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

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 of

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 ...

. It crosses the

Ljubljanica The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Leybach'', 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 ...

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 (1780–1844), Slovenian linguist * Matjaž Kopitar (born 1965), Slovenian ice hockey player and coach * G ...

() and Ressel Street (), to the north of the Ljubljana Central Market at Vodnik Square. It was built in the beginning of the 20th century, when Ljubljana was part 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 ...

. As one of the best examples of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

bridges and of the

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 ...

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'' (, 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 An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

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, 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 based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

, 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 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, also from Ljubljana. The bridge was solemnly opened for traffic on 4 October 1901 by , the Bishop of Ljubljana, in the presence of many distinguished guests, including Zaninović, Melan and Brausewetter. The final works were completed until 1907. The dragons were designed by Zaninović and produced in A. M. Beschorner’s factory in Vienna. When the bridge was completed, it was dedicated to

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

of the

Habsburg Dynasty The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

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

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

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

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

. 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 Josef Melan, which gained popularity particularly in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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 structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

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 is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

was the founder of Ljubljana, and he and his

Argonauts The Argonauts ( ; ) 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'', named after it ...

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

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

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 20th-century architecture in Slovenia