Castle tour day – Ljubljana Castle
Beautiful morning today, sunny, temperature around 75F for a high, no rain. (Just a note: Evening temps get comfortably cool at around 40-45F.) Again, we’re off to see another castle. Hey, when you’re in Europe, seeing castles can become the theme of your trip, there are tons of castles.
This one is not all that different from most we’ve seen. The area was acquired by the Habsburg empire (I know, Habsburg or is it Hapsburg. Habsburg is the correct German name, while Hapsburg is the English name. All the same people.) in 1335 but there is evidence of people living in the area dating back to 1200BC. The Habs (for short) were in no hurry to build a castle. In fact, work on the actual castle didn’t start until around mid-15th century when walls were erected and wooden barracks built. This was mostly for a show of strength and a warning to the Ottomans who made regular visits to the area.
Over the course of a couple of hundred years, the present day castle took shape. In the 16th century, the pentagonal tower, previously known as the Ducal Tower of Padav, was added along with a separate joining wall. But, like many a castle, during the 17th century, it fell into neglect. Had it not been for our man Napolean in the 18th century, the castle might have been demolished. Seems he wanted to save it because it was his home while in Ljubljana. Good guy.
Since that time the castle has served many masters and had many different functions. It’s been a hospital, a prison, and in 1905 when the Municipality or Ljubljana purchased the property, it became a homeless shelter. Sound nice doesn’t it, homeless now living in a castle. Wrong! Castles are extremely cold and usually lack sanitation facilities, just like this one. The conditions were reported to be horrible. So, in the 1960’s, the age of peace and free love, out go the homeless. For the next 35 years the castle underwent a renovation.
The Castle
The courtyard
The courtyard
That leads us too today. The castle is one of the main tourist sites in Ljubljana. There is now a funicular that takes you from the plaza to the castle (that’s what we took!) in place of the 20-minute uphill walk. The courtyard is surrounded by restaurants and a coffee shop; there is a history museum and my favorite, a puppet museum. (They had Pence and Harris in there). In all, took about 1 hour to tour.
Our friend the dragon
What’s a castle without a cannon
The Prison
View from the top
The City
Coats of Arms from the multiple castle owners
WW1 machine gun
Back down the funicular (notice how that starts with “fun”) to the plaza and some more strolling around the city. No donuts today, we’re holding out for lunch. Off to Republic Square. This square is where President Kucan, in 1991, declared independence for Slovenia and raised the new Slovenian flag. This is also where the Slovenian Parliament resides, in a cool rectangular building with odd statues around the entry.
Parliament building
Unique entryway
I guess, women have many faces???
Republic Square
Wow, now we’re really hungry. Time to find a nice place to relax, eat, and do a little people watching. Found just the place, a neat little burger joint right along the river. Menu looked good so why not. Turns out this was one of the “must eat at” restaurants on our list, Pop’s. What luck! Turns out not only are the burgers really good, but this was the place where Tom Clancy spent 14 days writing one of his Jack Ryan novels. No joke. They even have a Jack Ryan burger, had to order it.
Jack Ryan burger & fries at Pop’s Burger Bar
Great burger! Homemade brioche bun (toasted), 1/2lb patty, cheese, jalapenos, lettuce, secret sauce (thousand island dressing), and fries. I know, doesn’t sound like a wow but in Europe to have a burger that tastes like a US burger is pretty special. This one was great. Thanks to Tommy!
All done, time to get back and do a little writing. Tomorrow is Friday and a very special day in Ljubljana, Open Kitchen Day! Every Friday from March to November, the Central Market square turns into a huge food court. Can’t wait.