The Dragon Bridge ( sl, Zmajski most, historically also ) is a road bridge located in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, the capital of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

. It crosses the

Ljubljanica The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Sava'', is a river in the southern part of the Ljubljana Basin in Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, lies on the river. The Ljubljanica rises south of the town of Vrhnika and flow ...

River.The Dragon Bridge
the city's official tourist site.Ljubljana – A lively city, safe under the wings of a dragon
''International Associations of Business Communicators (IABC)'' between

Kopitar Street Kopitar is a Slovene surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Anže Kopitar (born 1987), Slovenian hockey player *Jernej Kopitar Jernej Kopitar, also known as Bartholomeus Kopitar (21 August 1780 – 11 August 1844), was a Slovene li ...

() and

Ressel Street Ressel is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Franco Ressel, Italian film actor * Grant Ressel, American football player * Josef Ressel Joseph Ludwig Franz Ressel ( cs, Josef Ludvík František Ressel; June 29, 1793 – October ...

(), to the north of the

Ljubljana Central Market The Ljubljana Central Market ( sl, Osrednja ljubljanska tržnica) is a market in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The riverside market building, sometimes referred to as Plečnik's Market ( sl, Plečnikova tržnica), was designed by Jože Plečnik between 193 ...

Vodnik Square Vodnik Square ( sl, Vodnikov trg) is a town square in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It spans the area from the Dragon Bridge across Pogačar Square () to the Triple Bridge. It is named after Valentin Vodnik, a Slovene priest, journalist, ...

. It was built in the beginning of the 20th century, when Ljubljana was part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. As one of the best examples of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion ...

bridges and of the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...

style, the bridge is today protected as a technical monument. It is intended primarily for motorised traffic.

Name

The bridge was originally named ''The Jubilee Bridge of the Emperor Franz Josef I'' (german: Franz Josef I. Jubiläumsbrücke, Slovene: ). In July 1919, it was renamed to ''Dragon Bridge''.

History

Razglednica otvoritve zmajskega mosta v Ljubljani

The bridge was built as part of a wider urban renovation of the town during the administration of the mayor Ivan Hribar. It replaced an old oak bridge named the ''Butchers' Bridge'' (), which was constructed in 1819 and damaged by a severe earthquake in 1895. The new bridge was constructed of

Janez Koželj Janez may refer to: People: * Janez (given name), a Slovene given name * Janež, a Slovene surname In music: * Janez Detd., a Belgian rock band May also refer to a semi-pejorative term used in the Croatian North and beyond for Slovenes The ...

, a professor of

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban d ...

, expressed in 2010 his opinion that the new technology of reinforced concrete and new static calculations were used in Ljubljana instead of Vienna, because it meant minor consequences if they had not worked. The new bridge was constructed upon the plans of Vienna company Pittel+Brausewetter based on a patent by Austrian engineer

Josef Melan Josef Melan (1854–1941) was an Austrian engineer. He is regarded as one of the most important pioneers of reinforced concrete bridge-building at the end of the 19th century. Josef Melan is credited as the inventor of the ''Melan System'', a me ...

and the design by the company's architect , the graduate of Otto Wagner's school. The works started on 1 July 1900 and were at first led by Austrian engineer Alexander Zabokrzycky, assisted by Filip Supančič from Ljubljana. After a dispute, the works were in April 1901 taken over by the architect

Ciril Metod Koch Ciril Metod Koch (31 March 1867 – 6 May 1925) was a Slovene architect. Together with Max Fabiani, he introduced the Vienna Secession style in the Slovene Lands. Koch was born in Kranj, then part of the Duchy of Carniola in the Austro-Hungarian ...

, also from Ljubljana. The bridge was solemnly opened for traffic on 4 October 1901 by , the

Bishop of Ljubljana The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ljubljana ( sl, Nadškofija Ljubljana, la, Archidioecesis Labacensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia. The final works were completed until 1907. The dragons were designed by Zaninović and produced in the Vienna factory A. M. Beschorner. When the bridge was completed, it was dedicated to

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until ...

of the

Habsburg Dynasty The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

to commemorate forty years of his rule from 1848 to 1888. In 1983 and 1984, the Dragon Bridge was renovated with lightweight concrete, and its centenary was celebrated in 2001.

Architecture

The Dragon Bridge, although significantly modelled after the Nußdorf weir, is often regarded as the most beautiful bridge produced by the

. It was one of Europe's earliest reinforced concrete bridges and the first such bridge in

. It was the first bridge in Slovenia to be paved with

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

. When opened in 1901, it had the third-largest arch in Europe at that time. The bridge is built to the "Melan System'"' invented by

, which gained popularity particularly in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

because the bridges could be built without a supporting stage. Rigid truss arches made of iron are set into the reinforced concrete bridge. The load-bearing core of the bridge was the truss iron framework during construction. After concreting, this became a part of the supporting structure. Dragon Bridge is a triple-hinged

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

and has a span of . Its style was designed by Jurij Zaninović. He envisaged the concrete covering, the balustrades and the sheet-copper dragon statues of the bridge, which is now a symbol of the city. The chief attraction of the bridge are these four dragon statues standing on pedestals at its four corners. In addition, the bridge is decorated by sixteen smaller dragon statues.

Legend

There is a legend that

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

was the founder of Ljubljana, and he and his

Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo ...

killed a dragon. This is one of the four dragon statues in the bridge. According to local legends, when a

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

crosses the bridge, the dragons will wag their tails. Some local people have nicknamed this structure "mother-in-law" because of its fiery nature.

References

External links

{{Ljubljana Bridges in Ljubljana Bridges completed in 1901 Arch bridges in Slovenia Road bridges in Slovenia Art Nouveau architecture in Ljubljana Concrete bridges Bridges over the Ljubljanica Center District, Ljubljana Art Nouveau bridges Sculptures of dragons