422

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp446–7 and pp448–9

Market^3

Glavna tržnica

Adamič-Lundrovo nabrežje. Map F3.

# Nov–Mar: 8am–3pm Mon–Sat;

Apr–Oct: 8am–5pm Mon–Sat.

The northern end of Ljubljana’s

Old Town has long been the

site of the city’s large and

lively market. Running along

the curving bank of the

Ljubljanica river is the Market

Colonnade, a Classical-

inspired structure built by

Jože Plečnik in 1942 to

provide shelter for a row

of delica tessen stalls. Built

into the riverbank itself, the

colon nade’s lower storey is

home to a fish market filled

with glistening heaps of

octopus, squid and lobster

St Nicholas’s

Cathedral^2

Stolnica sv Nikolaja

Dolničarjeva ulica. Map E3.

Tel (01) 231 0684. # 6am–noon

& 3–7pm daily.

Built on the site of an earlier

church by leading Jesuit archi -

tect Andrea Pozzo in 1707,

this Baroque cathedral is

dedi cated to St Nicholas,

patron saint of fishermen and

sailors. The cathedral’s

exterior has two doors, built

for Pope John Paul II’s visit in

1996, each deco rated with

expressive bronze reliefs. The

west door is adorned with

scenes from the history of

Slovene Christianity; it

portrays the bap tism of the

Slovene nation at the bottom,

Ljubljana Castle^1
Ljubljanski grad

Grajska planota 1. Map E3.
Tel (01) 306 4293. # May–Sep:
9am–10pm daily; Oct–Apr: 10am–
9pm daily. Virtual Museum

10am–6pm daily. &

Looming above the Old Town,
Ljubljana Castle dates from
the 11th cen tury when the
Spannheims adopted the city
as their feudal power base.
Following Ljubljana’s absorp-
tion by Austria in 1355, the
castle became the pro p erty of
the Habsburg fam ily. It went
on to serve as army barracks,
a refuge for the poor and a
prison. Now an immaculate
building with manicured

SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

A section of Ljubljana’s medieval
castle, high above the Old Town

Exterior of St Nicholas’s Cathedral, dominated by its twin towers

with Pope John Paul II shown

peer ing from a window at

the top. The south door

depicts the tall mitred profiles

of six of Slovenia’s 20th-

cen tury bis hops, praying

at the tomb of Christ.

Inside, the cathedral has a

rich sequence of side chapels

and a nave domi nated by an

Illusionist ceiling painting of

the Crucifixion by Giulio

Quaglio (1610–58).

Down a side street

brightened by flower stalls

is the 18th-century portal of

Ljubljana’s seminary, framed

by a pair of titans carved by

Andrea Pozzo. The semi nary’s

library is decorated with

frescoes by Quaglio and can

be visited by contacting the

Ljubljana tourist information

office in advance (see p442).

lawns, the castle has several

points of interest grouped

around its irregular court yard.

Built in 1848 to serve as a

viewing platform, the spec-

tacular Clock Tower provides

a won der ful view of the city,

with the Karavanke Moun-

tains visible to the north.

On the western side of the

courtyard, the remarkable 15th-

century Gothic Chapel of St

George has a ceiling deco-

rated with the coats of arms

of the Carniola province’s

leading feudal families. The

nearby Virtual Museum

(Virtualni muzej) showcases

the history of the city through

an impressive 20-minute

audio-visual presentation.

Local produce in Ljubljana’s

bustling Market