[25] According to Greek legend, the Argonauts on their return home after having taken the Golden Fleece found a large lake surrounded by a marsh between the present-day towns of Vrhnika and Ljubljana.

Their archaeological remains, nowadays in the Municipality of Ig, have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site since June 2011, in the common nomination of six Alpine states.

[39] In 1382, in front of St. Bartholomew's Church in Šiška, at the time a nearby village, now part of Ljubljana, a peace treaty was signed between the Republic of Venice and Leopold III of Habsburg.

In the middle and the second half of the 17th century, foreign architects built and renovated monasteries, churches, and palaces and introduced Baroque architecture.

The rebuilding period between 1896 and 1910 is referred to as the "revival of Ljubljana" because of architectural changes that defined the city and for reform of urban administration, health, education and tourism.

In Ljubljana, the Axis forces established strongholds and command centres of Quisling organisations, the Anti-Communist Volunteer Militia under Italy and the Home Guard under German control.

Starting in February 1942, the city was surrounded by barbed wire, later fortified by bunkers, to prevent co-operation between the resistance movements that operated inside and outside the fence.

[123] The Ljubljana Botanical Garden (Ljubljanski botanični vrt) covers 2.40 ha (5.9 acres) next to the junction of the Gruber Canal and the Ljubljanica, south of the Old Town.

Each corner of the bridge is capped with a small pyramid, a signature motif of Plečnik's, whereas the mid-span features a pair of Art-Deco male sculptures.

In 2010 and 2011, the square was renovated and is now mostly closed to road traffic on ground area, however, there are five floors for commercial purposes and a parking lot located underground.

The street is named after Matija Čop, an early 19th-century literary figure and close friend of the Slovene Romantic poet France Prešeren.

It leads from the Main Post Office (Glavna pošta) at Slovene Street (Slovenska cesta) downward to Prešeren Square and is lined with bars and stores, including the oldest McDonald's restaurant in Slovenia.

[152] Trubar considered Ljubljana's speech most suitable, since it sounded much more noble than his own simple dialect of his hometown Rašica.

Guests have included Dubravka Tomšič, Marjana Lipovšek, Tomaž Pandur, Katia Ricciarelli, Grace Bumbry, Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, José Carreras, Slide Hampton, Zubin Mehta, Vadim Repin, Valery Gergiev, Sir Andrew Davis, Danjulo Ishizaka, Midori (violinist), Yuri Bashmet, Ennio Morricone, and Manhattan Transfer.

The first purpose-built art gallery in Ljubljana was the Jakopič Pavilion, which was in the first half of the 20th century the central exhibition venue of Slovene artists.

[165] A Ljubljana equivalent of Copenhagen's Freetown Christiania, a self-proclaimed autonomous Metelkova neighbourhood, was set up in a former Austro-Hungarian barracks that was built in 1882.

[166][167] In 1993, the seven buildings and 12,500 square metres (135,000 sq ft) of space were turned into art galleries, artist studios, and seven nightclubs, including two LGBTQ+ venues, playing host to music from hardcore to jazz to dub to techno.

Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture is there, a venue offering concerts of indie, punk, and rock bands as well as exhibitions take place.

Its programs are realised in temporary physical and virtual spaces dedicated to advancing the research, production and presentation of transitory, experimental, and live art forms.

[184][185] A ski jumping hill, built in 1954 to plans by Stanko Bloudek, was located in Šiška near Vodnik Street (Vodnikova cesta) until 1976. International competitions for the Kongsberg Cup were held there, attended by thousands of spectators.

Among other roles, the city council drafts the municipal budget, and is assisted by various boards active in the fields of health, sports, finances, education, environmental protection and tourism.

[200] Since the municipal elections of 22 October 2006 until his confirmation as a deputy in the National Assembly of Slovenian in December 2011, Zoran Janković, previously the managing director of the Mercator retail chain, was the mayor of Ljubljana.

From December 2011 onwards, when Janković's list won the early parliamentary election, the deputy mayor Aleš Čerin was decided by him to lead the municipality.

[218] In 1775, the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa proclaimed elementary education obligatory and Ljubljana got its normal school, intended as a learning place for teachers.

In the time of Illyrian Provinces, "école primaire", a unified four-year elementary school program with a greater emphasis on Slovene, was introduced.

[217][220] Historically, higher schools offering the study of general medicine, surgery, architecture, law and theology, started to operate in Ljubljana under the French annexation of Slovene territory, in 1810–1811.

The first society of the leading scientists and public workers in Carniola was the Dismas Fraternity (Latin: Societas Unitorum), formed in Ljubljana in 1688.

[240][241] The centre of the city is more difficult to access especially in the peak hours due to long arteries with traffic lights and a large number of daily commuters.

[242] The core city centre has been closed for motor traffic since September 2007 (except for residents with permissions), creating a pedestrian zone around Prešeren Square.

[246] Another means of public road transport in the city centre is the Cavalier (Kavalir), an electric shuttle bus vehicle operated by LPP since May 2009.