Congress Square

Coordinates: 46°03′01″N 14°30′13″E / 46.05028°N 14.50361°E / 46.05028; 14.50361
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Congress Square
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Congress Square viewed from Ljubljana Castle
LocationSlovenia
Part ofThe works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana – Human Centred Urban Design
CriteriaCultural: (iv)
Reference1643
Inscription2021 (44th Session)

Congress Square (

UNESCO World Heritage List.[1]

History

The square was built in 1821 at the site of the ruins of a medieval

Habsburg Emperor Joseph II. The square was used for ceremonial purposes during the post-Napoleonic Congress of Ljubljana, after which it was named. After the congress, a park was laid out in the center of the square, which soon acquired the name Star Park (Slovene: Park Zvezda, German: Sternallee) due to its layout. During the communist period it was renamed Revolution Square (Slovene: Trg revolucije) and a few years later Liberation Square (Slovene
: Trg osvoboditve), but the local population continued to use the old name. In 1990, it regained its original name.

The square has had a highly symbolic role in modern

Communist leader Josip Broz Tito first visited Slovenia after World War II and held a speech on the balcony of the University of Ljubljana
, which faces the square.

On June 22, 1988, the first free mass demonstration was held on the square demanding the release of four

U.S. president to visit Slovenia. On June 21, he publicly addressed the crowd gathered on Congress Square, quoting the opening verses of the Slovenian national anthem.[2][3]

Gallery

Buildings and monuments

Several important buildings face the square. Among them, there is the early

Slovenska matica
publishing house also has its seat on the square.

In 1852, a full length statue of the

Habsburg crown and was the place of all events on a high level in Ljubljana, but also the meeting place for drunk citizens at night. The statue was removed by "patriots" in the night of the 30 December 1918, after the collapse of Austria-Hungary and the end of World War II, and later placed in the National Museum.[4][5]

In the frame of Plečnik's renovation prior to World War II, new trees were planted in the park, most of which are still there today. In 1940, an equestrian statue of King

Slovenian Littoral
with the rest of Slovenia.

Several other monuments also stand on the square: Jože Plečnik's memorial to the women who protested against the political imprisonment of Slovene patriots during the Italian occupation of the Province of Ljubljana, a fountain with drinking water designed by the architect Boris Kobe, and a replica of a golden Roman monument found among the ruins of Emona. A Biedermeier bandstand from the 1830s also stands in the park.

In December 2004 the artist Matej Andraž Vogrinčič set up an "Enchanted Forest" in the square consisting of 1,000 potted fir trees. The trees were later donated to the Slovene Forestry Institute, which used them to reforest areas in the north-west of the country [6]

Gallery

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Congress Square.
  1. ^ "Plečnik's works added to the UNESCO World Heritage List". Government of Slovenia. 2 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Foto: Zgodbe, ki so se dogajale na Kongresnem trgu".
  3. ^ "Kongresni TRG, kjer se je pisala zgodovina Slovenije".
  4. ISSN 1318-2498
    . 'Cel svetje lahko sram...' ['All the World can be Ashamed']
  5. ISBN 961-237-159-8. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2011-05-18.
  6. ^ "Vogrincic Turns Ljubljana Park into Enchanted Forrest". UKom.gov. 2004-12-21. Archived from the original on 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2008-03-19.

46°03′01″N 14°30′13″E / 46.05028°N 14.50361°E / 46.05028; 14.50361

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