An earthquake struck

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, the capital and largest city of

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

, a

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Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

and the capital of modern-day

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, on

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

Sunday, 14 April 1895. It was the most, and the last, destructive earthquake in the area.

Earthquake

With a

moment magnitude The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. was defined in a 1979 paper ...

of 6.1 and a maximum EMS Intensity of VIII–IX, the earthquake struck at 22:17

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

(23:17 local time). The earthquake's

epicenter The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a ...

was located in

Janče Janče (; in older sources and locally also ''Jančje'',''Krajevni leksikon Dravske Banovine''. 1937. Ljubljana: Zveza za tujski promet za Slovenijo, p. 325.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna zal ...

, about to the east of the Ljubljana downtown. The focus was deep. The shock was felt in a circle with a radius of and an area of , reaching as far away as

Assisi Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and

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. More than 100

aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in Epicenter, the same area of the Mainshock, main shock, caused as the displaced Crust (geology), crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthq ...

s followed in the next ten days.

Casualties and damage

At the time, Ljubljana's population was some 31,000, with around 1,400 buildings. The earthquake directly caused 21 death casualties, two people died later while clearing the rubble and three children died several days after the earthquake due to the severe cold in their temporary accommodation. The lack of food, poor living conditions and rainy weather meant that diseases, especially

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

, spread rapidly. The elderly and children in particular were dying. About ten percent of buildings were damaged or destroyed in the city. The largest damage was caused in a circle with a radius of , from Ig to Vodice, while lesser damage occurred in a radius of from the epicenter. At Vodnik Square (), an old monastery, which contained a diocesan girls' college and a library was sufficiently damaged that it had to be razed, and the site eventually was turned into an outdoor market ( Ljubljana Central Market, ), now an important site in the city. The damage was estimated to 7 million

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...

Response

The next morning, the Municipal Council adopted emergency measures to assist the worst-affected victims, to direct the police force in extra security measures, and to direct the police force to inspect the damaged houses. All the city's schools were temporarily closed, and some factories temporarily ceased operation. A few days later, emergency shelters were created for the homeless. Many citizens of Ljubljana left the city as refugees. Lack of food was quickly felt in the city, and five emergency kitchens were established, which were free or low cost and distributed several thousand hot meals each day. Other areas of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, especially

, the

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and Croatia-Slavonia assisted in the aid. Among the individual members of the Municipal Council, the Liberal Nationalist

Ivan Hribar Ivan Hribar (19 September 1851 – 18 April 1941) was a Slovene and Yugoslav banker, politician, diplomat and journalist. During the start of the 20th century, he was one of the leaders of the National Progressive Party, and one of the mo ...

, showed particular organizational abilities in providing aid. Shortly thereafter, he was elected mayor and organized the town's extensive reconstruction. The damage was substantial. Most houses were damaged on Hospice Street (''Špitalska ulica'', today Stritar Street, ), where all houses were destroyed except for one, and the markets.

Post-earthquake reconstruction

Until the event, Ljubljana had a provincial appearance. Expansion of the city and a widespread

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (; also known as the Union of Austrian Artists or ) is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian painters, graphic artists, sculptors and architects, including Josef Ho ...

architectural change began, which today is juxtaposed against the earlier

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style buildings that remain. Many buildings, such as the Mladika, were constructed in the aftermath. The rebuilding period between 1896 and 1910 is referred to as the "revival of Ljubljana" not just because of these architectural changes from which a great deal of the city dates back to today, but for reform of urban administration, health, education and tourism that followed. From 1895 to 1910, 436 new buildings were created and hundreds of buildings were renovated or extended in the Vienna Secession style. Most of Ljubljana's bridges, monuments, parks, and main buildings date back to the post-earthquake development. A chapel, dedicated to

Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary (), also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Titles of Mary, Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October ...

, was erected in 1895 in Janče by the people of Ljubljana so that Mary would protect them from such disasters. In 1897, the first

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

seismological observatory was established in Ljubljana at Vega Street ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1895 Ljubljana Earthquake