Ljubljanski Grad!

Ljubljana Castle!

Kevin and I went up to see the castle on his day off on Monday! There was a beautiful view of the city from the top!

The castle is open any day of the year! You can climb Castle Hill from the very centre of Ljubljana by the panoramic funicular railway! The Castle is a medieval fortress with a new attractive image and is one of the most visited tourist points in all of Slovenia!

History
The area of the present castle has been settled continuously since 1200 BC.
-1112 till 1125, The oldest mention of Ljubljana Castle is inscribed on a parchment sheet Nomina defunctorum (names of the dead), which is kept by the Udine Cathedral Archive. 
-1144, Ljubljana Castle was mentioned as a property and the seat of the Carinthian dukes of the House of Spanheim. 
-1335, it became property of the House of Habsburg. 
-15th century, it was almost completely demolished and rebuilt with a complete wall and towers at the entrance, where a drawbridge was placed. A chapel was also built at that time. 
-16th and 17th centuries, other objects were gradually built. The castle's purpose was to defend the empire against Ottoman invasion as well as peasant revolt.
-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. 
-Between the 18th and 19th centuries, 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. Because it was not a home of a ruler or another important noble person and because a fortification in the area was no longer required, the castle started to lose its importance. The maintenance costs were too high so the castle began to crumble. 
-19th century, the castle was redesigned partially as a prison and partially as a military stronghold, making it less popular among the citizens. Several famous people were jailed in the castle, including the Italian revolutionary Silvio Pellico, the Hungarian Prime Minister Lajos Batthyanyand the Slovene author Ivan Cankar.
-1905, the castle was bought by Municipality of Ljubljana, on the explicit wish of the mayor, Ivan Hribar, who planned to establish a city museum in it. The plan was however not carried out. Instead, the city decided to settle poor families into it.
-End of the 1960s, the long and extensive renovation works started. The whole renovation took more than 35 years.
-1990s, the use of the castle as a place for weddings and cultural events began.
-2006, The Ljubljana Castle funicular, a funicular railway to the top of Castle Hill, was built and brought to service on 28 December 2006.

View from the park of the Castle!

Funicular railway to the top of Castle Hill

The Courtyard

Chapel we found exploring the fortress.

Started climbing to the top of the tower

Key hole! The city of Ljubljana from above.

Found a painting exhibit for the artist Gani Llalloshi the series was called Nostalgie. The exhibit  is there until January 6, 2013.

This one was Kevin's favorite!

This one was my favorite!

Climbing to the top of the tower!

View of the fortress from the top!

Views of the city!

Was a bit hazy but the pictures look like a dream!

Italy to the West!

Mountains in the distance!

The city center!

The park! Where I took the picture of the castle in the distance!

To the North!

To the east!

Waiting to go back down!

Ciao!

Slovenian Word of the Day:
Hrib meaning Hill

PEACE & LOVE,
Kevin & Amanda