you'll need to spend about five euros in tolari.

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The first constructions of Ljubljana Castle (Ljubljanski Grad) began in the 12th century. Later, many reconstructions led to the castle's current silhouette, inculding a lookout tower from 1848.

Don't miss a visit to this lookout tower, as it offers panoramic views of the city and the Julian Alps in the background.

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Ljubljana Castle is perched on the top of a hill, which provided a superb vantage point from which to survey the surrounding landscape for marauding enemies. However, accessing this lovely spot can be problematic if you're physically challenged, the weather is unfavourable (probably worse in intense heat than in the rain) or are just plain lazy!

There are bus options, but by far the most interesting possibility is to catch the funincular railway that runs from just by the Dragon Bridge to the castle. The views on the way up are lovely and provide an unusual perspective on the historic city centre.

Thereafter I would suggest that you assuage your guilt at having taken the easy option by descending on foot - the stroll through the wooded grounds is glorious (especially if you take one of the paths as opposed to the road) and so much easier on the way down than the way up!

If you're here over a weekend, the Castle is a much favoured spot for wedding photography, and thus offers excellent opportunities for unobtrusive peoplewatching!

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Ljubljana castle is very pretty, and clearly a big tourist draw. However, I found it rather difficult to navigate in the little time I had; the signing needs some attention, I think.

I did have a quick look in the chapel though, one of the oldest parts. Some bits of the 15th century wall-paintings still remain, and the ceiling is extremely decorative.

The problem is, for me, that the castle has been so rebuilt and restored and renovated over the years (centuries?) that it has lost much of whatever atmosphere it retained. Its use as an exhibition space/venue for weddings/conferences etc etc means that there is less historical interest than perhaps there might be.

This is, of course, and entirely personal opinion. Many will no doubt think otherwise.